The Boat Inn in Doncaster

Called for lunch last Friday ,served by Amelia and Tracey who were very friendly especially as we had a mobility scooter and a dog to contend with, the food was lovely and the atmosphere was excellent. As Arnie says "We'll be back "

Really nice and cosy atmosphere. Friendly and responsive service from staff. Really good food but not high end gastropub fare

A little bit pricey for pub food but a little above the average pub food too.

We went to meet a friend for lunch and really enjoyed our visit. The staff, although rushed off their feet, were helpful and very pleasant. The food was good too. I had the sea bass and it was beautifully cooked. My husband said the lasagne was great and our friend enjoyed his burger. The place is warm and welcoming and we'll be going again.

Lovely place to drop into for a quick drink after a walk as well as a meal with atmosphere if you want. A special place for me as it was the venue for my first date with my now wife.

Fast service, pleasant servers Adrian and Owen and food was fab, couldn’t fault anything!

Very nice meal after a day at the races. Very generous portions good value for money and a cracking pint of Timothy Taylors. The 2 lads who served us Adrian and Owen very polite and attentive. Highly recommend the boat Inn to anyone who hasn't tried it before.

Food good. Little overpriced. Lovely building. Nice outside area. Service needs training

Incredibly tasty food. Amazing selection. I loved it so much, I ate it twice!

Lovely meal (both vegetarian and meat). Old Peculiar was great. Excellent service from Tracy. Highly recommended.

Wonderful food and atmosphere with the log burning fires, always a delight when we visit. Friendly and helpful staff would definitely recommend, Adrian was lovely to deal with.

Food excellent! Service very good! Thank you for a lovely evening

I can honestly say it's a brilliant pub. We booked a table in the dog friendly area and they put us next to a lovely open fire. The food was absolutely lovely with big portions, I went for the Baked Camembert and then the signature burger. Adrian and the other staff were lovely, polite and friendly. This pub is honestly a gem! Amazing in summer as it's next to the water and equally as lovely in the winter as it's so cosy and traditional. We'll always come back.

Adrian and the rest of the team were absolutely fantastic. The food was gorgeous and plentiful and the fact it’s super dog friendly is the icing on the cake! Spotlessly clean and the roaring fire was tended to consistently!

Nice location by the river, making it easy to take a walk before you visit the pub. The food and service were excellent with a good choice. I could have even chlosen vegan and been happy. Dog friendly as well.

Sat outside and all tables covered in dirty plates, glasses and food , the place looked under staffed to cope

We had a lovely family meeting today at the Boat. The food was lovely and the service was great especially Adrian who went above and beyond. This is our second visit and we will be visiting again.

We come here often, and always enjoy it (family of 4). Location, look and atmosphere of the pub are all amazing. Staff are so friendly. Only downside is the food and drink service is pretty slow. Just don't go if you're in a rush. Slow down and enjoy yourselves.

Great breakfast and top service from Adrian. We’ll come back for breakfast again. Thanks!

Updated Scroll to the bottom. I have never been so disappointed in a place that on initial sighting offered so much. Myself and family had decided to include this venue in our circular route walk one Sunday as it was around the midpoint. The original idea was just to have drinks but on viewing the courtyard setting and menu, and with the sun shining down on us we opted to order lunch as well, this is where it all went wrong! Two people ordered starters whilst 4 others just went for mains, some 15 minutes later the starters arrived, a little disappointing but no great alarm bells yet. We then waited, and waited, waited and waited, waited some more, before on the 1 hour and 10 mins point one of the party went to the bar to enquire of the delay, it was apparently coming in 10 mins, with no apology. We then heard a waiter advise a nearby table that the wait for food was about 40 minutes, and we corrected this, but again, this was not acknowledged by the waiter. 1 hour and 40 minutes our food still had not arrived, so two of our party went back to the bar again. What was annoying at this point was again no apology. The manager, who was behind the bar and in earshot, ignored us and left the bar staff to deal with us. During this conversation, our plated food came past us, so we cut short or complaints to go feed our ravenous bellies. Further horror came to light, the 'Medium' steak was well done/burnt, my Hunters Chicken was dry and looked like a small overcooked pizza on top of a chicken schnitzel other plates faired little better, only hunger drove me to eat the food, but not first without further complaint and this time securing a round of free drinks, these were given after the meal again with no apology. I have to blame the management for my poor experience, indeed the manager appeared to actively avoid us, at one point he came outside to a nearby table to pick up some glasses, glanced in our direction and then scurried off in the opposite. The staff need some direction and training, and the hiring of a chef wouldn't be a bad idea, as it was never a chef who served that food up, especially the cremated steak. There are many better places locally, so I'd avoid this place until it hopefully picks up. Update - Oct 24. I visited again with 2 friends and the experience and food were both much improved. There was some confusion with the Sunday menus at the start, which meant disappointment for my friend on her first choice. However, this hardly detracted from what was a very happy experience. Well done to the new staff. I can now add the Boat Inn back onto my list of places to go.

Lovely food and service from Abbie, would highly recommend and will be returning in future! Thanks guys!

Probably our favourite Doncaster dining venue with historical dependability. However last nights experience will haunt future decisions, I know and appreciate everyone is allowed a bad day! Started off well, nice welcome, promptly directed to our reserved table with drinks delivered. First impression was optimistic seeing how busy the restaurant was, generally a good feeling we'd reserved a Friday tabe, but hold on, the pennies started to fall. Very few tables were actually eating, not many smiles, people sat in coats (October 7 degrees outside) and only a floor staff of three! Took around 15 minutes and several walk bys before our order was taken, there was confusion over the new menu (different to what we had read online). The restaurant was very cold, we sat beside a cold radiator. I asked if the heating could be checked, it was and I was assured it had been reset and would be appreciated shortly....the cold was something the waiter didn't have issues withhe told us he often sits around in shorts, even in the snow! Life stories not helping. The heating had only been repaired on Wednesday and I was the first to notice the cold I was told. HELLO, look around. Service on the starter was very slow, arriving warm but tasty. The heating never appeared so I raised the issue again with both waiter and bar staff, duty manager appears and is "unaware" of the issue! I politely suggested he take a look around and ask his staff for feedback which I duly note he does. Main course arrived HOT, very well presented though the table hadn't been cleared of starter plates. Really nice flavoursome food spoilt only be my now starting to shiver. An apology arrived for the lack of heating as the boiler had broken. I requested a level of compensation and was reassured the final bill would be addressed accordingly. If the heating had been sorted we'd have c stayed longer, spent more but decided it was time to leave. We were offered, and accepted a 20% discount. At this point it was explained that the legenday open fires were unlit as the pub had no logs. The fires are the heart of this 'Old Gal', a serious oversight or lack of appreciation somewhere. The Boat Inn is a fabulous place and this review is a one-off experience. I'd hope never to go through again. Staff levels were an issue, and in my opinion the dress code of staff should also be smartened up. I notice lots of guests trying to use Vintage Inn online vouchers, discounts 40% which were not valid on Friday, New member vouchers that were not valid as they'd been sought or registered on the day. I surmised these may be first time visitors to The Boat who were most likely not going to return as they'd sat waiting for slow service in cold restaurant On our part we will be beck, most likely next week to avail of the 40% "midweek" promotion. With anticipation of a warm welcome and warmer venue. I'll read the small-print on the promotion first of course?

Brilliant staff food was Brilliant, service and atmosphere , Abbie was excellent in particular but all staff was , definatley will come back do try it

Super friendly staff, great menu and lovely sheltered courtyard. What more do you need.

Just had a coffee after a boat trip.

We were blanked for the first 10 minutes waiting to book in which made us late. My partner found his main meal bland. Apart from that the other staff were great and the rest of the food was nice.

Reopened after flooding and is now on par with the old establishment. Today we were greeted by a very attentive lady who showed us to our table and served by a friendly gentleman. The food was lovely and well presented. Well worth the visit.

Great food and excellent service from Adrian and the team!

Really enjoyed our Sunday dinner here at the boat inn, great service by Adrian and the rest of the team

Lovely visit. Great food. Friendly staff. Walked round Spotborough nature reserve too. Brilliant combination 😁👍 Remember to sign in for car park, so no charge. Busy at peak times.

Nice tasty lunch. Highly recommended. 👍

Nice place located in a picturesque area with an easy-accessible car park. Quite busy, which gives a good recommendation as a place worth popping into. Decent meals indeed.

Lovely place to visit especially when the sun is out 🌞😁👍

Had a lovely Sunday lunch with the family, excellent food, friendly service from Adrian, will definitely be back :)

We were served by lovely Mark who was very attentive and friendly. The pub felt very welcoming both to us and our small dog. They had even put a bowl of water for him by the table we had booked. The location is beautiful, food delicious and staff friendly and efficient. Our first visit, but we liked it so much that we're going back for lunch on Wednesday!

Great food, excellent localization. Perfect place to rest and refuel after lovely walk.

We had a lovely time. I wish I could remember the name of the waitress as she was brilliant with us! Everyone in our party was very happy with her customer service! The food has been very nice, the atmosphere was lovely and chilled! It was our third time dining here and we will definitely come back!

Absolutely disgusting!!!!!! I visited this place a some time ago for a meeting and few weeks later I just got a letter through the door to pay parking notice for £85. God knows how it was marked that you have to pay for parking there cos I never saw any signs and also since when do you pay for parking in front of some pub in the middle of nowhere?! Absolute joke. Place also dirty and not professional, rude service.

Just wow! Food, location and service! Sadly didn’t get a photo of the pan roasted lamb main course as it was possibly the best lamb dish I’ve ever eaten in a pub, the tiny lamb pie that accompanied perfectly cooked lamb was a real treat. Roaring open fires on a rainy day was a real treat. Worth every penny !!

One of best Sunday dinners I’ve had and our waiter Adrian was amazing!

Always disappointed. We’ve tried here a few times because the venue is so idyllic but every time over the 3 years we’ve tried the service is always so poor- either never enough staff (ever!), constant long queues of frustrated customers at the bar or untrained staff (was charged double for drinks by accident and had to issue us a 24hr refund when we noticed). Final straw on a Wednesday evening we came for a drink which took 20 minutes for any service at the bar. Won’t be returning again- all other low star reviews have been saying the same about lack of staff yet they’re too ignorant to improve?!

Absolutely freezing inside, service so slow, short staffed, food arrived no cutlery, no staff to ask for more drinks or more condiments. No question through meal as to is everything ok. Gone downhill so sad. More staff needed to bring it back to what it used to be. Dissappointing visit not sure we will come again!

Lovely place to eat. Managed to get a table last minute for a Sunday dinner. Was lush. Honestly say it was one of the best Sunday dinners I've had in a long time. I had the lamb and my partner had the belly pork. Both cooked perfectly, compliments to the chef. Lovely place too. Served by Adrian who couldn't be more welcoming. Went for a walk by the river afterwards (Adrian recommended the way) when we came back enjoyed a nice drink in the beautiful courtyard. Definitely a 5 star rating from me. Hope to go back soon

Fantastic pub and location with excellent food and service quite simply a most enjoyable way to spend the afternoon

As always great food and service. Had the Slow roast belly pork for Sunday lunch option. Dog friendly area is a great idea. Large outdoor patio area. Free dog treats available and water bowls 😊

What a lovely little pub in a great location. The food is lovely with a great selection of drinks too.

Kelly is an excellent friendly member of staff. Nothing was too much trouble. Food was excellent and atmosphere was great.

Lovely place food wonderful bit expensive for pub food would happily go back when I've saved up.

Best experience ever, really lovely and delicious food and for a really nice price. Pet friendly. A nice guy named Adrian served us, really lovely. Totally recommend 10/10

Lovely place will be going again. The outdoor area is really relaxing great place to sit and have a drink

The boat inn has been a family favourote for some years now. The whimsical medevil charm and location are enough to ensure a wonderful experience, add to that the quality and choice of the food (for vegans/vegetarians alike) is exceptional. The care, pride and diligence demonstrated by all the serving staff is at a very high standard. The place caters for all your doggies needs, providing plenty of bowls of water, a basket of toys/blankets and jar of complimentary treats. Thank you Adrian and the team for another lovely brunch 😊

Absolutely lovely pub, located just off the river. The interior is quaint and picturesque and the food was lovely.

Hosted fantastically by Adrian, we recently enjoyed a lovely family dinner at The Boat Inn, Sprotbrough. We all enjoyed hearty fayre accompanied by great wine (and soft drinks for Mum & the duty driver!). Sharing camambert, garlic mushrooms and calamari for starters followed by duck pizza, sea bass, fishcakes, lamb skewer and chicken skewer for mains....far too generous so gave desserts a miss. Excellent hospitality and a wonderful atmosphere. Bravo to Adrian and the team 👏🏻👏🏻

Lovely food and great service from Adrian. Thank you

Fantastic food and friendly staff *****

Great place to chill with your dogs

Lovely evening with friends, great service and organisation by Charlotte, she looked after all the table great, everyone had a lovely time.

Always looked after perfectly at Boat Inn, the staff are amazing and do everything possible to help us out. The food is fantastic and portions sizes are perfect. We are definitely coming back!

Amazingly friendly staff, delicious meals and at reasonable prices! What more could you want? Got the mushrooms on toast as a starter and vegetarian burger for a main as well as a creme brulé for dessert. Definitely a place to go again!

Service was dreadful. Shprt staffed not helped by queung through the door just to order drinks and add car park reg. They need to relocate CP entry details. Eventually got to the front of queue and 50 minute wait for sandwich order.

This is a fantastic pub and a wonderful hike from Doncaster minster to Sprotbrough falls .

Great friendly welcomeing place . Fod is fantstc served fresh and hot allso geat tsting ang good value . Great friendly staff that were on hand to help . Highly reccomend this place will come gain

Pub is a little out of the way if you don't know it, but the food and service are exceptional, car park isn't that big, but we still found a space without problem. Place is lit up for outside dining if you want to, and it is pet friendly.

Lovely location and very nice building with a good ambience. The staff were very obliging and friendly. It was located as a meeting point as dog friendly. The food was delicious.

We were heading North to South in our campervan and we're looking for a pub stop over. My wife Joanne found this little gem on search for sites. We got the friendliest of welcomes the food was excellent, with great service from the team, especially Tracy, the lovely lady who looked after us. Set in a lovely quiet area by a river, we would highly recommend a visit, if you're in the area.

Adrian was lovely, food was delightful! will visit again :)

Nice place to go to eat and drink with the dogs

The food was superb, it really has gone to a new level

Very over priced nice pub friendly bar staff however the food not very good at all £17.50 for fish and chips outragous especially when the fish was well over cooked and just edible. Didn't want to make fuss has I waited over 40mins for it to come. I wont be dining their again.

Fantastic service by Adrian he really is a funghi.

Great place good service and excellent food

10/10 for this beautiful pub in stunning surroundings. Stopped overnight in carpark for free. Very dog friendly. Spent the day walking the canal & woods. Absolutely perfect.

Great pub situated next to the river Don waterfalls. Sprotbrough flash . Great courtyard on a sunny day with loads of seating and background music. The pub inside is rustic and immaculate with a great choice of draught products and cheerful staff . Well worth a visit.

Excellent meal - efficient and friendly staff

Excellent food and staff. Dog friendly

Lovely food at reasonable prices. The lunch menu is exceptionally good value but unfortunately we couldn't manage dessert as the first 2 courses were more than adequate. Adrian was very pleasant weloming and delivered excellent service. Thanks to all those who contribute to a beautiful meal out

Me and my mother came to the Boat Inn for lunch and it was an amazing experience. 10/10 thank you Adrian for your lovely service.

We arrived after a long journey. Tired and in need of food and wine 😄 Lorna and Tracey served us quickly and efficiently and were both very friendly. Thank you both....we will be back.

This is a lovely place for calling off for a drink whilst walking along the river. It's close to our house so we often stop off for a drink. In the summer the courtyard is a lovely open space to enjoy the sun. And in the winter, the open fire and decor are a welcome respite from the cold. Being honest, I have never been blown away by the food. Called in midweek last week at lunchtime. It was a warm day but the courtyard was only half full and it was empty inside the pub. Ordered a fish finger sandwich and a vegetarian wrap. Waited an hour for the food to come out. When it did arrive it was a handful of luke warm french fries with a dried vegetable wrap and a very average fish finger sandwich. At £10 each they were not worth what we paid. We would have complained normally, but as this was a lunch break from work and we had already gone way over our lunch break allowance, we didn't have the time or the inclination.

Best food in the area and a chilled out pub! 3rd time I have been and every time has been top class. Fantastic service from Beth, Kelly and Tracey!

Will not be going back after the £60 parking fine for using their car park. Descent place ruined by greed.

Dog friendly with plenty of outside seating Reasonably priced well cooked pub fare

Am absolute gem on the banks of the river. Food was excellent, as was the service. Very dog friendly, nice touches such as blankets for sitting outside, beautiful interior with leather chairs and open fires. Can't wait to be back. Thanks Adrian for making us feel so welcome.

Huge problem with insufficient staff meant service was terrible. Staff were nice but overly rushed. Food was good, location great. Won’t be back though, management failure big time with lack of staff.

Disappointing. Location is pleasant, stone buildings located at the end of a canal with a large, concrete dog friendly outside area with serviced tables. It was disappointing because the food served was poor quality, and not as described. I ordered a Ribeye steak, which I assumed must be good, because it was over £26, which is expensive for pub food, so I anticipated a choice cut, with lashings of promised "triple cooked" chips. What arrived was a poor cut of rump steak, which was tough and full of gristle. The triple cooked chips were served in a small coffee cup sized bowl, so were miserly in portion. I returned the plate to the bar and my daughter was given a refund.

Excellent service, the staff couldn't do enough for you. The food was good. Well, dome, you guys. 👏👏👏

Absolute brilliant food ,very wide choice , Very prices reject the quality recommended

We called in for a drink before a riverside walk. Staff great, fed biscuits and watered our dog too. After walk on busy sunny evening we had a great meal at peak time. It was very very busy however the staff worked really hard and kept us informed on progress in the kitchen plus supplied with drinks, so we knew what was going on. Great sharing starter the main probably 40 mins wait. Abbie our super server also came over and chatted with us when the rush subsided. Great service and great food & a great evening for all of us thanks to all at The Boat.

3rd time I’ve been here and service lets it down so much! Waited ages to even get seated even though we had booked and the place was almost empty (we were stood with an elderly guest and ignored) - when sat I had to call someone over to order only to be told when ordering that all but one of our choices weren’t available - food took a long time, drinks were forgotten. The waiting staff were brilliant and we really felt for them. Manager was flustered and rude to both us and the other staff who were just doing the best they could in a chaotic work environment. Manager was also arguing about the bill to some other unhappy customers as we were leaving which was very unprofessional and uncomfortable for everyone. I don’t often review things but it’s such a shame that great location, good food and willing waiting staff are let down by understaffing and bad management. We won’t be back.

Brilliant restaurant. The food is outstanding and the staff are very friendly and helpful, Owen was very funny too. Dogs are welcome and they have a basket of blankets you can borrow if your sitting outside and feel a little chilly. Lovely place, we will definitely return.

A lovely meal and very good service after a day of boating in the rain! Thank you Kelly and Daniel for excellent service and treating our dog!

A lovely pub at the side of the river went for Sunday lunch will return.

Unexpected find for lunch. Lovely welcome, spotless environment and food was superb.

Great to be back to the pub we love...........but I've got to say its not at the standard before the floods.....our food order was taken by our waitress and was told there would be a 40 min wait ( pre booked table) after 20 mins another waitress approached us to say our order had not gone through to the kitchen so we had to re order.....the food eventually came and was very good, but on leaving the restaurant we heard the same excuses being given to customers that their orders had not reached the kitchen.......maybe glitches since reopening but just be honest with your customers rather than make lame excuses......it really wasn't a problem but its how you handled the situation that was at concern.

Lovely food and service. Adrian made us all feel very welcome. Very nice shirt too!

Very nice chicken burgers And very quick service

Had a healthy lunch after a walk around the area with my sister in law and was waited on by Tracy who was very friendly and polite. Food was timely and tasty. Will return.

brilliant food and really good service

Another delicious meal. Buttermilk burger succulent. Lovely fish and chips . Lemon tart tasty and honeycomb sphere delicious. All food well presented. The staff are always friendly and efficient.

Good food eaten in the courtyard as it was a nice day.