The Boat Shed Café in Argyll & Bute

Followed this place on Instagram where it looks amazing. Was prepared for the fact it was on a single track road and that parking was limited, this is made clear on their Instagram. We arrived and there was one parking space left. Hooray. Queue for tables, went down reasonably quickly, we got seated within 15 minutes. Staff are very busy and while polite enough, they really weren’t the friendliest. The place was very busy and it was pretty cramped. We ordered two highland vegetable soup, served with bread, two chicken burritos and a vegetarian burrito plus drinks. The food arrived way before the drinks, not ideal. The soup was “fine” - had I made it at home I’d be adding something else to it, it didn’t feel like it was home made, it was a bit odd. Two thin slices of super market type bread, nothing special. My vegetarian burrito arrived with half its filling on the plate, I got told oh sorry it exploded, so here’s a fork, but it tasted nice. The two chicken burritos were a bit tasteless and we asked for extra hot sauce to be told there wasn’t any. Only time we got a smile was when we deposited a tip in the tip jar on leaving. I can understand the fact it is a hard slog being so busy in such a cramped space and constantly trying to deliver food and drinks to tables with people queuing all around the place. But that’s what you sign up for in the customer service game. The outside toilet door was broken, the inside door handle was missing, so you had to go to the toilet with a buddy to let you it the loo. Also not ideal. The views are great. The food is ok. If this place was a cafe minus the view, I wouldn’t go back. The view makes it. I can imagine in the summer it is heaving and parking is a potential disaster.

Amazing location, cool staff, best Highland Broth and bean wraps going. Such a relief from food elsewhere and has the cosiest vibe.

Not worth the hype - we took a big detour to come here thinking it would be a lot more than it was. Food was poor, the whole outside smelt like sewage (to the point of being unbearable and having to come back inside), and there were more wasps than I’ve ever seen. It really wasn’t a pleasant experience and given that I - like everyone else - thought it would be as pictured on socials, it was a huge let down! It’s tiny and toilet is minging.

We came after seeing the cafe shared multiple times on social media. It’s definitely hyped up. The cafe and car park are small and the food and service aren’t what we were expecting. Staff were polite but not overly helpful, the portions were small and the soup tasted like Heinz tinned. Even the bread with the soup was a let down, just one slice of plain white bread. There’s definitely a big deal made by influencers looking to get the perfect shot. The views are beautiful but this is definitely not the best cafe in Scotland like the claim to be.

Lovely little spot with great views. Nice menu , unfortunately portion size ridiculous. Staff friendly

Beautiful location with a lovely feel inside and out. We had leek and potatoe soup (Soup of the day) which unfortunately was tasteless and a ham and cheese toastie. The toastie was very dry, no butter on the outside and the cheese was bland. Was disappointed because we had walked from Carrick castle and was looking forward to a tasty snack. It's a pity the food doesn't match up to the premises.

Horrible grumpy unfriendly service. Mediocre food. Run by amateurs. Nothing remotely friendly or Scottish about this place.

Lovely location on the edge of Loch Goil. 25 min wait for a table, people queuing outside. Wait list operated which is good. Limited menu of soup, toasties, cakes, scones etc. Reasonable prices. Small, tight carpark.

Decided to go here after seeing it all over Instagram but really didn’t live up to expectations. Was a nightmare trying to get a space in the tiny park and hardly any room to even turn. On approaching the cafe, the smell of sewage was extremely strong. I think I remember seeing a sign saying “wait here to be seated” so we waited, then when we reached the till the girl asked us our table number, which we didn’t have because the sign told us to wait. Contradictory and confusing. They were rather busy and full outside but put us on a waiting list to go sit out next to the Loch when a table became available. Decided after our lunch to go back up and order some cakes. The girl on the till was trying to shuffle people about into 2 queues instead of one big one. One queue for if you already had a table and were ready to order, and one for if you were still waiting. So I stood in the second queue as I already knew what I was having and where I was sitting. However; there was another girl making her way through the line and assigning people to tables, so now they knew their table number they were able to put an order in. Big queue of about 10 people and they all started getting served and then second queue of people were just standing waiting. I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle and confusion so just forgot about the cake and left. All over very confusing experience, very disorganised and none of the girls looked if they wanted to be there. Only positive of this place is the great location and views out over the Loch. The cafe itself is gorgeous just a shame about the organisation of the place

A lovely cafe with lovely views! Food and cakes were delicious. Also dog friendly. Staff were very accommodating when we asked to sit outside rather than inside and put us on a waiting list. We had a table outside within 5 minutes. Will definitely return.

We loved it here. It’s a great out of the way stop to just relax for a little bit. The views are amazing, we had great scones and the staff was fun. Just as expected.

Food was lovely We had a chicken burrito with crisps and a very very good coffee Fantastic place to grab some nice food with some amazing views over the water. Staff were very nice and will try to seat you outside when ever possible. Best cafe we have visited in a long time. You can also watch the Robins from the water front seating area. I like how the outside seating looks like you’re in a tree house - magical - loved it thank you From Laura & James Hamilton who were staying at Rowan House B&B in sept 2023

Planned a visit here after spotting a lovely Instagram review of the Boat Shed. Arrived and the car park was in absolute chaos with cars blocked in as people parking over spaces on the wrong side of the car park - tried to get to the bottom of the car park to turn and met a car coming the other way who refused to reverse back in to their space and let us turn - had to reverse full length of the car park which in itself was a total hazard as people standing queueing outside. By this time the single track road had a queue of traffic trying to get in to the car park. We had to go in the opposite direction from which we wanted and turn further up the road. My husband said ‘Let’s never come back here’ and went in to the village and found somewhere else to eat with a decent car park!

Terrible. Actually can't believe the food we were served here. £4.99 for the barely toasted "toastie" and £5.99 for the Panini (both pictured) Poor poor quality ingredients, pathetic portion size. The car park is an absolute nightmare, very small and people blocking each other in. No booking system in place to cope with demand so just constant cars in the car park and blocking the road outside. The views are amazing but unfortunately this place really is a great example of don't believe everything you see on social media.

Not perfect but 5 star experience / setting. Yes parking is rubbish Yes the wait time was long Yes the cake/biscuits are hard and too sweet Yes there was a smell of sewage tank But….these aside it is a worthwhile stop … but for many it will fall short