the boathouse restaurant

my husband and i, dr roy clapper, have been coming here for manyyearstogether and he alone has been coming to this restaurant for over 20 years. although we love the view by the lake, we will not return here until there is new management and better service.

tonight (7/14/2017) was the third time we came here for dinner since the restaurant opened for 2017 season and each time service was terrible. tonight's experience was the worst. while we sat at the bar waiting for our table, the bartender did not acknowledge us or take our order for at least 15 minutes. the bartender was very busy and we took that into consideration. we waited about 20-30 minutes for our table which we were ok with since they were busy. once seated at the table we were promptly served water and then waited 30 minutes and no one took our order so we got up to leave. i believe i talked with the manager on our way out and i told him we have been waiting a long time and no one has even taken our order. he apologized and said they were really busy. i put my hand up because i didn't want to hear that excuse again. the manger said "i got the hand so i'm not talking to you anymore". he promptly started talking to waiting customers about me in a negative way so i told him i will post a review on yelp. the manager said "go ahead, you do that!". i was frustrated and he was condescending and angry.

what happened?. my husband and our friends have been coming there foryearsand honestly this year is not a good one.for the past fewyearsit has been better each season. the food was the reason we came, but the three times we came this season were marginal at best. ribs were dry tough and tasteless. crab cakes were nothing like the real ones you had last year .my cold salad had a hot undercooked piece of chicken on it.when we asked our waitress last time why were things different and sub-par she said that they changed chefs from the last few years. another thing is the drink prices were not the same for the same drink on the same night? we wanted someone to know.
joan t.

hey, i did it!. it took 20yearsfor me to finally figure out why this place changes hands, but the boathouse finally lured me in on this trip to the lake house. so, heres my take. the location is great. its a little out of the way for most people in coeur d'alene, but not enough to discount it. the size of the place is right for the location, and the deck is great.

so what is the real reason for this place changing hands every year, sometimes twice a year... the food. i mean, we all go to the lake, have barbeques, drink beers, so why would i go to a place that serves up the same. most of the menu was something you would find on a diner, but there were some finds... my fish tacos were good, my wifes taco wrap was edible, but the fries with it were sooo salty. bill was average, so i left feeling average, which unfortunately isn't enough to bring me back.

i really hope one of these places sticks around for more than a year, it truly is a great location and its a shame that someone can't make this place work.