The Boat House Cafe

[richardbrennan]

The new eatery called "The Boat House Cafe" opened in Gosport Marina this morning. The initial impression is very good; had a really nice sausage and egg sandwich and a mug of tea for under a fiver at luchtime; in my view it's well worth a try.

 

[Plaicemat]

Sounds good, mouth is watering

 

[jbweston]

I do wish them well with it. The place needs a good bar/cafe/restaurant.

I used to be at Gosport. The previous cafe tenants (possibly there were a succession of them) didn't stay in business for very long. I guess that, however well they did on summer weekends, the summer weekday trade was only just enough to keep them going and then in the winter nearly zilch customers and that finished them off.

There's also the problem of competition. There are at least two other cafes withing easy walking distance - Ashtons at the bottom of the High Street which has excellent fresh food and good surroundings at shoppers' (not yachties') prices, and the one opposite the marina gates (is it called the Crew Mess?) that is a bit of a greasy spoon and not the place to take a new girlfriend to impress her but it does a standard fried breakfast at even lower prices.

Add in the pubs as competitors for the thirsty crew, and the marina cafe guys are going to have to offer just the right mix of food, drink and prices to persuade enough people not to walk the extra five minutes past their door to get to the competition. But as I say I hope they make a great success of it.

 

[richardbrennan]

Having called in a couple more times for a cuppa, it seems to me that the food is of a much higher quality than the other local establishments. The sausages for example taste of pork rather than breadcrumbs. They seem to be doing quite well at present although it was a very fine weekend and many people will no doubt be giving it the initial once over.

 

[ramlock29]

Another vote for the Boat House Cafe - we were fitting out over the weekend and tried the Boat House for breakfast and dinner. Both really good quality at a decent price and I agree with Richard - the sausages were great! Short but interesting wine list and bottled beer from the local Oatleaf Brewery. A very pleasant vibe to the place and a friendly welcome from the staff. I wish them every success - its just the kind of place the marina has needed for years.

 

[catalac08]

There is also a really excellent cafe at the Royal Clarence marina (top end of the car park) and they do the best breakfast ever, and a terrific selection of home made cakes/gateaux

 

[Twister_Ken]

Boathouse sounds like it's worth a short walk from Haslar. Anything has to be better than Landers and the Hairy Mouse.