The Boathouse at Electra Lake

Exceptional food! We have eaten at many three Michelin star restaurants all over the world and our bar is set pretty high. This place is wonderful with its ambiance, customer service, and delicious menu. We had the rabbit pate, scallops, oysters, steak and pork chop and it was all fabulous. Highly recommend!

LOVE this place! Excellent food and service. We go every year for our anniversary ❤️

I am a local and my family and I recently visited the Boat House for a special occasion (my birthday!). We were all looking forward to the food and beautiful views that we heard so many good things about, but when we got there we were greeted with possibly the rudest hostess ever. I have a very large family and because our visit was during the COVID times they were restricting parties any bigger than 8. We did our best to respect this rule, but a 9th ended up tagging along and we were hoping when we got there that they could help make accommodations for our extra person and possibly seat us at two tables. Instead, we walked in and immediately were yelled at and scolded for having the 9th person. She was not accommodating to us at all and even told us to go find another restaurant! I wont share all the details of the very hostile language she used, but I will say that the situation was very poorly handled. However, our waitress did apologize for the disrespectful hostess and was kinder towards the end. I understand that in these times it can be very difficult to know exactly what to do and how to handle new situations like this. COVID restrictions are all very new and we are all learning how to manage new territory, but I think it is really important to be kind, understanding, and flexible more now, than ever. I think that situations like that really can determine how prepared and fit people are to run an establishment, from that I can very clearly see that these people are way in over their heads to be operating at this time. I can say that I will not be returning to this restaurant anytime soon.

Excellent atmosphere and staff interactions. The menu provides variety and the food quality has been excellent during the five times we had dinner while enjoying the great views.

When my wife and I want to treat ourselves to a special meal — and a special experience — we make the drive to the Boathouse. Located north of Durango at Electra Lake, the restaurant, which is seasonal (June - October), sits on a small island connected by a bridge. The view is breathtaking (see photo), the menu creative, the food upscale and consistently good. No alcohol is served, so BYOB, which is a good thing!

I had the best pork ribs I have ever had in my entire life here!! The ambiance was very condusive for an enchanting meal coupled with great company. Stop what your doing and make the short trip out of town... You won't regret it!!

We were seated as soon as we arrived even though it was 10 minutes before our reservation time and the dining room was full. The staff was attentive without being bothersome. The table was ready with water, wine glasses and a corkscrew to open our BYOB (we brought a nice Malbec). We tboroughly enjoed sharing a salad and garlic knots. We chose the Pork Chop and the Scallops entrees and finished off with a Cashew-chevre Cheesecake. We could not decide what the highlight of the evening was because everything was over the top wonderful from the service to the food to the ambience.

Six of us gathered at the Boathouse at Electra Lake about 20 miles up the mountain from Durango. The waitstaff is friendly and helpful. All of enjoyed our meals and the scrumptious desserts!

From almost every perspective, location, ambiance and the FOOD, this is hands down the best restaurant in the Durango region. It may be the best restaurant in the southwestern quadrant of Colorado. These guys do it right. First, don't miss the fact that you'll need to bring any wine or alcohol, beer included, that you want to have with your dinner. The treats that you'll receive from luggin' in your booze are worth the effort. As the menu changes quite frequently, and evry time we go all four ppl order four items, we've tried quite the array of beautifully constructed and mouth-watering dishes. The meat dishes are always perfectly prepared, nailing the temperatures and adding superb sauces to compliment. Fish dishes are also varied and may be from Colorado waters or the sea, but are always fresh and presented very well. The versatility of the chef and kitchen staff shown through when on our last visit, they came up with a great spread for our companion who is a strict vegan and anticipated not having a good dinner. I've watched this Chef eveolve for over twenty years from a young dude making ends meet working low level jobs, to an accomplised professional who's knockin' it outta the park, evey night! He's done it, to borrow a term, organically. He works his butt off "in season" and travels, and eats, off season. He is educated in Europe and by experience, and this restaurant is not to be missed when visiting the area. Don't forget to make reservations in advance. Seating is limited, and they're not trying to turn bunches of tables for volume. Oh, did I forget, the setting of the restaurant, on this stunning high altitude lake, is like few places in the United States. Don't miss it!!

Slow service. Expensive poor food.Took an hour to be served. Had a steak that was cooked properly but tough. Side was supposed to be cheese potatoes but was a hunk of burned hash browns. Won't be going back.

Dang, this place rocks! BYOB and enjoy oxtail gnocchi, oysters, duck pate, oh did I mention the fresh fruit desserts baked to a perfection, fresh porcini mushrooms YUM YUM YUM. Make reservations this place books up fast

This place is absolutely MAGICAL!

Perhaps the most accomplished kitchen crew (chef and pastry chef) working in the Four Corners area, providing those who can enjoy the drive (35 minutes from Durango, 12 of them in woods on a dirt road around the reservoir) with culinary pleasure and scenery that is not to be matched. Chef Dave sources ingredients carefully and prepares them with influences of French and Italian cookery, and some South-west notes as well. What a delight to have three or four kinds of oysters fresh and beautifully presented (and sauced) thousands of miles from their native waters! And you can bring your very own Premier Cru Chabis that they deserve -- and your aged Bordeaux for the excellent steak or heritage pork you will find here. Lots of local vegetables with the season, including mushrooms from hills hard by. Chef Jen minds the sweets, which are uniformly delectable. The space is ancient and formidable, with wide window views, but unpolished in stone, glass, and a cast concrete vaulted ceiling, which looks like an overturned vessel. It is not large, and it is not modernized, though the bathrooms are quite modern and always clean. Staff is transported by the dedication to the quality food and offers service at the best level around. IT is BYOB and that can be a modest chore or a great delight. The no credit card policy also requires some advanced planning. It can get busy but never unpleasant. Unpleasantness seems reserved for a very few guests at least one of which writes reviews!

Excellent food and scenery. It's BYOB and they only take cash and checks. Reservations only.

Because the chef is a lone performer, the main courses can take longer to arrive than many people expect - sometimes up to 40 minutes. We're not always especially amenable to that kind of extended dining experience, but we love the food, the space, the scenery and the personnel so we go with the expectation that our evening will be more an event than just dinner and we dine there often and regularly. I saw the review about the unwelcoming Electra Lake person and although we haven't had an experience that awful, the history of previous versions of this establishment does reflect a somewhat unwelcoming atmosphere, but the current restaurant doesn't carry on that old tradition, even though the neighborhood management apparently does. On another note - we also travel extensively and have had lots of good food in many places. We've never had food at the Boathouse that wasn't excellent - most of it is exceptional so I was surprised to see the poor review of the food. Everyone can have an off day, and if the food was indeed not good, I would just say not to let that dissuade anyone from going there because it's definitely not their standard fare.