The Boat House in Shropshire

Chilled atmosphere, big portions and great tasting food. Lovely to look over the Mere, whilst having a meal. Welcoming to dogs and children too.

I will never visit here again .... (been many times in the past but not since the new management). I have rated this place 1 star overall despite the individual stars. Firstly, the lady who served me, Liz, appeared lovely. She was pleasant, keeping calm whilst busy, smiled and happy to help my 'poor' situation. I ordered a one shot latte and a tea cake (I don't like strong coffee and I wanted a steamy hot tea cake with plenty of butter melting over it). It took awhile for the latte to arrive (it was a busy time) and it was delivered by a miserable man with no by your leave or smile who did not take my food order. My latte was way too strong, I questioned it with Liz who had passed on a one shot request to the coffee makers but they failed to do it correctly. Liz happily replaced it and it was a delicious one shot latte. She asked if 'the man' had taken my food order and I said no. She dealt with it. When it came, it was only just warm with two measly pieces of butter (I'd have liked double what they sent out) and a pot of jam! I didn't want jam, that was for the scones and cream as per the menu. I know I could have asked Liz for more butter but I felt guilty for causing a fuss over a small, 1 person order. Coming to pay was a further debacle and ironic too. I was charged for an extra shot of coffee!!! So, not only overcharged (I always check the menu prices) but for an item I did not want or request and in fact the very opposite. Unbelievable. The person who dealt with me then was the unpleasant, 'didn't really want to be there' man with his unsmiling face, insincere apology and altogether disinterested appearing self. I think he may have been the manager or even the owner but severely lacking in customer service skills. As I left, I heard the next lady being served complaining of the incorrect food having been delivered and this was after I saw the table next to me only receiving 1 scone when they ordered 2. My suggesting learning points for this new management is ... 1) employ sufficient staff to cover busy periods 2) understand the importance of good customer service 3) smile as though this is the first person you have served all day 4) listen to the order, communicate it correctly and serve as per the menu Whilst probably not giving a damn about losing the old lady with a dog and a tiny order, remember reputation can cost businesses and bad reviews and word of mouth will do that to you. Sad, this used to be a lovely place to visit.

I've been going to the Boathouse for decades in it's various iterations. Whereas it was what I'd call a café, its now sought to become a proper restaurant. Went there on a Sunday. The place was busy. We were just after a lite bite and my partner and I had soup and our daughter had some cake. We each wanted a coffee too. There was a 20 queue to order at the counter. When we ordered we were told the wait for coffees was 20 minutes. About 20 minutes after that our food came, and 20 more minutes for the drinks. So from the time of entering to getting our drinks was about an hour during which time we ate our food without drinks. The soup was a small portion too. Not great really.

Would have given this place zero if it were an option! All we wanted was a coffee and cake. The wait was unacceptable, the service abysmal and the Italian guy (who may, or may not have been in charge) was completely devoid of customer service. It may well have been a busy Sunday afternoon, but the fact there was an unacceptable wait for coffee (20 minutes +) is down to bad management. No knives with the cakes - can't spread butter on a scone without one, tables not cleared, Jan had to complain and then had to carry our order out to the table despite there being several waitresses on duty. The whole attitude here is not conducive to a pleasant experience. Won't be coming back and certainly don't recommend it at all. Do yourself a favour and walk into town to one of the more friendly and customer focused cafes/restaurants.

Popped in for coffee, then went for a walk before heading back for a wonderful lunch. Food was freehand very tasty. Staff friendly. Will be visiting again.

This is an amazing place! Staff are welcoming and friendly, the food is also fab. Try the Baked Mushroom bowl with thick toast or the curried vegetable and lentil soup with a sandwich all so perfectly home made. Roaring log fires in two rooms and comfy chairs. What's not to like?

Such a lovely place, perfect location next to the mere with great views. So tastefully decorated inside … we loved the heron watch cameras 🥰. Food was amazing… well presented, warm, served in timely manner. But it’s the staff that make this place, couldn’t do enough for us. So friendly, welcoming and warm. Big shout out and thankyou again the manager Nicky who even gave us a lift back to our holiday lodges as no local taxi service! Highly recommended 👏🏻👏🏻

Came for lunch with my parents who were staying in the area. Fantastic food, could not fault anything and the staff are brilliant! Such a lovely feel to the place. Highly recommend

Lovely welcome from the staff. Real fire hits differently on a cold day! Quick friendly service at the table and food was quick and gorgeous. Really clean and busy too. Great stop on a long bike ride for 3 hungry cyclists.

Lovely location. Very pleased to have lunch and then a lovely walk round the mere

Good coffee. Cronut disappointing. Service good. Wonderful views.

Very poor vegetarian selection, not even a veggie burger, no Pizzas available, despite it being saturday lunchtime, having visited this restaurant for many years it has sadly gone VERY downhill ! Ps.... don't even get me started on the dry/stale carrot cake !!

Popped in after a stroll round the mere. It was raining so had to sit inside. Coffee and cakes were good. Bara brith delicious, dulce de leche cronut wasn't so good. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Stopped here after a walk along the canal and part way round the lake with our dog. The weather was kind to us and we sat outside for our lunch. Service was prompt and with a smile. We sat on a bench seat beside the lake which was perfect.

Great spot and service is excellent. Nice to be able to go somewhere and have a joke with the staff, made us feel welcome and will definitely come again. Food also great, we came back after lunch for tea and cake

Went for Sunday lunch to celebrate my wife's birthday. Booked table for 5. They had no trace of my booking, but allocated a corner table which had a great view. Directed to the table but no menus provided. From then on we could not get served unless we waived our arms in the air. The final straw was my wife's Pavlova which had a cream base that was completely off. Others had a Pavlova which were fine. The dessert was so bad it made you want to throw up. It was my wife's birthday and it completely spoiled the meal for her. We could not get the waitresses attention as usual so I went up to the till and complained. We were offered a replacement dessert or a refund. After the poor service and dessert I think this was was really insufficient, and a further discount gesture would have been more appropriate and I said so to the waitress.

Quick drink on the decking, very pleasant service in a lovely setting

The food was very good with gluten free options and the staff were very friendly and helpful

Good quality food and prompt service. Not cheap.

Really great food and friendly service

Excellent location next to the Mere, cheerful, helpful staff, and food to suit the cake- or lunch-eater.

Sunday lunch with dogs. Gorgeous Rita beef dinner for mum and me. A delicious gists cheese salad and garlic bread for my wife. Lovely relaxing place even though it rained for most of the day.

Great cafe for a stop off, nice food with great service

Popped in after driving back from Suffolk . Staff are really friendly and helpful. Woth mum who is 90 and has mobility issues . The food was really good, mum had belly pork took home half food as to much for . Would definitely recommend going

What an amazing place, great views across the lake, food and service were top notch, will definitely visit again soon, my date and I had a wonderful day here x

Needed more information at the entrance to the mere. We went right which took us to the Boat House which had a very expensive (in my opinion) menu. £8 for a sandwich and there were five of us so we had to look elsewhere. To be fair they did let us in to use the loos much later because on the mere map it still shows public loos but there aren't any. Still a lovely place and we might stop for lunch another time. There was a snack bar at sculpture trail but the entrance map needs updating.

Really nice restaurant, nice environment. Friendly staff, tasty food, massive cakes :)

Lovely location looking out onto the river, atmosphere was nice on a Sunday morning, not too busy! The only thing that let it down was having to share a small bowl of beans and toast as it doesn't come on your own plate.

Next to the lake with a great view, friendly, helpful staff

After a lovely walk with our friends and our dog, we stopped here to have dinner. We were told last orders were 4.30pm. The atmosphere and setting are lovely. We sat outside and I really enjoyed my meal. When we went to order coffees, we realised the inside was dark and the doors were actually shut. Another party of people were outside as well. Someone could easily have checked if any of us needed anything before they closed and dashed home, 5.30pm ish! It could so easily score excellent if some staff appeared to enjoy working there, and that they were interested in making their customers welcome. We went home for our coffees and cake!

Always first class and that means atmosphere, food and staff.

The place prefers you to sit first and order at the bar with a table number, this is fine for people dining however it would be much more efficient if they had a barman/bar person serving just drinks, as you have to queue for a pint whilst familys order and choose their different options on the menu, this can be time consuming and frustrating as the server goes out to ask the chef questions , could be a 5 star place with this little adjustment

Booked room and buffet for my husbands wake room was big and spacious at a cost of 200 pounds buffet was a huge let down having spent 400 pounds on it all that was severd was a small tray of sandwiches some pork pie and small pastries and 2 small bowls of chips no wonder the hospitality industry is going down the pan although they did make a killing at the bar

Had a leisurely luncheon catchup with a friend here. Staff friendly and didn't rush you.

Lovely setting overlooking the mere. Staff were friendly and service was good.

Lovely food, friendly and accommodating staff. Beautiful views of Ellesmere lake😍 Value for money, well worth a visit

We ordered a sandwich that was labelled vegan on the menu (although the person eating it was only vegetarian) and it came out with coleslaw. We asked the waitress if it was made with egg mayo and she confirmed it was, which goes against multiple allergen safety laws. The waitress did ask about allergens but the coleslaw was as standard on the plate and was not asked for additionally. After nearly finishing the coleslaw, a large piece of ham was found in it. The waitress was extremely apologetic but no manager came to discuss the incident which was extremely disappointing as there were two major issues. Menu seriously needs updating because if the person at the table who was vegan and has a major egg intolerance had eaten any of the coleslaw without checking its ingredients, there would have been a severe reaction to it. The other food was lovely but as someone who has been a chef for many years and is well versed on allergens, especially Natasha’s Law (which this incident heavily violates), I am extremely concerned with the menus labelling. Not to mention the food handling and how an unmissable piece of ham ended up on a ‘vegan’ plate.

Delicious warm scones after an afternoon walk. Strongly recommended We saw their pizzas and next time will be trying them as they looked great Fabulous setting, sitting outside looking out over the water & shelter from the sun

Really enjoyable lunch, we sat out on the decking looking over the Mere. Srevice was excellent very polite, the food came out quickly and was very tasty. Would definitely recommend

Sat outside in the sun, very busy but the staff coped well!

Visited on Tuesday, ordered our food and requested the starters and mains to be brought separately, the server brought it all out together, whilst saying ‘oh dear, I did put it through as separate’ .. We asked for it to be returned, the starters were fine, we asked for another 10 minutes until our main, well - Our main came and it was awful! They had stuck it in the oven to wait, meaning my Mums burger was over cooked, rock solid and her coleslaw was warm, my fish gratin was not nice, clearly frozen as it was just pure water with zero flavour except fish (but not the nice kind) my green were meant to be ‘Dijon’ but they were just vinegar! We complained, got a refund for our mains! Overall we were actually gutted about the food! I would say go here for some drinks and a nice view, but don’t eat.

the acoustics are a bit tough for my annoying autistic brain but the nee decor has improved it massively! lots of comfortable seats! the staff are sweet, friendly, efficient, and willing to overlap and help each other out! but most importantly... who wants to join my hrist to find the recipe of the lemon, honey, and bergamot cake because er-mah-gerd... so good!

Great food and lovely people, good vegan options too.

Great breakfast in a lovely location. Also reasonably priced.

Had my daughter's afternoon tea hen do at the boathouse the food was lovely and the staff excellent and very helpful and we were able to decorate the room and had the best fun and it was nice that the owner came to chat to us thank you

We didn't stop to eat (wrong time for us). The food looked really good. Very busy place. Great location by lake. Eating in or outside. If they were open later in day we would definitely have eaten here.

I can honestly say for someone who goes to the boathouse at least a few times a week that the staff and service is 5 star 🌟. So lovely and friendly and the food is always really nice especially the Halloumi salad which is one of my favourites from the new menu.

Went two days ago at lunchtime. Ordered a Greek salad with grilled halloumi . It had never seen Greek , tiny pieces of tomato that amounted to about 1/4 of a bog standard supermarket salad one, few bits of cucumber, loads of red onion all of which were finely chopped, no dressing no herbs no feta mainly green Spanish olives with a couple of Kalamata ones I found under some lettuce? and the grilled halloumi was paper thin . They had a cheek to charge nearly £10, rip off as was small amount also.

Four of us met up for coffee and a chat. We had 4 drinks and 2 flapjacks. The bill came to £21.70. I wouldn't have minded if the flapjacks had been a decent size but each flapjack was tiny and no more than 2 mouthfuls on each one and the two cost £9. What a rip off. Save your money and go elsewhere. The drinks took ages to come even though the venue was quiet when we went. Certainly not value for money !!!

Lovely, beautiful location by The Mere and Lake. Full of wildlife and the ducks and geese are always looking for a feeding. The walk around the lake is stunning, and The Boat House café restaurant serves good food and has a selection of good ales and drinks. Lots of outdoors seating and tables, covered and uncovered... Sat having a pint by the lakeside on a gorgeous day and just perfect.

Lovely place by the lake to eat. Nice food, pleasant pub and friendly.

The Boathouse alongside the Mere in Ellesmere always hits the mark. The food is both very good and also competitively priced, the team are very attentive. Highly recommended.

A gem! Lovely service from friendly girls. Food is good value and nice. Great ambience

Having booked a few weeks before, we chose The Boathouse to have Sunday lunch whilst staying locally, as the reviews looked good! 3 of us chose the 'medium/rare' roast beef and 1 had the salmon option. The salmon looked lovely and presented well and that's where the positive comments end. The beef was dry (assume it was sitting for a while) l, the 'roast' potatoes were not cooked, even though they were frozen roast potatoes, the greens were swimming in water and the whole plate was luke warm. As we were hungry we ate what we could but at nearly £18, they were really taking the mickey but assume they charge that due to the lovely location. We would have stayed and had dessert but couldn't wait to move on to somewhere that cared about the food they served. The waiting staff, albeit all youngsters, were nice and polite but lacked experience when we did comment on how disappointed we were as apart from an apology there wasn't much more of a reaction but maybe they were used to getting these types of comments! Come on, get your act together for a pub that could thrive due to the fab location but your kitchen really lets you down and would NOT recommend the Sunday lunch. I would have given 1 star but felt bad for the waiting staff!

Lovely food, attentive staff and a beautiful location. Pizza recommended

For my sister's wedding anniversary party you certainly pulled out all the stops. We had already liaised with you on several points and on the day you had addressed every single one of them. You had refreshed the surroundings, allowed the florist to make the sectioned off room and patio very pretty, the menu/meals were selected in advance and every single dish was served flavoursome, fresh and hot, that takes some doing. It takes teamwork but thank you so much for making my sister and brother in laws day exactly what they had envisaged. You partnered with us all the way and listened and addressed any concern. Thank you to the Chef/kitchen staff, Nicci and her daughter (they never stopped working and smiling) ensuring all guests were fed and watered . We had a fantastic day. Thank you again!

Gorgeous place Ellesmere staff are class

We booked for breakfast on Father's Day. Managed to sit outside in the sunshine - super views of the Mere, really good selection of dishes on the breakfast menu at very reasonable prices. The service was very good, friendly and attentive staff. The inside of the restaurant and facilities are spotlessly clean even though it was clearly a busy morning, and everyone was very cheerful. The coffee (house blend) was really very tasty, we'll certainly return..........the afternoon tea menu looks very tempting......

The Boat house was brilliant... and dog friendly ...

Absolutely beautiful food, relaxed atmosphere with stunning scenery outside and the staff was very attentive to our needs with my daughter whose autistic and partially sighted.... we will definitely be returning

Shocking customer service! This place is bedlam. The service is beyond awful. Our drinks took ages. There’s a ludicrous system for drinks. The drinks took ages to come. After our food. We even decided to go to the bar for our 2nd round but weren’t allowed to take them and had to go back to the table to wait 20 minutes for them to arrive. The food looked good but was cold. This place is missing a trick. It’s a fabulous location and should be amazing.

We Cannot thank Reza, Nicci, her daughter, the Chef and the team enough! The setting is out of this world, uniquely gorgeous! Our guests came from all over the world, the country and the county and everyone had a fantastic time and said what an amazing venue it was with fabulous food and brilliant staff. The service and the food were top notch, excellent. Reza is so professional and was there to ensure everything went smoothly. We had the function room and part of the veranda sectioned off for our party and set out just for us. We had 34 guests and loved every minute. We had welcome drinks and canapés on arrival. Lunch was served to schedule we all had our food simultaneously it looked great, tasted great, we all had different food but it arrived at the same time, piping hot, looking like a work of art and tasting gorgeous. Service was fantastic, drinks anticipated and served promptly. Parking was fine too. Would not hesitate to return. Reza and Nicci even calmed my nerves for an important day for us, so kind! If you are having any kind of function, wedding, birthday etc book this amazing place congratulations to our chef too. Thank you so much! 100% satisfaction.

We have eaten here before and not sure if the place has changed hands. Reason for a 3 star is because a ploughmans at 16.00 should be better. Get rid of the cold soft boiled egg, wrong texture. Replace with a couple of slices of good ham. Cheese was bland. Bread was cheap. Plate lacked care. Butter impossible to spread straight from fridge. Final gripe was both of us had upsett stomachs a short time after visiting. Maybe more care with salads etc.

Beautiful place to stop for coffee with our family. Clean toilets & baby changing. Good variety of choices despite not being in a busy season.

Been many times and always had the superb Buddha bowl. Sadly this week it's off the summer menu, replaced by a curry. Seems a bit back to front seasons wise. Surely a curry is more suited for winter, a bb for year around. Curry was nice but not as good as BB. A big plea to bring back the Buddha bowl.

Stopped for coffee whilst out walking with family. Lovely location.

A lovely place for a smashing breakfast with the family and dog friendly.

First time at the restaurant and won't be going back. Completely ruined my elderly Mothers birthday. 45min for drinks which we had to ask for. Food took so long to be served, some meals were served cold and took an age to clear empty plates. Had to ask for extra cutlery.. we would have all had a desert but couldnt be bothered with the wait or the hassel, the list go's on and to add insult to injury the bill came to just shy of £200! Didn't hesitate to leave no tip.

Excellent choice of food & drinks. A real holiday feel by the lake.

Brilliantly situated for a drink and food after a walk around Ellesmere Lake. The waiting staff seem lack a smile unfortunately, the 4 I spotted could all be having an awful day I guess. Takes nothing away from what this place is though!

Called in for coffee nice pub friendly staff

Good place but the service its terrible the food its same and all around was dirty.

Awful experience. Took an age to get drinks. One persons was forgot Food came in long gaps, by time veg arrive food was Luke warm. Didn't receive colliflour cheese at all Dire experience. Don't go here would be my advice.

A lovely experience, food,service ,atmosphere was all very pleasing would recommend anyone to visit ,Sat outside on a lovely sunny sunny afternoon 😎

Sunny day long walk fancied a pint found a table and went to buy drinks. Pint and a half £9.30 So that’s £6.20 a pint, right? No its £5.80. A half is £3.50! Due to lack of local competition and raging thirst we had a second round (wife tapped for it without looking) and despite 2 pints looking like the best option another pint and a half this time got charged £11.60

Lovely setting, we used to regular pop there for brekkie. We arrived this time late afternoon. Other half orders veggie pizza, which was delicious but the ‘budda bowl’ I ordered was HOT! Not really want you want from a ‘budda bowl’ and particularly with not stating this on the menu It was bland and tasteless - no seasoning whatsoever!! The pizza guys said it was a best seller but I can’t see how :, plain quinoa, squash, brocolli , avo and few bits which looked like leftovers, and with cold melon balls and a weird bland dressing on the side - quite odd . I ended up having to share the pizza. Maybe others would like it but it could rally do with seasoning/seeds and some good beans.

Had Sunday lunch yesterday and was the best Sunday roast I have ever had in a restaurant (well done Chef 🧑‍🍳) the staff were excellent …..👏 highly recommended

We are visiting for the weekend and were recommended to try the Boathouse, when we arrived, I actually couldn’t see my name on the list despite having booked and it appears our booking hadn’t been prepared for as the waitress pushed 2 tables together - no issue, happy to be seated. We ordered at 1.15pm, drinks and food taken together, 1.35pm - asked about drinks, was told being prepared now. 1.45pm the drinks finally arrive at the same time as the first plate of food. However only 7 of the 8 drinks arrived, so they went off to get the missing one. 1.45pm first plate of food put down, they then came out sporadically and once again, 1 meal missing. 1.55pm last plate put down with one bowl of vegetables between 8 of us. Was told the cauliflower cheese would be out momentarily. 2pm - 8th drink arrives (45 mins after we ordered) We’d given in and started eating by this point as food wasn’t overly hot in the first place and was getting colder. 2.05pm a waitress apologised and said she’d chased the cauliflower cheese and it would be out soon, at this point we said no point now as most of us were 3/4 finished. 2.20pm - plates cleared, no offer of a dessert menu 2.30pm still no offer of desserts so asked for the bill. The food itself was good and generally staff friendly but it really was just a poor effort on organisation and service. I hadn’t read any of these reviews before going but I fully agree. I spoke to the manager and in fairness was given a round of drinks and the waitress then knocked off £10 from the bill but it just soured what was a treat (expensive) meal and we still didn’t get to eat it all. Hire more staff, work on efficiency, it’s a tourist spot so should be able to handle busy.

Beautiful decor, friendly, helpful and courteous staff. Fantastic space to sit outside with a view of the lake. Quality food. I love this place!

Was a little cautious about going due to some recent reviews but found The Boat House to be a good place to eat. Good atmosphere, pretty welcoming and the service was, on the whole, very good. The level of enthusiasm did seem to vary a little between staff but nothing to complain about. Food was good, with decent portion sizes and no issues with temperature as other have mentioned. The atmosphere was great with a constant turnover of clients.

Such an interesting place, lots of unusual little ornaments. As a restaurant it was fabulous, the staff were all very helpful and cheerful and the food was so delicious. I had eggs royale so fresh and tasty. Can't wait to go back

Im sorry to say and I don't say this lightly but some members of our little mini bus group found the staff very unfriendly

After reading some reviews we were a little apprehensive about our visit. Well our experience was 1st class. Welcome, waiting staff were very polite and friendly. Advice given on menu only thing they forgot to mention was the portion size of the main course - we could have managed with one between the two of us😋. Food arrived promptly even though they were busy with a large party.

Lovely food and friendly service

Lovely place great location well priced, lovely walks and sculpture park.

This restaurant used to be fantastic under the previous owners but is now nowhere near as good. The service is erratic - some of the staff are delightful, others are rude and abrasive. The food is ok but expensive for what you get (again, not as good as it was in the past.) The view of the mere is the main draw: it’s a perfect setting.

Beautiful Sunday lunch let down by poor sweets,

Went there to meet up with family before going on to a funeral. That is just setting up the scene and has no other relevance. The place had an excellent menu, food, and atmosphere no quibbles no complaints other than I could have done with a bigger plate for my fish and chips. We did not leave hungry and because of our experience were left in a positive peace of mind for later events. Thank you.

Restaurant was fairly busy. Our first time as we were on a short break together with our dog so was good to bring him in. The waitress took our order but it was some time before the drinks appeared. We both had burgers which tasted good, but the french fries served in a flower pot left a lot to be desired. The waitress asked if we wanted dessert and we said we would like to look at the menu. 20 minutes later she had not appeared so we summoned a waiter for our bill. He brought us a bill which was substantially lower than ours and was for another table! Again we waited some time until I called the waitress over. She apologised for the delay in getting back to us for desserts - clearly she forgot - and we told her we no longer wanted desserts and had the wrong bill. Long time waiting for one burger, so we had thought about breakfast the next morning there but decided against it. They need to get their act together as it is a fabulous location but they are not even in the busy season yet.

Excellent views across the Mere, food of a high standard. Staff very attentive and polite. Sea food Chowder is the best so far.

Great little find really busy as was mother's day, only shame was weather couldn't go for a walk around The Mere.

We visit the Boathouse regularly, usually for breakfast, and it's very good... However, today we had Sunday lunch, which we have had before when it was very nice...although the food wasn't really hot enough...we went again today and ordered a Beef and a Chicken roast dinner..plus 2 coffees.the food was, this time not worth the money and it was nowhere near hot enough.. admittedly they were quite busy, but kitchens should be able to cope when all seats are taken..which they were not ...and we had quite a wait...we were really hungry by the time it came and we "wolfed it" down.again food not hot enough and this time smallish portions..for £41!!

Only popped in for a coffee whilst walking around the mere. To be honest the best Mokka I have ever had, service with a smile. Will visit again to try the food.

We were out for a walk with the dogs and passed by here. We were hesitant about going in as we’ve had a couple of bad experiences here in the past, but thought we’d give it another go. Pleased we did - we had a lovely Sunday dinner. I had the pork and my husband had the brisket, with all the trimmings. Couldn’t fault anything about it at all, everything was delicious, the service was fast, efficient and friendly. I hope they keep this up as we will definitely call here again.

Alarm bells were ringing after hearing a family complaining about the restaurant outside but, we thought we would give it a go & went inside. Warning though..... Avoid the place it was utter chaos, they couldn't even come up with a glass of squash after our wait of 25 minutes, this was despite having asked the waitress twice. The warm scone was served almost immediately after ordering bunot good without the drink too. Having by now eaten half the scone & still waiting for our drinks we decided to tell the waitress to cancel the order as we were leaving. We were told the wait was due to there being only 1 person preparing drinks in the bar?? I explained it was a very poor excuse when there were several staff floating around the restaurant, I question if its due to them having not been trained in making a glass of squash???? We left after reluctantly been charged £4.50 for the scone, the cashier had no apology, sympathy or customer service skills whatsoever. When I questioned why should I pay for the scone when we hadn't had the accompanying drinks her reply was ' while you have only eaten half of the scone you have to pay £4.50 & it's your fault that you haven't eaten it all'. We definitely will not be visiting the restaurant again.

Very nice and good food for a party of seven .

This place was quite confusing. First time coming here, and we had booked a table over the phone for 5 people for the afternoon tea, and when we showed up and told the staff member at the door this, she looked at us confused and asked “what time were you supposed to be here?” When we were there perfectly on time, they never asked for the name we booked it under etc and just showed us straight to a table. We then spent 25 minutes waiting for a staff member to come and see to us, we understood that it was busy in there so we waited patiently. It was strange though, because staff would see to the other customers who had walked in pretty much instantly, take their drinks very shortly after seating them etc. Eventually a staff member walked past us and placed a stack of main menus on our table without a word and walked quickly away even though we wouldn’t need main menus as we had booked for the afternoon tea, and we had to wait another ten minutes or so for a staff member to come back over to us to ask what we wanted, so we explained that we were booked in for afternoon tea so wouldn’t be ordering off the main menu and she asked if we were ready for it yet, and the food came quickly after. The staff lady told us that the afternoon tea food towers were supposed to be shared between 2 people as there was two of everything, and also share a teapot between two people, but we had five people there and they only brought out two food towers, so not enough food for the fifth person and when we asked for the fifth persons portion of food, the staff member said we had only booked for four people which is why they only brought us 2 food towers which confused us as we definitely booked for five. We ordered another portion of afternoon tea for our fifth person and the staff member apologised and brought over the fifth portion of afternoon tea, it was absolutely delicious food, but we then realised we only had one teaspoon to share between the five of us so we asked for some more, and when the staff lady came back over with the cutlery she quite bluntly said “just so you know, you did only book for 4 people because you only paid a £40 deposit”. Which wasn’t true, because when we had booked over the telephone we were never once asked to pay a deposit and we were all very confused by this point especially after that comment. We didn’t want to ruin the outing so decided not to argue back with the staff member about it and just tried to enjoy the nice food, but we all felt very awkward by this point. The restaurant itself was very nice, the food was great, the view of the lake is lovely and the toilet facilities were very clean, but the service was a little off and they just seemed very disorganised. I’m not sure if they had gotten our booking mixed up with somebody else’s or lost our booking or something, but it just seemed like they had no idea we were showing up and had no idea what to do with us so it made for quite an awkward meal, we felt like a huge burden in there after all this so we left quite quickly after we had finished the food and paid the bill, all feeling confused. It was such a shame, because it seemed to be a lovely place but just needs more organisation, the whole thing just ended up being super chaotic

This place was quite confusing. First time coming here, we called the restaurant and booked a table over the phone for 5 people for the afternoon tea and we were told that’s all fine and we were booked in. When we showed up on the day and told the staff member at the door this, she looked at us confused and asked “what time were you supposed to be here?” When we were there perfectly on time, they never asked for the name we booked it under etc and just showed us straight to a table. We then spent 25 minutes waiting for a staff member to come and see to us, we understood that it was busy in there so we waited patiently. It was strange though, because staff would see to the other customers who had walked in pretty much instantly, take their drinks very shortly after seating them etc. Eventually a staff member walked past us and placed a stack of main menus on our table without a word and walked quickly away even though we wouldn’t need main menus as we had booked for the afternoon tea, and we had to wait another ten minutes or so for a staff member to come back over to us to ask what we wanted, so we explained that we were booked in for afternoon tea so wouldn’t be ordering off the main menu and she asked if we were ready for it yet, and the food came quickly after. The staff lady told us that the afternoon tea food towers were supposed to be shared between 2 people as there was two of everything, and also share a teapot between two people, but we had five people there and they only brought out two food towers, so not enough food for the fifth person and when we asked for the fifth persons portion of food, the staff member said we had only booked for four people which is why they only brought us 2 food towers which confused us as we definitely booked for five. We ordered another portion of afternoon tea for our fifth person and the staff member apologised and brought over the fifth portion of afternoon tea, it was absolutely delicious food, but we then realised we only had one teaspoon to share between the five of us so we asked for some more, and when the staff lady came back over with the cutlery she quite bluntly said “just so you know, you did only book for 4 people because you only paid a £40 deposit”. Which wasn’t true, because when we had booked over the telephone we were never once asked to pay a deposit and we were all very confused by this point especially after that comment. We didn’t want to ruin the outing so decided not to argue back with the staff member about it and just tried to enjoy the nice food, but we all felt very awkward by this point. The restaurant itself was very nice, the food was great, the view of the lake is lovely and the toilet facilities were very clean, but the service wasn’t great and they just seemed very disorganised. I’m not sure if they had gotten our booking mixed up with somebody else’s or lost our booking or something, but it just seemed like they had no idea we were showing up and had no idea what to do with us so it made for quite an awkward meal, we felt like a huge burden in there after all this so we left quite quickly after we had finished the food and paid the bill, all feeling confused. It was such a shame, because it seemed to be a lovely place but just needs more organisation, the whole thing just ended up being super chaotic

First time here what an excellent surprise the welcome was warm and inviting the staff and speed of service brilliant and the atmosphere was delightful. Almost forgot the food is exceptional. Will definitely return

Arrived at the very busy boathouse to wait in a queue to be seen. Once seen we advised we had a table reserved but had to wait for people to leave and then have table made ready … we were ok to wait as it’s a busy day being Mother’s Day and understand … Got to table which luckily we could fit in but some may have struggled to squeeze into the table we were given … Waitress came over and took drinks order .. waitress came over took food order Starters eventually arrived but had to chase the drinks .. After eating starters we ordered more drinks .. After approx 50 mins we chased the mains .. The mains arrived !! This is when my understanding of being busy for Mother’s Day soon changed… the meat was dry, potatoes cold and the veg was shocking !! 1 broccoli head for 5 Sunday roasts .. no carrots .. bit of cabbage and a bowl of who knows what ?!? Waiter apologised and said they had ran out of veg… Manager came over and I was shaking as this was meant to be a nice afternoon out for Mother’s Day. She offered round of drinks but I suggested we didn’t pay for the meals. She agreed and apologised. We cut into meat and all decided we didn’t want to eat anything. We paid the bill for starters and drinks I had said I wouldn’t do a review if they sorted the bill but when leaving the restaurant the manager and owned sat looking at us .. just sat there !! Shocking !!