boathouse rotisserie & raw bar

great atmosphere and food. my husband and i went here while visiting tn. the place was packed, and after getting our pager from the hostess, we found two seats at the bar. the bartender was there immediately to get our drink order and offered us a menu (which we declined). we weren't even able to finish our beer before we were paged. we had requested to sit outside, and it was beautiful! the river was nice, and there was a large dogwood in bloom in front of us. the waitress was very friendly and efficient, and the food was fresh and delicious. we got a few happy hour appetizers for $3 a piece and the pulled pork nachos, which had fresh cilantro and freshly cut jalepenos. the next time we are in the area, we will definitely be back!

if you are looking for southern cole slaw, do not try it here! ordered two different sandwiches and both were overloaded with liquid smoke. the beer was good though!

good view, but that's all 4.5 out of 10. seafood is ok, but nothing special and certainly overpriced (seven or eight large shrimp for $20 bucks). tastes pre-processed with a quick trip in the skillet or fryer. service was spotty and the waitress seemed preoccupied with a feud she was having with another staff member. while taking our order she continued to look past us, not at us, giving someone the evil eye. it was actually funny watching her.

want a good view of the river? this is the place. want good seafood worth the prices charged? this is not the place.

i do like the little packet of round toothpicks, though, but hardly worth the price of admission.

a perfect experience. my wife, three children and i all ate at the boathouse rotisserie restaurant on our last day in chattanooga for memorial day weekend. this was our first time visiting. we started off with the oysters on the half shell and then we all had the el scorcho shellfish stew. it was phenomenal. filling, tasty, beautiful view of the water and our server, omar, was very attentive, polite and gave us incredible service. the next time we go to tennessee, we will definitely make another trip there. it was a perfect experience. kudos.
the only disappointing thing was they did not have a kids menu but we ordered two sides of rice and six peel and eat shrimp for my 5 and 6 year old.

so far very good. i was a bit hesitant about trying boathouse considering the score and reviews, but my mom and sister's family love it. we went for an early mother's day lunch and everything was fantastic. i called ahead as we had a party of 6. when i arrived we only had to wait a few minutes for a table on the deck with a marvelous view of the river. the host was very accomodating. our server arrived quickly and took drink and appetizer orders.

the grilled squid was fresh, tender and had an excellent grilled flavor. the fried oysters were plentiful and juicy. my wife adored her lotta lotta garlic chicken with avocado and black beans. my sister's family were equally happy with their food and drinks.

i can't account for the other negative reviews, but this is our second visit and both have been all we could hope for in a casual dining restaurant.

one other note relating to an earlier review: boathouse does not take reservations, but rather "priority seating" meaning if you call ahead, once you arrive you are put at the top of the waiting list if there is a wait. also, priority seating only applies to inside seating, not deck seating. this was explained to me when i called ahead, so was not bothered by our short wait. my wife and i were seated as soon as the table was ready, in spite of the sign up front saying parties would only be seated once a majority were there, and despite the fact we decided to take a table outside where priority seating doesn't apply.

unaccommodating. great location and the food is adequate (to be clear: just "adequate") but what should be a great time is spoiled by how unaccommodating the restaurant is, everything about it. a few examples: they don't allow you to call ahead to place your name on the wait list, once on the wait list "manager's policy" prohibits them from approximating how long it might be before you are seated, no kids' menu (and the kitchen is incapable of preparing a bowl of plain pasta)...they even refused my request to lower the blinds to shade our eyes from sun glare off the water. it's a shame to have so much potential in a place spoiled by the attitude that they're doing you a favor to let you spend your money. would not recommend, there are too many other good choices in the nooga!

pricey even for the view. i think $21.50 for 6 shrimp is high. came with soggy fries and wilted cabbage. staff not attentive enough to refill water glass or check in. nice view but i'll take the view from the bike path next time.

you can find the boathouse rotisserie & raw bar, as the name would suggest, at 1459 riverside dr, chattanooga, tn 37406 overlooking the tennessee river. the views, especially from the deck and many windows, were quite good - you can see the touristy duck boats plying the watery sights, a neighborhood across the river and part of a park. parking is out front and to one or more sides (building sits on a hill) - there seems to be plenty, at least during this late afternoon visit - i imagine they get quite packed in the evenings.

the food is swimming in grease.
my poor dad who had his gall bladder removed didn’t dare eat his food because it was food floating in grease.
don’t bother trying to order something grilled or blackened, it is probably more laden with oil then if you just got it fried.
it is just laziness that they are using this much oil to cook things, absolutely destroying the fish in the process. i am not asking for them to make me a 300 calorie dinner, but i would be shocked if my meal was less than 2500 calories just based on the cup of oil drenching my food. it was so disgusting i couldn’t finish it. we are unlikely to ever return.

great food. i had the trout almondine. it was really good. the service was great. we sat on the balcony, and the view of the river was nice. i highly recommend.

i was very disappointed after reading good reviews to get here and find that the food was simply average (and that's a little generous). the decor and server were great, but the food....all of it....was less than spectacular. we tried the grilled squid (no taste), hot legs (decent), fish tacos (dry and flavorless) and the grilled redfish (hubby says it was good, but sorely overpriced). after picking up the $85 tab, we were less than excited and surely never to return. save your money and try a different restaurant.

daniel and i are in a season of life where date nights are hard to come by... our last official date was in march, which is a far cry from the year we intentionally went on more than 52 dates. this is partially because we have not committed to finding a reliable babysitter, and partially due to daniel's work schedule.

we had a great lunch here. everything was excellent. view, food, price and service. my wife had trout and rice & beans. i had panini and olive fries.

had the side of oysters and shrimp quesadilla. both were excellent. loved the breading on the oysters. couldn't really have told you i noticed anything special about the shredded horseradish in the cocktail sauce. the quesadilla had plenty of shrimp and was browned perfectly in the brick oven. really enjoyed the green sauce, not so much the red sauce. definitely would come back if i'm ever in chatannooga again. the ice falling from the ceiling was interesting and i do wish i had sat on the balcony instead of the bar, but the service was great there.

we have driven by boathouse for so many years and never had an opportunity to eat here....made reservations at 3pm but we arrived at 1:30 and our hostess quickly made a change and we were seated immediately.