Marina View | Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in England

Stayed at Windermere Marina in one of the self catering apartments and went here on the last night and wished we hadn't. The waitress (Maddie) didn't show us to a table just waved with her hand to a couple of tables and said take your pick. We sat down and she took our drinks and food order but by the time the starters appeared our drinks didn't. We told the chap who brought the food about the drinks and Maddie brought them saying she had forgotten. This was not a busy Saturday night this was a Thursday night with hardly anyone in, so they weren't run off their feet. Other people came in and waited at the sign which said 'Please wait to be seated' they were ignored for ages, I would have walked out!

Starters of popcorn cauliflower were actually really good and tasty, so we had high hopes for the mains. The falafel burgers looked impressive but the burger was way too thick so it was stodgy and claggy so we left a lot of it. The burger would have been better to be thinner and shame there is no vegan cheese or vegan mayo (I brought my own mayo).

Service was not great at all, we ordered a second glass of wine and Maddie took my existing glass of wine away which had a good glug or two still left in the glass, I luckily got her attention and got it back to finish.

The place itself has no atmosphere at all, there is just something missing, its not welcoming and service was not great at all.. The staff were more engaged chatting to locals sat at the bar rather than serve tables. In fact one couple who came in after us, got a drink and left due to being ignored.

We've visited Windermere Marina for over 30 years and this was only our second visit to The Boathouse, now I know why, the first visit wasn't great but this was not good at all.. Definitely wont be...

⭐️⭐️☆☆☆ – “A fine view wasted on landlubbers and plastic seafolk!” By Captain Barnacle Bill the Mildly Irate

Arrr, I came to Windermere with dreams of high seas adventure, hearty grog, and a brisk tailwind through me beard. What I got was a lake. A lake, I tells ye. No tides, no kraken, and—worst of all—no room to unleash the full 40 cannons o’ me galleon, The Dread Naughty.

I docked outside the Marina View Bar and Restaurant, where the view is fine, if ye like watchin’ yappy little dinghies made of fiberglass skitter about like drunk ducklings. Fiberglass! What happened to ships made of oak? Good English oak, soaked in blood, sweat, and questionable sailor hygiene! These things wouldn’t survive a single cannonball, let alone a strong breeze and a seagull with attitude.

The restaurant itself? Cozy, aye. Good chips, and the fish was fresh enough to still be insultin’ me under its breath. But the rum—oh, sweet Poseidon’s beard, the rum—was served in a dainty glass with an orange slice. AN ORANGE SLICE. I nearly wept into me tricorn hat.

I tried to launch a proper naval siege on the harbour, but Windermere’s cursed speed limit be 5mph, and The Dread Naughty takes at least 7 minutes to turn about. By the time I raised me Jolly Roger, a paddleboarder overtook me and asked if I needed directions. INSULTIN’.

Overall: If ye be a pirate with dreams of pillagin’ and a lust for the open sea, turn back, matey. But if ye enjoy scenic views, modern conveniences, and boats that look like IKEA furniture, then aye, ye might just like it here.

Would I return? Only if I run aground...

This was not our first time here and the food is lovely however they seem unable to cope with more than a few tables. They take your order at the table and ask for payment up front. We knew they were struggling so an hour after our starter arrived we asked how much longer our main course would be. We ordered more drinks and asked if we could not pay up front due to the wait. The manager came over and was very confrontational, he brought us a printout of exactly the time our starter plates were cleared in an effort to prove we’d been waiting less time than we had. He actually proved it was 40 minutes since the starter plates were taken away, I pointed out that there was a delay in taking them. He then stared at me until I said “I don’t know what you want from me”. The people on the next table to us told us they were nervous to order after that. They finished their drinks and left. The manager could’ve just apologised for the wait as the waiting staff had been doing to every new arrival during our wait. There were about 15 occupied tables at this point and he did not seem able to cope. The waiting staff were lovely though. I did get an apology from the manager on the way out, but only because I approached him and told him he’d been unnecessarily confrontational and that an apology was all that had been needed. We didn’t bother with dessert and we probably...