boathouse rotisserie & raw bar

yum!. we really enjoyed rotisserie & raw bar. service and atmosphere was great.

parties over 8. if you have a party over 6 then buyer beware. you will only have one bill so you all better bring cash. they will not give you separate checks. what a bummer!!

mixed feelings. the location is great; view from the patio is nice. service here was terrible. i went to the bar to order a beer while we waited for our seats, ordered 2, offered to pay then and the lady behind the bar insisted that we open a tab. once we were seated i told the waitress that we had started a tab at the bar and would just move it over and pay with dinner, she told me that couldn't be done and i needed to pay at the bar. so i leave my party, go stand in line at the bar, wait, and wait, and wait to finally pay for the 2 beers i had tried to pay for earlier. sit down, order queso and chips, chips were stale and the dip was bland. ordered the voodoo chicken and it was decent, burnt on the outside but tender on the inside, no complaints. everyone else enjoyed their food too. our service was another story, our waitress was awful, she forgot things, could not be found for the majority of the meal, and offered no refills on any of our drinks until our meal was over. thankfully they leave a water pitcher on the table or we all would have had a very dry meal. once she finally came back, she thought she needed to explain herself but complaining about her other large party table, if you are a waitress... don't complain, especially about the other tables. all in all the food was decent, atmosphere was nice, and service was terrible, two out of three isn't too bad. i'd go back but i don't think i would recommend it to friends.

not impressive. the food to me is overpriced for what you get and the service has rarely been good. i have been there 3-4 times and did not like what i got any of the times except for their french fries which are delicious! the view is fantastic, it's a shame the food makes it hard to enjoy the view.

review. i can't bring myself to write a full reivew.
with the exception of the grilled squid, there is nothing notable on the menu. the quality of the seafood is suspect and the lack of concern and professionalism in the kitchen is frightening. mussels (when management deems them "in season") come to the table with numerous unopened specimens, as well as those with cracked shells; up to 1/3 of the order. on one occaision i waited 30min for an order of clams (every one else at the table was through with their order) and was told that the delay was due to the difficulty in preparation, an outright lie.
service has been haphazard at best. the wine list is meager and disapointing. waits for tables are long.
all this for a river view?
ptui!!!
ambiance: good
service: poor
food: poor
value: poor

nasty. my stomach gets queasy even thing about eating here. i was never a real fan of the boathouse but the final straw was when mrs. bear ordered a bowl of steamer clams and noticed 4-5 clams were not open. when we pointed this out to our server she was unsuprised and simply said she would take them back to the kitchen where the cook would pry them open. after we regained our power of speech we told her that this was a bad idea and attempted to explain why. she assured us that they do it all the time. we left.

super. because of the great views overlooking the river and the pleasant staff, i would go here a couple of times a week even if they were serving slop. however, the food is terrific! from the stuffed poblano pepper appetizer and fresh raw oysters to the bbq shrimp and voodoo chicken, they have a great menu with so many things to choose from and i've never had anything that i wouldn't eat again and again!

smells bad, service is awful, food yuck!. i have lived in chattanooga all of my life and last night was the first time that i have been to the boathouse. i looked on urbanspoon and read some mixed reviews about this place, but the family decided this was where they wanted to try before going to a show downtown. bad idea! the odor from the river as we walked in almost made us lose our appitites. when we got to our table our server, who we thought was a bus boy, did not speak english very well but we managed to finally order after about 30 minutes or so. he even asked me how i wanted my salmon cook... i didn't even know how to respond; cooked? when our food arrived another server brought it to us and it took her a few minutes to figure out who got what. the worst part of this experience was the food. i ordered the salmon salad and it was awful. it had absolutely no flavor. the "ginger" dressing just tasted like water and the salmon had no seasoning or marinade. two people at my table ordered the lotta lotta garlic and the rice was almost raw! the pork was ok, but i am not a fan of the sauce at all but that is more personal opinion, not necessarily bad to others. all and all, try to avoid this place at all costs! not worth the $, time, or bad service. oh, and as we left the hostess just looked at us and didn't say goodbye or anything!

good food but noisy.. one night this week.
me and one other person.
knowing how loud this place is, i asked hostess specifically for a table in a corner or on a wall.
she smiled and took us to a table in the middle of the half full restaurant.
the mexican shrimp cocktail was great. server brought extra chips without asking.
my voodoo chicken..over cooked.. meat was dry but skin was crisp and flavor was good. its a half a chicken fried than cut up with a cleaver.
other person had chicken quesadilla.. liked.
it is insane how loud this place is. you have to scream to talk to someone across the table from you.


-----07 feb, 2011-----

two visits in one week.... first... two family friends and dad and i.
cold night. long story short.. hostess... we absolutely told her that we did not want to sit near a window.
hostess was shocked when we refused the table she seated us.. the far corner table next to the vfw with two windows.
dumb dumb dumb.
after "checking" hostess 'found' another table.
server was good. food was good. never had it before but chicken quesadilla appetizer was great..
then.. tonight.. super bowl sunday, they were open when no one else was. me and one friend.
no hostess tonight.. just a waiter dood who pretty much said sit were you want.
they do guacamole like nowhere else. all the same ingredients ..avocado, tomato, lemon, cilantro, onion but instead of being pulverized in a bowl, the ingredients are just loosely chopped.. nice.
two voodoo chickens were good. waiter dood was good... very good at recognizing when not to interrupt our conversation.
.............
i have a common complaint here about hostess's.. owners do not know how important they are as a first impression. i would rather be properly seated by my 5th grade teacher than a blond 21 year old .


-----17 sep, 2010-----

my overall opinion. go for the food.. to some of the other posters.. i know the story... every helicopter parent came here to write a bad review of the restaurant because a vp of unam sent out a blast email about feeding his kid a happy meal.
they did not allow a customer to bring in outside food.
bringing outside food into a restaurant is against the law in most states... but not tn.
manager and customer get into a tiff.
this is a medium upscale restaurant.
not a place where helicopter parents should bring their precious brat snowflake child-kid with a happy meal.
if it takes bringing/feeding precious little snowflake a mcdonald's happy meal to a decent adult restaurant to keep them happy? i would reexamine my parenting.


tacky tacky tacky glass topped tables which people slide their business cards under. "oh i might get a lead" if i stick my card under here. yeah, keep on selling that real estate ms. blond bimbo with the crye -leike business card?. good luck.

wait staff? 70/30 good/bad.
hostess's? dingbats.

food? since they opened, at least 30 visits...

never a bad meal. never bad food.

do i like the food and eat there often? yes yes yes.

always get the mexican shrimp cocktail for an appetizer.

go for the food .

sorry i shoot it straight.

overall is good. some menu items at this place are overpriced, but i steer clear of those. the appetizers and some of my favorites. the grilled squid app is amazing, seriously. i always go with their pork, chicken or brisket here. it is fairly priced, well portioned and consistent. i can never bring myself to pay for their expensive dishes. their beer and drinks are overpriced and small. they have one of the best patios in the city, the views are ridiculous. plus they are right on the riverwalk which can make for a really great day.

over priced & pretentious. this place stinks. highly over priced for what it is and you almost suffocate with all the pretentiousness. this place clearly hates children and frowns upon anyone who wanders in with a "family". there is no kids menu offered. the ultimate insult was when our waitress gave us repeated dirty looks when my wife gave our two boys apple juice boxes which she had thoughtfully packed in a small cooler (kept in our car) in anticipation of a fun filled day in downtown chattanooga. we will never be back nor will we go to any of their other sister establishments.

first time eating here. im from birmingham al. my daughter and her husband and children live there . her husband works for vw company. people @ work had been talking about how good the boathouse was .they were right it was very good!!! will tell my friends if u go to chattannoga make sure to eat @ the boathouse great food!!

best oysters- need i say more?. i have been there a few times, and they always have the best service, and excellent seafood! i am a huge fan of their oysters, and have a hard time sharing them with anyone ;) i've usually gotten their catfish with slaw and fries, catfish & fries are great, slaw is ok. if you can get a table on their back deck, that is the best place to sit! beautiful views of the river, cool breezes in summer, and in the winter they cover it and place heaters out there. most of the prices are fair, but they do have a few pricey things on menu. this probably isn't the best polished review of the boathouse, but thought i'd keep it short and sweet. love this place :)

best mojito in town!. was shocked to find they make there mojitos buy hand! the way they are supposed to be made. the food is good and i have never had any problems with the service o and the happy hour is to 10:00 on weekdays !!! so hand made 3.00$ mojitos lol. o and i dont give two s&*(ts about the no mcdonalds for kinds crap, floating around the net about this place, if people with screaming kinds boycott this place i will not consider this a bad thing lol.

one of the best places in chattanooga. disco - quote me one law in any state that makes it illegal to bring outside food into a restaurant .. i do not think that there is one; but i will say that it is against principle. no venue wants you bringing outside food into their place and eating it there - it is just like bringing your own booze into a bar. that being said, i agree with disco on what he said - a guy was offended and many other parents as well (i was one of them that got offended at how it was handled) but i will not allow that to block the truth - this place has ok service, great food and the spot is unbeatable! i enjoy myself every time i go. my last bill there was over $600 (i took employees). you do not spend that kind of money at a place and it sucks. this place ranks on the highest of my list for location, quality of food and atmosphere.