Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant

We visited Holland for the first time and this place drew us in by the look of the waterfront patio, it was simply gorgeous eating on the water. We both ordered salads and the portions were huge, we should have split one! We ordered the kids a fruit plate and a vegetable plate (their request! We’re not starving them!) again, the portions were huge but the kids really enjoyed the finger food and we shared the fresh fruit and vegetables. It made for an extremely pleasant experience. Our server was the most engaging young man but it didn’t lessen my opinion, great place to enjoy an outdoor meall

Food is average. You can expect good, but not great. My go to is the steak salad. I have tried pizza, lasagna, Mac n cheese, salmon burger, reg burger and fish. One of the best views in town. I like the atmosphere too. My dad complains that because it is more open it is hard for him to hear.

The food is decent and the wine selection is nice. Lovely view of the water.
It’s the service that is pretty pathetic, though. I’ve been several times and each time our server practically ignores us and we have to beg to get waters refilled, order new drinks, etc. One time we asked for the dessert menu and it never came. Tonight I was there with friends and my water was never refilled, I had to ask other servers to get a new drink, we had to ask for menus, our main server never stopped back to ask how our food was. When we found a hair in one of our entrees, the supervisor just asked, «What would you like us to do?» Hairs happen in restaurant food — but don’t make solving the problem MY problem. That’s for YOU to figure out. We had to beg to get our checks and then our credit cards sat on the table waiting to be rung up for 35 minutes.

The ambiance and food of this restaurant is great. We enjoyed the location, the view, and most importantly, the food.

We had an event for about 80 people in the Courtyard and Black River Ballroom on a Friday evening in June. The weather was absolutely perfect, so we were able to keep the wall of glass doors open all evening. The food and service were top notch. We received so many compliments from our guests on how delicious the food was (bistro steak and baked chicken). We also did the dessert buffet and friends told us it was the best they’ve ever had. Having corn hole, ladder golf, and the fire pit (with s’mores!) out on the patio made for great entertainment for the kids and adults alike. Great space to just sit and chat and or have some fun. I was happy we went with Boatwerks for this event.

Incredibly impressed with The Boatwerks menu, accommodations and professional, seamless service! They did an amazing job with a wedding last month: great food – the chef even made two gorgeous and tasty vegan dishes, outstanding service providers and coordinators and a great atmosphere. We will be coming back soon! Great venue and atmosphere. Nothing like being on the water!

Nice atmosphere, definitely lively and great for a summer day. The view is gorgeous, the service was quick. However…
The hostess did not seem to know what she was doing. My friend and I were standing there waiting to be seated and she ignored us, we actually had to confront her and ask to be seated.
Also, the food was mediocre. I’ve definitely had better. The menu items sounded appetizing but when they came I wasn’t impressed — was very ordinary and not what I expected.
Worth it for the atmosphere and decent food, but it’s very expensive and not incredibly impressive.

We decided to go back to enjoy a nice summer day outside. The service and food has improved greatly. We will happily be visiting more.

What Fantastic place. The Foods was terrific and the location is unbelievable. Can’t wait togo back…

We had eaten at Boatwerks a couple of years ago on a trip to Holland and loved it so much we were excited to come back. However, we started reading reviews and were almost dissuaded from returning, thinking the service had gone downhill. We chose to take our chances and give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt. Boy, are we glad we did! We ate in the lounge, and our server Jeff was attentive, friendly, and accommodating. And the food was excellent! Just don’t always believe what you read, make your own decisions.

Phil is unbelievable. When we come back, we will come back for him. Seriously.
The salmon and pork were incredible, the views to die for. Yes and amen.

A friend and I met for dinner on a Friday evening recently. My friend wanted to try Boatwerks, so she made a reservation. Once our reservation was finally found we were told that we could sit inside or out. Being the first really nice spring day we chose outside. Once we got out there we saw plenty of open tables but were told that the hostess was wrong about using our reservation outside. They were able to seat us anyway, so we sat down for our long wait.
We had to wait far too long for everything. Every time our server told us he’d be back in a minute, it would be at least 15 until we saw him. Nobody came to check on us while eating our meal. I really needed some salt but gave up and just ate everything bland. Overall we had at least 5 people come to our table, but never when we really needed someone.
The food was disappointing, especially considering how much I paid for it. My fish was bland and had a burned taste that wasn’t appetizing at all. The veggies were bland and over cooked.
For what we paid for dinner, the quality just wasn’t there. Sure the view was nice, but it could never make up for the group of loud, drunk friends at the next table.
Next time I’m in Holland I’ll look for something a little less expensive, more appetizing, and with MUCH better service.

Very nice Restaurant in the Lake. Nice Outside area for the warmer time of the year. The Menue is great not the same old same as everywhere.
Food was very good and well prepared and hot.
We ordered one Appetizer and two soups followed by the Entre. Here is the negativ. Soups came first very shortly after already the Appetizer and again after a short while Dinner came. We would lived to have s bit more time in between. But we would come back for sure (next Time in Summer)

Location, location, location. Beautiful view, good food.
Friendly staff, very helpful. Stopped in foe lunch on a sunny February day and had an enjoyable lunch.

We came here on a Saturday afternoon. Beautiful view of the lake. Everyone at my table enjoyed their food. I had the cashew chicken stir fry and it was fantastic! The others at my table ordered the Mac and cheese with bacon and the perch. Everyone loved their meals! If I am in the area, I would return.

Entrees and desserts for our party of four: excellent. Lake view from inside: excellent. Attentiveness of server: excellent. Time it took to deliver our food after ordering: 45 minutes (intolerable; lower overall rating one star).
My advice: order an appetizer and entrée at the same time, enjoy the bread, arrive earlier than 6:30 on a Wednesday or knock back a few drinks.

First things first: This restaurant is NOT on Lake Michigan, but a smaller inland lake. It’s a sprawling lakeside restaurant & bar (think Jimmy Buffett vibe and you’re on the right track) and an equally large (huge) outdoor dining area, with another bar and dozens of tables lining the waterfront. Speaking of: the lake water smells a bit, as though it’s stagnant (which it is…), but you’ll get over it.
We visited on a sunny summer evening, must have been 300 or more people but the place is so broken up with numerous dining areas plus another huge bar inside that it didn’t feel like a mosh pit. This place gets seriously busy, with dozens of Boatwerks staff sweating it out just to keep their heads above water– much visible dish schlepping.
We had a massive spinach salad for 9 bucks, really good: swimming with mandarin oranges, dried cherries and walnuts, maytag blue cheese and a light dressing. It was excellent and because we opted for the large size, it could have been a full-​on meal in itself– for 2 people.
Pizza for 15 bucks, 9 – 10 inches: good crust and decent sauce, but nothing remarkable. Service by Kevin was great. Our pizza came out in 30 minutes or so. It could have been worse with all the people crushing the place. So, we ordered another beer; problem solved. DOH.
The view is nothing spectacular, but it’s great to eat outdoors on the water. Lots of boaters, everyone is there to have a chill experience. I’d come back if I was passing through but probably wouldn’t go out of my way to revisit. The hook is the fact it’s on the water.

Had a great experience all around here– food, service and atmosphere. We wanted to stop in for a late lunch/​early dinner on our way home to Cincinnati from a long weekend in Michigan. We asked someone a good place in Holland where we could sit on the water and they said «Boatwerks– hands down.» When we arrived they quoted a 40 minute wait for outdoor seating but luckily it was half of that.
They have a decent craft beer selection (lots of local MI brews included) and the food was great– we had the spinach salad which was a great starter (but could be a meal!) and the Rustico pizza which I thought was one of the better pizzas I’ve had in a while. Kevin was our server and he was great– super friendly and making sure we had what we needed.
Lastly you can’t beat their patio– when the weather is nice with a nice breeze off the lake– heavenly! After dinner you can walk around the edge of the lake that surrounds a park which is a nice way to end the evening (and walk off your dinner). Had a wonderful time and would definitely come back!

What a disappointing experience for out first visit to Holland and Boat Werks. We were a party of 2 and waited 20 minutes on a rainy, cold Saturday at 530 pm where there were open tables. We finally got seated after I asked if we could be seated to an empty table and then it took the waitress 15 minutes to approach us. In an impatient annoyed tone of voice, her greeting was, «Do you know what you want yet?» Again, this was our first conversation. I wasn’t because I had menu questions. She said she would return momentarily to ask the chef, she didn’t.
The sodas took another 10 minutes to arrive and were served by another waitress who was «just helping out». She took our food order and was much friendlier than the other waitress.
My Ahi Citrus salad arrived without the Ahi. That took another 20 minutes. By this time, my salad is gone. They did not remove this from the bill. We won’t be back.

This place has the perfect view of the sunset over the water at dinner time! And they seem to frequently have live music in the evenings. It’s a perfectly relaxing way to end the day!
My husband and I shared the Bacon BBQ burger with sweet potato fries — both were pretty good. My friend got the Shrimp Tacos and seemed to really enjoy them!
My only complaint is that they charge a $ 2.00 for sharing…