The Boathouse at Breach Inlet — Restaurant in Isle of Palms

We had longtime friends fly halfway (from Kansas City) across the country for my father’s 96th birthday to do dinner. They wanted to know where we should go. Since they were making the extraordinary effort, I gave them three choices. One of which was The Boathouse. My wife and I had been to The Boathouse downtown, but never on the Isle of Palms. Our guests chose The Boathouse. We could not have been more pleased! We have lived in Charleston since 1991 and seen many restaurants come and go by far The Boathouse is our favorite! We are constantly asked what seafood restaurant to recommend – The Boathouse is it! The décor is rustic, but I didn’t go for the décor, I went for good food and to spend the evening with good friends. The location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean is nice. Although we didn’t get there, the rooftop bar view must have been majestic. The complimentary valet parking is a nice touch. The menu is one of the broadest in Charleston featuring lots of local selections as other selections (scallops), mussels, and salmon from the East Coast. We ordered Pinot Grigio and Savignon Blanc wines by the glass. All very nice selections. My Savignon Blanc was particularly enjoyable. Crab fritters and pimento cheese – typical Lowcountry dishes for our out-of-town guest were our appetizer selections that were gobbled up by all. The Wedge Salad (available to share or as an entrée) was very nice sized, the skewered shrimp was substantially portioned and delicious (my wife could not finish them). The steak and crabcake was done to perfection (medium rare) and the crabcake full of meat with very little binder expertly seasoned. The salmon was some of the best I have tasted! I chose the collards as a side and the in-house pepper and vinegar sauce is not to be missed even if you don’t like collards. It has a little sweetness with a touch of spiciness. We were there for my father’s 96th birthday and our waiter brought out a warm brownie with a candle without making fuss for the entire restaurant to see, a very nice touch and we ordered the Crème Brule and turtle cheesecake. Both excellent. I can’t believe you could go wrong with any selection at The Boathouse! At least go to the bar, have drinks and...

St.Patrick's dinner was wonderful. We went to the Boathouse, the windows were dirty, the inside needs a deep cleaning and updating. I was not happy that all the views were obscured either by dirty windows or plastic covered windows. The main reason I chose that restaurant was specifically for the view.

I order the swordfish and asked my server to bring me a sample of the three sauces that accompanied my dish so I could decide which one I wanted. I could tell it wasn't a request he was used to but he didn't miss a beat and was quick to comply.

I've never had swordfish before and it was amazing! Two sides come with the meal, no substitutions. The only two sides they offered that I can eat are green beans, which I ordered, and asparagus which I didn't want so I had to pay 8.00 for a salad.

I could have purchased 5 heads of romaine lettuce and dressing for the cost of my salad. I was not impressed.

My husband ordered the poached seafood dinner. It was bland and watery. The food didn't have any flavor at all. Very disappointing, except the green beans, they were fantastic.

The dinner portions were so small that we had room for dessert and were still hungry.

I ordered the gluten-free chocolate something, it was amazing. Michael ordered the Key lime cheesecake and it was delicious! Both desserts came with a whipped cream garnish that they could have done without. It was not homemade and didn't melt which means it was canned and had a lot of unnecessary oils and preservatives in it, not to mention the fact it had less flavor than Cool-Whip.

My server, Tom, was great and brought everything I wanted before I asked for it, even clean utensils for my desert. I was immensely impressed with Tom and it takes A LOT to impress me.

Overall I give 3 stars.

The glass windows require a proper cleaning. The food portions are small in comparison to the prices. The side dish selections do not provide enough options for people who have diagnosed...

John, the Boathouse bartender, revealed his secret identity to us as we were delightfully sipping two beach cocktails when we realized a boatload of tourists from Tanzania were drowning front of us at the dock, having confused a power drill and an oar in wooden boat. John immediately lept from the rooftop bar while donning his cape and single-handedly swooped into the ocean, rescuing all 278 island visitors while repairing the boat holes with chewing gum and toothpicks AND he made it back in time to finish making my Aperol Spritz.

Which was excellent, btw.

We wanted to stay and witness more feats of amazing daring and bravery, but our dinner reservation downstairs at the Boathouse restaurant was forthcoming and we were forced to attend it posthaste.

At the fine dining restaurant, I thoroughly enjoyed some of the best oysters I’ve ever consumed (and I have a love affair with oysters and consume many).

The Iceberg Wedge salad was a wonder in that it had enough dressing to cover every solitary wedge with deliciousness, an incredible occurrence that rarely happens.

We ended up ordered the Wreckedfish, and wrecked is what we were by the time we finished it. Tender, buttery and moist (I only say “moist” because my teenager hates that word so I try to use it as much as possible), I would have done anything this fish asked of me—it was that good. My husband was jealous.

Our server, Travis, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, making recommendations and bringing us extra plates with every course because the Spousal Unit and I shared everything.

And while he didn’t have a superhero secret identity (that we know of—cause it might be a secret), he was awesome and friendly and never once commented about the moans of delight emitting from my mouth with every course.

Cause that would have been embarrassing.

So if this is tl;dr here’s the cliff notes: amazing food, awesome service, and a lot of fun. Also John can fly.

But keep...