The Boathouse at Saugatuck — Restaurant in Westport

My wife and I had a dinner reservation here last night for Valentine's Day and while we arrived a few minutes before our reservation, it was a few minutes after the reservation when we were told there weren't tables available and we had to wait for one to open up. It was strange because there was actually a table with no one seated at it, but the host or manager (whoever he was that was seating people) said, "You don't want to sit there, you won't be comfortable," when I asked why we couldn't just be seated at the available table. Another couple that arrived after us were told the same thing about having to wait for tables to open up.

I understand that Valentine's Day is a busy night for restaurants, but by 8:45 we hadn't been seated and the host/manager hadn't even come by to give us an update as to when we should expect a table to be available.

The atmosphere of the restaurant itself was nice enough, but nothing special, certainly nothing I'd go out of my way to see. But the first floor of the building gives off a gym sort of atmosphere which wasn't the most appealing thing to start off with.

When we hand't been seated 15-20 minutes after our reservation, and didn't see any signs of people leaving their tables, we gave up since the host/manager was still no where to be found, so we left and went to another restaurant and had a pleasant meal there, but I'm posting this review to give other people some notice about the restaurant's apparent inability to seat people at the time of their reservation on busy nights such as Valentine's Day and to give a heads-up that the restaurant is on the second floor of what seems to be a gym or fitness club...

Ok so Let me start by saying the location is beautiful we had a great sunset. The service was fine nothing outstanding. The food however was a great disappointment. We were a party of 4. We Started with the the firecracker cauliflower and the Halibut tempura both were good as well as the clam chowder. had a french onion soup which had little to no flavor... not sure what exactly was missing but it honestly had no flavor. I also ordered the lobster roll, and unfortunately It just wasn't good, maybe not enough butter? Or too much parsley? Mot enough salt? Not sure but just bland. My husband and our friend ordered the special which was risotto and scallops the scallops were cooked to perfection but meal itself had little to no flavor and they both left the risotto. Lastly our friend had the swordfish meal and when asked how he wanted it cooked he said medium well.... the first time it came out pretty raw as in completely cold ...he sent it back and a second later another one came (was it ready in the back)? ...but that too was cold and raw in the middle. He left it in his plate as even the noodles were not good. As we sat there we heard the table behind us order the clams linguini and after taking a bite send it back saying it was "awful" when the waiter asked if he wanted to order something else he said NO! When the waiter came to clear the plates he did not ask about the swordfish meal mostly intact in the plate but he gave us a round of drinks for free for having to wait for out meals (which did not take long at all). Maybe they were just having an off night as the reviews are so good... But we will...

Recommendations: Outdoor Table (upstairs), Local Oysters on the Half Shell, Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Chicken Liver Pate, and Boathouse Lobster Roll. . Detailed Review: It's Summer 2022, I looked for a waterfront restaurant in CT. I found this place, however, it's tough to reserve an outdoor table for a weekend dinner. I booked my table on 6/6 for the dinner on 6/25. We ordered: Local Oysters on the Half Shell, Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Chicken Liver Pate, Prime Burger, Boathouse Lobster Roll, Apple Strudel, and Creme Brulee. Local Oysters on the Half Shell & Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail: very fresh, you can even feel the oysters were crunchy. Chicken Liver Pate: the Pate was very good, you may want to ask for more bread to finish the disc. Prime Burger: it's juicy, the beef was good (but not excellent yet). The fries were crispy. Boathouse Lobster Roll: delicious. The torpedo was crispy but not hard. Apple Strudel: the vanilla ice cream was very good. Creme Brulee: burning smell, not too sweet, delicious. 🍔So I gave 5/5 for the food. 🥂We did bring our own wine, there was $30 for corkage fee. I just wish they could have an ice bucket for our bottle, but they served well and their recommendations for food were good. So 5/5 for service. The view was great, there is the Saugatuck River flows by. Since the patio faces East, during sunset, the sunlight does not shine directly to your table. So view is 5/5. The restroom is nice and clean. They have an individual restroom upstairs and another restroom downstairs. . I hope this review is...