The Old Boat House — Restaurant in Wigan

The charm of "The Old Boathouse" lies in its picturesque location by the canal, offering a potential idyllic dining experience. Unfortunately, that's where the enchantment ends.

On our recent visit, we were greeted with a warning of a delay in food service only upon arrival, despite booking online. What was "a bit of a wait" translated into an agonising hour-long delay, not only for our table but for others around us. The lack of urgency and empathy for guests, including an elderly lady at a neighbouring table who was visibly uncomfortable, was disheartening to witness.

The food, when it finally arrived, was acceptable but underwhelming. The service continued to falter, with our request for something as simple as a spoon turning into a prolonged ordeal. The staff seemed disorganised and unresponsive.

Our previous experience at this gastro pub in May was similarly marked by long waits, though the proprietor at least had the courtesy to waive the cost of drinks. This time, not only were we charged in full, but the owner seemed to avoid facing us, delegating the task of presenting the bill to a younger staff member without any acknowledgment or apology for the inconvenience.

The eerily quiet ambiance on a beautiful sunny evening speaks volumes. The absence of locals might be a telling sign of consistent service issues. We even found ourselves joking about their advertised Christmas dinner, fearing that an order placed today might only be ready by then.

Despite the pleasant venue, the overall experience was marred by poor service and lack of consideration for guests. If you're drawn to the location, be prepared for a potential wait and underwhelming dining experience. As for us, with heavy hearts, we see little reason to return to "The...

How is this place still in business?

Booked in advance. Arrived and stood in the waiting area for 15 minutes, being ignored. Eventually got seated, but given no menus, had to get those myself. No one bothered to take a drinks order for a good 30 or so minutes. But even that took a lifetime to arrive. Waited for over an hour but no food. Great opportunity to observe the staff, and the lack of organisation. The girl serving was clearly new to the job and doing her best but was trying to serve the entire seating area. At times 3-4 bar staff behind the bar with only 2 people waiting for a drink. Meanwhile poor server running round tables alone.

Asked how long the wait on food was, to be told 45 min wait and 5 mins for our meal. 10-15 mins later I had had enough.

In this time. Table at the side of us also asked where the food was after waiting over an hour. Table in front of us were going to the bar them self for drinks as no one bothered to maintain drinks orders. Table at the side of us also said the food was not great. A third table said the food wasn’t worth the wait.

I could forgive the long wait but the catalogue of failings is frustrating. Especially as the eating area was at half capacity.

Once I said I had had enough, no longer wanted the food and was leaving the manager did offer the meal FOC. But by that point we didn’t even want the meal. He offered drinks FOC, which was nice but not enough to get us back again.

Staff here are friendly and polite, just lack massive amounts of observation and...

Visited on Saturday 20th Aug with family for booking at 6.45. Was surprised how quiet it was as pre covid it was always packed. Got shown our table and waiter was quickly over with menus and took drinks order which turned up quickly. We then had about a ten minute wait before someone came to take our food order. Wasn't surprised really as they only had two people waiting all the tables. Food took an absolute age to come out. Saw a few people approach the waiters to ask where their food was. I get that there may be a shortage of staff, there may be people off sick but the staff should set your expectations and let you know there will be a long wait. We could see into the kitchen and could see some food under the heaters that was there for at least 10 minutes. Staff kept going into the kitchen and coming out but the food remained there. We said maybe they were still waiting for one of the other meals. Eventually our food came out and I could see it was the food that had been sat there. It was hot, I will say that but I had the Tik Masala and it was quite dry and small. No apologies were given for the long wait. Trying to order more drinks was hard as the waiters didn't check back. Because there was only two of them I get they were busy but the service really let it down. Despite being dry the curry was really nice as was the rest of the food. This was the saving grace and will definitely return and hope the service...