The Boathouse in Edinburgh, City of

We just went to this beautiful place that finally reopened a couple of months ago. The location is spectacular, the staff very nice and the food very good! You can also get drinks and share a cutting board or something else as an aperitif, which we Italians really like to do. :) Absolutely recommended.

Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and excellent food

Great pizzas well priced excellent service worth trying if your in the area..

Nice place🌊only had drinks 🍹🍸🍷🍻🥂

Great little cafe with quick service and good coffee.

Me and my wife have been here twice now and the food and drinks have been amazing and the manager Abdul has been very welcoming also made sure we had enough drink.

We had a lovely evening at The Boathouse with good food and excellent dessert. The stuff is very welcoming and friendly, especially Abdul. We will definitely come back.

The food tastes incredibly good. They are child friendly and also so friendly and yes as I said a 10/10 5/5 stars and really man have to go there

We were in Edinburgh for a week Portobello. We ate here every evening and were very satisfied. We are traveling with three children and they made a real effort to look after us, the little ones are sometimes a little louder but that wasn't a problem, there were also children's chairs. Both the bar boss and the manager Abdalbast were always available for a nice chat and extra requests were no problem. Family friendly! (And that's not so easy everywhere in Edinburgh) Favorite: Pizza was so delicious 😋

I had an absolutely lovely experience at The Boathouse! From the moment we arrived, the hospitality was flawless, and the staff were attentive without being overbearing. Although we didn’t try all their specialties, the dishes we chose were very good. We asked for something to keep the kids entertained, and while they didn’t have any games, they came up with a thoughtful solution so my niece could enjoy drawing. My sister discreetly asked for a small cake with a candle to celebrate my birthday, and they pulled off the surprise perfectly. The manager came over to check if everything was fine, and we ended up having a lovely chat with him and one of the servers. The service felt natural and genuinely kind. It’s hard to believe some of the negative reviews I’ve seen because, for us, the team was incredibly gentle and welcoming. A big thank you for making this special day even more memorable!

Only had Drinks, but really nice welcoming staff.

Stopped off for a couple refreshments today. Lovely place, staff all very nice! The manager recommended some drinks and had them brought out to the table where we grabbed a seat in the sun. Nothing was too much trouble! Definitely be back.

Absolutely appalling. Food quality was completely unacceptable for what is being charged. No doubt just grabbed from the frozen section at the Aldi across the road. The staff were clearly trying their best, but the manager was extremely rude when we offered feedback. He shouldn’t be allowed to work in customer service with that kind of attitude. He seemed very smug and happy with himself, I’m sure that will change when the place fails and he’s out of a job. Please do yourselves a favour and avoid at all costs.

Check your receipt. We were charged about 10 pounds over.

Really disappointed in my first visit back after the refurbishment. Calamari and scampi which were chewy rubbery frozen rubbish, cold dry chip shop style chips and plated in a way that no adult should feel is acceptable. Pizza that was ordered never even turned up. Managers attitude to complaints was horrendous, smug, unapologetic and totally unhelpful. The waitress we had was lovely, but she should never have been put in a situation to deal with unhappy customers, shocking move from management. prices being asked for such inedible food is shocking. You would be better walking the short journey to Oscar’s van in the prom. I won’t be back and would advise others to steer clear.

The food was substandard. As a table of 2 we ordered carbonara, which tasted like no carbonara I have had before. So dry and with such a strange taste, definitely a no. The diavola pizza was, at best, ok. It was clear that all the toppings were frozen, but it was edible. The truffle and parmesian chips were horrendous, just don't! I can't explain how wretched they were. Regarding the service, the staff were nice enough, but not very attentive. We won't go back and, living local, won't recommend.

Well. If I could put 0 stars I would. What a shame after a refurbishment you get worse rather than better. If you would like to pay £14 for frozen calamari and chip shop style cold chips then this is your place. The chips were piled high with 6 pieces of anaemic Calamari spread over like a child had plated it up, a plate of beige stodge. Luckily the pizza we ordered didn’t even turn up with no apologies so it saves us cancelling it. When speaking the manager who needs to go on a management course on how to speak to customers he “reassured us that this was all freshly made in house” and refused to listen or deal with the complaint which thus escalated it further. Sending over a young waitress to deal with payment rather than resolve himself was a shocking display of poor management. His attitude was awful and it is clear from this review we will not be back, living locally I will be telling everyone to avoid at all cost. Speaking to another table next to us they said the exact same thing!

As visitors to the original Boathouse (happy to be there) was looking forward to the re-opening. It was a reasonably pleasant day today so all well. But there is very little overhead or side-on shelter which will be needed shortly. Given the inevitable wind and rain to come I don't understand the reason for the flimsy umbrellas. I really want this project to work but it needs some proper weather reinforcements.

So pleased to see it open again. Lovely place and good food. Surprised to see so little covered space. Would be better covering more outdoor space with plastic roofing. Particularly due to our weather.

Bruschetta was great. Definitely changed its vibe. It’s giving restaurant rather than bar

Sat outside and enjoyed the view, food was enjoyable service was fantastic will recommend and definitely be back

Makes you feel as though your on holiday abroad being here, right by the sea and fantastic atmosphere & friendly staff.

The Boathouse has been closed for over 6 months after getting the caravans parked here removed for no good reason!! The food was OK, the service very good and the drinks terrible. Looks like it was just sneaky business maneuvering to secure the Joppa Rocks site.

The Boathouse is no longer. Portabello Beach Cafe Bistro Restaurant is now in it's place. Food and drinks very good! Lovely outdoor seating near the beach!

It has been closed for past year

Espectacular y las hamburguesas son increíbles

One of my favorite spots in Edinburgh. Seaside view at Portobello Beach and quick drink service

Looks nice enough, but what I had was extortionate. £3.50 for a double espresso.

Very good coffee and delicious treats

Cooles Restaurant direkt am Portobello Beach. Schneller Service und gutes preisgünstiges Essen.

Stopped for pizza and cocktails while out walking the dog. Pet friendly pizza was really good and staff friendly service was also quick

Came here for some drinks and sat outside, staff were super helpful and the service was speedy. Thanks again guys

Not much choice but the fish and chips were lovely... was nice sitting on a wet night looking over the beach ⛱️

Lively , welcoming staff ! Great service but dissapointed the menu has changed for worse and smaller :(

Not the same as it used to be. No cover when windy, raining or cold

We have been twice now this summer and both times the food has been awful. The scampi and chips was £12.95 for a few very hard crispy chips and 5 pieces of frozen scampi and a couple of pieces of lettuce for the salad garnish. My daughters kids meal was cheap frozen food too. We won’t be back.

Great food and friendly service

Nice location, all outside sitting, with a section with shelter which is very nice. The food was nice, we had a Diavolo pizza and calamari and chips, very tasty both of them. The only down side was waiting 15 min in the queue to get served a drink as there was only one person on the bar.

Good choice, including seafoods.

Fantastic place on a sunny day, excellent service and position on the beach front 👍

Yummy fish and chips on the beachfront. Windy! But there's heaters and some protection if you sit undercover.

Went to Porti and found a bar that serves food right on the seafront! It was great ,Limited menu but everything tasted great well worth a trip

Lovley little outside pub on the beach front

Had a really lovely lunch at The Boathouse on Friday in the sunshine. Really, really nice fish and chips which I would recommend. Only critique would be not skilled at pouring Guinness but regardless it still went down well with the fish and chips. Would most definitely visit again if I were local.

Great place to stop for a cool drink and take in the hot rays. Also do a little people watching. Ideally situated on the shore at Portabello.

Have been here twice so far and they were both great experiences! Outdoor seating was delightful and spacious, quite far from the restaurant so getting ahold of anyone to help is rare so you usually have to go in and find someone but that’s no problem. Indoor is very cozy and coastal themed which made us feel at home. Fish and chips were great both times, very good portions and quality! We will always come here when in Portobello for some fish and chippies 🐟

The pizza is amazing 🤩 with a lovely atmosphere. It’s been our favourite place this summer

Went to The Boathouse with high expectations. When we arrived we were left standing waiting as the staff walked by and didn't say anything, after asking if we sit or wait to be seated or do you take orders? Or do we go to the bar?? Anyway, we take a seat and still not a hello or welcome. I go to the bar to order drinks and food and again, bar girl gives a blank expression, 0 communication or welcome. We order a pint of peroni and kraken and coke, pizza and chips+cheese. The drinks were nice, and the views of Porty were beautiful but that's where it ends. The pizza was so undercooked with congealed cheese on top, and the chips were absolutely shocking - broken thin solid with the majority having 0 potato, the cheese was the ready grated rubbish that wouldn't melt, soooooo disappointed with everything other than the drinks and view. This place has masses of potential but if you can't get a pizza and chips right then you have no chance. We honestly have had better food at a greasy spoon

It's a good restaurant and their pizza is the best pizza I have ever tried.

Fantastic location, just lacking staff unfortunately. The few that were there were working hard but still long queue at the bar, 40 minutes for food and lots of dishes waiting for clearing. Invest in more staff and the place could be really great.

Unremarkable, tasteless Bolognese pasta. Had to add 3 packets of salt and 2 of pepper. Potato and onion soup was also tasteless, completely pureed. No chunks of potatoes. Soup came out with the pasta. Only thing that was decent was the garlic bread. We ordered a side not knowing it also came with our soup. Not sure why the bartender (who you order your food from) didn't tell us this. We had 9 pieces of bread for two of us. Water was never refilled. Had to get our own napkins. The only wait staff was a young gentleman. He was nice, but clueless as to how food service works. Tables were sticky.

My partner and I came to the boathouse for a drink and some food before spending some time at the beach. We waited over 40 minutes for some chips and garlic bread with around 7 tables in the restaurant not to mention a table that got here 25 minutes after us got their two full meals 10 minutes before us. There was only 3 taps on for lager and the staff were “grumpy” not smiling on any occasion. The toilets were dirty and all the toilet paper was soggy. I would love to return when the business seems more established as 2 members of staff clearly wasn’t enough.

The app to order didnt work. Besides that great location, fair prices and nice staff 👍

For a couple drinks and meal for a decent price by portobello place, this is not bad. On a plus they do lovely wood fired pizzas. Sadly it could do a bit better when providing either cutlery or napkins. Neither of which were provided with the meals brought out. For napkins you need to go tear from kitchen blue rolls next to the cutlery selection.

Nice setting . Stopped for a cool drink on a very hot day. Decided to get some loaded chips with cheese ,tiny portion , did not realise how small , till we were leaving , seen 2 customers with same order , plates were 4 or 5 times larger , menu did not state different sized portions. And to some it up my wife ruined a new pair of jeans , must have got caught on some loose nail or splinter on the wooden bench seat .

Lovely outside area, very wind proof and warm. Staff were lovely and attentive. Good beer selection

Fantastic beer menu and attentive staff

Great customer service, food, drink and fab vibe.

Visited with our two grandchildren and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Mid summer? And we were offered to have a heater on as it was chilly (much appreciated). Meal was served in good time and was fresh and tasty. Excellent friendly service from Scott. The children’s pizza was given a lovely wee touch (see photo). Will definitely return.

Freundliches und hilfsbereites Personal. Gute Küche. Sehr zu empfehlen.

Really nice place. Was quiet when we were in but the food was fab. Lovely on a sunny day

10'' diavolina was tasty! antigua's slightly spicy jerk chicken & pineapple combo was weird but still decent. Giant cocktails. Beach view. Food arrived fast. Can't complain.

Very nice place, next to beach with decent food and lovely staff. We had a pizza and chicken nuggets with chips to share. Very well cooked and tasty. We will be back!

Amazing place with amazing view of sea! We had garlic bread and cheesy fries both were amazing! Recommend to try this place ☺️

Great spot for a bar! Pizzas were fab, good wine, friendly staff too ❤

Great food and fantastic sea views.

Great location. Fair prices. Food is very basic.

my partner and I regularly visit the boathouse and always loved the atmosphere/decor and food. However we had not managed to visit since the recent refurbishment. We visited this evening and for the first time we were really disappointed. There appeared to be very little staff except one girl behind the bar. The covered section has been changed to remove a lot of the coverings- this seems like a strange choice considering how windy and chilly portobello can be, even in the summer. You know need to order via an app- the app would not order our food or drinks despite trying for 20mins. The only other option was to join the very long queue at the bar. The table didn’t appear to have been cleaned as there was sand all over it. We left without eating or drinking anything- very disappointed as this was one of our favourite places before all the changes.

Nice place for meeting drinking and eating

Large beachside pub with plenty of seating (some covered), and friendly staff.

You can't beat that view. It's the best view in the best beach in Edinburgh. Service however is a hist and miss. Been there once and was told to go to the table and didnt have a waiter coming for 40 minutes when I just decided to leave (enjoyed the sun though). Had a fish and chips once which was one of the best I had in Edinburgh. Last time my fish and chips tasted like old oil and was soggy and barely edible. Just no consistency whatsoever. My last visit the waitress came to the table some 6 times in 20 minutes to ask if everything was ok because they wanted to shut the place down (it was not past opening hours). I had barely finished eating and just wanted to chill for a bit. At the end of the day it's a shame, bc as I said this is the best venue for summer in Edinburgh. Still worth coming for the view and a couple of pints which you can buy at the counter to avoid any headaches.

Staff were really friendly, great banter and smiley. One of our party was super hungry and the kitchen was just about to close, without any grumbles they offered a few dishes that could be rushed through and our was delighted. There were no huffs or puffs just an empathetic acknowledgement from the young waitress that she was hungry too. Your staff look happy in their roles, that's not super common these days, the old fashioned customer service is dying out but your team proved that its possible to work in a challenging occupation without looking like you grudge it! Well done, we had a smashing night x

Slow to get service and high price

Good food and friendly waiters, would come again.

After hearing many good things we decided to visit after a walk down the Portobello promenade. However, were extremely disappointed by our experience. We were seated in the lovely outdoor bit under cover although this was right by the bar. Half of the bar was taken up by dirty glasses and dishes which staff had just piled on the side. It was not the cleanest/most welcoming area to have a drink. We decided to order a cheeseboard to share. We waited 35 mins for it before going and asking a waiter where it was. They said it was just coming. We waited a further 10 mins (45mins in total) and it had still not shown up. We were given a refund for the cheeseboard but it was all extremely disappointing. A few chunks of cheese, some crackers and garnish should not take 45 mins to prepare!! Would recommend getting food elsewhere like ShrimpWreck further down the promenade.

Can't complain its a good place to visit

Great experience near the loch ness

A lovely little place to dip into on the seafront for a little food and drink. Their twist on a hemingway daiquiri is excellent.

Lovely atmosphere, excellent service and good pizza 🍕 will definitely be back soon

My food was good but other people in the party had very poor food and their requirements were not met when asked for their fish to be cooked less than normal.

Well aware of the popularity of the Boat House. So booked ahead for a lunchtime Saturday which is prime time. With that in mind we put on the Patience Suits. Attended to very quickly on arrival and the place was buzzing. Great seats and drinks with orders taken accordingly to the stacked out place. Yes the food was very late..... But the atmosphere was brilliant and when the food came it was brilliant. Do not come here on a very busy day even if you're booked and have no patience. The Boat House is all about chilling, atmosphere, forget about life for a moment. 🙏👌

We were pleasantly surprised at how good the pizzas were. Service was brilliant for Edinburgh standards and our server was very enthusiastic (another pleasant surprise in Edinburgh) They could improve on the starters but all in all we will definitely be back.

Great place for a drink overlooking the sea.

So lovely girl when we visit the place

Great place for a couple of scoops on the beach or cocktails and dinner.... Great location and atmosphere.... Amazing pasta, real pizza oven and nice staff.. book a table it's gets busy!

Italian kitchen plus fish and chips. Tomatoes on tomato mozzarella dish were not ripe though. The place is beautiful and the service is excellent.

Food lovely as was cocktails staff could not be more helpful

Staff very friendly but service slow and food is awful. Calamari like onion rings, fried in thick batter and just yuk. Heard bad things about the food tbh. Will not be back for food.

Just been to boat house for my daughters 18th birthday meal. Such a lovely setting inside and out. Staff are basically falling over you to help and make sure youre experience is top notch which you always get at the boat house. Thanks guys for another amazing visit and great memories ❤️

Lovely wee spot for some tea and gluten free cakes …they had lots of items on their lunch/dinner menu too but we just stopped for a quick cuppa!

£2.20 for a can of Coke. This isn't London

Visited for lunch, pizza excellent, fish and chip ?? Fish nice, Chips terrible, hard small broken pieces. Staff very helpful and friendly.

Nice and relaxing, down for the day, music really good, did not get the girl's name that served us but she was warm and very attentive, well done will be back, keep it going, Alan +Annmarie

Just not very helpful. Surely they saw I had a white stick but still let me struggle through a narrow door with drinks in my hand.

Calamari was spot on, fresh tasty and the service very good. Great view of the beach too.

My local. Wonderful food. Wonderful cocktails. Fantastic staff! There near enough every week.

Very good food in the end (mussels and chips and a calzone pizza) and left happy because the manager gave us a large drink each to make up for a debacle with the chips. They originally came out cold and stale but when we questioned it, we were told they were fresh...which was a little insulting because freshly fried chips are quite easy to spot. Then the new chips took so long to come, we were close to complaining about this and we had finished our mussels by then. The new chips weren't amazing but freshly fried at least. I do think they handled it well though - an apology goes a long way, the food was tasty and we'll be back. Will change to 5 stars if we have more immediate good service a couple of times!

Came across this place by chance - a GREAT place for food, drinks and people watching - dog friendly too - result!

Went there for a drink with my girlfriend, before we could even finish our drink one waitress came and asked if we wanted another one, as we hadn't finished said no, one minute later another waitress came and asked the same, we said no, then another can again, and then another one came and asked if we wanted to pay. It felt they just wanted to get rid of us before we could even finish our drinks properly, we paid, having paid another waitress came and asked if we wanted another drink or wanted the bill?? Not going back, they make you feel very unwelcome and try to force you to buy a drink before you have finished the first.

Asked for a takeaway coffee and the guy behind the counter was rude and flippant at my request. Decided to just walk out because that response was needlessly disrespectful.