Where to begin....

After a bad Boathouse experience years ago I hadn't been there in some time. I decided to give them another try for their weekend brunch and it was a good eggs benny - so I decided to call up and make a reservation for my birthday during Lobsterfest. Well it all goes downhill from there. I called the in the afternoon to confirm that I had a reservation that evening, as when I made it (with the manager) she was very abrupt on the phone and hung up before I was finished talking. It turns out a reservation was never even made, and some things had to be shuffled around last minute to fit us in. Strike one!

Those of us who ordered lobster tails started to notice that they weren't cooked properly, I was one of them. So they were sent back. By the time we got our replacements everyone had finished eating so I asked them to just put them in a to-go box instead. Well when I got home, I realized that once again the tails were raw. I will add that the server did not offer anything to us (like a price reduction on the bill) for this issue, they did however give me a free drink, whether that was for my birthday or lobster shortcomings I don't know. Hardly made up for it though.

And the worst of the worst, was when we decided to try them out one last time, again at weekend brunch. This was so bad we actually considered walking out without paying the bill. I asked the server if the prime rib hash was thinly sliced as I don't usually eat prime rib, she said it was so I thought i would give it a try. When I got the dish, which was $16, it was a bowl of gravy with tons of mushrooms (which was not listed on the menu, I don't like mushrooms) and lots of cubed pieces of fatty, tough, prime rib meat that seemed like it was old. I mentioned to the waitress that mushrooms weren't listed on the menu, which was 75% of the dish. She said nothing and wandered off.

We were clearly done eating, and watched the waitress walk past and serve everyone else yet totally ignored us as we waited for the bill. Meanwhile, I was angry looking at the "fruit bowl" that came with breakfast. If only I had a picture! All the fruit was rotten. Blueberries shriveled up to basically nothing, the rasberries were mush, more like jam. I couldn't believe that a chef/cook would put that on a plate and serve it. We both had rotten fruit, not just one - and it was the entire bowl too. So I flagged over the dismal waitress and suggested she show that to the manager and said it was unacceptable to serve this. No apology, nothing. She just took the plates and walked away without saying a word.

At that point we both felt we should have left, and not looked back. They didn't deserve $50 for that disgrace of a lunch. And of course, nothing had been taken off the bill for these problems.

Crap service, crap food, with ridiculous prices sprinkled on top. The ONLY thing that place has going for it is the location and view, but I will never be going there again for that alone.

Beware!

If you expect to get a nice treat of lobster at the much advertised Lobsterfest, don't waste your time. We ordered the steak with Jamaican stuffed 1/2 lobster. The lobster tail had no lobster in it, but was emptied and was filled with a bland risotto and a couple of shrimp. Since when did risotto become Jamaican? The potatoes were bland as well. The only thing good was the steak which was tender and cooked to perfection.
For the price, you would think that you would get all the lobster from the tail.
If you want lobster maybe consider ordering a whole lobster instead. Although last time we attended lobsterfest the lobster was over cooked and very tough.

3:30 on a weekend and we decided to give it a chance based on our wonderful past experiences at the Boathouse restaurants. Make no mistake, this one is "night and day". Suckered into the "Appy Hour" the first thing we noticed were the tables hadn't been wiped down. Service was slow even though the restaurant only had a few patrons. I ended up arguing with a server over grey moldy spots on my girlfriend's asparagus (in her Spicy Ceasar) after being told it was part of the pickling process. The server replaced the drink but it honestly never should have been argued in the first place. After we finally got our food (it had accidentally gone to another table) the fries were only 3/4 full in the cone. When I questioned the server I was told this was "appy size". Apparently their deals during Appy Hour meant smaller portions. I questioned the server on my small salad and was told this was the half-size portion, even though I didn't order that and didn't see it on the menu.

At least the shrimp bucket was fresh and I enjoyed the horse radish cocktail sauce but it was basically a lone candle in a sea of blackness.

Me and my partner were looking forward to a decent dinner to celebrate a special event.
We should have left as soon as we noticed breadcrumbs and food on many of the chairs and tables in the restaurant.
One of the bread plates had a film of some sort and baked on crusties on it. The salmon and halibut on the Seafood Cedar Platter arrived at the table presenting well; however, upon inspection, they were both verging on raw. Both were sent back to the kitchen. When the plate returned, it was cooked slightly more, but still barely medium rare. The glaze on the fish was poorly seasoned and the "fingerling" potatoes were actually quartered fist sized Russet potato chunks.
Our server was great in trying to remedy the situation, unfortunately, poor cleanliness and shocking food resulted in one of our worst dining experiences in several years. We will not go back to this restaurant!

I suppose when its busy in White Rock you really can't be too picky about where you eat and you would consider yourself lucky to get a view seat in the Boathouse. However, if you really take close look at this location its not all that great. Service here was very slow on a relatively quiet morning. The food was pretty good, and the view is interesting, but not sufficient to make up for the fact that this restaurant ain't all that. Certainly it could be a lot more. I guess when you have a captive audience and a great view you can afford to be lazy in other departments. This location will obviously continue to survive due to the importance of location in the success of any restaurant, but it wouldn't last too long if it had to rely upon the fundamentals of good food and service like most other places. The food is pretty damned expensive for all that too.

Reserved for a birthday party and had a good view of the ocean.
Server was very attentive and personable. Quick with cocktails but slow with appetizers and even slower with our meals. Seated at 8pm and served dinner at 10pm. Not the quickest kitchen.
All but 1 meal was excellent. The black cod was not cooked and sent back. I was pleased with the quality and quantity of my dinner; grilled salmon with shrimp and lime butter. All in all it was a nice atmosphere and we were generally all satisfied.

I went here with my husband and another couple for a Valentine's dinner. This is one of the busiest nights for most restaurants and The Boathouse was no exception. Because I am Celiac I had called in advance to get a reservation (got the last table) and to ensure there would be something wheat and gluten-free on their menu I could have. When I arrived the evening of, I realized that someone had actually made a note for the hostess on our reservation. When the server came to our table she automatically put my mind at ease regarding which dishes were gluten free and letting me know that the kitchen was aware and would ensure there was no cross contamination in the preparation of my meal. It was obvious they were familiar with Celiac Disease and I was in good hands. They made three special concessions to accommodate me regarding menu choices including a gluten free sorbet dessert which was not even on their special Valentines menu that evening. I was over the moon. I had the steak and lobster with rice and salad. The lobster melted in my mouth and the steak was done perfectly - medium rare, just the way I like it. Everything was fresh. Everyone else also enjoyed their meals and we'll definitely be going back again. Way to go Whiterock Boathouse! You guys ROCK.

We were looking forward to a nice Mother's Day seafood buffet meal and we thought it would be a great idea to go down to Marine Drive and soak up the atmosphere of the beach and have a relaxing time. But we were sorely disappointed and here's why : the buffet was supposed to start at 9:30, our reservations were for 9:45, and at that time the buffet was not ready!
The buffet tables were not set up with serving utensils, half of the hot food item trays weer empty, the cold salads were just set a table, not on ice. Better use of ice would have been to have it for the salads instead of the sculpture! There were no condiments, ie: seafood sauce, butter, seafood cutlery, etc. The roast beef was a whole new experience - we've never been served the way they did and we're not even sure it was roast beef. It was more like a thick flank steak. The carving station guy GRABBED THE MEAT with his FINGERS (no gloves on) , while carving with the other hand. A one inch thick SLAB of meat was placed on my plate - and it was so long that it hung over the edge of the plate ! So the cut was definitely wrong. The meat was very tough and there was no gravy and no horse radish. My sister got the top piece of the meat that had all the spices on it, so her meat was extremely salty, dry and tough as well.
There were no side plates for our breaqd, no fanciness about the place - some tables had table cloths, some didn't. For the price we're paying, we expect a nicer decor and better over-all ambience. For desserts, they had still frozen chessecake, the cookies and squares were from Costco - nothing was home made (or at least better than Costco quality), which is tacky when the patron is paying $35 each plus $3.50 for a coffee!!
The servers were great at filling our coffees and waters, but very slow at removing our dirty plates. The bathrooms were dirty - the sink and the overall appearance of it.
To sum up, for the Boathouse, we were expecting the TITANIC, but we got the S.S. Minnow.

I've been here in nice weather and sat on the rooftop patio for drinks and thought it was great. The other day went here for lunch on a rainy miserable day. The restaurant was essentially empty except for the tables along the window. First off I'll say the miserable day was actually quite enjoyable sitting inside staring out at the water.

The server was great at first but was quite young. I suspect this is the reason she got worse as the meal progressed. She brought 2 of our meals out but the third persons meal did not come out for about 10 minutes after. When the food did come, it was quite good. I had seafood risotto & salmon and enjoyed it. The gf had fish and chips and also enjoyed it. The food is good, won't knock your socks off, but it's the best I've had in Whiterock that isn't from a fish and chip stand.

The real reason to come is the view.

We came here for the Dineout Dinner and enjoyed it. Since it was an early dinner time, the restaurant wasn't overly busy and our food came out pretty quickly and our server was doing the rounds quite often. The firecracker prawns were nice, the seafood chowder a little bland & the steaks were well done. The portions were just right for a light dinner. We weren't rushed to eat our meals and left satisfied.