Boat Club Restaurant and Bar

Visited Boat Club for lunch on a Thursday. We both had the lobster omlet with citrus greens. It was excellent. Big chunks of lobster with a delicate cream sauce . Very fresh salad with a yummy citrus dressing. Our server was knowledgeable and attentive. The only reason I didn’t give it all 5 stars was the ambiance. Walked in and there was no one to greet us. Just a seat yourself sign. There were 2 empty window tables with dirty dishes and 3 occupied tables. Otherwise the place was empty. After waiting a few minutes and no one cleared the window tables we sat down at a non window table. The dirty tables remained that way for about 15 minutes.

As published elsewhere [Edited to meet space]: After several nice weeknight meals at the Boat Club, we booked a Saturday night table for 4 for 6:30PM. We arrived a few minutes early & invited to wait at the bar. We noted a wedding reception, nothing an established restaurant should have any issue with. We waited. And waited, & waited & waited. At 7:00PM asked about our 6:30 reservation & was told diners ahead of us were lingering. As a former server, I know that happens; good reservation & seating management allows for that. 7:10, I asked again & hostess, who was doubling as a table busser, said they just needed "a few more moments."

7:20, 50 minutes late, we were seated, after embarrassed bartender offered a round on the House, which we declined. (Something was off-the-rails when they apologized for not having any Bloody Mary mix available, with Sunday brunch just hours away) Our server was prompt, & we placed our orders, anticipating finally eating. We waited. Waited longer. Not even a basket of the Boat House's fresh, warm popovers that half our party could eat. At 8:00PM, 1 appetizer showed, with the server explaining she'd cut her hand on a broken glass & had needed to tend to her wound. (Which raises an interesting public health & employment question).

She returned with a basket of limp & collapsed popovers, that seemed rewarmed in a microwave, & the explanation "we thought we ran out, but we found some." (From the wedding?) 8:20PM, nearly 2 hours after we should have been seated, the entrees arrived. For 2 of our party, the sorry trail of delays and lack of attentive service continued: The trout "Special" , was over cooked, dried out and lukewarm, at best. They did not seemed to have been prepared while we waited.

Past 9:00PM, we left after paying our bill, with agreement to NEVER EAT AT THE BOAT CLUB ON A WEEKEND!!! Duluth has too many fine dining options to waste an evening and our money on terrible service and lukewarm poorly made food.

Very good, as usual. My husband's strip steak was excellent. My crab cake appetizer was delicious. Unfortunately, my main salad with chicken was not so great. The chicken was tender and good, but the salad itself not so much. I tire of those greens that require lots of cutting to eat them, and sliced carrots just don't make it. How about subbing a little romaine and shredded carrots?
The restaurant was very busy, but our waitress did a good job of working as fast as she could!

The experience was overall positive. My only negative comment was in regards to the hostess. We asked for a window seat and we got “attitude”. She was curt and basilically said we should have asked for it. We had no idea this was an option because we have never been there. We would recommend this be offered when reservations are made. Please coach your hostess to not be so rude

Was greatest sea food I've had. Great service. Great wine!!

Beautiful evening to celebrate our anniversary! Thank you for making us feel special and treating us so well! We will be back!!!

We had family in from out of town and we also invited friends to join us. There were six of us. It was so wonderful. Food excellent we dined for hours!!!

The food was good, but I had to send my steak back. I ordered Med Rare and received Med Well. By the time my food came back, my wife was done eating. It was disappointing since we were out for our anniversary.

They had set a table aside for us with beautiful lake views. Service staff was friendly and checked on us frequently. Except for an overdone steak, this was a pleasant.

Cheery environ in old multipurposed brewery. Excellent menu, moderately priced, entrees, appetizers and wine selections excellent and GREAT service and not obsequious.

Great martini special that night. Everyone’s dinner was delicious. Good presentation. No to-go containers needed.
Wait gal was on top of everything! View of Lake Superior this evening was perfect.
Asked to have A/C lowered as we were slightly uncomfortable.
Highly suggest this restaurant for a special occasion and we’ll definitely return!

I went there on a date and we were seating next to a table with two crying babies for almost the entirety of our dinner. I ordered a filet medium rare and it came out well done and half of the steak was charred black. I expected more from a $40 steak and on a $70 tab.

Great food and service! Went here for a date night while on a couples weekend. Went for happy hour and ended up getting a full meal as well. Will return again for a lunch or brunch.

Excellent food, service and ambiance. One of the few special dining places left in Duluth.

View from dining room is impressive. And we liked the little binoculars for boat watching. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. Drinks were quite nice. Food was good, but not great for the price. I would recommend the sea scallops, which were nicely prepared.

The view was great. Enjoyed the band and their casualness. We had a friendly server.

Not worth the price we paid overall. Was expecting a classier restaurant.

Ashley was our server and she was very engaging, funny and cheerful. She made our wedding dining very enjoyable.

Our server was Ashley and she was wonderful! Our food took a little longer than normal and even though we weren't bothered by it, she kept us in the loop. She was very knowledgeable of the food and the recommendation of the Opah tacos was spot-on! They were so scrumptious! :) We would definitely go back if we head back to the area!

I selected this restaurant because of its location on Lake Superior. I was extremely happy with the service as well as the quality of the food (we both had the New York sirloin strips). Overall I would recommend the Boat Club for those looking for great ambience with a view of Lake Superior and a good meal.

We love the nautical decor. The walleye was great, especially the lemon sauce. I ordered the wild rice with it,which is delicious. Everyone loved the popovers! Our waitress Amanda was terrific.

Very surprised at how few people were in the restaurant. Have been there many times & it's been busy. Can't figure out why so few customers. Service was excellent.

Went there because everyone else raved about the view. The was okay. Food Was good except my wife's mashed potatoes were very salty, maybe slip on cooks part. Menu has changed from their website.

This was our first time dining at the Boat Club. The service was great...the food was just ok, nothing special.

Seated promptly with a great view. Greeted by a friendly server. Cocktail and wine was good. Ordered app, soup, and entree. Soup arrived before the appetizer. When the appetizer arrived (approx 10 minutes later) the mussels were great but the accompanying foccacia bread was still raw in the middle. We then waited 30 minutes for the entrees to arrive (hour after our seating). When they arrived they were cooked properly and tasted very good, but were a little cool. Was not offered a second glass of wine until entree was finished. Even after pointing out the appetizer was not cooked we were charged full price for it. Highly recommend the fried polenta, mussels, and scallops. Steak was cooked great and tasted good.

Menu pricing did not match the value of the food or it's presentation. Not to say the food was poorly prepared or low quality, I'm just saying you can get the same at other restaurants for 20% less. You pay extra for the view I suppose.

Our waiter was fixated on what he "liked" rather than telling us about specials, or answering our questions. The special "we are know for" item on the appetizer menu was Crab Cakes. If you enjoy paying a lot for a little they are good, but hardly enough to share with more than two people. We all had a laugh when this tiny plate showed up.

We made reservations early in the day and yet we were put off in a corner away from the view, because "we didn't have a table big enough for a group of seven." The room was full, and this restaurant appears to do a good business even on a week night, it's just not going to make it to my "favorites" list. A side from that great view, I didn't see or taste the value.

Pricier dining good food just expensive. Service very good, clean and nice view.

We enjoyed this for our anniversary dinner. Great service and food was very good ( for Dukuth)

The crabcakes and the clam chowder with the best I have ever had!!

Can’t beat the view. Service was slow - 30 minutes to get our drinks. Food is acceptable. On a beautiful night, you deal with it to get that view. Strange music selection - loud classic rock is strange when you have 25-35 dollar entrees. Trying to be a pub? Too expensive. Fine dining? Too casual and staff not trained to that level. The patio is really great. Worth checking out if you want to dine with a beautiful lake view, and we had a good time and weren’t rushed.

Excellent food, attentive staff! I had pea/lemon zest filled ravioli, dining partner had Rosemary chicken & mashed potatoes, peas in pod. Mashed potatoes could have been a bit hotter, but still very good! Great wine list, lovely outdoor dining area. Service was impeccable. We will definitely be back again!

Awesome food and view of Lake Superior was an added plus!

Loved this place, it was very romantic, great views of the lake, enjoyed the food and the whole experience!

To begin, 20 minutes after being seated I went to the hostess and asked if a server had been assigned to us. He arrived 5 minutes later. We ordered cocktails and appetizer. The cocktails came reasonably promptly, the appetizer not too long after. Upon arrival of the appetizer we ordered 2 steaks medium rare. When they finally arrived they were both well done. I strongly suspect they sat on the warmer after the chef was finished and the server let them sit there and complete the cooking. The entire ordeal took an hour and 3/4 - a lovely birthday dinner for my bride. The waiter wanted to comp the steaks. The manager comp'ed the entire meal.

Truly horrible dining experience. Started out OK with a half price bottle of champagne and crab cakes. Then we waited and waited for the main course. Finally the server came and said she forgot to submit our entree order and the side for the Ahi tuna was not available. I was offered baked or cheesy potatoes or wild rice pilaf. None of that works with tuna with an spicy Asian sauce. Then the entree came. The tuna was cooked to shoe leather. I didn't think to ask how it was prepared as I always expect sushi grade tuna to be cooked rare. The rice pilaf didn't work either, too much celery. My wife's salmon was just OK. All in all a horrible dining experience at a place where meals for 2 run $100+. Will never eat here again.

Food was fresh and service was very good. Great ambience and scenery.

My husband and I were there while vacationing in Duluth. Had a great table and excited for what was to come. Our waitress was rude and obnoxious. She forgot the soup and when we tried to tell her about it she totally ignored us like we weren't even speaking to her. Main course was terrible. We both had the seafood trio. Two of my shrimp weren't deveined and the lobster tail was extremely over cooked. Sadly I wouldn't come back.

The only good thing out of our whole meal was the drinks.

This is our second time there--first time was for last year's anniversary dinner, also.

We were a bit early for our reservation, so we sat at the bar for 15+ minutes. When the hostess informed us that we were waiting for the folks before us to clear the table we reserved, she suggested that it might be awhile. We took a second row table, instead. Still, a wonderful view.

But, by the time we ordered, they were out of mussels for horderves so we settled for coconut shrimp. When I ordered my filet migon rare, it came over cooked--more medium than even medium rare. I was admonished by our waitress, Liz, that I should have ordered it 'blood rare'!!! (Geez!!! Never had a problem EVER on this issue at other restaurants!!!)

I had asked that there be a cake or dessert for our anniversary celebration as a surprise to my husband, but nothing ever came of that. Nonetheless, we had creme brulee which was fabulous!!!

While the entire experience wasn't perfect, it was still wonderful and we will bring out-of-town friends there in when they visit in August.

Wonderful date night. Looking for good food and good atmosphere, I found both in the Boat Club. One of the first things they do is put a shipping schedule and a pair of binoculars on your table. The cocktails, full of local flavor, were delicious. The menu isn’t very big, and if you’re looking for local fare in the food, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you’re feeling a good steak or seafood, this is quite wonderful. Our server, Liz, was an absolute HOWL, so don’t fear this place being stuffy. If you get some nice weather, there’s outdoor dining with a spectacular view of the lake, access to the lake walk, and a nice sample of everything downtown Duluth has to offer.

Tilapia was ok. Not seasoned well. Wild rice was very hard and tasted woody. Chicken breast was very tasty and asparagus was done perfectly.

We have been to the Boat Club many times. This time it was very disappointing.
I chose it for our Anniversary this year thinking it would be a nice change from the other limited restaurants in our area. We were seated immediately at a nice reserved table with a window over looking Lake Superior. The Waiter greeted us and took our drink order, We were settling in when the table next to us began making a lot of noise. This went on for the entire dinner. The food and service were very good.

The atmosphere was terrible and our Anniversary dinner ruined, Would we go back ? Maybe we will, but we will sit outside or in the bar area where it is quite and you can hear and have a conversation without yelling. If someone makes a reservation and notes a special occasion the restaurant should make an effort to make it a great time and maybe find a private area for that party.