The Boat Inn in Solihull

We came here for Sunday lunch and we were not disappointed. Just wow. Everything about this place is amazing. The staff are so welcoming and friendly. The place just feels so homely. We didn't call to book until the morning of our lunch and they managed to squeeze us in. We both had a starter which were both DELICIOUS. And as for the main, well, check out the pictures. It was a fantastic experience from start to finish. Thank you for having us, we will be back!

We have never been here before today. When we walked in the we were suprised at the decor. It was warm welcoming and nicely spaced out. Some thought was put into the restaurant We had breakfast while waiting for the vets. Full english for my husband pancakes for myself. We had our dog with us. He was given a water bowl, treats and a dog blanket. Staff were friendly and welcoming We would definitely recommend the Boat and we look forward to going again next time we are in the area.

The evening started so well, the decor was good, the ambience excellent and the service attentive. Although there were an unusually high number of items unavailable on the menu (for 7pm on a Wednesday night), the starters were well presented and tasty. Then things went wrong. Firstly, my preferred choice of main course wasn't available, so i went for the "safe choice" of beer battered fish and chips. Unfortunately the fish wasn't cooked properly and was totally undercooked in the middle. To be fair, the server took the first straight back and organised another. Even worse, the replacement was also undercooked. So for the first time ever, I've had to send a main course back twice because of the same issue. Again the wait staff were excellent and apologised profusely. This time though i declined the offer of a replacement. Two undercooked dishes were enough. So onto desserts and after dinner drinks. Apparently there was a "system error" and our order didn't go through to the kitchen (so we were told after about 10 mins of waiting). The after dinner coffees were served and still no sign of desserts. I suspect that the kitchen had closed (as it was dark in there) but we ordered a peach tarte tatin, a chocolate cremeux, a blackberry parfait and 3 (different) scoops of ice cream. This is where i could have a real sense if humour failure.... The three scoops of different ice cream morphed into 2 scoops of one flavour of another (no rum and raisin). The chocolate cremeux (instead of being a luscious thick silky chocolate topped with candied nuts) was frozen solid - I had to give it a few minutes to start to slightly thaw before successfully carving through it. In fact the sorbet that accompanied it was less frozen than the cremeux. The peach tarte tatin was OK. There was no point in complaining about the desserts, by this time we were having a good natured giggle about the evening. Again, to be fair to the serving staff, they did their absolute best. Again in fairness, without any prompting, my main course and all the desserts were comp'ed and a discount applied to the rest of the bill. Despite all of this, I would actually go back - whether or not id be brave enough to order battered fish and chips, I'm not so sure! The serving staff were excellent and I can't believe this was anything more than a one off which won't be repeated. I guess time will tell.

We love the boat, we've always had great food and the staff are great and nothing is too much trouble for them. I'm sure we will be back soon!

We had a a great sunday roast today at the Boat. We've been before a couple of times during the week but never for a roast. The waitress that looked after us (anna I think) was great and very attentive to what we needed. All of the staff were very helpful too. The roast dinner was lovely with plenty of veg to share, could be served with more gravy but we got more as soon as we asked. We will definitely be back again for a roast! All in all a great experience from start to finish.

Ordered fish & chips which was fantastic, not what you'd get in a chippy, very delicately battered and superb quality fish. Minted mushy peas were excellent with a nice kick to them, very different but very good. Unfortunately looking at the food some of the others ordered and, well.. pretty dreadful. The kids pizza was shocking, looked like it had come out of the microwave, no firmness to the base whatsoever, and the roast beef dinners had very poor comments. Also the veg for the roast dinners were shared around from a single dish, which I thought was poor form. It's definitely one of those places that is trying too hard to be something it's not. The food itself and the prices were fine, but the menu makes out its some fine dining experience - which it absolutely isn't. Nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade, but nothing worse than pretending to be something you're not. Staff are not the best and take themselves too seriously, which makes it awkward when something is not right as they cant seem to handle criticism - just smile, be pleasant and try to fix anything that customers arent happy with, it's not difficult and we aren't going to fall out with you over something minor. Manager/chef was excellent though so can't fault him. It's a nice pub, and that's all it needs to be, but it's not one of those "does exactly what it says on the tin" type pubs - quite the opposite. Unnecessarily pretentious, but not to the point it's completely unwelcoming. I'd be willing to return, as prices are reasonable.

Always happy barman and extremly helpful.also witty.super jack

Nice ambiance and attentive staff but the quality of the food does not justify the price. Paid £17 for a pretty dry burger with relatively bland sauce. Chips were very nice though

I travelled from Liverpool to meet others from the south as a convenient halfway location. Easy to access from M42. Second time we have been here and the food and atmosphere did not disappoint. Sunday roasts, with generous serves of seasonal vegetables. Coffee has SLAP and we were able to bring along birthday cakes to share. The wait staff were attentive and we did not wait too long for service even though the restaurant was full! Car parking is good and accessible entries to the pub. It is a dog and child friendly pub. The village of Catherine de Barnes is alongside the Grand Union canals with nice autumnal walks!

Great live music. Not overwhelming.

Good parking. Lovely outside and inside spaces. Nice food

Beautiful Pub & Restaurant. Nice menu, really warm welcome from the staff who were lovely and very helpful. Recommended.

Fantastic pub ideal for a social drink after work and sitting outside when the weather is good.

Great pub with plenty of space indoors and outdoor. Always busy. Outdoor booths. Food is pretty good with contemporary and traditional fusion. The service is always really good and attentive. We've been here several times and especially enjoy the place in the summer.

This 1 star is for attempting to book a table for tomorrow. Recent experiences of the food and ambiance have been fine, but if you can't get through to book...... Online there are no tables free, but I know that software sometimes just blocks out blocks of sitting in error. So I phone to check if that's the case. I get an automated guide, who after a few questions puts me through to "someone", for the phone to ring for 3 minutes with no-one answering before cutting off. Try again, a precise repeat. Do I have to drive to the Boat to book a table ? Come on guys this is poor. Any humans available ?

I like this restaurant and food is also very tasty and the restaurant building is very very nice

Late afternoon Sunday lunch. Both selected roast beef. Given an amuse bouche which was interesting. Yorkshire puddings not available so provided a complementary starter whilst we waited for them to be cooked! Food & staff were excellent.

Friend lives nearby, he had only been in during the day after walking dog to have a drink. Very welcoming pub, staff great throughout. Excellent food one had fish and chips and said was one of the best he has had in a very long time. Crab Arrancini was very nice too. I had the burger with truffle and cheese chips, unfortunately was too much truffle oil in. Were made aware and won't happen again. That was only thing to fault. Definately go back when in the area. Very accommodating with dogs, have dog bowls and treats.

We had a lovely meal here with my son, DIL and granddaughter. There were lots of choices for all of us, vegetarians, meat eaters and children alike. The service was great, lots of staff milling around but not bothering us which was a lovely balance. We actually used to come here 40 odd years ago so it’s strange to see the changes, but it was great then and it’s great now.

We were booked in to the premiere inn at Birmingham airport but for some reason the bar and restaurant was closed leaving us nowhere to eat. We managed to get a last minute reservation and were not disappointed. The food was amazing. Large portions with brilliant service. Thoroughly recommend. Thank you

I has the muscles. About 10 small with bread £19. Friends had fish and chips, which was cod for the same money. The puddings were well received. Staff were attentive. Pub is really nice, but value for money 3 out of 5.

Nice atmosphere, great service, friendly staff. Only thing that let the evening down was the quality of my sirloin steak. Ordered medium & tough as old boots with gristle throughout. No steak knives so was really hard work cutting through it and even harder trying to eat it. Didn't mention to anyone as I was on a date and didn't want to complain. I'll give this place a miss in future.

Lovely atmosphere in a wealthy village. Buzzing and lively.

Could do with a more appetising menu but the environment is superb

Lovely local pub. All the staff are friendly and welcoming and great outside area all year round. Jack on the bar is really friendly and a great cocktail maker! He is also a good laugh 😊👍

The staff is incredibly friendly, the food is delicious, and the atmosphere is fantastic. We’ll definitely return, even if it means driving an hour to get there for us. Plus, The Boat is wonderfully accommodating to dogs.

Lovely meal, everything was delicious. Service was great too!

Nice place , relaxed atmosphere, good food , great services

Excellent place with great service and friendly staff. Especially jack on the bar who is always smiling and very knowledgeable

Brilliant food, drinks and service, lovely Sunday roast, lovely!!

Always a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

The only reason we come here (except for the lovely food) is to see the amazing Chrissy, Chrissy is such a lovely lady, caters to my weird food requests and makes such a fuss of our dog Rocco. Whenever we come and Chrissy is not working he is not happy. Very dog friendly and a beautiful atmosphere. Thank you for providing such a lovely dog friendly place

Went to the boat for brunch for my little girls birthday the food was amazing as usual the server chrissy was fantastic fran the bartender made a simple orange juice look special, staff all wished her happy birthday made her feel very special thank you all

Good meals I had the beef dinner very nice

Booked two weeks before had two email reminders yet when we arrived they couldn’t find our booking. We were seated though as it wasn’t too busy. Food was lovely very nice and filling good temperature only grip was the chips with the fish and chips I literally had 10 chips could have done with some more for the price I paid. Overall nice experience lovely place. Will come back

Great if slightly unusual menu, live music and good service.

Lovely bit of food Nicky was amazing lovely person.

Lovely evening, great atmosphere. Excellent food. Great service and Nicki looked after us

Beautiful venue. The food however was not the greatest. We both had fish & chips - the fish was extremely sickly batter and the side of onion rings too were not a pleasant taste (tasted off). The service was excellent with everyone extremely friendly. The only reason for the 4 stars on atmosphere is when leaving out the back, the spotlights too the carpark are so bright you can’t actually see the ground!

Visited around 2pm on a Tuesday, it was fairly busy and went to the bar to be seated as every table had a reserved sign on them. Waited then got told to sit at a reserved table that wasn’t particularly clean. Ordered drinks and food which arrived in a reasonable amount of time, we could see people just stood at the bar waiting for service and only 2 floor staff were working and covering the bar. After waiting some time for plates to be cleared and order more drinks we gave up and went to the bar to pay. This is when the experience went downhill even more, manager stood behind the bar making hot drinks for customers, walked past myself waiting at the bar to grab a bottle of water no acknowledgement to myself, the drinks were taken by a waitress, he then decided to chat to a member of the kitchen team rather than serve me, eventually one of the floor staff came to take my payment at the bar, then to add insult to this poor service a service charge was on the bill! I didn’t remove this as it wasn’t fair on the understaffed floor staff, as I know how important tips are to them. Overall the understaffing of the Boat and poor management means I will not be returning! One member of staff for a 12-4 period would have cost the business £60 at most and this would have resolved all the issues and easily would have paid for itself, this again is either poor management or Greene King stripping out the labour in this pub to maximise profit.

All the food was lovely and Chrissy our waitress was friendly and made our experience at the boat an enjoyable one and we will definitely be returning soon

All round very good as regards service -food & setting - but seemed rather understaffed as we had to await far too long for desserts/coffee - no fault of staff who appeared to be going flat out.

First visit - absolutely incredible - fab food, delicious puddings, wine list was lush! Gavi, Merlot and PX :) highly recommended.

Visited a few years ago and was extremely disappointed with food and service. However, this visit was brilliant. Lovely food and great service.

We always enjoy our visit to The Boat and being local we use it often. We are always welcomed by their friendly staff, and our waitress Chrissy knows our preferences and looks after us very well. It is a lovely premises both inside and out and in a great location.

We feel privileged to be in walking distance of this wonderful pub. The cosy interior, extensive beer garden, staff, service, food, and beer have always been a delight.

The staff, the food and the setting,all was a great experience. Well worth the visit and will love to return in the future.

Went for brunch as we didn’t want to cook in the caravan. The Boat was very welcoming (especially in the rain) food was excellent and service was very friendly. Only downer was they’d run out of black pudding

This was our first visit to the Boat and what a very friendly welcome and experience. We were a table for two and ordered the roast chicken which was served very hot and succulent. Service was very knowledgeable and polite and not rushed. We will be returning for sure

Oh my days what a wonderful place The food the drinks the staff the ambience perfect We sat in the garden area and even though it rained we were under cover and cosy will definitely re visit and highly recommend others visit too xxx

Absolutely beautiful experience. Great food, stunning pub inside and out. Amazing staff, great food, exceptional service. 14 of us for Sunday lunch, totally wonderful. Roast to die for

Lovely place, food excellent, great atmosphere. Price not bad. I could have sat there all day. Wish we had, so relaxing and i had great company.

Had Sunday lunch and all I can say is wow and thank you the food was prompt hot and delicious the staff warm and friendly kind and helpful the atmosphere and garden were lovely do I have any negatives ….no and we will definitely be back thank you

First time arriving, seating outside as the weather was nice 🙂 outdoor bar, service was excellent plenty of parking and do electric parking. Dog friendly 🐕 indoors and out doors water 💦 and treats for your pets. Food smells excellent 👌

Dog friendly and gorgeous outdoor seating area. Friendly owner.

Excellent food but a touch pricey...very good Sunday roast & the service wad excellent

It's been a long time since I have been here and it has really become a gastro pub with lots of great seating inside and out. Great food and wine list.

Excellent food and friendly service. There are some laptop friendly tables with charging points.

The Boat has had a new outside seating area since I last visited, which is great.

Been before and had Fish and chips, I knew it wasn’t cod and it’s another white fish. Disappointed, barely any chips and peas not very hot, lovely tartar sauce. Pudding nice. Food came before drinks. Overpriced but nice place.

We made a reservation for a family gathering of 10 people for a very special occasion. The staff were excellent and could not be more accommodating, Lauren our waitress was excellent. Highly reccomend

okay. Not great, but then I was with my little sister so it didn't worry me to much....

Nice brunch selection, tasty food but nothing spectacular. Sweet potato hash browns a nice treat. Setting is very nice inside and out.

So the venue itself is fantastic and the patio with outside bar is great. The atmosphere at the Boat is buzzing, very lively! We had the sirloin steak which was nice however, the chips were a bit hard and dry. What I wanted to mention was the onion rings. I didn’t realize when I ordered them that they are pickled. They tasted so vinegary they were really not nice at all. Onion rings are great with steak but it was like having a shot of vinegar. Really not sure why these are on the menu as opposed to regular ones. Aside from the strange experience we had a great night and will be returning!

Many years since we have visited! But what an amazing experience service fantastic staff went above and beyond food amazing! Carnt fault it ! we would highly recommend amazing

Beautiful day ,the boat is a lovely place to go and chill out with some family and friends, outside is lovely and relaxing 😌

Great ambience and service. Excellent food

Popular pub in Solihull. Beautiful garden and indoor decoration. Wide variety of food and drinks for your selection. It’s a bit expensive but worth every penny. I like their own Boat cask ale. Food and service is very good.

Came for drink with the possibility of food but after waiting a long time to get served a drink from the garden bar after being ignored by several bar staff we had a drink and left. Now here's a golden tip for you and it costs nothing, staff if you are busy and on this occasion you weren't. Acknowledge customers at the bar even if it just to say 'I'll be with you in a moment' makes us feel welcomed rather than ignored for 5 minutes whilst you go about looking busy. Then we might stay a bit longer and maybe try food 🤔

Food is lovely, beautiful interior and environment, pleasant staff.

Very nice to visit. Dog friendly and family friendly. It's quite pricey but worth it for a special outing or event.

Some friends from Solihull recommended this bar and restaurant to us and the experience was very positive in every way. Very friendly and efficient staff, they advised us on the different options available. The atmosphere is very relaxed and pleasant. You can have a snack or eat both inside, tastefully decorated, and outside. We were under a wooden pergola. Fantastic food (see photos), well prepared and presented. We found the prices a little expensive for Spanish standards, but if this is not a problem, I totally recommend a meal here.

Lovely food , great staff, and fabulous atmosphere. Would highly recommend .

Nice place for a drink and a bar snack in the sun. Upmarket and very smart but not pretentious.

I was on my own exploring as new to the area. Excellent fish pie. Partly cooked, crunchy veg (Al dante?) is common in many places. Staff were super helpful and produced proper cooked veg when I asked. I think veg should be treated in the same way as a steak; how would you like your veg?! The Google mapss images seem out of date, as does the map. The car park on the right before the pub is easy to miss (for me!) and if you miss it the right turn after the pub greets with a very red PRIVATE ROAD NO TURNING sign. Why not just help Google with an update? I wonder if the owners drlnk with the turners! I'll definitely visit again, possibly not at sunset on on hot day. Can be warm inside...

Absolutely awesome pub & beer garden on a hot summers day! I had the aged rib & shin beef burger which was really good! Really friendly staff make this place well worth a visit!

Every fourth Tuesday local businesses and organisations descend to #SolihullBuzz 10-12 for conversations and great place to stay after Business Buzz for food and drinks, lovely in the sun too!

Went for our anniversary lunch. It was busy but we had reserved a table and were promptly shown it it, offered water immediately. Complimentary Prosecco for us both from the staff, Chrissy, who served us and the manager both offered their congratulations. Chrissy was really helpful, checking our food orders and making sure we were happy. The food was great, large portions and very tasty. I’d highly recommend booking a table here, and if you’re fortunate to be served by Chrissy you’ll have a very enjoyable experience.

What a great place to have a dri k and chill 😎

on this visit was told that the chef had a back log of orders of food so it would be a long wait. So we had to settle just for chips. very disappointing it was very busy but they should have more staff/chefs on!! Bad service yet again

Great menu & vibes. Huge outdoor area. Perfect in the sun

Absolutely loved it at The Boat! We were headed to somewhere in Solihull for brunch and when we drove by The Boat we thought to just stop and have our brunch there as we’ve said we would someday visit. We arrived a bit after brunch and had to settle for lunch. We got free bite even before our starter arrived. It was the perfect stop for us and we were welcomed by the wonderful staffers. The service is a 5 💫. Food was good and the portions were filling. Forced some down my throat lol.

Food was fine but not better than a regular Green King. Lovely grounds and a great location but the parking wasn’t sufficient on a busy Sunday.

We visited The Boat on Friday night, it was hot, humide and so of course the place was very busy. We were a little early, and got seated straight away by the lovely manager Maisey. We ordered water, and then a bottle of wine. Our server wasn't very efficient if I'm being honest. We waited 10 mins for our water and at least another 15 mins for our wine. Luckily the food came out and there wasn't a long wait for the food. Maisey asked us afterwards how the service and food was and she apologised for the wait on the food. I advised her it wasn't the food that we had to wait for, but the drinks, especially in the heat when you just want a drink to quench your thirst. When I went to the bar to order another glass of wine, she said it was on the house as an apology for the wait on our initial drinks. Maisey dealt with the situation professionally, she apologised for how busy they were and for the late drinks. It wasn't her fault on how busy the restaurant and bar was, but she is an asset to your team and we will definitely be coming again as the atmosphere, the food and the service is always good 👍

Beautiful pub, with a lovely atmosphere for the awesome food and drinks offered

Nice atmosphere but food was expensive and not that thrilling. We thought the large tip was unjustified too.

Had a lovely breakfast as always, with the lovely Crissy looking after us. Xx

Lovely place with great food although I must admit the service that night wasn't the best. After placing an order we had to wait almost an hour for our starters to arrive and the restaurant wasn't very busy. Same situation with the mains, we had to wait over an hour for the food, although the food quality was really good

Fantastic food and very friendly and helpful staff.

Great food, nice atmosphere, friendly staff, Chrissy the waitress has fantastic service!!!

Beautiful pub, unfortunately food and service was let down

Great experience from booking through to our visit Friendly and welcoming staff who made our lunch very enjoyable. We felt very well looked after and the food was delicious. Many thanks to the team at The Boat, we wouldn't hesitate to book again.

Can't rate the food as I only had a beer. Solid beer options. Great place with lovely vibe and cracking staff to boot. Can't fault a thing. Keep doing what you're doing.

I called in on a Sunday lunchtime with 5 others, we hadn't booked, it was a beautiful sunny day so therefore the place was packed. This was my first visit here and I liked the vibe of the place even though it was so busy. We were offered seating outside - sheltered, fortunately as things turned out. We didn't have starters but went straight into roasts; plentiful portions with a good selection of veg. I had the slow cooked pork belly and it was great. Around £20 per person for food.

Food great good selection sweet's good exalant selection of beers helpful and friendly staff

Beautiful pub, so many nice tables inside and out. Well styled and thought out decor. Classy place. Lots of options for food and drink. Definitely take a look!

Took some time to place order although there were only a few tables occupied. Seemed very few staff on. Food was a little disappointing. Starter was good but main was average at best. We shared a pork platter but much of it was not hot enough. Some things over cooked and some just didn’t taste good. Deffo would not order it again. Thought it was expensive too.

Good Ale. I had the lamb for main and the treacle pudding for dessert. I would say it was the best two courses, I've eaten in the area.

Good restaurants, nice posh pub feel. The drink prices are reasonable and the sitting area outside is great.

Looked amazing from the outside and was just as nice inside. Food was amazing but unfortunately the whole evening was let down by poor staff. Very inattentive. Both bar staff and waitress. First impressions count . I wouldn't go back.