Review The Boat House - Canberra

Boat House is the best fine dining restaurant and wedding venue in Canberra in my opinion! I’ve been to this beautiful place many times and have always been impressed by its excellent customer services, high quality food and wonderful lake view. Staff are so friendly and professional. A perfect place for any type of events or celebrations! Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a wedding photographer I've worked in a lot of different venues in Canberra. I can say hands down that you'll be hard pressed to find many other spots in Canberra which offer such incredible sunset views, and waterlake vibes of the Boat House. Not only is it in an incredible spot, but also offers incredibly catering (I can personally vouch for the Paella being absolutely incredible!) and insane styling and charm. From the wood platforms for you to have your ceremony, to the easy lakeside walks and cozy fireplace, if you're looking for somewhere for your wedding in Canberra, the Boat House is absolutely one of the very best!

I have been to this restaurant many times over the years including book launches, birthday parties and private dinner parties. It really is a stylish, sophisticated restaurant with a quiet ambiance in a beautiful setting by Lake Burleigh Griffith. There is a set menu offering modern cuisine with a minimum 2 courses for lunch and 4 courses for dinner. Many of the ingredients are sourced locally. The wine menu is a little restricted. At my husband’s birthday lunch recently we were disappointed to find there was no sauvignon blanc at all on the wine list. He rarely drinks wine but enjoys this particular style on special occasions. He is also pesco-vegetarian and again, it was disappointing that the scallops on offer as an entree could not be served without the chorizo. There was a vegetarian eggplant dish but unfortunately this is the only vegetable he doesn’t enjoy. The server at our table was very attentive and our water was topped up frequently. The lunch was very European in that nothing was rushed and plenty of time for conversation between courses for. The meals were small (which suits me) and beautifully presented. There were several interesting and tasty sides to choose from and I recommend ordering these if you like a big meal but not necessary if you are not a big eater. The one thing we all found odd at our recent lunch was the ‘cheese’ on offer as a third course. We all assumed it would be some sort of cheese platter but was in fact melted cheese on brioche - it seemed more of a ‘starter’ dish. On the whole I think 4.5 ⭐️

Exceptional service and a lovely traditionally reinvented venue with an awesome view. The dishes are interesting, fun and tasty (except for the pork chop with parsley purée in the photos below…).

Unbelievably nice and well presented food in a magnification location. Most impressed. Fresh, well ventilated and uncrowded, great service, felt very covid safe as well. I came in a small group for lunch and we all had 3 courses. None disappointed!

Excellent food, beautifully presented and delicious. The manners of all the staff were impeccable from opening the door on arrival, to leaving at the end of the meal. The options for non-alcoholic drinks were good, more than the basic coke and lemonade options so often offered in most other establishments. The drinks were presented as thoughtfully as their alcoholic counterparts. Milly, our server was extremely knowledgeable about our choices, and she explained in detail the ingredients in each dish. The ambiance was perfect with spacious seating and barely audible back ground music. We will most certainly return.

This place is amazing, a Canberra institution really. An amazing top end dining experience, great food and exceptional staff. The view is even more spectacular in the evening. A great venue for a special occasion or function. Highly recommend but save up.

Canberra fine dining at its best. Location, quality of food and service are second to none. An excellent ambience for a winter's night celebrating any special occasion.

I booked a evening with my wife to celebrate our 28th Wedding Anniversary and the food was out of this world and we had a window seat looking out at the lake The staff was fantastic with there knowledge of the menu was great also I would recommend everyone to go a eat there food

What an amazing place to hold any occasion. This weekend we experienced the most wonderful celebration of our beautiful friends renewing their 25th anniversary wedding vows. The venue, the service and the food were all spectacular. Plenty of amazing wine and food. A very special thank you to the lovely Rachael who could not do enough to make our day even more special. A 5 star place for anyone.

Absolutely wonderful degustation menu and wine selection. Easily the best tasting dishes I’ve ever eaten is the Coffee Cured Duck from here.

Excellent 4 course meal accompanied by great wines. Desserts were a particular standout. Service was excellent and not overdone. Went with my wife for our anniversary and the chef put together a small complimentary petit fours plate with piped chocolate "happy anniversary" on it. A nice touch to finish the evening.

We recently celebrated our wedding day at The Boat House - James and the team were exceedingly accommodating. The venue itself is beautiful from all sides, the food was fantastic and our day was memorable, intimate and flawless. The Boat House staff went the extra mile to make everything perfect for us. Can't wait to go back for our anniversary dinner! ;)

We had a business workshop there recently and I can't speak highly enough of the professional, attentive event staff. Not to mention the amazing team in the kitchen who provided our 50+ attendees with the most mouth watering morning, afternoon tea and lunch! With all the audio visual requirements, close to city location & airport (plus incredible views) and free parking it certainly met all our needs. I would recommend the Boat House for any work conference / workshop / symposium.

We simply loved our evening on Saturday night but I would have appreciated being told when we made the booking that a wedding party was to occupy the front room and the entrance area. Why, because I was expecting to sit and enjoy the wide visita of the front room and not feel heckled by the screaming and joviality that goes hand in hand with a large celebration. Other than that - our server, Perry, and her colleagues were extremely professional and knowledgeable. The food was simply exquisite and we're are still talking about how wonderful the food and service experience was a day later. As for the wedding, bumping into one of the wedding guests peeing in the lake before he scuttled back to the frivolity inside again underpinned that anyone looking to go to The Boat House needs to ask whether the main room is booked out for a major celebration. You need to do this as the whole building shook under weight of laughter and music, so if you're looking for a romantic night out, check first.

The view is fantastic! Definitely one of Canberra's romantic places. The dining experience is great, definitely up there with the best in town. A couple of the courses didn't have a wow factor but on balance the food combined with the location, atmosphere and service is worth what you pay.

Lovely food and great service! The Wagyu beef was so tender. Some extra complimentary nibbles which was a nice touch. Nice ambience too.

What a great restaurant!! Amazing food, second to none service and a great dining area with priceless views. Thanks for making our 13th wedding anniversary a special occasion. Will definitely return and tell our friends about the amazing experience �

Beautiful location, super courteous staff and delicious food, esp the chia pudding that was served for morning tea😊

I was just at the Boat House last night for Bastille Day. The glamorous high life dining in the Boat House, and the surrounding distant city lights add to the dazzling ambience of the atmosphere. My night at the Boat House has inspired me to live a life of good taste.

Fantastic menu - our first visit after the refurb, every course was amazing. We'll be back before the malt ice cream disappears!!

Great venue. Great location. Great chef. Fabulous innovative food and menu.

Good choice for four course menu which was well done and very good service and staffed

Delicious food, and a very fun Wine Club dinner

The food was exquisitely presented and mouth watering. The views spectacular and service was prompt. We were in a quiet side room off the main foyer as we made a last minute booking. Will definitely dine here again when visiting Canberra.

We celebrated our second wedding anniversary at the Boat House last night. We love this restaurant, and last night reminded us why. Sensational food that is innovative without being pretentious, wonderful service that is friendly and attentive without ever being intrusive, and the little extras that make the Boat House so special. Thank you James and the team.