The Boathouse — Restaurant in Elizabeth City

First impression is definitely a lasting impression.

My wife called and placed the order and I called while driving and asked for recommendations of what is popular on their menu besides the Chicken Alfredo. The woman on the phone said there was no other popular items on the menu outside of the chicken Alfredo, so I asked to add a second chicken Alfredo to our order.

Passed the big boathouse sign plenty of times, so I thought it would be easy to find the restaurant. The sign said boathouse parking, so I parked near the sign which seemed like the parking lot for a hair salon. Nearby parking lots had signs stating that your vehicle would be towed.

Parked my vehicle, started walking and opened Google Maps to help me navigate to the boathouse. Found the front door or main entrance and walked in.

Walked to the first bar near the live music stage and they told me to go to the bar in the tavern in the back. Walked to the bar in the tavern and it seemed like all eyes were on me as I walked in the room and took my seat at the bar.

Bartender was really nice. I told her my wife's name since she placed the order. Bartender checked on my order and continued to serve others at the bar. She came back and confirmed the name on the order because someone wrote down a wrong name for my wife. Some other female employee came and asked the name on my order and gave me the ticket. Another female employee brought the order out, took my credit card, told me that their printer ran out of paper and I only had the bottom of a receipt where I could see the last 4 digits of my credit card. So I signed that paper, took my bags and left the restaurant.

When my wife ordered on the phone, she was told that the food would be ready 10 to 15 minutes. I did not get the food until at least 35 minutes later after my wife placed the order.

My family and I ate the food but didn't think it was the best chicken Alfredo. The wedge salad was okay. The chicken Alfredo had plenty of noodles and a few strips of chicken. So glad I added another chicken Alfredo because our 2 daughters split the chicken in one chicken Alfredo container. My wife and I split the chicken in the 2nd container.

Today, we chose to pickup food from another popular restaurant in town and service was much quicker and better and the food was...

First time here. Walked in and was impressed that this was actually a venue type of establishment. Stage, lights, open floor plan. Went to the bar for brunch and was greeted right away by a warm smile and a friendly face, Brandon. He was Informative and so friendly. I had a couple of top shelf bloody marys. My partner had two Mic Utra and we both ordered the Ribeye steaks with eggs and hash brown potatoes for our Brunch meal. There was a mishap with my first plate and a recook was needed. The owner a beautiful silver haired woman came over introduced herself and apologized, My new plate was perfect. Steak cooked as requested and juicy...once my other plate came out, it was a lot better, cooked as requested and not dry.

Edited and updated:

Have come back a few times now for Brunch and I have yet to get a meal that's been hot or cooked how I requested. Management tries to go above and beyond when I've had to send my food back, however once breakfast is ruined, its ruined. I won't be returning here to eat, however to hang out and have a few drinks...for sure! Bartenders and wait staff are fantastic and the venue itself is fun and Inviting minus the back the blue flag hanging in your face at the bar. There's events that happen here that we enjoy coming to, and thus far the music that has played has been good. I'm sure at so e point we'll return for a drink or two however I won't be ordering food again, unless it's something deep fried that I hope the kitchen...

First time here. Visiting from Nashville TN. This place was better than some of the "joints" on Nashville's Broadway! The food was awesome and delivered quickly. The tavern on the side is a cozy place but not too "tight". There is a music/entertainment venue in the front for everything from live bands to karaoke. As a sound and lights guy in Nashville I can say that the music and lighting in this venue was fantastic! I noticed that they are using Electro Voice and Yorkville speakers which is pretty much as close to the "top of the line" as you can get! The sound was crisp and clear and the lights were amazing with lasers and LED panels. There were even some "old skool" "cans" and two HUGE mirror balls. I'm definitely going back for the music but the food was right up there too!

I've been in a lot of venues and some have great food and a sub par entertainment facilities and some have a great music venue but sub par food. This place seems to have found a pretty good balance of both, especially for a "small town".

I met the owners and they are both charming individuals! Although the place is fairly new they are trying to overcome the "growing pains" of a new food/entertainment venue. They have a great vision of what they want to achieve and with the community's support I'm pretty sure that one day this will be the "go to" place in Elizabeth City. (Lol, maybe it already is) I can't wait to get...