Showboat Motel & Restaurant

Opened over 60 years ago, they continue to operate with a sparse lunch menu. Just 8 deep-​fried apps., 8 usual burgers and sandwiches. Their attraction must be the waterfront deck location.
I only tried the Bird Balls $ 5.95, which are described as «mini cordon bleu.» I was charged $ 1 extra for takeout which was not mentioned until the food came! These 6 balls were 1 ½ «each, nicely fried but with only a tiny amount of ham in the centers, AND NO CHEESE (usually Swiss for Cordon Bleu). One of them was even missing the ham. They come with a cup of a mustard-​based dipping sauce.
The server said they were homemade, twice, but I have a doubt about that.
I don’t want to try anything else here after this.

If I could give negative stars I would. My husband and I have a cottage near the Showboat and decided to stop in for a beer and listen to the band that was playing on the deck. We had our small dog with us and did not know if dogs were allowed. We cruised by and saw two other dogs, one of which was in the restaurant section of the deck. Figuring that the dog was ok, we pulled in and being cognizant of the fact that some people don’t like dogs, we selected a picnic table near our boat and as far from the restaurant as possible. We had the dog lay down under the table. When my husband went to the bar for a second beer, the owner came over and told me that dogs were not allowed. I honestly thought he was joking since one little poodle had just danced with it’s owner on the dance floor (so cute). I asked if he was serious and he got irrationally angry and shouted «OF COURSE I AM SERIOUS!!». I apologized and told him that we thought it was allowed since there were other dogs there. He again got in my face and said that it was not allowed and stomped away. I was mortified. My husband came back from the bar and saw the look on my face and asked what was wrong. I told him to drink up so we could leave. The owner then came back over and just stood over us glaring. My husband said «May I help you?» and the owner exploded and said he wanted us to leave immediately and not to return — like that would ever happen. I have never experienced anything like that and hope to never again.

We went to the restaurant due to the convenient location. What a mistake. The server gave us a heads up that they were only cooking grilled and fried foods, which was fine (or so we thought), so we sat down and ordered drinks. After serving the drinks and ordering food, the server came back to tell us that they were actually out of several «available» items. So after some back and forth, the end result was that they really only had burgers, fries, a few finger foods, and a couple salad items that obviously had been out all day. Their «chef» was a teenager with a gas grill on the deck. Service was slow. The burgers were awful, but we were hungry enough that they were edible. Ambiance is 70’s era. Their menu contained a brief history, indicating that their heyday was in fact the 60’s and 70’s when super awesome celebrities like captain kangaroo and Michael Landon visited. Eh, cool? Their only redeeming quality was the location. Great view, restaurant is over the water, and an unbelievable amount of dock space that sadly is being wasted on that dump. 2 stars based on potential and the fact that the food was edible. Very close to a 1.

It pains me to drop this throwback location a star, but an incident when we visited on July 4^th week lowers my review.
We wanted to grill some burgers and hot dogs on Sunday evening and were told in a rather surly manner by the owner that grilling was absolutely forbidden. After he realized he was a little harsh in his tone, he came back to visit us about 5 minutes later and explained that «due to insurance reasons, we can’t allow grilling here… plus the restaurant is available.» Really? «Insurance reasons?» What would your insurance company say about people diving head first off the docks into the lake at this motel after having a few beers? Or people lighting fireworks from their boats tied up at the motel? Or any Tom, Dick or Harry lighting the giant bonfire? No, the rule has everything to do with the restaurant — he was worried our grilling would cut into the restaurant’s business, and even said «other people will want to grill if you do it.»
Only a few things wrong with his argument. 1) It was Sunday night and the restaurant was closing for the night. 2) Even if the restaurant was open, how many people would have gone to the store (nearest store about a 30 minute drive) to buy burgers, hot dogs, charcoal, etc., lug a small grill, and prepare to cook a few burgers and dogs?
Yes, it’s their motel, their rules. But we were staying 6 nights and with the restaurant closing for the night, there were no other options for food. We ended up eating potato salad, pieces of Swiss cheese, and hamburger buns for dinner.
Otherwise, the information in my previous review remains valid. Expect to go back in time when you visit here. The rooms on the lake are incredible, they have A/​C (thankfully…I was worried about that, but even the Finger Lakes experience hot and sticky days in the middle of the summer), the vibe is laid back. But the grilling incident soured me a bit and I may consider checking out a motel that does not have a freaking restaurant on the premises for next time.

Initially thought about spending my holiday weekend here but ultimately selected another place. However, we did stop at the Showboat to eat at their restaurant, but after our experience I don’t know if I would consider staying here in the future.
The service was unbelievably slow. Our waitress was unresponsive. Her facial expression made you wonder if she actually was listening when you were speaking to her which was answered in the negative when the order eventually arrive — all requests ignored.
From the time we sat down on the dockside patio to the time we received our order over an hour passed by. And during the time we waited we only saw our waitress at our table 3 times — once for the order, once to deliver our drinks (took 20 minutes), and once to deliver the food. When she walked passed going to see another table we inquired on the wait for the food and she said she would look into it but she never came back.
Our order was pretty simple so we don’t know why it took so long — 2 Hamburgers, 1 BLT, and 1 Grilled Chicken Sandwich — but when it arrived the first thing we did was ask for the check. The burgers seemed to be cooked okay although a little well done. The BLT was a little on the sad side, only one tomato slice on the sandwich. The chicken sandwich was a complete disaster, burnt to a crisp — in fact it was so burnt that it was uneatable and we were able to scrap off a few teaspoons of charred food.
Seeing that the waitress never came back with the check we went to seek someone out to pay and get the heck out of dodge.
I would love to say that this was an isolated experience but as we sat there we saw many other people waiting for extended lengths of time as well. Additionally when we tried to warn a newly seated family on our way out about the absurd wait times because we didn’t want their young children to have to wait that long, they politely informed us that they vacation in the area regularly and are familiar with the unusual wait times and that it’s always like that and with no explanation from the proprietor.

We had a really bad meal here. We ordered the sauteed sea scallops and got bay scallops floating in liquid, which is typical for frozen scallops. It’s a pretty tacky and run-​down place.