I was very disappointed on numerous levels. The setting was great but it stopped there. We had to place orders online and as such all the appetizers and main dishes came at the same time and over crowded the table. Main dishes were cold by the time we were ready to eat the main dishes. We had to order desserts separately and again via the cell phone and online. Seldom saw a waitress nor were there any inquiries as to how the food was. The oysters Rockerfeller was terrible - small oysters, no cheese and no taste of Pernod - just a bunch of spinach piled on small oysters. The Chicken and waffles had overcooked chicken which was dry and tasteless. The desserts were OK but the vanilla ice cream had no vanilla flavor. Finally, we left with no questions as to how things were or thank you for coming. Very disappointing overall.
Girlz_UnHenged
7 ladies met for dinner. While we all had smart phones and are all reasonably savvy about computers, the ordering system was a nightmare. Reading a huge menu on a cell phone is tedious. Some orders were "double ordered" unintentionally, payments were handled incorrectly by "the system", and we spent more time ordering and ultimately paying for our meals than we did eating them. We all agreed we might come back with our spouses, but we'd never come back as a group. My bet is the Boathouse will start losing group business and wonder why. It will be no mystery to me.
davidwU2728PJ
I am a disabled veteran and stage IV colon cancer survivor who grew up in Chesterfield VA before moving overseas to serve in the U.S. Navy and continue to serve overseas as a civil servant. I had the opportunity to come back to Midlothian for a short week to spend time with family after not being home for almost 2 years due to Covid. I have grown up eating and spending time at the Boathouse in Brandermill. I have always enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and the people. It was something I looked forward to whenever I came back to VA after being gone overseas for so long. For me, it was a symbol of the America that I signed up to protect and defend. I made reservations at the Boathouse in Brandermill on 6/11/2021 for myself, my sister, mom, and dad. Since I miss so many holidays and special occasions, I wanted to take them someplace to celebrate. When we arrived, we discovered that there was no longer the option to order from a paper menu. Instead, the menu and payment system was completely “online” via a QR code on the table. Out of the 5 people in our party, only 4 of us had phones and only 2 of those phones could access the QR code. The waiter spent 10 minutes talking about the new system to a response of blank stares. After spending another 15 minutes attempting to figure out who would order what, how it would be paid for, and who would be passing around their phone, we decided that it was simpler to just leave after sitting for 25 minutes accomplishing nothing. The waiter did not tell us until we were walking out the door that we also had the option to order “manually”. I leave to go back overseas in two days. I do not know when I will return home again. What I do know is that I will never again eat at the Boathouse in Brandermill. Your decision to implement such a horrible interface for your menu and payment system has lost you this long-time customer.
JoeZ15330
After driving 6 hours to visit my son for dinner at the boathouse I was expecting to be able to spend some quality time with him. When we were seated the waiter proceeded to tell us all ordering and paying had to be done through your cell phone. He literally spent 15 minutes going over all of the details of what must be done to order appetizers, tell us you have to order them first and don't put in your meal order in at the same time or else the they will both come out together. There was a process for ordering drinks. If you wanted bread, that was free but was another process. Then there was a process if you were using separate phones, but wanted everything on onc check. Or, you could use the same phone but that was another process. Then there was a process if someone was leaving early, and on and on. And after he spoke for 15 minutes, he didn't mention one thing about the food! We could see all that on our phones, and the specials would also be listed here. So, after driving 6 hours to see my son for dinner, instead of catching up on our lives, we sat there on our phones trying to figure out the stupid ordering system. Yea, the food was pretty good - but I would never go back. A meal at a fast food restaurant would have been more enjoyable.
Chasevt
The Boathouse at Sunday Park is our family's go to for any special occasion or celebration. The staff is fantastic and the views are the best in the Richmond area. The crab cakes and other seafood items are great. I highly recommend this hidden gem overlooking the Swift Creek Reservoir
E4652VZchristineb
My husband and I rarely go out. We were excited to be sat at a lakefront table. 30 minutes later (the bar was backed up) finally got a drink—only one choice of wine. “They were busy all day and got wiped out.” Ordered dinner. 45 minutes or longer later got wrong meal and it was freezing cold. “The kitchen was backed up.” Sent it back and another 30 minutes no meal. Walked out. Still charged for drinks. Great location—that is how they get by because service poor and mgt. even worse. Huge bummer especially since cost is high and portions small. Never have this experience at Short Pump and Rocket’s Landing.
C6028MZbarbarac
The food is great. Love the atmosphere. The servers are friendly. We always have a great time there.
Nevermind_VA
Always great food and fantastic staff! This is our “go to” when we want to enjoy a night out. The steaks, wine, and desserts are delicious and the atmosphere is relaxing!
Brian Ruiz
The boathouse was not a great experience, No attention to details, Just pay the money. No one seems to care about proper service.
Michelle Ealy
There was a big party of us and my food did not come out until the end of the night but the waitress and the man ager were good at giving my food for free. The food was delicious
This has always been a great dining experience. The food is good, view/atmosphere is exceptional. Prices are on the high side, but I haven't minded because of the above things they have going for them. However, yesterday's experience has me no longer considering this restaurant as an option. The ordering experience was really frustrating. There's a wait person, but the customer is entirely responsible for scanning their menu and placing their order, as if they were ordering on-line! Even during COVID, there's no reason in an outdoor setting that the must place their entire order thru the phone with an app that is not user-friendly! It took my friend and I over 20 min. just to place the order. Then the order was wrong in several areas, including the wait staff not knowing where to deliver the food. Add to that, they require a 20% gratuity automatically added on. I have no problem adding 20% or more when I receive great service, but since I had to do all this and it was wrong in several spots, this was ridiculous. What do they do with older clients who don't have smart phones? It was disappointing, to say the least, to be at such a nice place and have to do the order like I'm ordering Chinese take-out. I won't be back.
georgecM2523CW
We decided to have dinner at The Boathouse, Sunday Park last Thursday. The online reservation was a breeze. Upon arrival, the staff presented as personable and respectful of social distancing techniques. Ordering from the table using the App was quick and easy, but the most important part of all is all the food ordered was perfect and delicious (especially the shrimp and grits). We will return again very soon. Thanks for a very enjoyable dining experience.
Al Boatwright
Very poor outside lighting after sunset. Meal was very good.
Julie M
We had a great, no contact evening with attentive service out on the back deck. The food was delicious. I had the crab cakes, they were full of plenty of lump crab meet and an appropriate amount of filler. The veggies alongside were tasty and cooked perfectly. One of our party ordered the shrimp tacos, perfectly spicy with a side of Old Bay Chips also perfectly seasoned and nicely crisped. Another one got the Salmon with shrimp succotash. It was an ample portion and the succotash was quite tasty. Yet another one ordered the Shrimp and Grits. There were 6 very large shrimp and an equivalent amount of sauce. Everything was well prepared and came out at appropriate time. Order using our phone was easy to do, and we paid at the time. Service we received was well worth the required tip.
ttiop
The good: beautiful location on the St. James river.. However was disappointed with the contactless menu system. every time you ordered an item you would have to go on your phone and put it in your cart and pay with a 20% service fee... So you would order drinks then appetizers and entrée etc. every time doing it on your phone... meh!!!! Not the dining experience that I was hoping for. Very impersonal and detracts from the whole experience of relaxing. The food itself was good the oysters and the seafood was well prepared and fresh.. in addition the wait staff was helpful This was my first experience with Only contact less menu ordering there should be an option to order through the waiter as well.
I was very disappointed on numerous levels. The setting was great but it stopped there. We had to place orders online and as such all the appetizers and main dishes came at the same time and over crowded the table. Main dishes were cold by the time we were ready to eat the main dishes. We had to order desserts separately and again via the cell phone and online. Seldom saw a waitress nor were there any inquiries as to how the food was. The oysters Rockerfeller was terrible - small oysters, no cheese and no taste of Pernod - just a bunch of spinach piled on small oysters. The Chicken and waffles had overcooked chicken which was dry and tasteless. The desserts were OK but the vanilla ice cream had no vanilla flavor. Finally, we left with no questions as to how things were or thank you for coming. Very disappointing overall.
7 ladies met for dinner. While we all had smart phones and are all reasonably savvy about computers, the ordering system was a nightmare. Reading a huge menu on a cell phone is tedious. Some orders were "double ordered" unintentionally, payments were handled incorrectly by "the system", and we spent more time ordering and ultimately paying for our meals than we did eating them. We all agreed we might come back with our spouses, but we'd never come back as a group. My bet is the Boathouse will start losing group business and wonder why. It will be no mystery to me.
I am a disabled veteran and stage IV colon cancer survivor who grew up in Chesterfield VA before moving overseas to serve in the U.S. Navy and continue to serve overseas as a civil servant. I had the opportunity to come back to Midlothian for a short week to spend time with family after not being home for almost 2 years due to Covid. I have grown up eating and spending time at the Boathouse in Brandermill. I have always enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and the people. It was something I looked forward to whenever I came back to VA after being gone overseas for so long. For me, it was a symbol of the America that I signed up to protect and defend. I made reservations at the Boathouse in Brandermill on 6/11/2021 for myself, my sister, mom, and dad. Since I miss so many holidays and special occasions, I wanted to take them someplace to celebrate. When we arrived, we discovered that there was no longer the option to order from a paper menu. Instead, the menu and payment system was completely “online” via a QR code on the table. Out of the 5 people in our party, only 4 of us had phones and only 2 of those phones could access the QR code. The waiter spent 10 minutes talking about the new system to a response of blank stares. After spending another 15 minutes attempting to figure out who would order what, how it would be paid for, and who would be passing around their phone, we decided that it was simpler to just leave after sitting for 25 minutes accomplishing nothing. The waiter did not tell us until we were walking out the door that we also had the option to order “manually”. I leave to go back overseas in two days. I do not know when I will return home again. What I do know is that I will never again eat at the Boathouse in Brandermill. Your decision to implement such a horrible interface for your menu and payment system has lost you this long-time customer.
After driving 6 hours to visit my son for dinner at the boathouse I was expecting to be able to spend some quality time with him. When we were seated the waiter proceeded to tell us all ordering and paying had to be done through your cell phone. He literally spent 15 minutes going over all of the details of what must be done to order appetizers, tell us you have to order them first and don't put in your meal order in at the same time or else the they will both come out together. There was a process for ordering drinks. If you wanted bread, that was free but was another process. Then there was a process if you were using separate phones, but wanted everything on onc check. Or, you could use the same phone but that was another process. Then there was a process if someone was leaving early, and on and on. And after he spoke for 15 minutes, he didn't mention one thing about the food! We could see all that on our phones, and the specials would also be listed here. So, after driving 6 hours to see my son for dinner, instead of catching up on our lives, we sat there on our phones trying to figure out the stupid ordering system. Yea, the food was pretty good - but I would never go back. A meal at a fast food restaurant would have been more enjoyable.
The Boathouse at Sunday Park is our family's go to for any special occasion or celebration. The staff is fantastic and the views are the best in the Richmond area. The crab cakes and other seafood items are great. I highly recommend this hidden gem overlooking the Swift Creek Reservoir
My husband and I rarely go out. We were excited to be sat at a lakefront table. 30 minutes later (the bar was backed up) finally got a drink—only one choice of wine. “They were busy all day and got wiped out.” Ordered dinner. 45 minutes or longer later got wrong meal and it was freezing cold. “The kitchen was backed up.” Sent it back and another 30 minutes no meal. Walked out. Still charged for drinks. Great location—that is how they get by because service poor and mgt. even worse. Huge bummer especially since cost is high and portions small. Never have this experience at Short Pump and Rocket’s Landing.
The food is great. Love the atmosphere. The servers are friendly. We always have a great time there.
Always great food and fantastic staff! This is our “go to” when we want to enjoy a night out. The steaks, wine, and desserts are delicious and the atmosphere is relaxing!
The boathouse was not a great experience, No attention to details, Just pay the money. No one seems to care about proper service.
There was a big party of us and my food did not come out until the end of the night but the waitress and the man ager were good at giving my food for free. The food was delicious
Restaurantji Recommends
This has always been a great dining experience. The food is good, view/atmosphere is exceptional. Prices are on the high side, but I haven't minded because of the above things they have going for them. However, yesterday's experience has me no longer considering this restaurant as an option. The ordering experience was really frustrating. There's a wait person, but the customer is entirely responsible for scanning their menu and placing their order, as if they were ordering on-line! Even during COVID, there's no reason in an outdoor setting that the must place their entire order thru the phone with an app that is not user-friendly! It took my friend and I over 20 min. just to place the order. Then the order was wrong in several areas, including the wait staff not knowing where to deliver the food. Add to that, they require a 20% gratuity automatically added on. I have no problem adding 20% or more when I receive great service, but since I had to do all this and it was wrong in several spots, this was ridiculous. What do they do with older clients who don't have smart phones? It was disappointing, to say the least, to be at such a nice place and have to do the order like I'm ordering Chinese take-out. I won't be back.
We decided to have dinner at The Boathouse, Sunday Park last Thursday. The online reservation was a breeze. Upon arrival, the staff presented as personable and respectful of social distancing techniques. Ordering from the table using the App was quick and easy, but the most important part of all is all the food ordered was perfect and delicious (especially the shrimp and grits). We will return again very soon. Thanks for a very enjoyable dining experience.
Very poor outside lighting after sunset. Meal was very good.
We had a great, no contact evening with attentive service out on the back deck. The food was delicious. I had the crab cakes, they were full of plenty of lump crab meet and an appropriate amount of filler. The veggies alongside were tasty and cooked perfectly. One of our party ordered the shrimp tacos, perfectly spicy with a side of Old Bay Chips also perfectly seasoned and nicely crisped. Another one got the Salmon with shrimp succotash. It was an ample portion and the succotash was quite tasty. Yet another one ordered the Shrimp and Grits. There were 6 very large shrimp and an equivalent amount of sauce. Everything was well prepared and came out at appropriate time. Order using our phone was easy to do, and we paid at the time. Service we received was well worth the required tip.
The good: beautiful location on the St. James river.. However was disappointed with the contactless menu system. every time you ordered an item you would have to go on your phone and put it in your cart and pay with a 20% service fee... So you would order drinks then appetizers and entrée etc. every time doing it on your phone... meh!!!! Not the dining experience that I was hoping for. Very impersonal and detracts from the whole experience of relaxing. The food itself was good the oysters and the seafood was well prepared and fresh.. in addition the wait staff was helpful This was my first experience with Only contact less menu ordering there should be an option to order through the waiter as well.