The Boat House

Booked for the New Year Eve Party 12/31/2024 7:30pm-12:30pm Theme was masquerade. This an event venue with great views of Columbus, so I was excited to try a NYE party that wasn't just a hotel and a DJ and standing room only all evening. $177.91/per person with fees for the "window seating". This is for a table of 8-10 so couples know you aren't at a private 2 seater by a window. Overall we were at a rectangle table and our seats were the 4 farthest from the window. Knowing that now, I would have selected "dining room" and keep the $25+ upgrade - also its night so with the lights on in the room, we couldn't see the skyline anyway. One had to be outside or right at the window to see anything.Ticket included buffet meal (noted below), open bar (no brands mentioned) dessert and some "extras" (vague).About the evening...Checking in was a bit of a line, but it was moving. We were taking to our seats around 8pm. There was a welcome glass of sparkling, white, or red wine, main bar didn't open until 8:30pm, but the server for our table cam around with bottles of wine for refills before that time. Bar opened at 8:30pm and it was a MAJOR line. Little did we realize another bar opened in another room. Overall the alcohol was mid. Tanqueray, Titos, Bourbon was Benchmark (meh), some kind of scotch, Rum, and Tequila too I believe, didn't catch the labels. Would have upgraded for a higher quality bar with inclusion like Woodford. Music for the evening was a jazz band (keyboard, trumpet, drums) nice Motown and jazz standards, some people were dancing. No real Emcee for the evening, guests were permitted free roam of the venue and just to enjoy themselves. We enjoyed our friends company and caught up. Dinner, didnt check the time but maybe served 8:45-9pm? Buffet style 2 lines so pretty good flow: meal ticket includes the Salad, rolls, potato au gratin, pasta, salmon, steak, steamed vegis. Dessert, served after dinner, still in the buffet room but also brought to our table by the server, combination of macaroons, cookies, and slices of cake. Very good. Service offered coffee or tea after dinner and took care to clean up plates and offer beverage refills of wine. Once the jazz bad concluded a DJ took over with popular dance hits. Most took to the floor. Great timing, we danced but also relaxed at our seats. We walked the venue and took a step outside as well. Cold but beautiful view of Cbus. Looked like rain so we assumed no city fireworks. Midnight offered a sparkling toast with service placing and filling glasses! Happy 2025!Really great everything, it was like a wedding reception with no bride and groom. Lots of ages and backgrounds of guests was nice chit chatting with folks.They did offer a posed photo for a fee, we did not do this and opted for our own. Would recommend this event for a

Came to the boathouse this evening for especially event.The restaurant looks amazing with all the new renovations that have been done .I was so impressed how modern it looks .But it really impressed me was the quality of the food and the service , and a special shut out to Edward the manager for the amazing event that was put up for us.If you are planning to do any type of special event , wedding, celebrating anniversaries, Botas is the place to come to.I am sure it will be the gem of Columbus Ohio very very soon

I've attended multiple events at the Boat House (all luncheons except for a wedding reception a LONG time ago). It is always a good place to go and the food is fine. Once you know where you are going and how to get there - it's a great location! Plenty of parking and close to downtown.I was here for a presentation/luncheon. I took my laptop to get some work done, too - and the wifi was good. This program was not too packed - so the tables were nicely spaced and plenty of room to mingle and maneuver. I point this out as I've been to other events where they had tables filled and close together. I believe when they host CMC on Wednesdays, when it's a sold out event, it's very cramped.This is the first I recall I've been to where they had a luncheon buffet. I found it to be MUCH better than the plated luncheons I've been to there. They had a nice selection of mixed green, wonderful cooked veggies - sort of a CA blend, but with large chunks and clearly from fresh (not frozen). They had a tortellini or some pasta. It looked good. And they had roasted chicken breasts - wonderfully flavorful and not dried out. For me - this was a wonderful combination.On the table, they had water and iced tea. They had coffee on a table in the back - I tried the decaf and was not impressed. Also on the table was a selection of desserts - a few kinds of cookies and brownies. I behaved and didn't eat any - but they did look good. Not homemade (at least not the cookies) - but large and thick. I'm sure they were great.Overall, the meal, set up and location made for a very nice event.

This restaurant sits on a very lovely piece of property but it seems old and worn out much like 94th Aero squadron. The food is subprime and it is in desperate need of a total overhaul. If you haven't been there before, Beware of trying to get there. It is nearly impossible to figure out how to get on the property with your car.

I went to the Boat House with a couple of friends of mine for Restaurant Week. The venue is beautiful, we were seated by the giant glass windows overseeing the Scioto Mile. We arrived around 8 pm on a Friday night which we expected the place to be packed as it was hard to get a reservation. The place was not very busy at all. The place has a rustic feel and felt like it should be a bit fancier. We got the Boat House Salad which was good but a tad spicy due to the dressing. I am not sure if I would get it again. The bread that is complimentary was amazing and well seasoned. I ordered the Gorgonzola Crusted Sirloin which was a tad overcooked but the potatoes were very good. I highly recommend the chocolate cake as your dessert though. Overall the boat house was very well worth the trip and I will be coming back preferably when the sun is setting for the view.

Kelsey Arnold (manager) did an amazing job touring the venue with us. She is extremely accessible and even allowed us to tour on New Years Eve. She did not pressure us at all to commit to any package or even to commit to the venue. When we did decide on the Boat House, Kelsey did a great job finding us an affordable package that made sense for our rehearsal dinner. Kelsey was a great communicator leading up to our event. The event itself went extremely well. All of our guests were extremely impressed with the beautiful views and architecture. Our bartender, waitress, kitchen staff, and Kelsey worked diligently throughout our cocktail hour and dinner to meet all of our needs. We would certainly recommend the boat house to any friends or family. Thank you Kelsey and the Boathouse!!

My wife and I can't say enough good things about this establishment. We hosted our ceremony and reception at the boat house ten years ago. It was a seamless night, they took care of everything. We still get compliments for having such a great view during the reception. We visited every year on our anniversary for a delicious dinner. I would mention we married here and the manager always took great care of us. A few years back the restaurant closed and we haven't been able to visit. For our tenth anniversary he helped me make it a night my wife wouldn't forget with a private dinner for two. Great food, great view, and great management.

5 stars for the beautiful venue, we only needed centerpieces! and the food was delicious.So many frustrating encounters throughout the process! The venue was reserved in Feb for the Oct event. By the end of April, all the details had been submitted to the venue. A BEO was provided, I should have pushed to have the AV included at that time. 2 weeks out, when final numbers were provided, still no AV quoted, when it was, it was $150 more than when we did the walk through. Additionally, the self serve mimosa bar had an additional $300+, when I inquired some explanation was provided (I just let it go, not worth causing a scene)Little did I realize, when the 2nd BEO was written, the scrambled eggs had been removed from the Brunch Scramble. When I reviewed, I saw the breakfast scramble and the price was the same. Why would eggs be removed from the menu?!?!? I realized this when I went through the buffet line (1/2 of my guests had already been through). When I inquired, while eggs were promptly made, the excuse was that the menu was redundant with eggs being on the burgers. That is just horrible customer service...there were 3 guests' dietary restrictions we were accommodating without drawing attention, and it was ruined by this change. At Edward's recommendation I hadn't even ordered enough hamburgers for everyone because we had the Brunch scramble. And in February, I was told that the breakfast burgers would be served by someone walking around the room offering to guests, which did not occur, they were on the buffet.A focal point of the brunch was the coffee/hot beverage bar. I brought in 4lb of coffee to be brewed. The coffee pot was not kept full, I don't even know what happened to the coffee not brewed. And because I was providing the coffee, written in the BEO, the Boathouse would provide whipped cream, which did not happen.The mimosa bar was not completely set up at the start of the event.I asked for recommendation on where was best to put the dessert table. The suggested area had beating down sun which melted the macarons and cupcakes on the backside of the towers used. There were no napkins nor plates to use for the dessert, I was not made aware that I needed to provide these. To make things worse, by the time dessert was eaten, most tables had been completely cleared of all napkins, silverware and water glasses. My contract stated that I had to be clear of the room by 3:00. Not even a glass of water was left for my guests by 1:30. So many reasons I would never contract to use The Boathouse for future events-

We hosted our wedding at The Boat House and they were very pleasant to work with and incredibly accommodating to our requests and our event. Edward was timely in his responses and incredibly helpful in helping us execute all of our ideas perfectly! During the wedding itself, the staff was helpful, friendly, and moved quickly. Specifically, Debbie was the point of contact for the bride, groom, and parents of the couple - she was attentive, available, and so much fun! Our wedding went off without a hitch, and we are so thankful to all the Boat House staff for all of their hard work in ensuring our day was the best ever! Not to mention the views of downtown are hard to beat!

We had my son's wedding there recently. The room was beautiful. The food was excellent and so was the service. Edward was so helpful in the planning - and keeping things organized on "the day". We didn't even need a wedding planner. And the view of the downtown Columbus skyline made a beautiful backdrop for the evening. I would highly recommend this for weddings or corporate events.