We would actually give a 3.5 stars but that was not an option. Service was good. Fries were great. Gutenberger was good to very good. Fish tacos were very good. Lobster flat bread was good - could have been great if the crust was crispy. Lots of potential at this restaurant. The chef or owner just has to kick it up a notch and fine tune some recipes. read more

The BoatYard Grill - Lobster flat bread - Seafood Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Came to BoatYard Grill for dinner with a co-worker. It was very busy; however, we did not have to wait to be seated. I ordered a cup of the Clam "Chowda," which was extremely thick and chunky. I would have preferred the chowder not to be as chunky, but nevertheless, it was tasty and had plenty of clam bits. My friend ordered the Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls, which comes with five eggrolls and celery stick and a side of dipping sauce. The eggrolls were amazing! I would definitely order these as an appetizer, if I dine here again. As for the entree, we both ordered the Wardorf Filet Mignon, which comes with hand-cut filet, jumbo lump crab, blue cheesebéchamel, mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus. I was very pleased with my order, the portions are generous and the food is packed with flavor. I have absolutely no complaints about the food, the service; however, is mediocre. Although we did not wait a long time to be seated, we waited an extremely long time for our main courses. When our entrees finally arrived, they were cold, which means they had been sitting on the counter for a while. Also, when my friend ordered a second mojito, the waitress forgot about it and had to be reminded. This place would have received five stars, if I wasn't so displeased with the service. Side Note: If you check in with Yelp, you receive $5 off your tab. read more

Love the ambiance! Love the clam chowder! But the star of the show was Brittany, behind the bar! Amazing to watch her whip out those drinks! That didn't mean she was too busy to pay attention to me! I had ordered a drink that I didn't read what was in it. Didn't care for it. She asked how I liked it snd I said "gosh I don't like St Germaine in my drink, but that's my fault." She did nothesitate to ask how I liked my martini and proceeded to make it just how I like it! I had asked for two green olives in the original drink and she gave me 3 in the perfect martini she made just how I liked it! I'm so impressed in a hurry up world that sometimes forget to put customer first. Brittany did !! read more

Made a reservation at 7pm. Got there right on time, in fact slightly early. Host says, whoops, accidentally gave away your reservation to another person. "But don't worry, here's a buzzer, will probably be 45min." Are you kidding me? Terrible service. Haven't tried the food yet, considering I'm still sitting here in the front lobby. read more

Food is amazing but management is absolutely terrible. One host in particular has been presumptous, arrogant, and downright nasty to myself on several occasions. In addition, I recognize the learning curve associated with serving during covid, but when so few tables are available for the entire restaurant, there should be a time limit for how long parties are allowed to sit around. Tons of places I know have adopted this practice, it is unacceptable to be given a 90 min inital wait time, and have that extended for over 70 minutes because people at tables wouldn't leave. read more

Beautiful location as you look over the water! The food is okay but Moxies is way better!!! However, gotta go her to cross it off your Cornell checklist. ;) read more

Stopped here for Brunch on Sunday with no preconceptions. Never been here, never heard of it and we were just passing through Ithaca anyway. The staff were very pleasant and polite and we sat outside. The menu is simple and uncluttered and wish that more brunch menus were simplified like this, I went for the cornbeef hash and a North 44 Huckleberry vodka - absolutely delicious. The food was served in a hot iron frying pan and the drink was in a jam jar. Prices were 50% of NYC prices and, given the quality, this is a complete bargain. Go there! read more

They were great! The hostess and waitress were both very friendly, and the service was speedy quick! I HIGHLY recommend the calamari. Lovely location, food, and service! And I loved their QR code menus, both safer for COVID and environmentally friendly! read more

First off service is always spot on here. They've got that nailed in my opinion. Second, and this is important, start your meal with a dragonberry mojito and buffalo chicken egg rolls and you'll start your night off right. I've had a lot of mojito's since turning 21 but this place made the best one yet. Dragonberry Rum, Pureed Strawberries, Lime, Mint, Ice, Club Soda. This drink is sweet, tasty and is my new favorite Mojito. The Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls are what make this place. They are so good! Crispy outside, lots of chicken and cheese on the inside and the side of Blue Cheese they give you is pretty good, a cut above others I've had. Lots of chunks of bluecheese in it but they aren't huge which is nice. Too big of chunks is too much. Now for an entree, I've had a couple things here. The georgia peach chicken is good. I like the peach twist to the dish, makes it savory and sweet. The Chicken Pasta is good too, on par with Ciao (which is owned by the boatyard I hear). It's got flavor and it's pretty good. I've also tried the Calamari here and it's good. Cooked perfectly, the breading isn't too much and the dipping sauce is good. Not the best but it's up there with other places that cook it right. The skillet chips are okay. The toppings are good but I'm not a big fan of the cheese sauce on the chips. Idk what it is but it's just not for me. The wings here are pretty epic. Lots of flavor, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and they aren't as hot as you'd think for being "habanero", I'd say their hotness is on par with regular "hot wings" from B-Dubs. Lastly their hummus is pretty darn good! Probably the best I've had in Ithaca and that's a bold statement. The pita bread for dipping is warm and soft and is the perfect accompaniment to the hummus. I need to try their burger sometime. Been really meaning to do that but we usually end up buying apps and splitting them as the eggrolls are amazing. We usually get 2 orders of those haha. Overall come down and check them out, they are pretty good and during the summer especially this place is cool to hit up. read more

I went to Boatyard Grill to celebrate a friend's birthday, we went with a group of around 10 people, and overall, the experience was great. Although Boatyard Grill doesn't take reservations, you can call the day of to be placed on a list. The list allows you be be seated earlier, and although we did call in, we still waited about forty-five minutes to be seated. We were placed at a round table, which we were happy about since this allowed all of us to see and interact with each other. The server came fast, and took our orders. We ordered calamari, and spinach dip for appetizers, and both were absolutely fantastic. Probably some of the best appetizers I have had. However, the entrees were a big disappointment compared to the appetizers. I ordered off the special menu for the day, the surf and turf, which included lobster and a medallion of steak served with mashed potatoes. The lobster and mash were acceptable, but the steak was done very poorly and had a funny taste. I've come to boatyard grill in the past, and this was the first time the steak disappointed me; combined with the fact that they only gave me about 6oz of the steak, I wasn't going to allow that to ruin the night. After our entrees, we had ice cream cake which Boatyard Grill was very good at accommodating. We brought in a customized cake, and they held it for us, put candles on it, and brought it out after dinner. The server was very helpful and made sure that we had plenty of plates and utensils, and even hot water for the knife to cut the ice cream cake. The overall experience was great, but they can work on the entrees. read more

Everytime I've come here the food and service has always been great. It's situated right by the water, so the view is very nice and definitely creates a pleasant environment. The desserts are the highlight of the meal, so be sure to check those out. One major complaint I have is their "reservation" system. If you call in advance, you can be placed on a wait list that's separate from walk ins, so your wait time is reduced when you arrive but you're still not seated right away. This is a stupid system, especially when that reduced wait time is still an hour plus (which is what happened the last time I went). In that scenario, I would much rather be told up front that there is no availability at the requested time and completely avoid the trouble of making the trip. read more

Here for #ICFamilyWknd with our freshman student and had THE infamous Gutenberger Burger and the Maker's Mark Sirloin....all to rave reviews. The view and the venue was lovely and inviting. We'll definitely be back over the next 4 years. read more

The BoatYard Grill - THE infamous Gutenberger Burger - Seafood Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Came here for a team dinner, and the service was great; the food...not so much. I don't know how anyone could mess up rice, but they messed up rice. My hypothesis is that they tried to salvage leftover rice in the microwave? It had a confusing, gross variety of mushy and hard chunks. My salmon was okay, though, and everyone else seemed to have enjoyed their food. The restaurant gets super crowded on Saturdays, so plan to get there earlier (they had apparently run out of some entrees that day). Anyways, I think people come here more for the fancier atmosphere than the food. The best part of this restaurant is the location; it's a great place enjoy some decent food and a nice view of Cayuga lake! read more

The BoatYard Grill - Salmon + questionable rice - Seafood Near Me - Ithaca, New York

One of the best places in Ithaca to have a great dinner experience. Great food. Great ambience.

Enjoyed a terrific dinner. Excellent, attentive service, delicious entrees. Calamari appetizer and cookie, ice cream, hot caramel dessert were not to miss! We look forward to our next visit. read more

A three-star average is way too low. You can't beat the location, especially in the warmer months when boats are coming by, and there's something for everyone on their menu. Want a burger and a beer? Covered. A steak and some wine? Covered. Some fish? Covered. I've always found the food to be very good. Yes, prices are on the steeper end, but I'd argue that you certainly get what you pay for. read more

Very glad we found this restaurant while in Ithaca. Whole family enjoyed their meal and our service was great. Awesome atmosphere on the water and covered so we were shaded and shielded from the rain. Highly recommend! read more

This is probably one of the worst restaurant in Ithaca, a town known for its good food. The problems last night at dinner started with our waitress, who didn't care about writing down the dietary restrictions of one of the diners in our party and served the wrong order. When alerted about the mishap, she disappeared in the kitchen and reappeared after only one minute with the same exact dish, rinsed off to eliminate spices, sauces and garlic. A true culinary disaster! Our previous visit to this restaurant was equally disappointing. Shame to the chef, the waitress and the restaurant owner who allows these things to happen. read more

I ate there with three of my friends, outside and it was absolutely wonderful. The food was delicious... We all ordered the shrimp stuffed sea scallops and for dessert we had the chocolate lava cake..... it was absolutely to die for. The wait staff is friendly, patient and very, very helpful. All wait staff Employees were wearing Masks!It is also quite decently priced for the quality of food that they serve. I cannot wait to go back there! read more

This place is awesome. The food isn't cheap but it's worth it. The chefs make great meals, they come quickly even when the place is full. The only bad part is having to wait for a seat, even on a Mon night. Just go early. read more

This restaurant gave my girlfriend and I the absolute smallest fish fry I have ever seen in my life. We complained to the staff, and they did nothing for us. They did not seem to care at all. My fish fry was about 4-5 inches of the tail section of a cod filet, about 4 bites of food. I will never go back to Boatyard and suggest that you don't either read more

I was really disappointed in my visit to The Boat Yard Grill. They used to be my husbands and my favorite place to eat. The quality of food has really gone down. My husband ordered the bacon wrapped shrimp and asked what came with it our server said green beans and rice. When he received his food it had a coleslaw with it. Also the shrimp hadn't been shelled but they wrapped it all in bacon so when you shelled it yourself everything that was wrapped around it fell all off. When the server finally came back to check on us 15 minutes after we got our food she stated that "The boat yard never shells their shrimp first" but did offer to go and get him his green beans and rice as earlier promised. When we finally received that it was poor quality as well. It seemed like uncle bens microwave rice. Their quality just has gone down. I would recommend trying another place if your looking for quality of food. Its definitely not worth the wait. read more

Service was good . Fast . We sat at the bar . Prime rib was cooked perfect. Lobster was tasty . One of the best places in Ithaca . 5 onion soup was different. I'm a French onion soup guy . I have it every where . It was good . Beer cold . What more you need read more

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Came here a couple weekends in a row on the way to some hikes in the area. It's got a great patio with a view of the canal/lake, and ample seating so we didn't have to wait too long. It gets pretty steamy in the summer so they sometimes run gigantic fans out there. Service was friendly and relatively quick, we got our food within 20 min on a busy day. Food is your typical American pub grill with some attempts at gourmet flavors - however I have to say the best value for money are the burgers. The bacon wrapped shrimp were tasty but you get only 2 or 3, and the tacos were tiny - an appetizer portion for an entree price. The burgers and sandwiches are really hearty though, and were cooked well. Reporting on baby accomodation, they allowed us to use our small stroller at the table, and while there isn't a change table in the bathroom the counter space is large enough to get it done. I've even seen them bring a dish of water for dogs so they really try to accomodate all guests' requests. A great summertime hangout. read more

Out of town visitors. Had a great meal. Huge and tasty burgers, good steaks and fish. Service was earnest and friendly but a little slow. Wasabi tuna was perfect. Outdoor dining looking out on the lake. Server was very helpful with gluten free inquiries. Would return. read more

Very good food, nice atmosphere alongside the water. Sarah R. was an awesome server & very pleasant & helpful. The only thing keeping me from 5 stars was the price, My bill was $61.45. for 2 meals & 2 glasses of wine. I will be going back to try other items...might get a burger next time read more

We live in the Pocono Northeast, but find ourselves in Ithaca about every other month. This is our usual spot for dinner when we go. 4 stars for location and service...maybe 3.5 stars for the food, which seems to be hit or miss. I agree with the other comments about the buffalo chicken egg rolls (often so good!) but, again, hit or miss. Last night, we went with friends and these were bland. The servers are always wonderful, and the setting is perfect. We are regulars. In response to Mr Miller: I love the wood fired chicken and pasta, and my husband often chooses a special. Thanks for responding, we really love stopping in! read more

It was super busy. So maybe that explains the mediocre food quality. 2 of the 5 people at our table had entrees that were barely warm enough to enjoy. The wait was long for the food. A second round of bread should be automatic. Just meh. read more

The Mrs. and I dined here during our stay in wine country. They sat us outside in the covered dining area. We both were in the mood for seafood. I had the swordfish and she had the salmon. Both were very good. The wine they had on the menu complimented the dinners well. It was a good dinner but not over the top outstanding. I would definitely recommend and would return next time in the area. read more

One of the worst meals I have ever had anywhere ever. It's a lovely building and a nice location. The food absolutely sucked. Way undercooked, small portions, horrible ingredient, which were mostly frozen. I make far better food in my own kitchen every day - a bowl of cereal is better! Do not waste your time or money - or taste buds - by visiting this culinary disgrace. read more

I agree with other reviewers, this place does have the feel of a large chain restaurant. It can be fairly pricey depending on what you order and the service is OK, not amazing. I have eaten there a couple of times and parts of the meal were nice and other parts were ok. So it's called the boat yard and one would assume that because of its nautical name that it would cook amazing seafood. Well it's ok seafood. I ordered the fish fry, cod in batter and fries. Now if you are going to serve fish fry do some research and trial and error on actually how to make proper batter! As the batter here was limp when it should be crispy, but not so that you can't chew it. Very far from proper fish and chips in England, and I mention that as this meal is a carbon copy of exactly that. The fish was nice, the batter was lame. Batter is a very very easy thing to get right and I would expect a chef with half a brain cell to be able to make it perfectly. So that was a disappointed. A simple tip - make sure the oil in the fryers is hot enough!!!! I had the ribs, very nice but they laid them on a mashed lump of sweet potato, which then covered the underside of the ribs. Put the damn mash to the side and I can choose whether I want my meat covered in anything but bbq sauce. The service can be a little slow even when it's not busy. I rang ahead for a table and still had to wait 25mins at the bar, a clear scam to get you to buy drinks which is not appreciated. Overall it's OK, don't expect miracles. The food can be quite bland and it can hurt your wallet for the cost if you order some of the over priced steaks. Make better food, give it some thought and it would be getting much higher reviews than it does now. Seems most people including myself give it a 3 star rating. read more

I am so happy to have come across this place during a short trip in Ithaca! Our server was super knowledgeable of the menu and it's gluten free options. On top of the great service, the food was AMAZING! Def recommend. read more

The BoatYard Grill is a lovely establishment and seems very popular with both locals and tourists alike. My family and I arrived at dinner time without a reservation but were happy to wait on a nice patio behind the restaurant with a view of the lake. We were given a buzzer but members of the host staff escorted us into the restaurant when our wait was up anyway. The good service continued throughout the course of our stay. The food was also great. They have an extensive menu with a lot of variety. read more

The BoatYard Grill - Seafood Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I used to go to school in the area and loved this place. It was on my to do when I came back to the area, but boy did it go downhill. My 5 onion soup was no where near as good as I remember and don't even get me started on the steak. It was bland, fatty and just ok. You don't pay upwards of 20 bucks a plate for a just ok, bland steak. Very disappointed in how much this place went downhill. read more

First time here and it was delicious. The lobster bisque was exceptional with garlic crostini. I recommend letting it sit just a bit before you try & cut it. The Salmon with Mango Salsa was Great my daughter had the blackened salmon with garlic mashed & she loved it. Very flavorful and fresh! Thank you to Daniel. Very personable and attentive. We will be back! read more

I ate here with my family and we mostly enjoyed it. I was impressed with my $3.75 glass of local Reisling--something you would never get in NYC! My son ordered the beef on weck and I thought it was quite good although I've never had it before and so have nothing to compare it to. read more

The BoatYard Grill - Seafood Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Great experience first time, bad experience the second time. First time: Good food, nice atmosphere. Second time: The restaurant was crowded and we were seated outside, in the deck area covered with a plastic tarp with gaps between the plastic and the railing. It was 43 degrees out at night and raining. We were cold. We could not hear each other talk. My food came out and must have been sitting, waiting for the other dishes because it was cold. I was cold, my food was cold. We all wanted to leave and warm up. Hey, management - If you are going to have people sit outside at the end of October with snow in the forecast, let them know ahead of time. We would have gone elsewhere instead of waiting 45 minutes. Clearly you did not care about your customers. Cold food and shivering. No thank you. I will find another place to bring out-of-town guests from now on. read more

On the water and plenty of people waiting so we expected it to be really good. Unfortunately the food was ok at best and mostly overpriced. No complaints overall and I suppose our expectations just got the best of us but we certainly have had better meals during our weekend trip. On the bright side our server was fantastic and extremely friendly read more

ok i came to this place cuz my friends wanted to check it out and my husband said it was very famous, and I even questioned him how come you never brought me to this place if it was famous? So last night we went in a group of 5, waited for 30 minutes and finally got seated. My friends ordered bread bowl, coconut appetizer, seafod fla ***, prime rib, whitewish (covered in some seafood stuffing), my husband and I ordered the lobster and shrimp dish. I was expected to be blown away, instead, i barely felt a breeze. Bread bowl was cut in even, I mean how can you cut a bread in even when you plan to use one of them as soup container? Is that some trick so that you could put less soup? The whitewish looked very messy and didn't have any flavor. Ok now the seafood stuffing did add some flavor but putting steamed rice at bottom just made everything look not right. The seafood fla** was in big portion. I have to say the shrimp was pretty big and lobster was fair. Only thing is that the portion of linguini was too big. I think the bread with dip was the only thing that they made it right. Next time I crave for seafood, i'd drive 40 minutes and dine in red lobster read more

Had a lovely dinner at the crowded and popular boat yard. Staff was friendly and accommodating Prices were reasonable and portions nice read more