I thought our first visit to the Boatyard was very poor but gave it a second chance. I wish we had not bothered. The service was as slow as the first visit, the staff were unattentive, the tables were unlaid, we had to ask for cutlery for our starters and our sweet.Upon complaint to the manager we were told that they were short of staff. After a total of two and a half hours we left with the price of the sweets deducted from our bill as compensation. There were nine of us in our party who expected better service than we recieved and we will not be returning again.

We were disappointed to find the Boatyward hadnt improved since our last visit. The staff are very unwelcoming, especially the woman on the desk who didnt even look up when we left, in fact she looked as though she was asleep. Not once did the waitress ask if things were ok and that we had everything we wanted, it was a mission to attract their attention to get some service. On top of that the food was average so sad to say we will not be returning. The only thing in their favour is obviously the superb location, just a shame they cant deliver on customer service.

I went to the James Taylor Quartet evening last week. The band and the DJ were fantastic. As mentioned by others, the chaps on the door clearly work as nightclub bouncers. When you are spending 200 quid on dinner I didnt want to be greeted by a "ello mate, alwight?"



Service was poor, and I wasnt sure why the mens cubicles were full of groups of men who seemed to have left a white powdery substance all over the place. Any ideas?



This place is so essex - all sparkle and false breasts!



Never again.

I went to the restaurant a few weeks ago after not going for a couple of years. I was very disappointed. It is still an amazing venue in a wonderful setting but I thought it had got a little tacky!! There is still a feeling of arrogance to the place. As if we should feel honoured to be there and there is no sign of them being pleased to serve their guests. You are greeted by a rather sour faced lady on reception. It then takes a while to get served at the bar because the staff would rather talk to their colleagues and ignore customers. We were then shown to our table. It was on top of another table more or less. The waitress left before we sat down, so moving the table and chairs so we could actually fit in was left to us. We were then handed two pieces of paper for the menu. A nice tasteful holder would have been nice.

The carpet around the table was full of debris from previous diners.

The food arrived promptly and was quite good. Presentation was good. Nothing too special.

We were asked every five minutes if we were ok. Too much!! However when we wanted a waiter, they were nowhere to be seen. They were chatting to friends on other tables or with colleagues. You certainly get treated better here if you know the staff!!!

New additions since my last visit include a rather tacky large screen ( better suited to TGI Fridays ) and the piano has a horrible little stage on the front of it. I know they have singers but surely they can store it somewhere. A lovely grand piano would look beautiful. I am sure that it what they used to have.

Overall I was very disappointed. It is such a wonderful venue but it is let down by bad staff and average food. It could be great. I know lots of food lovers in the area and they all say the same things. They wont visit because of this. Such a shame. Please please sort it out!!

Ever since it has opened this place has had mixed reviews so it was with some trepidation we ventured there for a set menu and a show.

Place was packed but service supreme....choice of food was good and there was no scrimping on the portions. Four people, five hours in the restaurant, a show, 3 courses, three bottles of wine and extra drinks £220.

No complaints!