Tag: Boathouse

  • Cambridge – Boathouse

    Cambridge – Boathouse

    Another Greene King pub and as Nathan said when I told him, “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed”. This one has a beautiful location by the river and it’s also next to the boarded-up Tivoli (visible in the above photo) which is the JD Wetherspoon outlet that caught fire and never re-opened.

    Fortunately, this isn’t the pub’s name given what I think about snakes.

    I can’t keep going on about the dreadful choice of beer at Greene King venues. But here, once again, is the best choice of drink that I could find. A half-price, thanks to eat out to help out, Coke. It was fine.

    The staff were friendly and the track and trace procedures were being followed, with a staff member guiding me towards a seat outside after I expressed a preference for that. Which was very brave given that I’m normally attacked by wasps or other insects. I didn’t get any photos of the interior of the pub, but it’s quite a modern decor that looks like Greene King has paid a fair sum to a design agency. I wish they’d pay a fair sum to someone who would install some decent beer, but I’m labouring that point now unnecessarily.

    I braved the outside area, which has its own bar, although this was rarely used as most people seemed to be paying via the app. The river is off to the right, and that’s the much-missed (well, by me anyway) Tivoli behind, which would have at least had likely had some decent beer. Anyway, I’ve veered into that again. I have to be fair to Greene King though, at least they’ve given the pub a better name than when it was called the Rob Roy.

    The new temporary entrance to the pub, where they’ve built a little obstacle course of having a mini river of what smelled like beer in front of the steps up.

    The reviews for the pub aren’t great, indeed, they’re towards the lower end of licensed premises in Cambridge on that front. I was amused by the review, and this is the entirety of it, which said:

    “Ordered a mixed grill which says two sausages. Only came with one. Serving staff lied and are rude, avoid!!!”

    I love listening to drama like that, I wish I’d been there. And, yes, I need to get out more.

    All told, this is a perfectly acceptable pub for sitting and watching life go by on the river, with the staff being friendly and helpful. But, as I keep finding myself writing, there’s nothing particularly exceptional about the pub and it’s all a bit generic and formulaic.

  • United States – Missouri – St. Louis – Boathouse

    Between my visits to St. Louis Zoo and the Missouri History museum I decided that an interesting food option was the Boathouse restaurant. The zoo, museum and restaurant, amongst much else, are all located within the Forest Park which is towards the west of the city.

    Visiting in January inevitably meant that there wasn’t a chance to sit outside in the warm gazing over the lake, but instead it meant sitting inside near to the fire.

    And here is the wood burning fire….

    The food was fish and chips, and as usual the Americans do this rather well. The meal is, or at least was since I was there back in 2017, one of the specialities of the restaurant and although the presentation isn’t particularly noteworthy, it tasted of a decent quality. There was a crispiness to the batter and the portion size of tartare sauce was sufficiently generous.

    The reviews of this location on-line are a bit mixed, although it’s towards the better end of reviews overall for the city, but it was a warm and comfortable place to stay for a while. Service was attentive and polite, with the restaurant being busier than I had expected in January.