You are sat under a canopy in a comfy slatted back chair with gentle curves. Half of the sun is ahead of you, hidden by the sea as the light of the sun fades. Seeing the sunset and taking in the brilliance of the sea is quite the view. It is a view that few restaurants have the rare privilege of capturing. The Boatshed La Perouse in Australia is one of them. This post is for foodies and restaurant connoisseurs. This post will share with you what people are saying about the Boatshed La Perouse.
Customarily, I must let you know about the caveat with this post. This platform has no affiliation with The Boatshed La Perouse. What you are about to read is an objective article based on customer feedback. My intention is not to persuade you or discourage you from visiting the establishment. This post is to help you make an informed decision and to feed the curiosity of our readers. Now, let us peek into what is cooking on one of the loveliest coasts of New South Wales, Australia.
About The Boatshed La Perouse
The Boatshed La Perouse opened its doors in February of 2016. The restaurant is nestled sweetly on the beautiful white sands of “Frenchman’s Bay.” Information on their Facebook page says they offer a casual dining experience with a vast choice of fresh seafood with “modern Australian and Mediterranean flavours.” It would be surprising if seafood weren’t on the menu, given their absolutely gorgeous position by the sea.
In the restaurant business, your location is as vital to your success as your menu. So, what would you expect to be served if you were to visit? Well, their menu boasts of mouth-watering delicacies like Shrimps on the Barbie, Lobster Linguine, Scallops, Grilled and Battered Fish, Ricotta hotcakes, Knafeh French Toast, Portuguese Tart and your regular Fish and Chips. Are you starving yet? This list is nowhere near exhaustive. They also serve an array of exotic drinks worthy of the beach theme. I must also add a lot of couples would fancy this place as a wedding venue.
Talking about themes and beaches, I cannot blame you nor any other would-be guest of this beautiful dining spot going in with expectations. It is only natural to hope that the food, drinks and service match the scenery. Thankfully we have thousands of first-hand experiences to sample. Read on to know what people are saying about The Boathouse La Perouse.
Reviews From Google
Google reviews give us the first taste of what The Boathouse La Perouse has to offer. From a total of 1436 reviews at the time of writing this article, the restaurant scored 3.9 stars out of 5 stars. It appears a decent score though this is not enough to sway a savvy diner like yourself. So, let us dig a little deeper into some of the detailed reviews, from the worst to the most complementary.
Reviewer’s names have been coded to protect their identities. The first one-star review I came across was from a local guide (one of those Google recognised for their helpful reviews and have a star by their pictures and names).
The Good And The Bad From Google Guests
Reviewer KB rated them 1 star 9 months ago. The summary of her 300-word review was that the portions were small, and though the chips were lovely, the fish was oily. She also complained of the time it took to get her meal ready (1 hour). Plus, she had the unpleasant surprise of having “Parmesan” added to what she ordered as she was lactose intolerant. Finally, it seems the venue was too noisy for her. She and her family have decided not to return.
The following reviewer is CS, also a local guide with over 1,200 reviews under her belt. She rated The Boatshed La Perouse the full 5 stars about one month ago. She was delighted with a meal she was happy to fork out $80 for. CS had cold and hot food options, including prawns, Crabs, Oysters, grilled and battered fish, scallops, chips, and pepper calamari. It appears her happiness comes from the fact that her platter of food was well cooked, well presented and, in her words, “super generous” portions. We can assume she’ll return for more soon if she hasn’t done so already.
Mixed Bag From Trip Advisor
The happiness levels of customers on the Trip advisor platform is quite a mixed bag. At the time of putting this to paper, there were 181 reviews. 76 reviewers rated The Boatshed La Perouse above average, 74 rated the restaurant below average, and 31 rated their experience average. The result of this mix is 3 stars out of 5 stars. Keep reading to find out the ingredients for this serving of reviews.
Generous Portions or Too Expensive?
First on the list is Reviewer L from Sydney, Australia. He is a level 4 contributor and has nothing but good words for The Boatshed La Perouse. The plus points for him are the generous portions of food and how tasty he and his group found the food. The biggest pro for him is the views from the venue. This customer did not check out reviews before the visit, and he is baffled by the negative experiences of others that he has now seen. They are quite the opposite of his experience. Reviewer L made his comments on Trip Advisor 8 months ago and gave the establishment 5 stars.
Our next reviewer was far from impressed with her experience at The Boatshed La Perouse. Reviewer H is also a level 4 contributor on Trip Advisor and is based in Sydney, Australia. Her disappointment comes from the weekend surcharge and $5 charge for a small bottle of soft drink. Probably much more frustrating for her was her undercooked fish chips calamari. Unfortunately, it would also appear the staff attending to her 8 months ago did not have their A-game on. This is because they couldn’t even offer Reviewer H a smile or some warmth during her visit. Without saying, H is a customer The Boatshed La Perouse seems to have lost.
To Go or Not To Go?
Four reviews on a blog are insufficient to rate a restaurant as good or bad. That is certainly not the aim of this post. After all is said and done, we all have one or two oddities that we can live with and others we probably can’t tolerate.
So then, what should be our deciding factor? They are located on a great beach. The view of the sea from the restaurant is fantastic and no doubt they serve some excellent food and drinks though not everyone agrees with this.
On the downside, they are probably too busy for some customers. Figures on 2 of their social media pages hint at this. Looking at the Facebook page, The Boatshed La Perouse has got 6.3K likes. They’ve amassed another 14.4K followers on Instagram. It seems like they are doing something right though there might be queues and noise.
To be fair, this is good for The Boatshed La Perouse as a business but a minus for some would-be patrons. It is a tricky balance to strike. Going by some of the negative reviews, there is room for improvement. Success can sometimes become your enemy when you get complacent.
The reviews are split and skewed towards being above average. The statistics suggest The Boatshed La Perouse is worth taking a gamble on. If you decide to visit them, you should manage your expectations. If not for the food, then indeed for the lovely sunset bidding you goodnight. Let the gentle sea breeze whisper to your soul, you are alive and doing alright.
