I have given the boathouse one too many tries over the last four years. This last visit was by far the worst. My husband and I are always making excuse for why we need to go back (maybe it was just the service tonight, or the cooks were off their game, the patio is awesome...). No more chances boathouse.
The food is always underwhelming, and the service is consistently poor. Today our food took over 45 minutes. We were one of TWO tables in the entire restaurant, confirmed when I walked inside to use the restroom. The other table ordered a basket of fried food, which should have taken mere minutes. Their order took almost as long as ours.
I think they naturally (because of location) have everything going for them, but proactively seek and find reasons to be terrible.
My grilled chicken sandwich was SMOTHERED in mayo. Gross. I ordered it without cheese and with cole slaw as the side. Our server notified us after 40 minutes that "the cook threw some cheese on your sandwich", so he had to remake it. Once it finally came out, it was plated with chips instead of cole slaw.
Our server even said the cook was having a hard time reading today; he put chips on my husband's plate instead of fries but caught it before it was brought out to us. Too bad my husband was able to read today; he might have left a zero behind the tip. Â
As if to put the nail in the coffin, as we walked through the restaurant on our way out, my husband and I both noticed all SEVEN employees "working" (excluding however many cooks in the back) were seated, fixed on the TVs. I can see why the service is so awesome.
We have a lakefront cottage fifteen minutes from Sackets Harbor and I've dined at all the restaurants in the area. Many warrant a good review, this one does not.
I've been to The Boathouse on many occasions and while it is not the creme de la creme of Sackets, it has fit the bill in the past, with moderately priced pub fare for hungry boaters and land lubbers alike. Â Something however has recently changed, either in staff management or ownership and our business will be elsewhere from now on.
From the start we were thrown by the demeanor of the Host, harried and not much eye contact as he sat us. Â The waiter came by for a drink order and when he returned he had a pint of beer which was not the kind my husband ordered. It was served in the incorrect glass and was the wrong color for a Belgium. Â Humorously enough he brought the wrong beverage to a gentleman seated near us and was corrected as well. So we had a incompetent waiter. oh well. I was still hopeful until the time crept towards 45minutes with no appetizer or meal in sight. We watched the tables around us get served, people seated after us were eating. We asked what the delay was after overhearing the host say, "Did you put 72's order in? 74 was served before 72!" ok. trouble in paradise. The waiter said, "They are working really hard in there, its coming right up" Â His service was poor, but the lack of sincerity in his apologies was even worse. Obvious lack of care or attention. Â Our beverage glasses went unfilled for the entire meal.
When we received our food it was undercooked, obviously rushed and at this point the experience was so poor overall it was a tough call as to what specific complaint to bring to the managers attention. Â I was upset and embarrassed as we were entertaining guests, and decided to request a word with the manager, who turned out to be the host. Â He was not apologetic, but instead asked me to wait while he "checked the time stamp to see if i was correct on my wait times" Â WOW. Â He basically said, "Your complaint is not valid, I will prove it to you why it is not valid with this slip of paper with tiny numbers on it that I have penned over." Â My first thought was to say, " DID that feel good, because it sure looked like you enjoyed feeling superior showing me your receipts. Jokes on you! See these little slips of paper with dead presidents on them? You'll not see any of mine again." Â Instead I looked at it and said, "Listen I'd like to give so some friendly advice..." to which folks ( and this is grand and will be the talk of many dinner parties I host for lake locals to come) he ran away yelling, "NO NO NO ENOUGH I WILL NOT LISTEN! GETOUT GET OUT GET OUT!"
We all burst out laughing because lets face it, who does that?!?! Guilty people I suppose, attack and deny is their main defense. Â
My friendly advice was; Don't try to prove how the customer is wrong to have had a bad experience , sincerely apologize and offer a promise to correct it in the future. A humble apology, and sincere interest in retaining customers goes a long way. Well, a lot further than showing time stamps and how good you are at condescension.
So travelers BEWARE! Are your vacation dollars so plentiful you will risk this kind of service? I think not.
I invite any comment or response from The Boathouse as I feel your actions are indefensible and really if I was the owner I would want to know exactly what was going on in my restaurant and fix it.
fantastic view of the marinas and even a few ducks while i sipped a margarita, but then i noticed a seagull, evidently he was the guard who let the other seagulls know there was food and they should all attack. they need to put up "invisible" bird netting. other than that it was fantastic and worth every penny
Review Source:I've been coming to Sackett's on day trips for bout 20 years, the Boathouse is one of those ol' reliables that I know will be open for a nice lunch on the water. (we actually had a hard time finding places open for lunch in the North Country this summer, Sacketts seemed to be ok but A-Bay and the surrounding Thousand Islands area were devoid of decent sit down lunch options)
The food isn't anything to write home about--its the dock patio that is the big draw for me. There isn't really much competition on the food front around here--might as well go here because it has the best dock.
The waitresses are friendly and quick-no complaints in that department.
Great wine- wine selection great & I love how it is all catorgorized on a wine menu to tell you better about the selections... great martinis- the bar is fantastic...super cool and clean inside and out- fabulous service...the food...ho-hum- had the clam boat- ipswich clams...I think not... frozen for sure and like crap you get in a diner.. fries came out super old and cold. You need to take that OFF the menu. Spinich salad. Bland. My hubbie said the tuna appeitzer was good. The seafood bisque...hum... I had two bites. NOthing to reorder or write home about. Because of all the other great things here I will give the food another try. They have some great weekday specials.
Sitting out on the deck enjoying the lake on a gorgeous day was a plus...and as I said before the fantastic drinks made it better yet.
We planned a day trip to Sackets Harbor, about 90 minutes from our Syracuse area home. After a quick Yelp search for a few spots to check out, the Boathouse popped up as a good watering hole for a dockside drink. Excellent Yelp suggestion...They have a very welcoming "front porch", of brickpavers, laid out with tables and chairs for a sidewalk  view if that's your choice. We headed back to the deck in the rear of the restaurant for the harbor view. The hostess asked us if we were looking for sun or shade. Nice touch in my view, we chose shade having driven our last 90 minutes with the top down and the sun up.The Boathouse deck has, in my view,  the best view of the harbor, boats, and paddle boarders enjoying the water. My wife and I enjoy a good Bloody Mary and the Boathouse did not disappoint. The Bloodies were excellent. I followed mine with a Lost Coast Tangerine craft beer from a long list of choices. An app of Chipotle chips held us over for dinner later at our next stop, a few block away at  the Tin Pan Alley. Boathouse is a must try when in the historic small harbor town of Sackets Harbor.
Review Source:I remember this building from my childhood visits to the lake - long before it was ever a restaurant. Â Once it was converted, Â I've always liked coming for lunch. Â In nice weather, Â sitting out on their docks overlooking the harbor is just beautiful. Â The food is good and the beer/cocktails cold and it's quiet. Â The wait staff have always been curtious and respectful. Â I have never had a problem with slow service here. Â My favorite meal used to be a Haddock they fried to perfection. Â Something about the Haddock served in this area that seems to be better than at the ocean shores. Â My suggestion is to stop in and have a nice meal on the dock overlooking the harbor. Â It's always a good spot. One of four great restaurants in Sackets that everyone should experience. Â They also serve locally brewed beer from the 1812 brewery that's just next door to the Boathouse. Â Have fun !!!
Review Source:Ambience - 5 stars. You can't beat the location, or eating on the deck over the water. Â People both inside and out on the deck were all having a great time. Â Our daughter loved yelling "ahoy" to all the boats that went by, and seeing the fish and birds was a delight for her. Â
Food - 2.5 stars. Â Great menu, not so great in execution. I had a chicken sandwich with brie on ciabatta -- the chicken was extremely dry, and the roll was not up to par -- all-around disappointing. Â My husband had the bisque, which had great flavor and he absolutely loved it, however, I prefer bisque to be creamy (no chunks) -- this flavorful bisque was pureed, but not strained. Â Again, my preference, some folks might have been okay with it. Â Husband ordered the fish and chips, with the local fish being perch from the St. Lawrence River. Â Not impressed whatsoever with it, but what can you do since it's local fish. Â (We are from the Northwest, where salmon and halibut is the norm -- not to sound food-snobby, but it just wasn't what we had hoped for)
Service - 4 stars. Â Good service and friendly host. Â Our young waitress seemed to be in training, as she had an older, more experienced time shadowing her to make sure she did things right. Â Good to know that the younger ones are being trained and mentored by the more experienced staff.
The mussels were delicious! Wasn't a big fan of the sauce but it was still a very good dish. The Fire Thang burger was mediocre. Beer selection of course is great. I had the Guinness on tap, Labatt & 1812 also & all three were delicious. Def recommend this place if you like trying diff beers. 1812 brewing co. is right next door although the service leave a lot to be desired. So pay a tiny bit more to get the better service at the boathouse. Plus free wi-fi so it's great. :)
Review Source:Bad bugs, bad prime rib & disappointing service on patio. Â We were with a large group, all having apps & entrees. Â One of the group ordered prime rib with king crab, another just prime rib (medium & medium rare). Â BOTH prime ribs were very well done & they forgot the crab in the steamer. Â Not cheap either. Â Buggy on the patio & those bugs got in the water glasses, butter bowl. Â Never again if I have a vote on it.
Thank heavens for good company.
I popped in for dinner here while staying in Sackets Harbor on a business trip and since there are not a ton of options, this seemed all the more welcoming.
After spending some time at the bar and trying some of the area brews not familiar to me, we got a seat on the outside deck area. Â The deck has a nice view of the lake and adjacent marina. I had the seared tuna with rice and veggies for dinner which was pretty good overall. Â For desert, I had the creme brulee, also good. Â The dinner atmosphere was fun and the experience was good.
Later that night after exhausting all other local watering holes, we made it back here and realized it was the place to be. Â The bar was a favorite late night spot in town, not that you have many choices.
I'll probably never be in Sackets Harbor, NY again but if I am, I'll stop in for a drink.
A good firendly restaurant at Sacket's harbor that isn't snobby. Â Had a tall SHBC 1812, a bowl of really good chowdah, and some steamed muscles that just hit the spot. Â Service was friendly, even chatted with the owner for a bit as they were trying new recepies. Â It was empty ans still kind of early when I was there, so I can't speak of what it's like later on, but I enjoyed it.
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