The Boathouse, Instow in North Devon

Been today for an early Christmas family get together and the had the festive menu. It was all really great. Lovely starters and the main meals were accompanied with so may veggies / roasties / Yorkshire pudding. A really proper spread. Great service and all at a very affordable price. Many thanks to the Staff. Sonya & Paul T

Just had wonderful meal for 8 at the boathouse. Lovely service by cheerful staff A perfect end to a few days away with friends

Great food, Great atmosphere and great view! (This review is the summer one!)🌞 We revisited The Boathouse last night, with friends, on a very different winter evening, (cold with pouring rain). It was warm, welcoming, the service was excellent and the meal, (monkfish followed by creme brulee, ) was superb! Definitely one of the best I have enjoyed anywhere! We will be returning soon!🤩

Lovely Sunday roast great service.

Excellent restaurant, fresh and well prepared products! we had a blast! Good and warm atmosphere. The service is very professional and dynamic, thanks to Chris for his welcome!

I overheard that the Boathouse is more interested in attracting tourists than locals. So I won't be back.

We always call at the Boathouse when visiting Instow! A great all round experience!!

A Saturday lunch with my dear friend who is local and wanted me to try your amazing food and enjoy the view.

Beautiful views from the terrace, great pub xx

Great location, all downhill from there. Corporate nightmare and narrow selection of ales

We come here regularly but this visit fell short of our usual visit. The charcuterie board and beetroot salad were both very good. We ordered the whole plaice but then found out the menu had changed and instead of the usual pot of fries and side salad it came on its own and sides had to be ordered extra. We ordered fries and a side salad to be told that they couldn’t do a side salad as they didn’t have the ingredients. Instead I could have a beetroot salad the same as my starter. Fries were not on the menu but could be ordered. My fish was overcooked when served and two huge portions of fries were bought up for us each and two side salads of beetroot and rocket salad. The fries were only warm not hot and one side between two would have been plenty. Very disappointing and they really should go back to the way they used to present their fish of the day.

Booked for Sunday roast, I must say the whole experience was terrible. Took over 35 min to see someone for a drink , no customer service at all. Let’s start on the roast. Well I must say it’s prob the worst we ever had, only I hate giving bad reviews but this was terrible, beef was steamed or boiled, potatoes 100% old or defrosted had a horrific old smell to them. My boy had the pork belly that was even worse, all fat and the skin was zero crispy skins all floppy boiled meat. My daughter had the beef burger, this was a frozen patty that was cooked to death, so so dry. I spoke to the guy at the till and he did not have much to say about it really and just took off two roasts of the bill. Honestly can’t tell you how bad this was. I truly hope we were just the unlucky ones as this just felt like a tourist trap.

Family meal, really tasty food and great service. If we were local we would be eating here a lot!

Amazing food, amazing staff and views. We don't have a dog but if you are a dog owner this is thr pub for you. Easy parking nearby as well. Will be back

Nice view, nice IPA, dog friendly, other customers are friendly, staff are friendly. Loved it.

Great venue, wonderful staff and best Sunday roast beef I have ever had, and I have had more than a few. Such a pity I don't live any closer. Even went back foe dinner the next evening.

We had a great anniversary meal at the Boathouse. The atmosphere is excellent, and the staff are really friendly and attentive, plus we never felt rushed. The food was superb (Camembert sharer started, burger and Bream mains), and the desserts (brûlée and panna cotta) were particularly well made. We also enjoyed the Bakewell Tart cocktail. The only thing that could have been better was the 0% alcohol amaretti sour….last time I had it, it really tasted and looked like a Disaronno sour, but this one was very different and not quite as good. Overall 5 stars, and we’ll definitely come back.

Lovely place for some food or just a drink, looks out over the Instow beach, has a roof top terrace, bar and restaurant to cater for all needs, dog friendly and the food is superb

Brendan and Cat were the loveliest of hosts....it's a shame they have left....big shoes to fill but current interim manager is nice and trying hard to win hearts and minds.

Fish and Chips was out of this world. Best I've had.

Great meal, fish was delicious. Really good service from Georgia our waitress. Great views out into the beach and sea.

We had a wonderful lunch at the boathouse. I booked far in advance and asked for the Table with the best view. We were sat in the window with a direct view of the beach. We had two dogs with us who are made to feel very welcome. My friend had the muscles and I had the crab flatbread and a side of roasted beetroot salad. We had a wonderful time and would thoroughly recommend the boathouse to anyone visiting Instow.

Birthday meal, it's our local favourite restaurant. Didn't disappoint - great food and service. Thank you Boathouse team

Really lovely place great food and views

Great meal at the boathouse again. Great cheerful staff, good food especially the desserts. Service is excellent and the view spectacular. Great restaurant and bar.

Our visit was a recce for an up and coming birthday celebration. And we booked that as soon as we finished our meal. Excellent all round.

We went here to eat lunch on a cloudy lunchtime in September. However, although cloudy, it was warm enough to sit on their rooftop terrace looking out over the river towards Appledore. This made for a lovely lunchtime experience. We both had fish and everything about the meal was excellent.service was good, the menu selection was good and the fish and vegetables were cooked to perfection. highly recommended.

Stunning Flat White with even more stunning views - Highly recommended after a walk on the sand !

Great place for a coffee and cake in the morning after a walk on the beach

Didn't stay. Just visited restaurant. Food was fantastic and service was spectacular. Roast Beef was amazing. Crab linguini described on our table as the best they have ever had. Prices not too expensive either.

Terrible service, asked for a table upstairs every excuse to not allow me to have one although tables available, then just got attitude from all the staff. Ordered starter bread and farmhouse butter(no butter) when asked for some as it clearly states that on the menu, again just met with an attitude. First time I’ve been and won’t go again. Expensive and the service is horrendous, stay away! Just go next door cheaper and much more friendlier. £14 for the bread and olives shown in the picture I’ve tagged

Great evening here with friends. Busy gastropub with friendly efficient service. Super meal and wines.

Situated in a great position. Service was good and food offers were good with lots of specials available. Our food was what i expected and coukdng fault it.

Went here yesterday food amazing once we got it! Had to ask after 20mins to order our food. Realise this was due to the lovely weather but they would see the forecast hence get more staff in otherwise would've been more stars

Have visited several times this week and can highly recommend. Dog friendly See you tomorrow!

We love The Boathouse, we holiday each year in Bideford so we walk our white boxer dog on Instow beach and often stop at the boathouse for lunch. The food is fabulous, great service and wonderful views over the beach. Highly recommended!!

Beautiful place. Lovely coffee. Unfortunately the man that served us made us feel an inconvenience -my daughter is dairy free and we ask about cakes, got annoyed attitude back. We weren't given menus, told how much the bill was just a 'tap there' No checking on us. Took 30 mins for coffee to come.

The Bosthouse is the go to place when I visit Instow. The coffee and food is amazing staff are very friendly and always make you feel welcome. Can highly recommend a visit you won't be disappointed.

We visited once again on Thursday, we are locals and regularly visit our local pubs and restaurants. The problem with The Boathouse is its lack of consistency in terms of service and quality of food served. Thursday was one of those all too often disappointing visits, my wife’s steak was severely undercooked first time and again after asking for it to be cooked further. Service was ‘cold’ and slightly dismissive. A big shame as we took friends with us who were visiting but all four of us went away disappointed and feeling as if we were getting in the way of staff. They really need to sort out this hit or miss servicing and food quality. So disappointing as this is one of our favourites when they get it right. Will give it a break for a few months and try again once recent experiences fade away.

Not sure if the boathouse is under new management but the service was chaotic, dismissive and rude today. We had driven all the way from Croyde Bay especially to re-visit the boathouse one of our favourite restaurants which I have previously reviewed with 5 stars… The mussels and the service were amazing last time. Confusion started as soon as we were through the front door… No greeter, we stood there for a while being ignored while other guests pushed past. There was no ‘please wait to be seated’ sign so we wandered upstairs where we found four or five empty uncleared tables on the balcony. At this point we were quire rudely ordered to go back down and wait by the front door. My partner has a leg injury so she stayed upstairs while I went back to the front door and waited, and waited. Eventually a member of staff came up and told me that there were no tables available upstairs. I mentioned I had been sent down from the balcony and that there were four empty tables! I was then told that there would be at least a half hour wait for food, which was surprising as the downstairs restaurant was almost empty. When I said we were happy to wait the staff member disappeared to talk to the manager and then begrudgingly took me upstairs but tried to cram us into a corner where there was a dog encroaching from another table. When we asked if we could have one of the empty tables away from the dog the manager came over and quite rudely told us that any empty table we could see would be reserved and we would have to sit where they wanted us to sit. At that point we left and had a really nice meal next door at the Instow Arms who were very attentive and friendly. As we left 40 minutes later the tables we had seen on the Boathouse balcony were still empty and the family that took our table were still waiting for food. The day was not spoiled as we had discovered the Instow arms and they get a five star review today. I rarely give bad reviews, thought long and hard about reviewing today but we feel that the owner of the Boathouse needs to know how staff are treating their customers. The restaurant was not particularly busy but even if there was a staffing crisis in the kitchen your customers should never be treated with such distain. I see from other reviews here that we are not the first to find the staff rude and dismissive. Shame as the food is probably still wonderful but I cant see us going back. (Thank you for your prompt and considered reply. I should have mentioned this all happened at around 1:45 on Friday. The issue was the rudeness of all three staff members that we met, it seems quite engrained judging by other reviews this year. As mentioned we have dined with you several times in the past and tipped the good service every time)

Return visit. Disappointed to discover that the seafood platter sharing dish wasn't on the menu anymore 😕. However we had a very pleasant evening.

Brilliant food, great to have a choice of freshly caught fish on the specials board every day. The staff were attentive even though the place was busy. The view to Appledore at sunset is fantastic and capped off a great evening out. Gave 3 for the rooms because we only went for a meal.

Average food, not really great service, slow

Food really good, but we could not sit outside on a beautiful sunny day

Found by chance on Google maps and drove up especially. Glad we did. Lovely building, great service and great food with a fabulous view. Had some lovely squid, prawns, mullet and steak. All very happy indeed.

Perfect host - Brendan, his lovely wife and the team were attentive, friendly, approachable and happy! Chef - not only was the fresh fish and seafood cooked to perfection, to see chef come out and speak to guests was a pleasure to witness, kudos to him and his team. What a great experience on a rainy beach day! Thanks team

The reason for a two star review is that we we waited a long time to get served with drinks. The waiter was apologetic, so no problem there. He wasn't so patient when waiting for my wife to decide what she wanted, and was visibly perturbed. When it finally arrived, the food was ok, but not worth the prices. The most annoying thing was putting a £35 service charge on our bill. That is simply extortionate, and we refused to pay it just to bring food over to a table. It's not like the staff don't get paid! Businesses in Devon complain about the drop in tourism. Being changed £35 for below average service won't bring people back.

Awful. Prawns and squid were frozen. The chilli sauce they put on both was like something from a kebab van. I couldn’t detect any alcohol in the cocktails

Great restaurant, lovely food and friendly, attentive staff. Dog friendly and perfect for a post meal dog walk on Instow beach. Only downside was they were out of lobster so we will unfortunately have to come back 😊

Was looking forward to bringing family whilst they were staying with us as we live in the area, and have been a few times but this time we were very disappointed with level of service and staff were so rude, we was not shown to our table or given any menus , then the young lady who booked us in came and slapped the menus on the table, didn’t even speak a word. Had to wait 10 mins for a drinks order to be taken, then over 30 minutes for the food order to be taken, food was good but the portion size was very small, I had the fish and it came with 3 new potatoes and 1 carrot, not worth paying £22. We ordered more drinks but one drink didn’t arrive so my partner went to ask at the bar, the bar man said he would bring it over but it didn’t materialise. The local cricket team came in and they were treated a lot better. Won’t be back in a hurry if they treat their customers like we were treated last night.

We booked a table on Friday 23rd August, on the deck upstairs, the weather was perfect, the restaurant was full and busy with a lovely atmosphere, the service was excellent all the way through, the food amazing & drinks (cocktails) beautifully done. We were so impressed we booked a another table for Tuesday 27th, we arrived early but that was not a problem, we were taken to our table again upstairs, we sat slightly inside, the waiter was lovely and we ordered drinks and waited until after 5 to order, again the food was wonderful, oysters, squid, bread to start, Steak, burger, mussels and the goats cheese salad flowed, beautiful… the service however was very disappointing, it was obviously quieter, we were the only ones upstairs!! We managed to order another drink then we never saw anyone, so we didn't buy those luscious sweets or more drinks. We felt we had been forgotten about so decided to leave. My family walked out the door, to be honest we all could have walked out and not paid!!! I would never do that so i approached the bar tender, he asked what i wanted, I want to pay the bill please, he looked around and asked what table I was from, hmmm he had served us earlier so I wasn't very impressed that he didn't remember we were upstairs and we had all just come down ( in front of him) anyway, I paid, I’m just moaning about the difference on those two visits , we felt let down yesterday.

Nice location and setting. Clean inside and well set out. We have visited the boathouse a few times over the years and really enjoyed the experience. Sadly this visit has put us off for the future. We waited around 35 minutes after being seated just for a drinks order to be taken. A few new customers came in and were seated close to us. Their orders for food and drinks were taken within 5 minutes by their waiter. We had to ask for our food order to be taken in the end. Whilst taking our orders the waitress was not even looking at us and was more interested in a kite outside on the beach and had to ask us again what we wanted. Food arrived pretty quickly and myself and our 2 children enjoyed our choices. Food was well cooked and fresh. No complaints. Unfortunately my wife ordered a crab thermadore from the specials menu and for the price we paid we would have expected a little white crab meat rather than all brown. My wife enjoyed it but the lack of white meat was a let down. Portions were satisfyingly substantial so only one of us could manage a dessert which was very enjoyable. Our waitress cleared all plates but one which stayed there (emprty) even throughout dessert. We asked for the bill and when it arrived the card machine was just put down infront of us and the waitress disappeared after telling me to enter my card and follow instructions. We paid the bill and waited for someone to return to let us know all was ok.... nobody returned so we left. Normally we would like to leave a tip of our choice but this was already added into the bill at 12% of our £150 bill. The food was enjoyable on our visit but sadly let down by the service we received. Dont like leaving poor reviews but cant alter the disappointment of this visit which will probably be our last sorry.

We were disappointed with our experience at the Boathouse. The calamari was tough, the lobster was expensive and not particularly tender and the service was poor.

Booked for dinner on Bank holiday Saturday. The restaurant was very busy (no problem with that) and therefore the service was quite slow. I ordered a course which said it came with tomatoes but when it arrived there was a green salad. When I pointed this out to one of the staff he advised it came with salad. I disagreed and he said he would check the menu. Subsequently a portion of tomatoes arrived but with no apology.

The menu gave high hopes. We were greeted rather rudely by a member of staff. Waited 20 minutes before having to ask to order a drink. Tried to order oysters and was told no to a certain option due to them ‘being too busy’. when the main course came the crab and prawn linguine was so oily I could have poured half a mug worth. They took it off the bill but the staff didn’t seem bothered. First time visiting Bideford and will 100% be the last. Absolutely terrible.

I went here recently and I wasn't happy about the food. Or the service. The place needs a GOOD CLEAN, there were dead wasps scattered around... 2 people had 2 starsers, 2 mains, and 2 desserts for £150, no wine was involved! That was a salty bill that made up for the bland food! I went home hungry because I did not like my food. I do not recommend this place, and I won't be going back again. There were not 1, not 2, but 3 drink menus. Just why?

Lovely atmosphere, friendly kind staff and amazing food. We drove past on a busy Sunday afternoon with no hope of a table so we booked for lunch on the last day of our holiday. So glad we did. We all tried oysters (a success!) then I had whole mackerel, with potatoes and carrots, my husband had crab, our teenager had cider battered haddock and chips and our 10 year old had fish strips from the junior menu. All really lovely. I hardly ever have pudding but the lemon and raspberry tart with raspberry sorbet was just too good to miss. Great AF cocktails too. Would definitely recommend a visit and if we’re ever nearby on a sunny summer evening we’ll be back!

We did not stay at the Boathouse but were fortunate enough to dine there last night. The menu covered all tastes and we chose a whipped chicken liver parfait to start, half a fresh lobster cooked in garlic butter and a crème brûlée for dessert. What can I say? We were very well looked after from the time we entered the restaurant until leaving after our wonderful meal. Well done everyone - a first class dinner and first class service from the staff and of course chef. Thank you: we will certainly return and will recommend the Boathouse to all our friends.

Great restaurant almost on the beach at Instow. Really good service and lovely food. We will be back

The roof top setting is beautiful overlooking the bay and the food was amazing, so fresh and well cooked. However it was let down by the service. We asked what the soft drinks selection was as neither of us drink alcohol and were told "coke, lemonade and J20s " we would have expected some nice artisan cordials, fentimans that sort of thing. I ordered Crab thermidor and my partner ordered Sole off the specials board which was brought to us and then taken away before we had ordered and other tables where coming over taking photos of it to use at their table. When the food came we got one Sole and two portions of Crab, when we said we had only ordered one we were told "Jamie is not going to be happy " I don't know who Jamie is and I'm not bothered if he was happy or not. No apology given just taken away with a huff and when the bill came it had 2 Crab on as well as the Sole, overcharged by £25. Told "yeah sorry about that " Also the server didn't know what one of the specials consisted of. A manager should make a server aware of what every special consists of for the evening. All in all fabulous food and location but let down by the service

On a very busy evening, the service was first class - many thanks

Food was tasty and came quickly after ordering. We ordered a couple of children’s meals as we sat down, and these arrived very promptly; however, similarly to a couple of other reviews, the service was painfully slow after this. We waited about 20 minutes for a drinks order and 45 minutes for our food order to be taken. This would have been more understandable if it had been busy. Would recommend visiting for the food.

Lovely place Excellent food, super location

Came back to Instow for a long weekend in August after a short stay in June. Pre booked all our evening meals at the boathouse this time as we were blown away with it on our last visit! Staff are brilliant, so friendly but with a nice laid back vibe, and the food… well we loved it. Recommend the cider battered haddock and chips with the home made sauces. Really decent burger and the crab linguine was super tasty. Yummy puddings too. Oh and they also do a very decent breakfast bap! We will be back again

My friend and I had had at the Boathouse on Friday. I can honestly say it was the best lunch ever. Delicious skate. Friendly staff and beautiful views from the open top terrace.

Lovely evening meal, crab thermidor was amazing and hope it stays on the specials board..

Great location, food is excellent. Curry sauce and ice cream was especially good 👍

We had a lovely early evening meal here for my father’s 85th. Food was great and the service friendly and just right for timing, food arrived quickly and we were not hurried along even though it was getting busier. And of course with a window table the view was incredible. Thank you for a lovely birthday meal!

Great location overlooking the beach

Had a lovely window table. Good service, nice atmosphere lovely location, right beside the beach and bus stop. Lovely food.

Lovely lunch on the top deck overlooking the beach.

We visited The Boathouse for lunch yesterday, and were seated upstairs, looking over Instow beach. The view was fantastic, and well accompanied by the superb food. The choices were excellent, and every single dish was thoroughly enjoyable and really tasty, we loved it.

Update: was asked to email, emailed and no response….. Not great experience, left extremely frustrated and annoyed. Started with the manager showing us the specials board but taking it away before we had even finished reading it. Sounds silly but this was the start of the frustrations to what should have been a nice evening, the LED lights above the table were so bright and were constantly flickering causing our eyes to go funny. Then after 15 minutes of waiting to order anything our waiter turned up and took our order of drinks but when i tried to order our starters and mains was told no others had to order their food first, 20 mins later we get to order our food. (There was only 4 other couples sat in the restaurant so they were not busy) it took 40 mins from sitting down to get our drinks. The drinks had clearly sat on the bar for a while because the pint i had ordered had lost its head and had sunk back. We finally got a half arsed apology that our starters were delayed after i had enough of clock watching and waiting. No one asked if our starters were ok, We finished our starters and our mains had come, with the waiters not removing the starter plates or even replacing our cutlery. Yet we carried on, i had the fish and chips and for £20 you done expect overcooked fish in a fish restaurant. Not one person asked if we wanted more drinks or if we wanted desserts. I had finally had enough and was short with a waitress who had finally turned up to clear our table and just asked for the bill. Absolutely terrible and a waste of £90. Sort out a baby sitter to have a nice anniversary dinner with my wife in a expensive restaurant to pay top money for s””t service. Don’t bother go to the pub next door and save your money. Spoke to manager but was so frustrated and annoyed i just told him “terrible service” and walked off he spoke to my partner but he just said “its not busy so that shouldn’t have happened” ……. No it shouldn’t have and you wont get the chance to do this again. Recommend to other locals i think not! What it comes down to is if you pay top end prices you expect atleast mid level service not terrible service. I have had better service from a weatherspoons.

Beautiful location beach side at Instow. The staff are very friendly and efficient. Good choice of seafood on the menu and a good kids menu. A couple of dishes if you are not a fan of seafood. The view from the roof terrace is stunning and it's dog friendly.

Fabulous evening with family and two friends. One pudding was a let down. Pavlova. Mentioned and they gave us some of our tip back. Left a good tip, because couldn't fault anything else.

Overall very good experience however we were not told when we’re sat down that mussels were not available which was a shame as it was a main event in a sea side restaurant

Good service and atmosphere but unfortunately my crab and prawn tagliatelle didn't have one prawn in it and was very greasy.

Really lovely food, service is good and the views from the terrace are stunning!

Great location looking out across Instow beach across to Appledore. Food was good but pricey. Didnt have what I ordered. had run out on a Friday at 7pm. Service was poor, waited ages for everything and felt the frustration of staff who knew they were not able to perform to a high standard.

The food saved this place. The service was atrocious. The most unfriendly, unwilling to accommodate waitress I think I have ever encountered. We asked for an adaptation to one of the dishes but were told “no, you have to have it exactly as it says on the menu or you don’t have it at all” she didn’t even ask the kitchen if it was possible! We had an umbrella on our table and we asked if it was okay to take the top part off, again were told no, so spent the whole meal not being able to see each other as blocked by a folded umbrella and had to lean to the side to have a conversation. The calamari starter was really not nice, it basically went back uneaten but the waitress didn’t question it, didn’t ask if everything was alright with our meals. Thankfully the rest of the food was good. Nice location, but clearly they think because of that they don’t need to bother with the service aspect. Service with a smile would have been nice but instead it was service with a scowl!

First night in Instow and I’d researched the boathouse, menu and location was excellent. Busy downstairs and upstairs had space so we (family of five) lit up the eyes of the server as she showed us to our table upstairs overlooking the bay and the sunset. Drinks order took 10 minutes after we’d been seated, and then we waited for our food order to be taken, one of the male servers chucked down a specials board and walked off, no explanation as to what was what. 20 minutes later he wandered over and said “you ready” ready for what? Without a pen and paper, bear in mind there’s five of us all wanting starters and mains, he attempted to memorise our order, why? Just write it down, I’m never impressed by servers who try to put an order through from memory. Half through his act of mind recall he stopped us like he was plate spinning the items and said “can we do staters and then mains”……..he’d forgotten. Once we’d all ordered, he said “I’ll go and put it through and come back and check I’ve got it right” JUST WRITE IT DOWN! The food came, well, 10 minutes after my starter, which was natural oysters, so cold with no cooking needed, the other starters arrived and the food didn’t disappoint. The restaurant was getting quieter as the evening drew on, we then waited 30 minutes for our mains, during the food we were not table checked for quality, satisfaction or further drinks although there were servers without tables to attend too, felt like we’d been forgotten. The food was excellent, I can’t deny that, oysters, white bait, mussels, burger, and the fish and chips was amazing. Overall, food was fantastic, service, bit of a let down.

The restaurant itself is beautiful. The food was delicious and very well cooked. Unfortunately, it was all let down a bit by the service. This is quite an expensive place to eat but we had to keep asking for menus, chasing drinks and generally reminding them we were there. Was a bit unpleasant eating our dessert whilst someone dried cutlery and loudly threw it into a tray in the middle of the restaurant. Nobody asked how the food was until we were paying the substantial bill and to be honest, they could’ve taken quite a bit more money from us if we hadn’t have had to chase someone every time we needed a drink. All of the staff were really polite - they just didn’t seem to give the same level of care consistently across the restaurant.

I have been coming here for a few years now and have seen the place go from strength to strength. I am always made to feel welcome. The food is excellent and the top deck, well there cannot be to many places in the world that has a sunset like this.although this is predominantly a restaurant you can just come in for just a coffee or a drink

What a brilliant place ! Loved the atmosphere, service was excellent and very friendly and helpful. So delighted we were able to bring our dog with us.

Really top quality venue with great friendly staff. We came for an evening meal with Molly and Chris serving us.

Sadly not the usual high quality service we have had as regulars on family occasions. Wet seats, off hand and unfriendly manner by waiter and some of our food order incorrect and then delayed. Not what we’d hoped for my wife’s birthday and not what we’d experienced with previous waitress a few months ago who was so friendly

Excellent food (I can thoroughly recommend the crab linguine). Nice ambience too - the big view over Instow Sands was great!

Brilliant evening. Great food and atmosphere. Thank you for moving us outside to enjoy the lovely sunny evening.

Lovely place to eat and great for. Service was a bit slow which was surprising as it was quiet when we went and the music a bit too loud but still highly recommended.

What a fantastic restaurant and a brilliant location to enjoy a breakfast roll and a coffee in the morning or to an evening meal with some great fish dishes. The top deck is a great place to dine and watch the sun go down whilst enjoying your evening meal and a glass of wine , but would definitely recommend booking a table in the evening if you want to dine on the top deck. I look forward to out next visit

Appalling service. Had to chase them from the minute we walked in.

The food was good. But as customers who have visited on a number of occasions before the quality was to be expected.

Just had the most amazing meal at Boat House in Instow! We've visited Instow a few times, but we never knew that we could bring our furry friends to dine with us at the Boat House. Once we found out, we booked a table for my birthday celebration. The food was absolutely incredible—my steak was cooked to perfection and simply melted in my mouth. What's more, the service was top-notch. Our waitress (I wish I remembered her name) even saved the cork from our champagne bottle, knowing it was a special occasion. Thank you, Boat House, for making our visit so memorable!

Really good haddock and chips, came with 4 sauces. Prawn and crab linguine was excellent. The place was busy, but the food came out in a good time. Staff where friendly. Definitely eat there again.

We had a great meal here a couple of weeks ago. The fish market menu was tasty and the view of the sunset from the roof terrace sets the mood for for a wonderful dinner setting! Only slight negative was the service was a little slow!

Terrific place amazing views with great food and dog friendly.. ticks all my boxes .

Food was great, sadly service let it down. Waited at least 35 mins to order food, the server seemed to have forgotten we hadn’t ordered. Drinks order came to table and only half the glasses were left but all bottles, mains were cleared and we asked for the dessert menu. We waited another 30 minutes before we were able to attract the attention of the server. We just felt disappointed.

Really good food well cooked and served with a smile.

Amazing coastal restaurant on the beach. If you book during sunset, the sky is great to see.

Great food and great location- real shame the staff overused the word “guys” when interacting with customers. Really false and grating.