The Boathouse — Restaurant in Trafford

I have been prompted by Google to update my thoughts on The Boathouse from my last sparkling review. Well this place has now given me a different view. We were dining as a party of six and my wife and I were first to arrive. We were shown to our large round table right next to the roaring fire that was way too hot for diners sitting in close proximity. The gentleman who was seemingly in charge turned it down when we stated this, to his credit. However when he had seated us he gave us menus and promptly walked off without asking us if we would like to order a drink. Five minutes later a waitress who was passing looked over and asked us about drinks. The rest of our party duly arrived and sat with us. After a couple of minutes someone asked them about their drinks requirements. We ordered our food that was delivered quite promptly but there was very little interaction conversation wise between us and the waiting staff which contributed to a rather dull atmosphere that was fitting as there were only about four or five other tables in this rather large restaurant. The food (which was very good) was probably the only upbeat contribution to an otherwise flat evening. We had a good time conversing amongst ourselves, but the staff seemed invisible most of the time. Another thing we noticed was that when first ordering our food nobody asked about dietary requirements or allergies that may affect our party. We declined the offer of desserts as the atmosphere at this juncture was as if the staff were just waiting for us to leave so they could shut up shop and go home early. This was at 8.20 pm and by then I think only one table remained and you could have heard a pin drop. It is no surprise that places like this are going out of business as there was nothing apart from the quality of the food (which judging by the amount of people dining gave the kitchen time to do a very good job) that would encourage us to rush back. As we left we were given a very luke warm goodbye from the gentleman who was possibly in charge. One last thing, why do establishments like this never ask if you enjoyed your meal any more, I had to volunteer the fact that my fish dish was very good and for the waitress to convey this to the chef who...

We went for a meal for my fathers 85th birthday, having spent many years of dining with the reastaurant we we're hoping for a experience similar to he's had previously, unfortunately this was not the case. The location is fantastic as are the majority of the staff. My father ordered roast beef after seeing it come out to a few other tables he said it looked delicious, we proceeded to order with Richard who i believe is a manager, after taking our order and making 0 small talk with the table it took 40 minutes for the starters to arrive and we were all starving by this point, it was busy so understandably the kitchen was under pressure. We all enjoyed our starters and eagerly awaitied the mains when my fathers arrived he was not happy he asked for medium beef and to be honest I would have had trouble chewing it, his veg was undercooked and he was utterly dissapointed, he waived down Richard and explained the situation and richard was incredibly blunt and offered another meal as a replacement, my father then requested a medium steak and chips instead we were told it will take a while to arrive as the kitchen is busy, this is understandable however it takes around 12 mins to cook a medium steak, there was no option given by richard as to what steak he wanted and after about 20 mins we flagged Richard down again and we we're told in no uncertain terms the steak will take as long as it takes and thats it. For a manager of a reataurant to come accross so rude and abrupt i was shocked and had to bite my tongue. When yhe steak arrived it was well done to nobodys suprise as it took nearly 30 minutes again my father did not eat it. When the bill arrived the steak was on there and when richard was questioned he said you ate it so that's why its on there when in fact je didn't eat it and this was diputed he agreed to take it off the bill! There were 6 of us in total the bill was already over 220 pounds so that wasn't an issue. Richard removed from the bill and in my opinion was still rude and had no people skills whatsoever. Bring back winny and betty my father said on the way home at least they had people skills and i...

We had a child free evening last Thursday so popped out for a quick bite to eat, decided on the Boathouse as Hubby remembered they did a nice burger and he fancied one. We called at 530pm to book a table and booked for 630pm without a problem. There is tons of parking available at Sale Water park and it's free. We were given a choice of where we could sit as they weren't overly busy at the time, chose a table by the window and watched people practice water skiing while we waited. Menu on offer was good, not vast but definitely something for everyone I reckon. You could use the main menu or the smaller set menu that allowed so many courses for a set price. Hubby chose halloumi with chorizo on toasted ciabatta with a chilli dressing, then the loaded burger for main. I chose the dipping oil and bread to start with the fillet steak, chips, onion rings and tomatoes with a pepper corn sauce. The food was cooked to perfection! What a fabulous chef they had on, not a single minus could be given. Husband practically inhaled his it was gone so fast! His burger was huge too. My steak was just bloody gorgeous 😍 it was seasoned to perfection and cooked to perfection! Onion rings were massive so I shared some onto Hibbys plate. Tomatoes melted in my mouth and the chips were really fluffy and crispy chunky chips. Goodness the peppercorn sauce was immense in flavour, a good kick of peppercorn and creaminess went brilliantly with everything on my plate. Amazing! We were nearly full but the minute the lovely waitress told us the special was cheesecake, we couldn't resist. It was a new York style cheesecake with chocolate sauce and chopped unsalted nuts on top. Presented so nicely on the plate, the slice was big and chunky and we were allowed a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a small jug of pouring cream. Heaven. I literally needed to roll myself down the stairs on the way out I was so pleasantly full. I literally sat and said to Hubby, it was the best meal I had had out in ages. All the staff were really lovely, polite and patient. I'd definitely recommend popping down and having a...