The Boathouse Ponte Vedra — Restaurant in Florida

So we went on the first Sunday in July. We had made a reservation and were seated immediately. Our server was Alley and to say she was amazing is an understatement. She was so welcoming and just fun to talk to. She answered every question we had and was so knowledgeable about the food. She gave us some great recommendations that did not disappoint. Even when she came back to our table to deliver some "bad news" regarding one of the specials being sold out, she was so delightful that we honestly didn't even care. Ok, now on to the food. Amazing. Being our first time there I had previously looked at the menu so I knew going in that prices were on the higher side and I'm thinking I'm going to get smallish portions like you do at like Matthews which I'm fine with as long as the flavor/quality is there. So my husband and I, along with another couple, ordered multiple appetizers, main dishes, and sushi. When the appetizers hit the table, we knew we were in trouble. The hush puppies were perfectly fried and not oily with a savory flavor accompanied by a lightly sweet and tart cranberry jam. The deviled eggs were amazing as too were the conch fritters, otoro tartar (weekly special), charbroiled oysters, chef Jason's brussels and walnut and beet salad. I then move on to our main dishes. We ordered the gold digger roll (weekly special), which had lobster, asparagus and Japanese mayo on the inside and A5 Japanese waygu with truffle caviar on top along with some 24k gold flakes. The roll was $40 and honestly worth every penny. The lobster inside was so tender and perfectly cooked. The waygu was perfectly seared and melt in your mouth delicious. The truffle caviar they added was just the right amount that it didn't overpower any 1 flavor and complimented the roll perfectly. To dip this roll in soy sauce would have been a crime, that's how flavorful it was on its own. The 24k gold on top to me is a waste on any dish, honestly, as it adds no flavor to the dish but it does look nice I guess. Regardless, I'd drive the 38 minutes again just for this roll. Both my friends hubby and mine ordered the pick 2 which consisted of fried trigger, grilled Mahi and fried shrimp. The highlight was definitely the trigger fish. It was lightly breaded but had so much flavor. My friend had the ahí tuna which she loved as well. Now on to the reason I'll be visiting often. The grand nigiri moriawase. For $60, this is a steal. I've been to the 2 omakase restaurants in Jax which I do like, even at the $150+ price point per person, but the nigiri in this moriawase here is just as amazing (maybe has a slight edge lol) at a better price point. Seriously, if it wasn't for the distance and traffic, I'd be ordering this at least twice a month. The owners of this establishment are the same owners as the once loved Beach Road Chicken and Fish House. They definitely hit it out of the park with this concept. We intended to order dessert during our visit but were just too full to eat anything else. You would be full too if you'd have ordered all the food listed above along with some delicious cocktails. Pictured is the rose fritz along with a green cocktail I forgot the name of. It did have sake as well as green tea...

Reservation was for Father’s Day for 2 people. Giving them the benefit of the doubt for this reason

We reserved a booth through Resy but were seated at a table. When we inquired, the staff responded unprofessionally, stating their system doesn't guarantee booths despite reservations. The seating arrangement caused frustration as it contradicted our booking. Host was annoyed with the question but how were we supposed to know their reservations don’t work that way. Then might be time to change those options online?

The table was comfortable, but the initial interaction left a negative impression. Service was slow; we waited close to 10 minutes before anyone took our drink orders, understandable given it was Father's Day, but still disappointing.

The waiter was friendly but lacked knowledge about the menu, making it difficult to get recommendations or detailed descriptions. Our starter, hush puppies, were tasty but overly greasy. The main courses had mixed results: spicy tuna wonton tacos were excellent, but the salmon tacos were too salty. The lobster grits lacked complexity, and the pork chop, though moist, was bland despite the accompaniments.

Additionally, the restaurant's single-serving bathrooms were inadequate for the large seating capacity, potentially causing long waits. Overall, the experience was marred by poor service, unprofessional staff, and inconsistencies in food quality. Would come back for the sushi menu but felt that the service was lacking in professionalism and understanding of their menu. They could have upsold us on many items if they knew what they were serving there. The server said “did you like that soy stuff?” when asking about the truffle ahi bites. Hurt my soul a little as this place has been hyped up and we felt...

My wife and I went to The Boathouse yesterday for lunch and overall had a great experience. Our server (who was in training) was great and attentive, the restaurant itself was nicely decorated and very clean, and the food was good! The only reason I am giving them 4 stars instead of 5 is because of an issue I feel like was not properly resolved when checking out. We ordered a number of items and when I ordered the fish sandwich, I asked what the fish was and what the market price was for it that day. I was told the fish for the day was snapper (was not given any other choices and the menu did not clarify that there were options in regard to the fish sandwich) and market price for the fish sandwich was $24.99 which was not a problem. We ate and enjoyed our food and when we got the check, it said the sandwich was $34.99. My wife asked our server about the discrepancy and she said that was what she had written down (showed us her notepad) and said she would go ask the server who was training her. When the trainer came out, she explained that there were two different options for the fish sandwich with multiple options for the fish. She said that because we got the snapper (again weren’t given a choice) the sandwich was $34.99 and there was nothing she could do to fix it. We asked to speak with the manager on duty and were told that she had just left to pick up her kid and again there was nothing that could be done.

Being in the industry myself, it isn’t the price that is the issue. The issue is that there is always something that can be done to make a situation right and I felt like it was a serious lack of customer service to not even apologize for the miscommunication from the server...