we had the best girls night in the Igloos! Hayden took wonderful care of us! super attentive and kind. if you have a chance check it out during the holidays read more

The Boathouse at Sunday Park has a wonderful patio area during certain times of the year. Their drinks have been pretty solid during every visit as well. Unfortunately, that is about where the positive traits end. Getting a table on the patio, even with a reservation, is next to impossible. The last time I attempted with my wife we were quoted an hour minimum for a patio table despite numerous open tables and, by all accounts, sufficient staff to man them. This last made even more so since they have switched to an ordering model where the customers handle all the legwork of placing, staging, and paying for the order reducing the waitstaff to glorified food runners. An understandable necessity during the height of the pandemic. Clunky and frustrating now that restrictions have eased. The best I can say for the food is that it is ok. Not great, but passable most of the time. I have on more than one occasion been served burnt food which should have been stopped before it was served to a guest. I say all this as someone who has been an industry professional for over 18 years at both the service, kitchen, and management levels. I know less than stellar Yelp reviews are a pain both to deal with. My hope is that should the leadership there read this they are able to take these massive opportunities in service and food quality and make the necessary changes to take their business to the level it should be at. They are blessed with a fantastic location and a community that WANTS to support them for years to come. Please make yourselves worthy of that support. read more

ok so this is a strange review in that I have been to the Boathouse many times and I have to completely compliment the food (will get to that later). But this is really about the experience in the way they have their systems setup with social distancing. They have gone the approach of online menu and online ordering. Which I respect that a lot. The real issue is that they use that as an EXCUSE to actually give you ZERO service which is pretty inexcusable. And by the way you will be paying 20% automatic gratuity for NO SERVICE. So I arrived and this was for a business meeting with someone else. First off - if your having a business meeting and want a single check this isn't going to currently be a place you want. #1 - you will get a separate check everytime you order (you can't have a tab). So if I order a drink (you get a receipt). If then the business associate shows up you have to order their drink (your essentially the wait staff) and you get a second receipt. Order an appetizer (3rd) receipt .... and don't try to order the appetizer all at the same time as the meal or it will all come out at once (there is no one there to ask you those kind of things). so then order dinner (receipt #4) and oh need another drink (reciept #5). Need water - its free in the app but again you have to order in the app as you have no server to come ask you if you need anything. So essentially consider going to the boathouse as though you were ordering takeout but get to eat it at their table. That is pretty much the experience. So how did this effect me other then being the waiter and having a lot of checks to submit for my expense report. I made the mistake of ordering appetizer and meal at the same time in the app. So it all came out at once. Not just the appetizer but the dinner salad and meal. I did complain lightly to the person that brought the food as to (wow we didn't expect it all to come out at once). Had a pleasant conversation that maybe they should have some better policies. Well a bit later a manager came out and said yes I made the mistake by ordering on the same bill that I needed to order them separate. Then he pretty much scolded me because he had asked me when I arrived if I had used their new system or had any questions. So I made the mistake of not understanding they don't care about service anymore it appears. My business guest and myself were a little shocked and when I asked the question about salads ..I said you don't order the salads separate but when you order your meal it prompts you asking if you want a salad. So I couldn't order the salad on a separate bill and they have been in the restaurant business long enough to know the salad should come out first. This was the strange thing he said "yes 99% of the time people want their salad first but if you want our policies changed you should write a review". First - I take offense to him coming out to tell me I'm being a bad waiter and not ordering properly for my table. I should have taken his advanced training class on arrival. And his attitude toward me will be the #1 reason I will not return here even after Covid. He had no way of knowing I ever post reviews but I guess that means he knows that their policies are really bad and desperately needs ownership attention .... so here it is I am writing the review. Owners - your policy of forgetting everything about the restaurant business and what satisfies customers is down right horrible. Don't use covid as an excuse to pay absolutely no attention even in the kitchen to the customer - you don't have to have some heavy interaction with a customer to find out what they need ... but the no service method is just send everything that comes in at once and show you don't care. And no asking a customer if they need more water is not a health risk! So in summary - while I applaud their social distancing measures they are taking it to the extreme in saying your not going to get any service at all and we aren't even going to use our brains to figure out you don't want your appetizer, salad, and dinner to come all out at once (or even have someone come ask - that's my real issue). My recommendation - when an order comes in with multiple courses on the check ask the customer how they want it ... and come by every so often to make sure they are ok and at least fill their water. And especially with a 20% service charge on every check there should at least be this basic level of service. Feeling kinda ripped off at 20% for absolutely no service. Therefore while I have always been a fan of the boathouse I really can't recommend anyone come here (or any of the others) currently unless you just want to go drink (and accumulate a check for every drink). And especially avoid if going on business where you want one check unless you feel like being your groups waiter all night. P.S. My scallops were delicious. Too bad I won't be coming back for anytime soon. read more

Back again for a lunch/ early dinner type of thing with friends from out of state. And and and- the phone ordering system was gone! Woo hoo! Real menus too.. Ate outside and once again I must say the views are still very nice. There was four of us and collectively we had the shrimp scampi, the shrimp tacos, the grilled chicken sandwich (mine) and the crispy chicken sandwich. Everything was exceptionally good- like really really good. Service (Thank you Zack) was attentive and pleasant. The drinks the girls had were also very tasty. Everyone raves about the food. Well done read more

Billy was great! He is the best server and takes such good care of us. We need to come more often than we do!

Venette is a great server. Brunch was awesome. Also, the view. Get the pumpkin spiced White Russian while it lasts. Hey, I'm drinking a beverage here! read more

I enjoyed a great Brunch with Santa. Myself and my family had an amazing time with amazing food and conversation. Our server, Bex, was attentive and helpful. She brought our drink order out immediately after making the order and checked on us multiple times throughout our brunch. She made our time at the Boat House so great and we will definitely be back for other special and seasonal events. read more

Billy was a fantastic server! Really knowledgeable about the menu and very attentive.

Excellent food and service. Our server Claudia and the manager were Chastyde were fabulous!! Happy holidays!

Great service, beautiful water view but the food for our family event was mediocre! We prefer to go there for appetizers and drinks on the Reservoir! read more

It's a vibe more than anything. The food isn't terrible but you can get better for cheaper. However, it has a beautiful view of the water and the drinks are nice and strong so a great place for a happy hour or wanting to grab some drinks and appetizers with friends read more

Had a wonderful experience taking my family to dinner. We had great service from Hayden.

My husband and I came here for lunch about noon on a Saturday. We had a reservation at 12:15 but the super nice hostesses allowed us to be seated early. The outside dining is lovely and it's great out there when the weather is cool and a little grey. We had a beautiful view of the water! Our server was probably in high school still or maybe just turned 18? She seemed a little timid and quiet but paid attention to the order and got it right. One thing I was completely weirded out by that warrants less stars is the growling chihuahua, dining on top of the table and chair as if it were a person. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and kids. I own both dogs and kids. But dogs lick their own butts and also paw though piles of actual poo and they don't wash their paws before eating. They shouldn't be up on the table. Outdoor dining means Fido stays on the ground. The dog growled at the server and pretty much everyone that walked by. It didn't help that the couple were fighting and the man was being horrible to his wife but I digress..... just, please keep the dogs on the ground. I ordered 6 oysters and a crack and peel shrimp. I'm gonna give the oysters a 4 and the shrimp a 5+. Bonus for the drawn butter that came with my shrimp. They were perfect! If you love Old Bay like I do, these shrimp are delightful. I also got a wedge salad with salmon as a side protein. It came on small salad plate but needed to be on a bigger plate because as soon as I cut into it, the salmon slid off and the lettuce tried to escape off the plate and onto the table. I put my salmon filet on another plate so it would stop sliding off. The salmon had a choice of being grilled or blackened and since I love Cajun food, blackened is the way I always go. It was goooood. The edge of the salmon was great until I took a second bite and realized it was ever so slightly undercooked. You know when you have sashimi and it is nearly textureless but just smooth and satiny? So that's how my salmon was. It had zero tooth and felt gelatinous like raw fish does sometimes. I ended up having to send it back but there were no issues. The manager was super sweet and gracious. My wedge salad was great but had barely any bacon on it, maybe a pinch. That was disappointing because there was a very large wedge of lettuce. The dressing and blue cheese were yummy and cold. The tomatoes were delightful. Maybe heirloom. I had purple and yellow tomatoes. I feel like tomatoes are incredibly underrated and I don't get why people throw in a tomato if it's underripe or not good. So yay for a tasty tomato in my wedge salad. My oysters came with 3 sauces, cocktail, raspberry mignonette, a hot sauce. Everything was tasty and fresh! My husband had a bacon burger and asked for it medium and it came out perfect. Bacon and fries were perfect. We'll come back for the view and a second try, it was a good experience sans the cranky dog at the table next to us. Hoping for a great experience on the next round! read more

We used to go all the time to this place, but this place had changed dramatically since and after covid. I used to love this place, but will not come back until they change their crazy tipping policies, order by phone and their service attitude.... Sorry this was a fantastic place for drinks on a Friday evening, unfortunately they ruined it completely in my opinion. I recognized a lot of the negative comments, however Boathouse please go please back to the restaurant you were before covid !!!! read more

If you want to spend most of your time trying to figure out how to order then this might work for you. It was a major pain to order as it is all on their app and you can't order through the server. The app is confusing and it's hard to split the order by couples at the table. We FINALLY got drink and appetizers ordered and got them quickly and they were good but our dinner order didn't go through and after 30 minutes they came to our table to ask if we were going to order. We left without dinner at that point as we'd been there over 90 minutes. We'll never go back. Eating out just isn't as much fun when you have to spend so much time on the phones rather than interacting with your server and your friends. And then after we did all the work to place all the orders (drinks, appetizers, dinner) they add an automatic 20% service fee for a party of just 4. Exactly what is that fee for? It's certainly not for the service although we did like the young woman who came to the table to try to help us. I felt bad as we had recommended this restaurant to our friends based on our experience from 7 years ago when it was a pleasant experience and great food. read more

The day after the daughter's wedding, my wife and I wanted to take the newlyweds out for a nice dinner before we head back home. In checking out Yelp, the reviews and the pics of The Boathouse in Hopewell looked promising so we made a reservation for dinner Monday night. After sharing the reservation details with the daughter, she informed us that Hopewell is in an industrial area and neither safe nor pretty...so we pivoted and made a reservation for the Sunday Park location in Midlothian instead. Tucked in a wooded and quiet neighborhood, Sunday Park is quite picturesque. It would've been nice to catch a glimpse of sunset during dinner but the dreary, overcast weather put a kibosh on that. When I made our reservations, I made sure to inform them this is for a special occasion and requested a table with a view of the lake. Upon arrival for an early dinner, we were taken to our table with a somewhat obstructed lake view but not too bad. Our server briefed us about their no contact ordering and an automatic 20% service fee/gratuity...which, I didn't quite agree with but oh well. Service was actually very attentive and efficient. We ordered crispy calamari and roasted Brussels sprouts for our vegetarian daughter. The calamaris were done well, lightly breaded and fried without being chewy. The marinara and mayo/mustard sauce were both good. My wife and daughter also loved and finished the Brussels sprouts. For mains, we had two orders of their Shrimp Tacos with fries, my wife tried their Fish and Chips and daughter ordered their Beyond Burger. All dishes were executed well. My wife liked her dish but couldn't finish all the fries...I even tried to help her out but the portions were quite generous. All in all, a very good dinner, although a bit pricy...but I suppose we knew that going in. Ambience was top notch. The contactless ordering process worked well and after the quality service we received, I have no qualms with the automatic 20% service fee/gratuities. Dinner for 4 with appetizers, drinks, and entrees with added service fees came out to just under $150. read more

We had such impeccable service from Kristen and Chef Sam added to our wonderful dinner experience on Friday on November 15th. The following day, we also attended a wedding at The Boathouse on Saturday the 16th. We felt so welcome that we came to The Boathouse for brunch on Sunday, 11/17th and Chef Sam welcomed us and made us feel just as special as the first day we met him. Due to the hospitable staff, we look forward to returning to The Boathouse soon. Sincerely, Lorie & Andrew read more

I want to start off by saying the contactless experience during dine in was outstanding. It definitely exceeded my expectations regarding safety towards staff and as a customer. Very impressed. Our server was attentive and accommodating. The online menu was very easy to navigate (especially if you looked beforehand). Every staff member I saw were masked. We dined indoors. Plenty of spacing between tables. We had a reservation of 10, but had to sit apart (6 at one table, 4 at the other). Although this was the only upsetting part of the experience, we understood for safety precautions. We also didn't mind doing a little musical chairs. Surprisingly, every staggered order we sent in, it all came out pretty quick. Drinks, appetizers, entrees and more drinks. Their Black Cherry Mojito is so good! One of the highlights were their hush puppies. For my entree I ordered their Chicken Chesapeake. Everything was cooked and seasoned well, I left the restaurant very satisfied. Overall a very pleasant experience and we will be back. read more

The Boathouse - Chicken Chesapeake - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Okay. This place is for people who want to project themselves to the world. I do star them twice for the propulsion aspect. But you'll find better, more authentic fish, almost anywhere else....especially if you eat and digest human food (their rather nice view of the sunset along the James, must be keeping this place out of business!?) Captain Ds please....seriously atrocious crab cakes read more

A beautiful, large restaurant that sits on the shore of a lake. They have walking trails and outdoor tables. The setting is very picturesque, and the food and service are great. We appreciated having regular menus as an alternative to using QR codes. Having a kids menu was another plus. The service is very attentive and they have ample parking. You have to take a series of side roads to reach them, so a GPS system is useful. read more

Where to start....Taking a dear friend out for a retirement celebration to what I thought was an upscale restaurant when in actuality it was substandard. The wait staff was inattentive and down right rude. The food was average at best, and took almost an hour to get to our table. As we were a large party, we were informed at the door there would be an automatic 18% tip applied to each tab, that would have been fine, if the staff had even attempted to provide quality service, which they did not. From the body language to the facial expression on both our servers and even the manager who disregarded our concerns about our service, spoke volumes. Clearly the staff felt they were doing us a favor by serving us. I have never had such an awful dining experience, nor encountered such blatantly rude staff. I WILL NEVER return to the Boathouse in Sunday Park, overpriced and substandard food and service. Sadly, the only thing this place offers is a view worthy of seeing. read more

We sat outside. Nice view and Hayden was a great server! I will also add I was impressed by the limited amount of bugs. I'm always hesitant to dine outside due to bugs. read more

Billy and brenda were fabulous! food was amazing, view was amazing! excellent service at the baby shower

Had a wonderful time celebrating my brother's birthday. Our server, Claudia, was so sweet and accommodating. They even gave my brother a birthday card and dessert! Would definitely recommend stopping by during sunset. read more

I love coming here for happy hour. Brenda and Gabe were super friendly and made sure our order was perfect. I come on the regular so I'm at the bar for $1 oysters, $5 appetizers, and half off drinks. read more

The ambiance facing the sunset over the calm lake was so beautiful and relaxing. The food was delicious... especially clam chowder and the hot apple dessert. And it was quick to come out too! Jacob was our waiter and did a great job taking care of us. A really nice night. read more

Food good Service excellent Ambiance nice Kitchen seemed a little confused with the orders. read more

Wow!, this place is a class act. This was only our second visit and we couldn't be much more impressed. Our first time here was 10 months ago, and our dining experience was great. Fast forward 10 months and throw in COVID restrictions & they're still delivering quality service and food. We dined outdoors, although indoor dining was available. The new ordering system is surprisingly easy and adventurous. We were concerned that restrictions would limit server interaction. We were so glad we were wrong. Service was very attentive. read more

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I visited The Boathouse at Sunday Park last week to meet a business partner from out of town and forgot to update my review. Service was poorer due to the Toast system being down which makes the mandatory 20% tip even more of a bad deal than when it's all up & running and yet still not receiving 20%-level service. I wonder if the staff realizes they treat every request from customers like a problem that they don't have time to deal with instead of a simple task that should be a pleasure to handle (and contribute to a good experience as you would expect from a professional establishment). I'm talking as simple as two people dressed professionally who would like to sit at a table or a booth instead of the bar at a time while the restaurant is practically empty with 90% of tables in sight clean and available. I don't think I have unrealistic or high expectations, I think the place continually lowers their standards in the experience they're willing to give their guests. Listening in on other table's interactions with their (also our) server I couldn't find any semblance of a pleasant tone of voice, can-do, happy to serve attitude - but again, why should they? There's absolutely no incentive to deliver that positive experience any more, and they've clearly realized that. If the restaurant positioned themselves or marketed their brand to be a Chili's or Red Lobster I would have nothing to say, this is what I'd expect. But they promote themselves, and have the reputation (from the past) if reaching a higher level. In the end I truly feel the culture of the business is to ask more of their customers while giving them less in return, but also mandating (a minimum) 20% tip - which after a few recent visits can definitely contest that they've stopped communicating that mandatory tip to their guests and instead have a little card on the table (which goes back to a Cardinal Law of any type of dining or service industry which is to not let a sign do the job of something you should tell to your guests). I brought my coworkers to the Short Pump location for our tram Christmas party in early Dec and The Boathouse definitely lost all their future business from my coworkers as they all realized later they tipped significantly on top of the bill even after the 20% was already added-in. This oversight in some instances such as that even starts to encroach into dishonesty. I'm officially wondering if, and when, was this place bought or become under new management. A commitment to their guests and customer-forward approach needs to be increased 500% by all accounts of my recent 5-6 visits. I'm definitely wondering why I'd go back at this point. read more

The Boathouse - Walkway leading up to The Boathouse at Sunday Park. - Seafood Near Me - Midlothian, Virginia

Early Friday Date Night Disappointment. It has been a long time since I've left a place so frustrated and it is sad because this place CAN be a jewel. Our visit was an early Friday night bar/appetizer-type of visit - 50% of the bar seats occupied. The bartender greeted us warmly, gave us the run-down on how to use the app, and dealt-up some well-made martinis ($19.50 for Hendricks) to watch the sun set. We ordered and received oysters and shrimp which were good. And, scene. We had dinner waiting at home and we're ready to check out, so we waited for our 'tender to make her way back - but first, she needed to handle other guests. While taking another guest's order, she informed them that "none of our chefs are in the back, they are working a private function." Yikes! Okay - stuff happens. Another 15 minutes (no exaggeration) passes and we ask another one of the four people behind the bar to help apply our HOUSEpitality points to our check because it wasn't doing it on the app. The gent was confused and didn't know what he was talking about. He called over the AGM who said she'd have me cashed out and the points applied. SHE NEVER CAME BACK! So, when the 'gent came back by he gave us a perplexed look like, "why are you still here" and we shared that the AGM left and never came back. At this point, we said "forget it", paid our check, and walked out. To us, it seemed like there were too many staff, poor communication, an unaccountable leader, a poor rewards app, and an overpriced $19.50 Hendricks martini. Not the relaxing experience we had expected and cannot say we'll be back for nicer weather. Best wishes for a smoother Spring! read more

Had a reservation for 7:45 and they seated us at a high top Bar table at 8:08, no real server attention, must order on phone and whatever you order all comes out together, so plan accordingly. Calamari was huge, felt undercooked, and the breading fell off. I ordered jumbo shrimp, they were cooked and seasoned well, but the mashed potatoes were meh, basically just an ice cream scoop of yellowness, I took one bite. The asparagus was sad and tiny. My husband enjoyed his crab cakes just as I did the shrimp, but his sides (same as mine) were also "meh". And there was a 20% service charge. read more

Xaveria was a wonderful server ! She did great with our large group with many picky eaters. The food was good, The views were spectacular. read more

LOVE boathouse especially for their happy hour during the weekday. The food is half off during that time and all of it is amazing. My husband and i come for the oysters and hush puppies. The ambiance is incredible with the view of the lake and the service has been great and accommodating. read more

Hayden was an excellent server and we enjoyed the food and the view. Our table was great! The bar was slow to serve drinks after ordering.

Went there for Thanksgiving Buffet. The food was great except that it was not being refilled fast enough. Thought this would be a given considering the holiday. Our server Claudia was very good and we enjoyed our meal overall. read more

Delicious food and beautiful view of the reservoir! Claudia was a wonderful server! We will be back!

My husband and I came here with our in-laws while they were visiting. Everyone was excited to try a new restaurant on the water. The food was EXCELLENT and I had the best tacos I've had in a while, our server, Claudia was friendly and so attentive. She was quick to refill our drinks and answer all of our questions. We will definitely be coming back soon! read more

My husband and I went to the Boathouse in Sunday Par to celebrate our 28th anniversary and we had a great time. Our server Annabelle was gracious and super nice, the food was delicious and the service was great. All in all we had a great time. Even the weather cooperated! read more

Delicious food! The environment was perfect. Wonderful service from our server, Hayden!

Great view even from the inside. Good food, drinks and timely, attentive service by Hayden.