BOATHOUSE — Restaurant in Stuart

I visited Stuart Boathouse located in Stuart, Florida. From first glance the location for this place is amazing and the atmosphere is very fitting for the surroundings. Boathouse is located right in the heart of Downtown Stuart off the water and the view is absolutely breathtaking. I was immediately greeted and sat down quickly which is a plus, no wait time at a busy location like this caught my attention in a positive manner. At 2pm this place is fully packed as if was the night time, which brings high expectations for myself due to the demand.

The staff seem to work very well together although, I noticed servers kicking the outside door open while carrying multiple drinks while coworkers watched & clearly could’ve helped, not very professional. Cell phones were also out on the floor by workers which I also find very unhealthy & unprofessional. The bartenders on the other hand are very communicative and engaging with their customers, you can tell that they actually want to proceed with a conversation rather than just asking what they want.

To start, the menu is incredible. Loads of variety from various regions of the world. I went with the Loaded Mac & Cheese which includes blackened chicken, chopped bacon, a house four cheese sauce, over campanelle pasta topped with toasted bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Upon ordering, My server Sharon was extremely positive and informative, a great energy to have in this type of environment! Ordering was very quick, straight to the point, & rung in very quickly.

When my order arrived I couldn’t help but be immediately amazed. The presentation is A1, smells incredible, & tastes amazing. The only con I can say about this dish is that the bacon was a little too crispy, but still adds great flavor. The next time I would probably order without it. The flavor behind this whole dish is incredible, as a former chef, I wish I had this cheese sauce recipe in my arsenal. A big take, but this is on par with some of the best mac & cheese I’ve ever had in my life. As said before, The crispy bacon is the only con about this so far, regardless of that everything about this dish is perfect. 9/10

On to the second option, I decided to get the Amaretto Creme Brulèe, Personally, creme brulèe is my favorite dessert, and my thoughts were that if they can pull this off, this place will hold a big place as one of my personal favorites in all of Martin County. And sure enough, it did! I’ve had hundreds of creme brulee’s before but never anything like what I just experienced. The custard and the sugar crust were perfect. Potentially, one of the best creme brulee’s I’ve ever tasted. 10/10.

I will definitely be returning here! I enjoyed the atmosphere and energy here tremendously and love how welcoming everyone was. The menu has multiple items that caught my attention and I wish I was hungrier to try everything I wanted. They extend from sushi to sandwiches such as a their Kingston Chicken Sandwich (never heard of anything like it and it sounds incredible!) which is a their take on a Jamaican Jerk chicken dish. The after dinner cocktails also caught my attention such as the “B Foster” which is a take on Banana Foster’s including, Jack Honey Whiskey, Ice Cream, Banana Puree, & caramel sauce. My kind server suggested the Pancetta crusted Scallops (supposedly the best item on the menu) & the Sriracha Dusted Salmon! Very excited to come back here!

Stuart Boathouse...

The customer service is the best part of this establishment, but don’t get down on the food.

A very busy restaurant that requires reservations makes it pleasant the moment you walk in. All too often while going other places, you may get used to waiting 45 minutes for a table after you arrive. Not here. With a reservation, you are escorted to a table within seconds. Our reservation took a little longer, but that’s because the wonderful people at the front of the house accommodated a special request to have a waterfront table for my anniversary. Even with this request, we were escorted within five minutes to our table.

As we sat down, we couldn’t help but be enamored by the canvas that God has painted for us. Water, boats, jumping fish, and a lot of smiles on passerby’s faces. All this and more (my wife’s love) kept this dinner on a higher level.

We started off our anniversary dinner with and appetizer. We had the Tuna Nachos. It was an interesting combo we couldn’t resist. I mean, who doesn’t love nachos? The nachos had marinated tuna tartare, wakame, avocado, pickled Serrano peppers, Tobiko caviar & a house aioli atop a crispy wonton. Personally, the Serrano peppers overpowered the bite, so I removed a few of the second nacho. Doing this made my taste buds dance. I was in Heaven. Now I’m looking forward to dinner.

I ordered the Almond Crusted Swordfish. Which is an almond and panko crusted Swordfish over a crispy potato succotash with bacon, corn and edamame. It was finished with beurre blanc and basil oil. Again I was surprised with the combination of edamame and bacon and potatoes. But it worked. You can taste a bit of char on the succotash that gave the plate an earthly taste. The star of the show, the Swordfish, melted with each bite. The crunch of the almonds handed it an additional dimension.

My wife (did I tell you it was my anniversary?) ordered the Cornbread Crusted Grouper. It was a black grouper with a cornbread crust served over a sun-dried tomato and asparagus polenta. Topped with a corn and roasted red pepper relish. Both my wife and I thought the meal was a dry meal. Not to our tasting. It wasn’t bad. It was really good. It was just not succulent as we would have thought it would have been.

Overall, the food was good. Even with the grouper being a bit dry, I would come again just for the food. The Boathouse is a very romantic place to take your date. If you get a chance to sit outside on the water, I strongly suggest you try to do so. It’s worth it. Every person working here has smiles on their faces and made this a pleasant experience for us. I’m sure they will do the...

Stuart Boathouse: A disappointing Christmas Eve dinner

I came home from the military for three days and wanted to have a special Christmas Eve dinner with my family. We chose Stuart Boathouse, a place with a rustic charm and a lovely view of the river. However, we regretted our choice as soon as we arrived.

My dad made a reservation a week prior for 8pm, the hostess calls a few days after and asks if they can move our Christmas Eve reservation to be earlier, my dad asks if 6pm works and hostess says “no no, 7:30pm is perfectly fine.”

We arrive on time at 7:30 pm, to which we are greeted by the hostess and informed immediately the kitchen closes at 8PM so we need to get our food order in.

The waiter reiterates this before we even have a chance to sit down and we were told again to hurry up and order because the kitchen was closing.

We ordered our drinks and food (no appetizers) by 7:57 pm, hoping to enjoy our meal.

The food came around 8:20 pm, and it was decent, but nothing to rave about. The real problem was the service.

At 8:26 pm, they turned on all the lights, making us feel like we were being kicked out. The waiter said it was the manager’s decision to let everyone know they were closing. By 8:40 pm, they turned on even brighter lights, and we could barely see our food. There were still three other tables of customers who were also rushed and annoyed. They gave my mother a to-go cup for her wine, which was very tacky.

I understand that they wanted to go home for Christmas Eve, but they should have been more respectful and professional to their customers. They should have either closed earlier, or honored their reservations and let us finish our dinner in peace. I do not recommend this place to anyone who values good service and hospitality, especially at any holiday!

Listen, I’m not opposed to ensuring people get home for Christmas Eve, I was there for that one reason! What bothered me the most was the unprofessionalism and lack of attention to customers.

Solution: DO NOT allow reservations past 6:30pm. We even asked if you wanted us there earlier! Come onnnn!

If it says you close at 9pm, guess what, that means you do not put chairs up and turn the lights on until 9pm. Closing crew ends up leaving by 10pm. Change your closing hour to 8pm, if that is the case.

How about you do not even open for Christmas Eve dinner, and close at 5pm!

Conclusion: It was my one time at home with my parents in all of 2023 and we figured we go have a nice night out, thank you staff of Stuart Boathouse for making the dinner the most unpleasant time of my three...