The Boathouse Landing

I came here for dinner on a Sunday night around 530 pm and it wasn’t busy so my party of 3 was seated right away. We chose to sit on the patio which was a good choice because the restaurant is right on the bay and has a fantastic view of the Marina.
We ordered the hush puppies appetizers which were just okay, but the strawberry butter that came with it made the dish unique!
I ordered the pasta of the day which was shrimp and sliced peppers Alfredo ($ 16.99). The dish itself was tasty and a good amount of shrimp came with the pasta, but the Alfredo sauce was a bit watery and instead of coming with the fettuccini noodles, it came with pasta which didn’t quite taste the same.
Nonetheless, the restaurant was good (but not spectacular) and the staffers were very, very friendly. I also recommend walking out on the pier before or after dinner because the view is great and with the right breeze, it’s definitely worth sitting out there for a hot minute.

The Boathouse Landing; gets two stars for the view and the waitress that served us. Both were great! The food on the other hand was lacking. I had bang-​bang shrimp salad that was very basic; four cherry tomatoes, four slices of cucumber, small amount of finely cut great onions, all on a mixed greens. I am not a fan of the meagerness of the assortment of vegetables. On to the fried bang-​bang (spicy) shrimp. They where over battered saturated in the oil.

With our family and in-​laws out for dinner at one of their local favorites. We’ve been once before, and all agree this place is pretty hard to beat for a quality, fairly casual seafood meal… especially if weather is nice and able to sit outside on the bay waterfront. Very picturesque.
Menu prices in the $ 15-​$ 22 range for entrees seem to be about the right price point for quality of food. Out waitress, while young and not quite sure about differences in wine types, was very courteous, professional, and attentive to our party of 5 on a relatively slow, easy Tuesday evening. The only area I’d say keeping our rating from being a 5-​star is the inside deco and ambiance… being fairly casual for the otherwise very high quality food. For example, the brick wallpaper is a bit cheap looking and not much in the way of decorations that would point to otherwise high quality food. Also, the menu looks somewhat like a lower quality restaurant would use. So, in a way, expectations walking in may be a bit low, only to be pleasantly surprised when food arrives.
Other reviews on the fried shrimp, hush puppies/​strawberry butter, and calimari are fairly accurate, in that these are all fairly solid choices for appetizers.
For a main course, I had the Mahi Crawfish Ettoufe, with the Mahi cooked «bronze» (between blackened and grilled). I can say this was a solid «5 out of 5 stars» in terms of expected quality, and I could have easily placed this dish in a high-​end restaurant commanding $ 25-​$ 35 per entrée in larger cities. Everything about this dish was well balanced between the nicely cooked fish, excellent crawfish Ettoufe with a slight spice «kick», all served over a nice rice pilaf. Very nicely done, nice size normal adult portion, and well worth the $ 20 price… I would absolutely order this again.
Back again in June 2016:
So, my wife and I are torn… I had the mahi and crawfish ettoufe and she had the grouper ponchetrain. On a Friday evening, perfect weather out on the deck looking over the water. Service was fantastic and my drink and dinner were a solid 5 out of 5. But my wife’s grouper was just… meh (a 2.5 out of 5). The waitress indicated they had changed the menu some, and she remembered the grouper being excellent. The hollandaise sauce definitely seemed to be lacking, and almost seemed like a yellow gravy on top. But wow, the mahi and crawfish was absolutely perfect… nice, fresh, perfect-​size bronzed fish… and the ettoufe was perfectly cooked with a little red pepper spice, and nice wild rice. So, with a compromise, we’d go with a good 4 stars!

Disappointing is the best way I can describe The Boathouse. Maybe I came on an off night (Wednesday), or maybe it’s always like this. I won’t be back to find out.
I asked for the Broiled Seafood platter but asked for the lobster tail and Oysters Rockefeller to be left off in favor of more sea scallops. After being told that «if we do it for you, we have to do it for everyone,» I looked around the empty deck wondering who would mind. Luckily, the chef or manager was in a giving mood. He allowed it. Of course, his idea of «more scallops» was underwhelming. Would hate to see what the regular portion is.
The fish, shrimp and scallops in the platter were tasteless and rubbery. Okay, broiled isn’t the best way to prepare fish, but I expected something more than this.
Overall, a disappointing meal for $ 38 (with wine and tip).

Cool location for restaurant. Great food. Get the grilled shrimp kabobs dinner, Parmesan grouper or shrimp and grits and you won’t go wrong. Their hush puppies are amazing as well as the pecan pie with ice cream for dessert!

My family wanted to escape Destin for a bit & enjoy some good seafood without blowing the bank. This place was an AMAZING find. Fantastic food, fantastic view, and fantastic service (Celeste, thank you so much for creating a memorable time with the family).
We tried the calamari, the fried seafood platter, poboy, bisque, & those free hushpuppies with the strawberry butter. Everything was great. Cannot recommend the restaurant and Celeste’s service more highly.

I liked the location and how cute this was! The service was okay but my water was not refilled once and my dish was extremely spicy. The menu did not say how hot it would be! Our food took 40 minutes as well. Take a jacket for after sunset because those mosquitos bite!

Great place, ordered the stuffed shrimp. The service was great, I got my food fast, I also has a free app thanks to my hotel. Will be back if I come back.

Went here with a group of friends for brunch and it was rock solid. I had the steak and eggs with fries, and the steak was huge and cooked to order. The fries were great. We sat on the back deck overlooking the water and had the patio to ourselves. I enjoyed everything about it.

I’ve been there a couple already, the food is good, the atmosphere is definitely awesome. Sitting outside and enjoying some good food is a perfect way to spend an afternoon. The first time I had their gumbo, it was awesome but the second time it was missing the meats. It still tastes great though. Their catch of the day is always good. I almost forgot, their HUSH PUPPIES are the bomb

Went here twice today. The first time was for lunch (obviously I suppose). Service was great. Wonderful ambience and nice menu. I ordered the shrimp etoufee which was uninspiring at best and had a 2 tablespoon at least lump of roux in it. The sauce overall was fine — not great. Bottom line I wouldn’t recommend it. I loved the environment so much, I went back for dinner but this time went for the blackened mani and steak at a great price of under $ 20. It was amazing. Everything about this meal was phenomenal as was the service. I would definitely go back and try other dishes.

Had a wonderful dinner a couple nights ago. The seafood pasta I had was full of tasty seafood yet the texture and flavor of the pasta was off a bit. Still good though. The snapper my wife had was excellent and the prices very reasonable.

This is a great place, love the seafood and the hush puppies with strawberry butter is great. Service is on point and the price is just right

We wanted one last round of seafood before leaving the Florida coast. Niceville was on our route out of town, making The Boathouse Landing a great choice for lunch.
Perhaps an inside table would have worked better than the patio, considering how warm and breeze-​less it was today. We got some wind and clouds eventually, plus the ambiance out on the waterfront is hard to pass up. Our waitress was very friendly and took good care of us. She also kept a watchful eye on our drinks, which helped combat the heat.
Things started off with some complimentary hushpuppies. They were outstanding and clearly homemade. The crisp batter and flaky center were perfect. I also loved the strawberry butter that came with them, which added an interesting sweetness.
We also snagged an order of Crab and Shrimp Dip for an appetizer. Besides the obvious, this dish comes with cream cheese and spinach, plus tortilla chips for dipping. It was creamy, garlicky, and very tasty. The romano cheese sprinkled on top added a nice flavor. I don’t know if the chips were homemade or not, but they seemed like it. It was an excellent appetizer.
For my entrée, I picked their Seafood Platter: a combination of fried shrimp, grouper, crabcake, and bay scallops served with cocktail and tartar. It also comes with a Caribbean slaw and fries. I didn’t end up eating the slaw (mostly just because I got too full), but the fries were pretty decent. They had a good blend of spices and were very crisp.
The batter they use here is great, and everything came out fresh and delicious. I loved the fried crabcake, which seemed to melt in my mouth. The scallops were cooked just right too. My grouper was amazing and flaky, with just enough seasoning to elevate things without detracting from the natural flavors. The gulf shrimp were probably my favorite though, and I almost wish I had just ordered a big plate of them.
This was a great place to stop for lunch, and I hope we get the chance to come back!

The food is refreshingly good, especially the mahi. The atmosphere is very nice (this place has a theme style) and there is quite a bit of outdoor seating overlooking the bay. The moody lighting is well complemented by table candles after sunset. Even we got here really late, the staff here are still patient and nice. Highly recommended!

Had been wanting to go here for a year now. We usually go to Dockside, but wanted a change. Sorry Dockside, you’ve lost me!
The inside is so homey and comfortable! Great outdoor deck on the water, or you can eat in the dining room or downstairs bar area.
I had the Boom Boom Shrimp Salad, along with the free hush puppies they brought (in place of bread). Boyfriend had the steak with mashed potatoes.
I really want to work my way down the various shrimp salads. Will definitely return!

Atmosphere and ambiance gave this place 3 stars easy. I came here for dinner and sat outside overlooking the beautiful docks with a magnificent lightning storm way off in the distance. I ordered the lobster bisque, which IMO was a little too heavy on the bisque and too light on the lobster. My entrée was the stuffed shrimp. It was terrible. The only reason I ate it was because I paid $ 20 for it. For some reason they decide to DRENCH the meal in over spiced hollandaise sauce. it looked like a delicious creation, a crab-​cake like ball of seafood stuffed inside a large butterflied shrimp. Unfortunately I couldn’t taste the $ 20 worth of seafood because of the strong overwhelming hollandaise sauce. I’m very disappointed in this recipe, go with something else if u visit.

This place is great! Stopped for lunch — complimentary hush puppies with strawberry butter (OMG amazing) — I ordered soup and salad. They make a home orange/​honey mustard dressing, it was delicious. The lobster bisque had no lobster chunks in it and tasted quite… not right. Asked for the special instead, Manhattan chowder– much better! I would def come back. Not to mention the views from the porch are beautiful.

Once upon a very, very long time ago, I grew up in Niceville, FL. And even though I have lived in the food mecca that is NYC for the past 10 years (and ATL for 4 years before that), I still look forward to an amazing meal at the Boathouse Landing when I come down to visit my family. I have loved their coconut chicken salad and hush puppies with strawberry butter for well over 15 years. They are consistently great across all levels. Super friendly, helpful staff. Excellent and healthy food. And, the BEAUTIFUL and peaceful outdoor deck on the bay. Absolutely my favorite spot in town (including compared to restaurants in Destin).

Had an amazing and reasonably priced Sunday Lunch. Server was friendly, the gumbo was delicious, and the fish and grits were to die for. They are so thick and creamy!