Boat House Grille Essex

I went to dinner with two lady friends, one is from the Essex area. So we took her advice and had dinner at The boathouse. It was lovely. Everything was good and the food was excellent. I had the fisherman's platter. Pricey but worth it because it was HUGE and I got three meals out of it. It works out to about $16-17 a meal.One of the ladies doesn't eat fish or seafood so she had chicken something. But she thoroughly enjoyed it. The other lady had the baked seafood dish, mine was fried.I know this is going to sound picky but I find that some places give you a baked potato that isn't thoroughly cooked. I find that completely disappointing. Our baked potatoes were actually cooked thoroughly. It's disappointing if the potatoes are too hard. I like them so that I can smoosh them up and put butter and sour cream on them.The service was fine and very attentive. All in all a very good experience. One little caveat. It gets very busy, so we got there at just 4:00. As we ate it filled up very quickly. I don't know if they take reservations.

I’ve driven by this venue dozens of times on our way to Gloucester and finally gave it a try. It’s Boat House Grille on Rte 133 Essex. It’s just over 30 min. from No. Andovers. No res just walked in Sunday evening about 5:30. Place was packed and thought we might have a wait. The wait was literally 5 min. as the greeter hunted for a table. Just my wife and I. Got a table in the bar area which we preferred anyway because it’s always livelier. Not to noisy considering every seat both at the bar and the tables were taken. As fast as we got seated was as fast as the waitress Elyse got us waters with lemon and a hot small loaf of bread w/butter and right off took our drink order. The lemon martini and strawberry Belgian ale came soon after and Elyse took our dinner order. Wife and I looked at each other like we haven’t seen service like this in an age. Keeping in mind how busy it all was. My date got the broiled Haddock w/baked potato and a side of broccoli. It was a healthy portion enough so to doggy bag half. She thoroughly enjoyed and said it was broiled just right. I sampled and had to agree. I opted for the Haddock Parmesan with provolone cheese topping on a bed of small penne pasta with fresh chopped basil and fresh marinara sauce. What was most impressive with my dish was how fantastic the sauce was. We do a lot of cooking at home and this sauce was right up there for taste and consistency. The portion of haddock was also generous enough to bag half for home. Things quieted down both in the bar and dining room by about 6:30. Elyse was as good as you can get for a waitress and the whole experience with tip was $100. Don’t know why it took so long to try it but it just quickly jumped up to a top regular spot.I know I know it’s a long post but just try this place. It’s that good.?

I haven't been here in a good fifteen years but found myself passing by today so we stopped in for a late lunch at roughly 3pm. We sat in the bar area that had a great amount of flat screen TVs to be viewed from every angle. Our waitress was prompt and patient while we checked out both the lunch and dinner menus. I opted for the fried sole plate from their lunch menu and my BFF went for their fried haddock plate from their dinner menu. The wait was no more than 15 minutes and the plates were overflowing with beautifully fried up fish, amazing onion rings, french fries loaded with potato flavor as if they possibly made their own, and some of the best coleslaw I've had in ages. The fish was VERY fresh and sweet to taste. The waitress checked back in case anything else was needed. We did see an enormous hot fudge brownie Sunday go to another table and if we had room for it we would have insulted. I asked the men leaving how it was and they both said as amazing as it looked. Bathroom I'm happy to report was immaculate. All the staff were pleasant. We'll definitely be returning because I want to try their fried oysters next.

Myself and two others had dinner on last Tuesday evening. Walked in and table available. We ordered the Fillet Mignon and cooked to perfection. A little pricey but inflation is the cause. Waitress was wonderful. Atmosphere comfortable and cozy. Will definitely be back.

The portions are huge, the food is delicious, the drinks are perfect, the atmosphere is great, and the staff is the best.