Boat Shed Cafe — Restaurant in Nelson

Bitterly disappointing experience :( We were there last weekend for our wedding anniversary and I have to say it was one of the worst dinning experiences that we've ever had. It was the quickest anniversary meal in 16 years too - in and out in just over an hour, couldn't get out of there quickly enough. It was very stormy night and we were seated on the Veranda (which was OK as I had asked to have a table with a view). The Maitre D' suggested that we keep our coats on, we thought she was kidding, but no - our table was cold, drafty and somewhat "damp", so we kept our jackets on - no effort was made to have the area pre-warmed or made waterproof, not even blankets were offered. The service was amateur hour with multiple random servers looking after our table - some tried their best but it was clear that they had little or no training.....a consequence of the labour shortage I guess but if you can't maintain some sort of standard then you should consider not opening or at least reducing your hours. We had opted, in our booking, for "Trust the Chef", I'm glad we didn't and it wasn't offered to us at any stage so we settled on two courses each. The cutlery could have done with a good wipe and then came the food itself....my wife's Scampi entree at $35 was tasteless, over cooked and "swimming" in butter. My Halloumi entree ($26) was shrivelled (grilled, not fried gently?) and boring. Our mains (Beef Cheek & Lamb) were both luke warm and very average. We didn't dare chance the dessert...and that was...

A friend and I had dinner on Thursday 20 March. A perfect warm Nelson evening with a table on the deck area. Lovely views. I ordered Grilled beef fillet steak with smoked onion puree, mushroom duxelles, confit garlic, sauteed spinach. It could have done with some salt and pepper. The steak was not that tender or palatable.

I took one piece home as a doggy bag and it was then I realised the reason why, the steak had been cut 'with' the grain, not across it as I believe it should be. I was given a steak knife which I would have thought you would not need with a good quality beef fillet. It was cooked to medium as I requested.

For dessert I ordered the Butterscotch pots de crème with soft whipped cream, with nut praline, salted caramel sauce. I noticed it was quite dark brown and when I tasted it, the sugar had been burnt in the making of the dessert. The waitress obligingly took it back to the kitchen. She came back and informed me that they had disposed of the whole batch that had been made and that the chef fully agreed with me.

They gave me another one from another batch and very kindly did not charge me for it. I gather they were relieved I had returned the first dessert. It then saved them having disgruntled customers who may have had the same experience as me. All's well that ends well and it is important to return food if you detect something is wrong. It not only helps the chef make things right but also saves the restaurant from having lots of unhappy...

Myself and my partner visited today to have some lunch, we were excited to experience the food here as we had a recommendation from a friend. Our experience was absolutely terrible. The waiter (tall Indian man) who took our order didnt process it correctly, he was also quite rude! He realized after 1 hour and 15 mins that he had made the mistake however never apologized or explained what happened, he just left us sitting there. He never came over to ask if we would like another drink during the waiting period either. I had the market fish and my partner had the risotto. The fish had several bones still in it which stuck into the roof of my mouth, not very pleasant at all. When we went to pay, the Waiter (tall Indian man) avoided going to the till so he could ingore the situation, and at this point still no explanation or apology. We explained the situation to who I believe is the manager and he was very apologetic and empathetic, which was a positive. This place has nice views and my partner did enjoy the taste of the food however the hospitality experience was awful and a real shame! The other staff appeared professional apart from the mid to late 20's blonde woman who had an abrupt attitude and genuinely unfriendly vibe. I would encourage the owner of the establishment to provide further hospitality training to these individuals to ensure the patrons get the service that they deserve. Unfortunately we will...