Boaters Bar — Restaurant in Great Britain

So disappointed by the appalling service I received from the front of house staff at this bar. They swore at us and accused us of being liars.

I booked a large table for a Stag Party of 11 at 19:00 and confirmed it multiple times over the phone in the fortnight before the booking, only to arrive and be told "we don't do booking mate". When asked for confirmation of my booking, I explained I never received one, despite ringing to confirm and ask for one. The front of house staff then accused me of being a liar and trying to "blag my way in" and continued to insist they did not take bookings. They were very abrupt and aggressive.

They agreed to try and find us a table like they were doing us a favour, but said it may take a while as they had a booking of 90 people in (errr, but they don't take bookings?). 10 minutes later, they miraculously had found my original booking (but they don't take bookings?) but offered no apology for the way they spoke to me, and confirmed they could seat us at two separate tables. At this point we said we were really not impressed, they were being rude and aggressive and their attitude stunk and it had totally put us off from wanting to go in. To which they responded with "are you f*ing kidding me, we've just found you a table!".

I totally accept that mistakes happen and my booking may have been misplaced, but the way they handled the situation was disgusting.

A real shame as it looked like a nice bar and from other reviews the food, beer and serving staff seem on point. They need to do something about the owner/managers/front of house staff though. Rude and arrogant.

UPDATE following their response:

We did arrive half an hour early, NOT over an hour as they claim in their response below (we didn't get picked up by our Taxis from Ambleside until 18:15), but said we were happy to wait outside for the table to be ready (our suggestion, not theirs). Our decision to leave was based on the way they treated us and spoke to us which we found unacceptable. Their defensive response here just helps prove my point further, so thank you. Either way, we shan't be visiting again - plenty of other places in Bowness....

Horrendous customer service. We have been here before, and liked it. However, after our experience today, we will not be returning. Firstly part of our order included an iced caramel latte. The young girl who served us mistakenly made a normal hot caramel latte - this was not a problem, I was happy to wait whilst the order was remade. However, the other girl who was behind the bar said 'that's easily sorted' and poured my latte into a cocktail shaker with a huge scoop of ice and proceeded to shake it until it was cold. The hot coffee melted all of the ice in the cocktail shaker, hence the iced latte was served watery. Then whilst we were having our drinks, the people on the next table accidentally knocked their dogs water bowl over. They went to ask for a mop, to be told 'we dont have one'. They then asked for a cloth to be told 'just leave it, it will be fine'. The people were clearly concerned that someone may slip on the floor so they asked for a 'wet floor' sign to place over the spillage, to again be told 'we dont have one'. I then witnessed one of the staff cleaning the tables around where we were sat, where she decided to only clean the half of the table where people had been sitting instead of the whole table - this is not good health and safety practice. Just before we left we went to use the toilet, only to be shouted at by the lad behind the bar 'excuse me, excuse me, are you customers?' because he'd jumped to conclusions and thought we had walked in off the street just to use the toilet. There was no apology when I told him we had been sitting by the pool table for a while. Totally dissapointed with our visit today. Definitely wont be returning in the future, and will be advising family and friends to do the same. Such a shame that bad staff with poor attitudes and a blatant disregard for health and safety can ruin what is actually a decent...

Sit back, Relax with great views and atmosphere to match!

We have been visiting Bowness for years and have somehow missed out on the Boater Bar until now. What a mistake! This bar and restaurant is a true gem with its stunning views of the lake and various seating options, including a large outdoor sun terrace.

The Bar offers a great selection of wines, spirits, and craft beers at very reasonable prices. nd for sports enthusiasts, the bar does not disappoint; numerous large screen TVs are strategically placed so you can catch the action from almost any seat.

We was lucky enough to visit on a Tuesday and made the best of the Pizza offer they had on, we would have loved to try a coffee and cake after but our stomachs were so full! But defiantly on our visit.

We visited on a Tuesday, which happened to be their pizza offer day, and I must say, the pizza did not disappoint! It was delicious and definitely hit the spot. While we were tempted to indulge in coffee and cake afterward, we were too full to manage another bite – but it’s definitely on our list for our next visit!

If your visiting the area area the Bar is easily accessible with multiple parking options nearby. The staff are super friendly, enthusiastic, and contribute to the bar's great atmosphere.

We can't wait to return on our next visit to Bowness....