The Boat Inn in South Northamptonshire

Excellent food 😋 probably the best prawn baguette I’ve eaten 😋👍

Very good.. lovely pub to spend some time in... just try it for yourselves..

The Boat Inn was fantastic today, we had a very special meal, as it was busy when we booked we were asked to pre order food as we were a large group. The staff were very accommodating including taking 2 special orders due to dietary needs. We were delayed on our journey due to boat traffic and the staff were most accommodating when we rang ahead and explained the situation. We felt very looked after, all food was brought in a timely manner. And was excellent. There was a slight problem with one of the coffee's due to the milk running out in the machine, but this was quickly resolved when it was realised and raised with staff. Thank you so much we had such a lovely afternoon. It was a perfect way to celebrate my mum's special birthday. We would highly recommend The Boat Inn.

It's a good old British meal. It's quite filling. The cauliflower with cheese was delicious. If it's warm, it's good to drink it by the river!

A lovely place to visit. Caring staff too.

It's OK here, but nothing great. If I went back to the area, I would go over the canal and go to the navigation.

Just ate here. Outstanding burger. The burger of the month is a southern fried masterpiece! Really generous portion and the staff couldn't have been more helpful. A really beautiful canalside meal. I'll be back soon! Thank you for a lovely time. 10/10.

It was OK, nothing special feel it could be so much better. The food was average at best. The roast beef was nothing special, over cooked veg, frozen shop bought yorkies. Service is SLOW, no table service you order everything at the bar which gives you the predictable bottleneck of everyone queing to order food and drinks and asking questions requesting cutlery/salt etc! The staff seem a bit grumpy, probably stressed! Its a shame because its a nice location think I would opt for the navigation next time.

I have lived around and worked at the Boat Inn for much of my life. It is a historically rich environment, combined with all there is to see in Stoke Bruerne along the Grand Union Canal and through the Blisworth Tunnel. There are many different areas within the Boat Inn that cater for everyone's needs, including, the Lounge Bar, Bistro, Two Traditional Bars as well as Restaurant and Cocktail Bar. It is a family run business since 1877; passionate on providing exceptional service to its customers in aiming to be as flexible as possible to the all requests . Lots of personality in its staff and surroundings. There is always in excess of 9 real ales as well as a healthy selection of Wines, Lagers and Ciders as well as soft drinks and Tea & coffee. You're always guaranteed a nice tasting, well kept pint :) They are also consistently finding ways to improve their service.

Just paid £36 for 2 roast beef dinner's. The roast potatoes were most definitely not roast. Please look at the photos one of them had two nasty black eyes in it and they were deep fried not roast. Yorkshire pudding was Iceland or some other shop bought rubbish. Really not very good at all. I don't mind spending good money on good food. But this was definitely not good. And it seems that when you complain the owner just says sorry your not Happy. And failed to mention that he is selling cheap nasty frozen food at very high prices

We have played at The Boat Inn a few times and used to run their open mic night. We've also had breakfast there a few times. The breakfast is second to none. All friendly people, nothing is too much. We'll be there again soon. Thanks to all the staff and management.

Came here to celebrate my younger brothers birthday, the food was fantastic and all the staff are so lovely. There was a wait but staff informed us straight away and got us our food as quick as possible. You could tell how hard working all the staff were trying to meet all the customer needs. Would definitely recommend this place. Also has a lovely canal view and great ice cream for afterwards. :)

We are local and we have the choice of two pubs and an Indian here. Our preferred eatery is The Boat Inn. The food is always top quality and plenty of it. Try the Steak Pie - you won't go away hungry! This family business also keeps a good selection of low-alcohol beers and lagers, plus they have the proper 1 pint cans of Guinness Zero. If you are on a boat, there is usually plenty of mooring space between the tunnel and the pub.

Great food with a menu that offers something for everyone. Good range of drinks. Dog friendly. Relaxed atmosphere. Lovely staff. So good was dinner we came back for breakfast!

Excellent food, service and location. We even came back for breakfast! Dog friendly, watched the canal boats going through the lock from the warmth of the pub

Great food and excellent service.

Had Sunday lunch and pudding in here today. Top scores on all. Home cooked excellent food. The beer choice is great too. Would not hesitate to come back or recommend.

Great food and great service !We had drinks/dinner one evening then visited again in the morning for breakfast-all first class and a fantastic location !! Well done to the staff at THE BOAT INN -and thank you

It is not my way to leave bad reviews. This is the first. I do leave good reviews for good service and food. And just don't revisit if I have not been happy. We visited The Boat Inn on St George's day for early lunch because we were going on to a funeral that afternoon. We arrived 12.15. Wasn't full by any means but the nicest tables by the windows were reserved. Not a problem, we had just "dropped in" as invited on Google Maps entry. Our table for four was dingy for a lunchtime but the weather wasn't warm enough for outside. We ordered at the bar and sat down. Drinks were served in a timely manner, but we were given a white coffee instead of black and brown sugar instead of white. We didn't complain because it was not a big problem. MIL couldn't resist a bit of cheesy garlic bread which comes as 4 slices so we all had a piece each. Tasty, but disappointly tiny pieces (compared to pictures on reviews) and a bit soggy. We were really looking forward to our meals but an hour later they still weren't ready. We were told it was because we had had a starter. Poor excuse, but we also could not be given an expected time for serving our main. People who arrived after us had been served their main meals. We waited for a while longer but, due to having to go on to a very special service, the only reason we were in Stoke Bruerne, we decided we had to leave. We would not have been able, nor did we want to wolf down our meals in fifteen minutes, that's assuming they would have arrived in time to allow us 15 minutes. They did refund our main course money after the person at the bar went to see the dining room staff, but it was not done with any kind of an apology, nor grace, but only to reiterate that it was because we had had a starter! We did pay for our drinks and starter. Most definitely could have been handled better, even the barman couldn't get an expected time of arrival for our meal from the kitchen. I hate wasting food so I do hope they hadn't actually started cooking it (which is what we suspected). So, we can't really review the food, but the service should have been much better and the excuses made should not have been. It was not a good excuse, nor reason. So, if you want to "drop in" for a delicious lunch, in a reasonable lunch hour, I would suggest you try elsewhere. But if you want chips by the canal on a nice day give The Boat Inn a try. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" To answer your response: 1. I thought I had been very fair 2. What you are saying is that my review is a lie. 3. I didn't write a review in trip advisor, only on Google so you may have another disgruntled customer. 4. Had we been told at the table, when we asked, that it would be five minutes for our mains to arrive we would have stayed. But staff were unable or unwilling  to give us an eta. 5. I have not found it normal for food establishments to only start cooking main when starter is finished. 6. You don't mention how long it took to clear away the starter plate. 7. It was not particularly busy. We found a parking space in the small car park. 8. We certainly arrived with enough time for lunch without having to tell you we needed to leave at a certain time. 9. I'm afraid it was your lack of  communication that caused us to leave. 10. Your final comment was just rude which makes me feel justified in leaving my review. This is what we found at The Boat Inn on the day we visited. You were obviously having a bad day at the office if your other reviews are anything to go by.  Perhaps you should just take it on board and do better next time.

Amazing experience! All day breakfast was great! Very friendly and welcoming!

I am sure the food is acceptable, unfortunately our order had still not arrived one hour later. The kitchen told us they had no idea when it would be ready. Although we were eventually given a refund the manager was ungracious. There was no apology. We will not be returning

Great lunch and in lovely surroundings .

Great place food and service was brilliant

The three of us had a great time on sunday(13th April). The food was excellent as was the welcome and service from a friendly efficient staff. Recommended.

Another great ploughman’s meal we both had today,staff are very friendly lovely place to sit eat and chill thank you will be back in 2 weeks

Wow.Booked this last minute. Andrew was so helpful and booked us a table for today. I would highly recommend this pub on the canal. Beautiful inside and out. We had a lovely time thank you. Staff were all so lovely too; thank you so much.

I'm only leaving one star because I can't leave 0. Came for Mothers Day 2025. I paid £33+ an extra £5 for one of the saddest, sorriest looking/tasting steaks I've ever eaten. It came with a cooked tomato and a bowl of chips. It made steak at wetherspoons seem like haute cuisine.

Love this place but the coffee is awful please get a new machine

Went today with my family. Absolutely spot on. Food was amazing and very much enjoyed by all. Glad we booked. Thankyou

Its a couple of months since we last popped in and it's still one of the best full english breakfasts and great value. Full means double.

Friendly staff, lovely food, will presented.

Four of us arrived together and we were shown to a table where we chose our meal, the two guys went to order together and paid separately. After 20 minutes two meals came and we didn't know whether to start or not as we waited 15 minutes for the next two meals. I went up to ask where they were and the Manager was very rude. saying they were treated as two separate orders even though we were all sitting together at one table and would like to have eaten together! We all agreed the food was undercooked and bland and the beer tasted like vinegar. (Do they clean the pipes out daily)?? My partner went to the Gents and the Chef was there and didn't wash his hands afterwards and went straight back to the kitchen!?! We won't be coming back!

Another great lunch where the food is fabulous, hot and tasty , and well-presented. The staff were attentive, quick, very obliging allowing me and my grandsons to ice the birthday cake on a spare table. We love the interesting canal views and the environment is very cosy. Highly recommend 👌

Service was friendly and attentive, making the experience even better. Whether you’re stopping by for a quick drink or a full meal, this place is a gem. Can’t wait to visit again!

Not been here before, but we were out and about and popped in, very friendly staff. We were handed menus and found seating. Order placed at the bar. Steak Pie,Veg & Chips, Sausage Baguette, Chips & Vegetarian Burger & Chips, couple drinks, very happy with food, clean plates handed back. If you’re in the area pop in and check it out.

We had our staff Christmas meal at The Boat Inn, dining upstairs in the Woodwards restaurant, and it was a fantastic experience! The food was absolutely excellent – beautifully presented and full of flavour. The staff were attentive and made sure everything ran smoothly, which added to the warm, festive atmosphere. If we were to make any suggestions, it would be to have water provided on the table, especially for larger bookings, and to include a chutney or relish with the cheese board to elevate it even further. Overall, it was a wonderful evening, and we'd highly recommend The Boat Inn for a memorable dining experience. Thank you for hosting us so brilliantly!

A nice cosy atmosphere, good food and fantastic location

Lovely staff and premium real ale. It was getting cold inside so we asked at the bar if we could reload the fire. Visit then absolutely ruined by the manager/owner who appeared and told us it was rude to Stoke another man's fire despite obtaining permission. Then continued to ignore our defense. What a horrible man, who knew he was out of order but his ego failed to let him apologize.

Excellent service. Good food well cooked and well presented. Great atmosphere.

Excellent food and lovely atmosphere at a good price. If you are coming here to eat, you may wish to check what else is on that evening, such as open mic nights and so on.

Always enjoy the calm and serenity of this place.

A brilliant traditional pub (in the original side), a very good pint & I was advised, a tasty sausage roll. Complete with an open fire.

Little bit tied inside for a premier site. Food lacked a certain finesse even for a pub restaurant.

Fantastic lunch very pleasant staff and good location

We really like this pub; a great atmosphere and delicious, simple food. And the position, right on the canal, is perfect. This was one of a few visits whilst we were in the area, and each time it was equally good. The chips are divine! And for lunch, the BLT is spot on

A lovely venue, excellent, fairly priced food and friendly staff. An extensive menu and food served quickly in spite of being busy.

Excellent pub food, good service and friendly customers. Skittles & board games available. Groceries can be purchased at the bar, so handy for boaters. Great Bacon butties & plenty of canalside seating.

Good quality food and lots of it. Service was a little slow for what we ordered though. Quite expensive for what it is too.

Quality place: Always stop here on the boat. Fantastic staff.

Very friendly staff and food was great,family run pub not a chain,which is well run.

We had the 2 course dinner and I can honestly say it was probably the best Sunday dinner I have ever had. The food was so nice, plenty of it and so tasty. The lamb was so succulent and tender, didn’t really need to chew it. The staff that served us were really pleasant, attentive and had a good sense of humour. Well worth the 20mile journey and will certainly come back again. Thank you to all at the boat Inn.

Had a very welcome cup of tea here a week ago - had a short canal trip whilst on a Bayliss Executive Coach today in Northampton. Beautiful location and pleasant way to spend an hour.

This is a can do pub, the staff are very friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to accommodate our requests and assist us during our visit. We visited several times over a two day visit to Stoke Bruerne.

Excellent canalside pub with a wide ranging bar menu as well as more formal dining. Large portions. Fantastic location on a lock and opposite the Canal Museum. Plenty of outdoor seating when the weather allows. Staff very welcoming and efficient. Well worth a visit. Yet another visit. Same comments apply. We were there again this weekend. Lovely lunchtime snacks overlooking the canal. Formal dinner in the evening - excellent

Booked a table at the Boat Inn after cancelling our booking at The Navigator due to quite a few recent bad reviews. Very glad I did! We came here for lunch as a company when hiring a river boat for the day. Our table was right next to the door so we had a view of the canal. All of the food was very good, I thoroughly enjoyed my Burger of the Month Service was spot on, would definitely go again.

Lovely food and fantastic place to sit right next to the water.

A great place for a Sunday lunch.

Lovely spot great food and staff very helpful.

Have been there a couple of times, very nice place

A lovely pub with beautiful views of the canal. Dog friendly. Friendly staff. Food was good and had plenty of vegetarian and vegan options which is great to see! There’s games to play and pictures of canal and pub history. The chef sells homemade cake to take away and it is amazing, the chocolate or the coffee and walnut are both my favourite!

Lovely pub and restaurant. Staff are super helpful and polite. Wonderful location overlooking the cabal locks of The Grand Union. Food is very good. Well priced too. Outdoor seating is plentiful, indoors the pub is quite large and traditional style too. Dog friendly which is really important. They even have doggie goody bags and treats as well as bowls of water dotted around the place. Opening hours are 09:30h daily. Close by is the Blisworth Tunnel which is worth a visit.

The most amazing breakfast this morning - big thank you. Staff were lovely and very hardworking. Great to see everyone enjoying the morning sunshine. Was going to take a photo of the breakfast but totally forgot when it arrived … so all I can say is Thank you!

Best service for private function in upstairs room, Andrew and his team excellant as usual.

Lovely pub, good food and service, parking a bit iffy at the back, very tight !

As an Italian who lives in the UK, this is one of the best restaurants that I tried! Just in front of the canal, in a wonderful place. The food is amazing, and the service is fantastic even when the place is busy like in the summertime. The bathroom is clean and everything is automatic, the soap, the water sink and the hand dryer! Highly recommend!! I will definitely visit again with some Italian friends.

A lovely place with friendly and helpful staff. Food was excellent and service pretty prompt. A few drinks and very full tummies and we picked up two homemade loaf cakes for takeaway and only £4 each. We only had a main course and we're stuffed so unless you have a pretty big appetite I'd advise against having a starter.

Even though we waited over 45 minutes, which we were informed would be the case when we ordered, it was absolutely worth the wait!! Whilst we were waiting, we overheard a couple of other tables complimenting the food and hoped we would be saying the same.....and we were not let down! We both ordered the Sunday Roast and both agreed it was delicious!!! The puddings were great too. Value for money = fantastic. Overall 10/10- A lovely meal to end a lovely day, thank you. Our first time eating here and we will definitely be back!

We ordered our meals but they didn’t tell us ,there would be up to an 45 minute wait for the meal ,it was nice could have been a warmer the food when it came up ,instead of being just warm ,after such a long wait for the meals ,it wasn’t busy it’s been busier in the past ,but much quicker service for the food ,plus it was much warmer the food ,

Waited over an hour for food .Am diabetic .so had to emergency eat!,meat fatty and jus on red cabbage upset my diverticulitis . Won’t be going there again !

Fabulous Inn on the banks of the canal. Great service, fabulous breakfast and good ales. Dogs and muddy walkers always welcome.

Great traditional pub right on a canal. Good food, generous portions, fair prices and friendly staff. I would happily come again next time Im in the area.

Beautiful old inn on the canal next to the lock. Has been in the same family for 300+ years. Serving varied, quality meals at reasonable prices. Has limited number of tables outside on the towpath for summer dining. Wonderful historic setting.

Sunday roast Excellent value, well presented, small plate option. Good choice of beers..Staff friendly. Just book for Sunday roast

The vegetarian breakfast was very good. You could tell they have fresh ingredients and didnt favour processed vegetarian food over quality ingredients. Also very filling.

Excellent meal, highly recommend.

Food great staff friendly. A really great place

We had our annual 50+ Club Summer Lunch this afternoon at The Boat Inn. Such a lovely location, the dining room windows overlooking the canal. Our meals were served piping hot and absolutely delicious. The cauliflower cheese was the best I’ve ever had. The service was great and very friendly. Looking forward to my next visit.

Just popped in for breakfast, lovely ingredients and very tasty. And beautiful setting by the canal. Will be back when next in area.

Visited today as the weather was great. Very friendly staff. We sat outside next to the canal, which was great as the seating was in the shade of the building. The food service was quick, and the portion size great. I would definitely recommend this great pub.

We usually love this place and come here a lot. Sadly the Father’s Day meal did not live up expectations. I had my favourite roast pork, only to find the crackling inedible ( hard) and pork not browned. Not many people in I hope it’s not going downhill.

Have previously praised lunch in Woodwards. We go quite often weekday lunch and have a sandwich in the Bar. Always well prepared and my wife's King Prawn overflows with prawns. Always greeted by Management and Staff alike, making us feel very welcome.

A party of 8 visited for Sunday lunch. It was excellent. Friendly staff super choice of food. served piping hot and good portion sizes. Not a frozen vegetable in sight. We all enjoyed everything we had, a first visit but it wont be our last. We asked for a window seat , which we got and it was lovely watching the boats on the canal. The only small criticism is that 2 of the 3 windows had blown obscuring the view a little. Thank you all at the boat for a lovely meal,

The canals take you back to a calm and peacefu timel

Proper canal side pub with good selection of Marstons sourced real ales and excellent value pub food. Small car park and you may get blocked in if it gets busy otherwise highly recommended

Great canal side pub. Landlord Andrew is extremely charming....handy CL at Home Farm for overnighting and having a proper drink. Mixed grill is massive

Sunday lunch. Waited half an hour. Beef with loads of fat needed cutting off. Roast potatoes over cooked almost burnt. Red cabbage soaked in something, I don't know what, I like cabbage normally but this tasted awful. All for £16.00, not nice. Worst Sunday lunch I have ever had. Had better elsewhere and cheaper. Management just offered a free ice-cream or coffee. Declined, just wanted to get out.

Nice traditional pub and restaurant (but with up dates). Best Steak & Ale pie I have had in decades. Generous portions in that and the Ham & Cheddar Ploughman's.

Really nice pub lovely food and good 🍺

Great winter or summer. Next to canal and boat trips from here on so.e days .

Lovley old pub just nice too be in old public house for a pint and a bit if grub 👍👍

24 of us had lunch followed by a trip up the Canal and through the Blisworth Tunnel. A fantastic day. Lunch of high quality was laid out in an upstairs private dinning facility, with excellent service and around a big square table, perfect. Lunch was followed by an informative and enjoyable cruise on the canal through the tunnel in a special purpose covered narrow boat, which we all enjoyed. A great club day out that we would recommend. Thank you Market Deeping Probus Club

Booked as a party of eleven and ended up as a table of twenty one. They coped admirably with the additional people . The food was delicious I had salmon and it was cooked spot on. The staff were friendly and unfazed by the increase in numbers . The pub was very busy in the bar area for about half an hour with a party waiting to go to the restaurant, but it still retained a welcoming atmosphere . Every one enjoyed the meals they had chosen.

Some of the food was disgusting very fatty. The staff never came to ask if everything was okay. A party of men came from a meeting so we had to move. Then when they went back the wives sat down and we had to move again. We were supposed to get 10percent off our meal as we are on a boat that they give to boaters. We will be letting the hire company know that it was disgraceful.

Such a great pub. Has a really nice relaxed atmosphere. Staff really friendly and knowledgeable about the canal history. Food was really nice and the chips are amazing. Good size portions. Will recommend

I've spent many afternoons here. The staff is super friendly, and the scenery is beautiful.

Met up with friends and had a really lovely meal. The Steak and Ale pie was delicious came with chunky chips and fresh veg broccoli, swede and peas. Highly recommend. ( We ate at the other pub in the village the night before and The Boat Inn was far superior 👏 highly recommend) Thankyou for our lovely meal

Loved it had been looking for this place for the last 5yrs We didn't stop for food on this occasion as we had a little one who was getting tired. But will be back as the food looked and smelt delicious. Very friendly staff lovely atmosphere. 🙂🙃👌👍

Was my second time here. First time was around 4-5 years ago. That visit was very good. And now (May 24)back again on a narrowboat and we had to visit them 😀. Service is still very good and friendly. Also the food is still very good. For the boaters: they offer grocery service, not a big list, but all things you can use daily. Check their website for what they can get you. There is no shop in the neighbourhood

What a lovely discovery. Staff welcoming, food amazing home cooked fayre. Great atmosphere with children and dogs allowed.

Thank you all so much all staff friendly helpful 😊 and the meal was absolutely beautifully cooked we will certainly return 😋