The Boathouse at Saugatuck

Disappointing! The location is great as there are only a few restaurants on the river. They recently opened up to the public (used to be private) so we thought we’d give it a try. Other than the scenery there is nothing that would make me want to come back. We were a table of 4 on a Saturday night. The restaurant was fairly full, although there aren’t that many tables so it wasn’t too much for the waiters. We had several people wait on us (which was confusing as no one seemed to be concerned about how we were doing). It took over an hour to get our dinner (no appetizers ordered) and in that time period not one person came by to check on us. We were all happily talking, but if I was hungry this would not have been acceptable. There were also people who came after us who had been served while we were sitting there with nothing.
We finally flagged down a server and asked about our meal. It finally came out along with a free crostini appetizer. Why bother to bring the appetizer with the meal? Either bring it before or don’t bother. The meal itself was bland and average at best. We had two seafood risotto specials, a butternut risotto and a steak. The steak did look substantial, the risottos average. The food wasn’t even hot, but at that point we were so hungry we just ate it.
Meanwhile the restaurant was starting to clear out, and the servers clearly wanted to leave. They removed our dinner plates almost before we were done (no one had time to eat the appetizer) and while having coffee and dessert they were literally breaking down the tables all around us. Talk about feeling unwelcome and rushed!
With a host of alternate dining choices, this one will not be kept in the rotation. They need to work on kitchen management and service.

The male server with blonde hair has been very attentive every time we’ve gone. I don’t know his name but next time I will be sure to ask and request him from now on. Definitely will be returning many more times!!!
– A dedicated customer

I came here last year for my wife’s birthday dinner and enjoyed it very much. So much so that when it came time for our five year anniversary (this coming Friday, November 6^th), I chose the same venue to mark the occasion with a special dinner. I made the reservation two weeks ago and have been excited for the night to come.
10 minutes ago, I received a voicemail stating, «Oh hi, it’s the Boathouse restaurant calling. You had made a reservation for this Friday night. I’m not sure how that reservation slipped through because we are closed for a private event that evening. So, I’m so sorry I’m cancelling your reservation and, um, hope you visit with us again soon. Thank you so much. Bye bye.» (Text taken verbatim from the voicemail)
I made the reservation through OpenTable​.Com, which is how the reservation «slipped through». I understand that mistakes happen but only one of two things could have caused this to occur, both of which are both unacceptable to me:
A. There was a private party booked already, prior to my making a reservation, and someone forgot to mark it as booked in OpenTable until today so phone calls had to be made to customers who booked for Friday.
B. A private party was booked AFTER I made the reservation, and the management deemed it more profitable and so made a decision to cancel reservations that had already been booked. Three days before the party, mind you.
Option B is the worse of the two things to have occurred and I’d like to think the best of people, so I’m going to say it was Option A. Either way, it was a slip up of management and should not have occurred. What would have made this right, in my book, is if I had been offered a gift certificate or discount on a future meal rather than a discourteous abrupt cancellation three days before my anniversary. Unfortunately, none was offered and I refuse to call to demand one after the way this all went down.
Good luck Boathouse. You’ve lost a customer.

Uniquely beautiful venue! Service was excellent and all the food we had was superb! First time we’ve been here after thinking about it many times and we will put it on our go to places going forward! Highly recommend this Resturant!

Gorgeous setting. Re-​decorated restaurant with sea grass wallpaper and navy panelling that’s elegant and cosy. Terrace spectacular. Service fine — friendly, little inattentive — no-​one checking on water and drinks. But food? Meh. Used to be good, now entirely average. Boring chopped salad with barely any dressing, overly-​sweet salmon on bed of unpleasant cold rice noodles, Tough, chewy veal Milanese. And $ 80 a head. They finally have the décor right in this room — fix the food and it’s a winner.

This second floor restaurant, above the Saugatuck Rowing Club and overlooking the Saugatuck River has lovely views, especially when the weather is warm and sculls are out on the river. The food is good but doesn’t quite match the ambiance, especially since there are so many good restaurants in Westport. Service was attentive and friendly.

The Boathouse is a gem of a restaurant hidden within the Saugatuck Rowing Club and fills an important niche in the Westport area dining scene in that it provides an «adult» dining experience. Adult in the sense that the pace is unhurried, the room sufficiently quiet to allow for soft conversation and the menu is nuanced with excellent food. Chef Paul Scoran can really cook. I’ve had two meals at the Boathouse within the last month, both of which were truly amazing. My first meal included a starter of duck confit, followed by perhaps the best seafood risotto i have ever had. Yesterday I enjoyed mussels, pasta and a lamb dish all were outstanding. Our server added to the dining experience with knowledgeable commentary on all ingredients. The Boathouse offers serious dining in a beautiful setting. While you need to find the restaurant upstairs at the Rowing Club, it is well worth that tiny extra effort for a fabulous meal.

Has gone downhill appallingly in the last year. What was interesting and innovative is now unbelievably ho-​hum and not anywhere worth the price. Whatever’s on the menu, you can much better at home.

Beautiful building, setting, décor, detailed to the max. Outdoor seating overlooking rowing club «boats» and river. Somewhat limited menu, but usually enough for most to choose from. Friendly, efficient service wait staff. Food sounds good when verbalized by wait staff and read on menu. However, soups, Italian and seafood dishes lacked any inspiration. Most were nicely presented and colored, served very hot — but alas almost everything we tasted was bland. Such a shame that such a stunningly beautiful restaurant, setting, professional staff is left with serving mediocre (for the price) and mostly forgettable cuisine.

Food was pretty good, nice atmosphere, friendly service. The prices can definitely make you pause — seems to be too much for what it is — and sometimes the service is quite slow. But other than that, we liked it and have returned a couple times since. But if you’re super hungry go elsewhere because you might have to wait a while.

Excellent dinner. Very tasty melon wrapped in prosciutto with figs and ricotta, and the butternut squash ravioli was fantastic. Not super inventive cuisine but I didn’t mind — there was a decent variety of selections.
Service was very friendly and efficient. We were there on a stormy night but the outdoor deck overlooking the water looked like a great place to dine at sunset (or anytime for that matter). The décor is nautical elegant but not too stuffy.

The food was very delicious and the environs are crisp band beautiful. Our server was lovely. Only complaint: slow service. We went at a time when the restaurant was fairly empty and still waited quite awhile for our food.

Extremely nice restaurant. Unassuming because it is part of a rowing club — and situated on the top floor, so the entrance is a bit hidden.
The restaurant itself is wonderfully decorated, overlooks the river which creates an incredible view and has an outside area if you want.
The menu is well varied with a good selection ranging from filet to pasta to seafood. The presentation was excellent.
We had the lobster appetizer which was very well done. Also had a filet as an entre and the butternut ravioli. Please if you are reading this GET THIS DISH — it was one of the best tasting pastas I have ever tasted.
The wine list is very nice — albeit a tad on the aggressive side in terms of price in my opinion — but it is Westport…
Besides the food and the atmosphere — the host was very attentive without being overbearing and was extremely nice/​funny — his brother is the Chef and you can tell they do this as a passion, it shows.
Went there for a special occasion and that’s how I see this place — but if you find yourself in need of a very nice restaurant, this is absolutely a good choice.

The Boathouse Restaurant at the Saugatuck Rowing club is fantastic. Enjoy views of the river, innovative Italian cuisine, and great wines. Staff is very friendly and attentive. Décor is nautically inspired-​very serene and relaxing. Diners are in their 40’s and up, casually but nicely dressed. This is a special occasion place.
Try the shrimp wrapped in prosciutto, red snapper, or the risotto. Loved a red wine from the BENEVENTO region of Italy. Well worth it to try this gem off the beaten track.

This new Italian restaurant is empty for a reason. The bread and chicken were at least two days old. It is unfortunate because the space is quite nice. My Osso Bucco was no less fresh.
I would wait until they get their act together.

We came here for a team dinner a few weeks ago. The atmosphere was beautiful, and the service was quite good. I loved our shared appetizers of the stuffed squash pinwheels or something to that effect (unfortunately it was a special, and their website does not show it, as such). I thought my lamb mint linguini was disappointing, sadly, though — and if I ever return, I’ll try their famous gnocchi (which I hope will give them another 1 or 2 stars).

We had a very good experience here tonight. We went for farm to table fresh and healthy food; it exceeded our expectations. The lobster salad seemed to be the specialty — everyone was ordering it – it was so interesting, with big fava beans, fresh geen beans and big lobster claw. The gnocchi and the rabbit with fettucini was delicious.
The waiter told us exactly how everything was cooked. It’s pricey but worth it. even the bread was amazing.

Boathouse gets overlooked by many in Westport but let’s put a stake in the ground and call this gem an exceptional dining experience. After five visits, the food, service, ambience is about as perfect experience as one could look for. And when the warmer months roll through, eating on the terrace is sublime.
Let’s call out a few over the top choice. First is the gnocchi with Bolognese. I have been fortunate to have eaten across the country and have eaten many gnocchi and Boathouse’s is as good as it gets. Almost impossible to stop eating. The special ravioli, whether stuffed with pear or another fruit and cheese in a brown butter sauce is sublime. Also recommended is the lobster salad, which should be renamed a lobster tower. Delicious poached lobster and fresh vegetables make this a delicious choice.
Other entrees are delicious and change seasonally and leave room for dessert.
There are few places i recommend without any concern that knowledgable diners will not thoroughly enjoy, and Boathouse is one of these places.

Good food in the upstair dining room of the boathouse. Very similar to the farm to table concept.
Very nice setting with a beautiful scull on the ceiling. Crowd is on the older side, don’t expect a great ambiance. You go there for the food and being able to talk to your spouse/​friends

Shocked I’ve not reviewed this location yet, must have checked in, made quick tips, and never taken the time to say how great the food quality and view is. This is a wonderful environment with a chef that is tastefully producing food that is as local as they can get. I think the chef was at another much more demanding environment recently and so be prepared to enjoy nearly everything that goes onto your plate.