We visit the area a couple of times a year and we are looking for somewhere new (for us) to eat. I had really hoped that I would leave giving rave reviews of this restaurant, but I just can't do it. The property overlooks the Hartwell Marina, and the front porch is adorable with its rocking chairs and windows to the bar. Inside, it's a deliciously divvy atmosphere with mismatched tables and chairs, high and low ones, and barside seating. They offer live music most (all?) nights that they are open. Always a bonus! I started with a craft cocktail of cucumber something but traded it in for a gin and tonic. My husband ordered his ushe of fried shrimp with onion rings and home fried potato chips. He said the shrimp was good and the onion rings and fried chips were as well. He would not eat the hushpuppies. We both found the outer shell to be tasty, but inside a bit tacky and without much flavor. I ordered grilled grouper which I felt came off the heat just a tad early for my taste. It was fresh enough, though. The green beans I ordered were right out of the can, but the mac & cheese was good. It is not grandmas's homemade fare, but if you like pasta and you like gooey cheese, you'll like this. In general, everything just needed some seasoning and a tweak. My husband ordered a chocolate chip cake which was their dessert offering for the day. It was delicious. Our service was pretty good, and I would give them another try. read more

See all

My friends and I went to eat, our serve completely disregarded our table. Only seen him maybe once. Service was terrible. We then got our checks, split them into our couples. After paying we added up food and realized each couple got charged for "large party" gratuity. The server didn't care to do his job knowing he'd easily make a "required" $40 tip off us. read more

I do not do reviews often unless something is extraordinarily good, or bad. This place is lousy, and quite a letdown After a year or two of hoopla over selling the marina, closing the restaurant for a while, excitement over new owners and their new plans, and finally reopening the restaurant last year, I had high hopes for a good meal, especially something like fish or shrimp. Unfortunately, this was a bad if not worse than before. Grouper chewy, heavy, tasteless and days old. Green beans good. Hush puppies tiny and dry. Salad okay. Waitress inattentive. Setting, at sunset on the porch, however, was terrific. read more

Boat House Grill - View better than the Restaurant - Burgers Near Me - Hartwell, Georgia

It has been a while since I have eaten here... and it will be even longer before I come back, if at all. I ordered the Blackened Mahi Tacos. First, the positives: The taco filling was plentiful and the flavor of the fish was decent. Not what I would call blackened but decent. Now, the negatives: The Mahi was very dry. They also came with ranch dressing as the sauce. Yes, ranch dressing. The tacos, for some reason I can't explain, were served with hush puppies. The hush puppies were dry as well so I asked for tartar sauce. I was also charged 75 cents for the tartar sauce, something that should have been served with the dry hush puppies. I have real concerns about whoever created the menu and pricing . It definitely needs some work. read more

Closed for the season now so they are not open until next season. They are accessible by car and a look so have a boat dock too. read more

The service was horrific. Waitress served our drinks w/fingertips holding the top of the cup. Got our salad dressing wrong. Waited, trying to get her attention. Finally walked to the server's station. Again with our beverages, same situation. My husbands shrimp and fries were way over cooked. The oil desperately needs to be changed more often. The karaoke was fun but too too loud. Tipped the karaoke guy, tipped our waitress 20% because it looked like there wasn't adequate staff. Don't punish who showed up to work. She just needs proper training. Oh, and it was hot hot hot in the restaurant. read more

We stopped for lunch and sat outside. Though it's "waterfront," it's not a pretty view. It overlooks the refueling boat dock, and you get to breath the exhaust of the idling speed boats. The service was good - wait staff was eager to help. But the food was yucky. The soda dispenser was out of service, so we had lemonade, obviously made from a bad mix. The burger and fried catfish were frozen. Fries and onion rings were, "meh." Lunch was $50. A fast food stop would have been better and cheaper. read more

Loud crowded not my type of vibe. We left long wait view wasn't all that . If you're a drinker this is your place to be. Live band was a nice touch . read more

Meredith was our wonderful sweet server for lunch today. Great service! We enjoyed our sandwiches and fries and refreshing lemonade and iced tea. Located right on the Marina, beautiful peaceful setting! Perfect lunch break for a Sunday outing! read more

See all

Nice place for a meal. On the water and live music. Above average bar food. Had fish and chips with a salad. Was very busy so service was a little slow as expected. read more

Boat House Grill - Burgers Near Me - Hartwell, Georgia

We've been coming to Boathouse Grill for years and were wondering if the change in ownership would be a bad or good thing. It was a good place before and now it's a GREAT place to eat! The menu is very similar with a few positive changes. Our party of 4 ordered burgers, Philly steak sandwich, Mahi tacos and chicken wings. Everything was hot, fresh and tasty. The staff is awesome, especially our server, Natalie. Natalie was very pleasant and professional...even though it was very busy, she accommodated all our special requests and frequently checked on us! read more

Made the boat ride again today and it was so worth it!! Ordered Delete some steaks! Hot fries is always a good indicator and they were piping hot. We will definitely be back - for lunch on our boat and would love to hear the music at night!! read more

Exactly what you expect and want out of a waterfront "joint." Good food, super friendly staff, nice background live music. Waterfront view. Fun place. 5 out of 5. read more

So happy to have Scott and Suzanne buy the Boat House! They have the best fried chicken sandwich in Hartwell! Everyone is nice, the service is great, and everyone loves the talented performers. It's a great place for a date, a quick bite after a day on the lake, family dinners, or hanging out with friends. read more

It's on the lake so it immediately get a couple of points for that. It looks like an old boat house, if you can imagine what one of those must look like... In fact, the front looks lie it's made of old planks from a boat dock. There are about five excellent slips to park at their dock plus spaces on the ends. There is room on the fuel pier for maybe 10 boats. Plus a small Two boat dock. All are protected with pvc pipes. I'm picky about scratching my boats and this is the best at a restaurant on the lake that I have seen. They are open all year, unlike a lot of spots on the lake so that counts for something. The open windows are covered here in October as it gets cold. There were a lot of people inside so we chose to eat outside and there were a number of picknic tables to use with views of the lake... I had a burger and would say that it's in the upper 25% of "grill" burgers. Thick, lean, cooked nicely, on a great bun with fresh lettuce and tomato... The fries were crispy and hot. My great wife had a chicken salad salad... looked like good chicken salad on tome of nice lettuce. Staff were friendly and efficient. There should be more places like this on the lake. What's not to like? read more

Nice atmosphere, cool "oldies" music when we visited. Place was very clean and organized.

Sadly the service was terrible and the food was mediocre. Caprese Salad...tomatoes were light yellow almost clear. Brought lunches with fries and no ketchup, salt, or pepper. Had to ask. Off duty employee came in with baby and all staff ignored patrons and loved on baby. Get it together! read more

Stopped on Sunday on our way to Greenville. Very busy. We sat outside.The view of the lake is good but the food is just average. Everyone struggles to get enough help. read more

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because we were to hungry to wait! But let me tell you any negative reviews are lying or they just had a bad day! When I tell you the pickiest person I know (my dad) says the food is good you know it is! We had the catfish poboy w/coleslaw, mahi sandwich, chicken bites app, meatloaf sandwich, Mac and cheese... Literally everything was amazing! The fish wasn't dry and was flavorful, the coleslaw was excellent, meatloaf was delicious and Mac and cheese was great! read more

Have gone to this place 2 times and both times the food was excellent. First time I had the patty melt and fries. My dinning companion had the BLT and chips. We both were happy with the food. Now granted the place was swamped, but it took awhile to get our food. The second time I went I got the chicken salad, I now have a place to get chicken salad. It was wonderful!! One of my lunch companions got the Philly cheese steak, and said it was good. As far as the wait time, the place was half full and it still took awhile to get the food. Overall I loved the food. I will be back. This is my new favorite place in Hartwell. If I could I would give it a 4.5. 5 for food and 4 for time it took for food. I also have to give a 5 for service, the folks here are great!! read more

Our new favorite place on the water! Burgers are very generous and the wait staff is awesome! Can't wait to come back for the live music!!

The Mile high Meatloaf, was horrible!! Taste like they use can meat. The fried chicken salad with Blue cheese, the blue cheese was spoiled and the fried piece of chicken had to be the cheapest piece of chicken you could possibly buy. I could NOT EAT ANY OF IT. read more

Prices are great along with the view and atmosphere. We stumbled in on a Saturday and got lucky with live music. Service was trying their best (it was very busy). Burger was simple but delicious. Hushpuppies super good, fried fish hmm... questionable. High expectations and with it being coastal I expected a little more flavor/quality. Highly recommend going for a nice view and some drinks, would stick to apps only for my next visit read more

Listing says take out but they refused to take our order. Phone doesn't pick up so we could not place an order or confirm they do take out. read more

Enjoyed this place 5 times priory the summer. Six trip was told no outdoor service / take out. Big issue when you have driven 120 mins with kids and a dog. Dogs not allowed - which is a good thing. I'm sure they are understaffed all all out but you got to work with us in this situation !?!? Wife went in and waited on a table. Sat by herself for 45 mins til food came and requested Togo boxes. Total wait time from docking to we had food was 1:45 mins but when you 2 hrs away from your dock, you wait. Want come back unless they update their policy- to risky. read more

Excellent place to eat off the main drag and located on the water. This is a must stop place in Hartwell especially if you are on the water! Plenty of parking for both land vehicles as well as dock space for boats. They have normal bar eats and all of them are good. The portion sizes are more than enough and the food isn't just freezer to heater. Food is easily in the top 5 places in Hartwell and fresh!! I will continue to eat here for sure!!!! read more

See all

Between the flies and the server spilling our food on the table I forgot what my food tasted like honestly overpriced and too many flies!!!!! Race the flies to eat you're food... don't recommend read more

Great food, drinks ,service and atmosphere.They are very friendly. I personally like the bqq burger with the house chips and house margarita and hushpuppies with the spicy honey read more

Went to Boat House last night and the food was great. I had the mahi mahi tacos and they were so fresh. Our server was Natalie and she was excellent. Very personable and kept filling our drinks and asking if we were ok read more

If you want to feel Hartwell then the Boathouse is the place to go. It is definitely the favorite local hangout for people of all ages and the most fun. Great food and entertainment too! read more

When we first walked in, the music was so loud to the point where my group's ears were all throbbing by the time we left. We asked the waitress about the loud music and her response was that they couldn't do anything because it was "karaoke night". I then asked about outside seating to see if we could've escaped the loudness but she told us there was no seating even though we saw picnic tables on our way out. After brushing off our complaints, the food came in thirty minutes after our order to which our waitress did not check up on us at all. The lemonade was god-awful and it tasted like rotten fried chicken and we had to ask for sweet tea instead (after thirty minutes of trying to get her attention). Mind this, it wasn't even that busy for her to have an excuse to not check up on us as she stopped to flirt with random customers and talked with coworkers. My burger came to the table and after cutting it, I noticed the burger was raw (like bright red, not medium cooked or anything). My friend's BLT was dry and the bacon was greasy and mostly fat. Our waitress was no where to be seen so my friend got up to check where she had went to ask about the raw burger. He finds her standing behind a wall, vaping on the job instead of checking up on her tables before he tells her about the burger. I end up getting a replacement 20 minutes later after the supposed 5-10. My group was so done at this point as the service was terrible and the music was insufferable so I immediately asked for our check as she gave me the burger. Not only was this experience horrendous, they didn't even give my friend all her change back. Never would come here again and don't recommend it for anyone who has taste. read more

I've only been once, and it was good food, great view and great atmosphere. Reasonably priced. Would recommend

This may be the worst restaurant I've ever eaten at. 1st the service is incredibly slow and when they do find the time to stop by and take your order you feel rushed. Ordered poppers as an appetizer 30 minutes later they came out cold. When I sent them back they had just thrown back in the days old oil, even the one I took a small bite out of or they popped in the microwave. 2nd was a patty melt,they don't have a patty melt what they serve you is a burger on dry toast. The burger itself was cold dry and incredibly salty-inedible. To accompany the burger I ordered house made chips and I was assured they were made to order-they were not, cold and fried maybe that day in oil that tasted like it hadn't been changed in days. Someone in our group ordered wings, they were fried to death in that same old oil which hadn't been changed in days, dry and inedible. On a positive note the celery was spot on a good. All of my concerns went unaddressed as the waitress seemed like all the issues were normal. If you do decide to eat here I would order the celery as it was delicious...... read more

Perfect spot right on the water at Hartwell Marina. Open air at the moment with plans to close off and add A/C. I like the open style. Burgers and sandwiches are fantastic after long day on the lake. Bar is excellent. Prices are very reasonable and service is excellent. Live music is a plus. Yard games in grass like bags(corn hole), giant checkers and 2"x4" giant Jenga. Great family spot. read more

See all

I saw where Barbara from Vegas gave a bad review for the mile high meatloaf!!! We come here regularly during the summer and absolutely love it! The meatloaf is wonderful, the service is amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone! You just can't please some folks! Well done, Boat House Grill! read more

Food is very good and servers prompt. I love the atmosphere and right on the lake. Lately though, some of my favorite servers and managers have left. They say the main manager, Denny, is very hard to work for. They have lost good people. Disappointed. Hope this issue gets resolved. read more

Great place on the lake. Wide menu variety. Plenty of outdoor & indoor seating. Good size bar. No draught beer, all bottles but good selection. Gift shop with lake apparel. Scaryoki as I call it and an area for live bands. Drive the boat or car. read more

Pack a cooler with food in your boat if you plan on coming here. Service is non-existent. I put my name on the list to be seated tonight. Waited outside for over an hour. No big deal, I understand the place is busy. People stay at their tables waiting on the music. It's tough to get a table, and I understand why - hence why I got on the "list". They ask you for your phone number and actually take it down, as if they would call you when your table is ready? Ha. I come back an hour later to see if I was missed. Apparently there is a new list. My name isn't to be found. How can you deal with this type of service. The food is good. I've been there before, but your service has become minimal at best. Good luck. I'm done with this place. I'll grill in the backyard instead. read more

The food is below average-- service is slow and bartender had no personality- unless you were a man wanting a beer. I will never go again.

Great service, real fast good food and great views of the lake. Honestly could be scratching five stars if the menu was more upscale