Boatyard — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Disappointing Experience at Boatyard Restaurant

We dined today at the Boatyard and unfortunately, our experience left much to be desired. While the ambiance and service were decent, we were deeply disappointed by the general manager (Tom Karl) refusal to acknowledge and address a legitimate concern regarding the quality of the food.

From the moment we took our first bites, it was evident that something was amiss. The dishes we ordered, (Bimini Bread, Fries with garlic parmesan dip, Caesar salad and Wood burning grill Trout, and Mahi-Mahi), the bread was stale, the fried appear to be of the frozen variety like the ones you could purchase at a grocery store in the freezer section, the parmesan cheese on the salad seemed to have being dumped from a bag instead of freshly shaved parmesan, the main dishes lacked the promised flavors and fell short of our expectations. It simply did not taste good, and we were left unsatisfied. When the server asked how everything was, we said it was not good, she then summoned the general manager. Upon his arrival, to our surprise, instead of acknowledging the issue and apologizing for the disappointing experience, the general manager staunchly defended the quality of the food. He was unwilling to accept any responsibility, dismissing my feedback as subjective and insisting that their dishes were indeed delicious. This lack of accountability and refusal to address our concerns left us feeling unheard and disheartened.

In any reputable establishment, the customer's satisfaction should be of utmost importance. When a legitimate complaint is brought to their attention, a good manager would typically apologize and make a concerted effort to rectify the situation. However, this was not the case at the Boatyard.

It is essential for a restaurant to create an environment where open communication is encouraged, and feedback is valued. By dismissing our concerns and failing to offer any form of resolution, the general manager displayed a lack of professionalism and disregard for their patrons' opinions. As a customer, it is disheartening to have one's valid concerns dismissed without any attempt at reconciliation.

I believe that a restaurant's success lies not only in its delectable dishes but also in the way it handles customer feedback and complaints. Sadly, the Boatyard failed to meet this standard. While the overall dining experience might have been salvaged with a sincere apology or an alternative dish, the refusal to acknowledge and address the issue left a sour taste in my mouth—both literally and figuratively.

I hope that the Boatyard takes this review constructively and uses it as an opportunity to reevaluate their approach to customer satisfaction. A restaurant's reputation is built on more than just good food; it is a culmination of exceptional service, genuine care for customer feedback, and the willingness to rectify any shortcomings.

FYI: Be aware that this was not my first time at this restaurant, I have frequented the Boatyard many times in the past, and even celebrated my birthday in one of their...

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE – Discrimination and Poor Treatment by Management

I recently visited Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, January 19th, for a birthday brunch with my family, and what should have been a memorable occasion turned into a nightmare. While our waiter, David, was exceptional—friendly, attentive, and a joy to interact with—the treatment we received from the management was absolutely unacceptable and felt blatantly discriminatory.

After finishing our meal and preparing to leave, two ladies approached a guest at our table and quickly told him we “had to leave” before walking away without an explanation. When I went to the front desk to get clarification, they claimed our reservation time was up. Then, without evidence, they accused our group of using profanity and said that a chair broke during our reservation.

First of all, no one in our group was aware of any chair breaking until one of our guests informed us that their chair had been faulty. Management already knew about the broken chair because it had been reported to them earlier. If anything, this is their responsibility for allowing damaged furniture to remain in use. Another table even suggested we could sue over this.

The only moment we were louder than normal was while singing “Happy Birthday,” which is entirely appropriate for a celebration. Beyond that, our waiter never raised any issues about our behavior. It was shocking and hurtful to be singled out as “disruptive” when we were the only African American group in the area.

Things escalated further when management—Margarite, Sam, and Alex—refused to provide proof of profanity or any issue with the chair. They even threatened to call the police, falsely claiming one of our guests was being aggressive. This was an outright lie, as I personally shook hands with the manager and apologized for any inconvenience caused by the chair. We were polite and respectful throughout, yet treated as if we were causing trouble.

Adding insult to injury, our table felt surveilled the entire time, as if we were thieves under suspicion. The disrespect, lack of communication, and targeted treatment made this an incredibly uncomfortable experience.

While we initially asked for our tip back out of principle, we chose to let it stand because David deserved it for his excellent service. However, this does not excuse how the management treated us.

This experience was not only disappointing but also felt discriminatory and unjust. As a returning customer, I never expected to be treated this way. Boatyard needs to address these issues and train their staff to treat all guests with respect and fairness. Until then, I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone and will...

Extremely disappointed w/ Boatyard, Fort Lauderdale. We arrived around 8pm, and was escorted to the bar due to the 45 minute wait. As soon as I sat down, I put my hand in the seat to scoot over for my first and stuck my hand in a toothpick which had been left in the unclean bar seat. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING & UNSANITARY. Once seated, it took almost 15 minutes for the waiter to even acknowledge us. It took another 10 minutes to even water w/ lemon. Every time we attempted to order he would sit down a water and run off. Eventually, after another 10 minutes we were able to get an hold of the waiter to finally order an appetizer. The appetizer NEVER came (even after that long wait). Then the waiter came back and said, “you guys will have to move because we have a party of 15 coming to this bar area.” We were embarrassed and annoyed. We waited all that time, never ordered drinks and never received our appetizer. We then went back to the host and she said she wasn’t aware of the party but offered to move us to another table.

We get moved to the far back. Once there, we waited ANOTHER 15 minutes to get more water w/ lemon sad order actual drinks. ONLY after a random waiter walked past and heard us discussing such poor customer service, he asked if we’d been spoken to. After that, our waiter suddenly showed up and my guest didn’t even know he was a member of the staff because he did not have on a polo shirt like the other servers and his uniform and his hair/face looked unkempt. He came and like the waiter at the bar, was dismissive and focused everywhere but taking our order. Side note- oddly, where we were seated, it was four tables of minorities. I don’t want to make any false racist claims, but we looked around the restaurant and only the minorities were seated in the back area except one older couple in the main room.

Once we got our food (another 15-20 minutes), the salmon was not well done, it was overcooked and tasted burnt. As did the asparagus, which we returned. Although our waiter came to the table a few times he was nonchalant and seemingly was focused elsewhere. Just a horrible experience when paying close to $300 for the evening.

One of my guest expressed her dissatisfaction with the wait staff, but to avoid any scenes, we decided to voice our disdain and concerns in a review. When I attempted to locate the corporate office I could not find the number. I will keep searching until I do. This was an extremely disappointing experience at the Boatyard Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale...