Boat House Café — Restaurant in Arun

Circa June 2024:

Family breakfast; as usual the restaurant was busy.

The full English breakfast is OK, the "raw ingredients" were of low quantity; I've never seen an egg yolk so pale.

The kids breakfast came with a veggie sausage. This should have been mentioned on the menu rather than when served. He's a fussy kid and refused to eat it after spitting out the first mouthful; we would never have ordered it if forewarned.

The "kids mother", also a fussy eater nearly had a meltdown because she discovered a hair on the corner of her toast.

It was so small and needed magnification to see it clearly; personaly I would have just broken the offending corner off of the toast.

Finally, I must compliment the coffee. I was served an excellent cappuccino and they also serve decaf versions, so my wife was happy. Circa 2022:

Busy day and most tables were full. I'm not sure if its a staff shortage or training issue but my table and several others still had dirty plates and leftovers on them from previous diners. We had to call for someone to clear and wipe our table down. Frankly I'm surprised that more urgency isn't placed on this, the adjacent uncleared table was attracting some hungry looking seagulls and they don't shoo away easily when a possible meal is on view. I'm not sure that £4.50 is a reasonable price for a bacon sandwich, even if it does come garnished with a few crisps on the side. For an extra £1.50 I could have had the small breakfast i.e. bacon, sausage, egg,...

Family day trips to Felpham beach (with refreshments at the Boat House Cafe) were a regular part of my teenage years back in the late 1980s. Having not visited for approximately 30 years, yesterday I took a nostalgic trip back.

I was pleased to find that The Boat House Cafe remained exactly as I remembered. Behind the counter however, I now noticed a framed photograph of a man who I possibly recognised from 30+ years ago. I commented as such to the assistant, who explained that whilst sadly this gentleman passed away several years ago - his wife - gesturing to the table behind me - is still in the business today! Wow! So my impression is that this is a family business still in the same hands. Great to find such long-term stability in these modern times. Really made my day.

Putting aside any nostalgic bias and turning to the current, our teas & coffees were perfect. I chose to accompany the coffee with a delicious apple & cinnamon flapjack. Highly recommended!

The cafe offers both outdoor tables and (if you prefer some shade and/ or a more comfortable seat) indoor. A sea view is available from both options.

Cleanliness was excellent throughout, with good ventilation. Toilets...

After working here for about a week (from a Tuesday to a Sunday) I can be confident in the fact that I'll never be visiting here again. Lack of proper training on the tils or how to use the coffee machines, I'd be left completely alone on my second shift and day of work at the front, it began to get very busy and I couldnt keep up to which I didn't receive much support apart from the occasional appearance from other staff.

After missing my latest shift I was booked in for due to an injury, I had no communication from them for around 5-6 days. After which I went in to be told I'd been replaced without notice (not that it bothered me, I'd planned to leave anyway).

Obviously I expected to be paid for my work, I'm posted this on the day of my payment. I finished on July 16th. I've been into the cafe 4 seperase times over the last 6 weeks and each time received different excuses and delays, resulting in me struggling with paying for Uni and other expenses.

And from what I've seen here the food doesn't sound too great either. 😉 Don't recommend working here but it's a nice place and I...