The service was really bad, and the waitresses borderline inhospitable. Most concerningly, the seafood made me severely ill.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mary Taylor Real Estate
The event space at Bronte Boathouse is amazing. The perfect location for a wedding ,bridal shower or special event. The lakeside room overlooks the marina and lake Ontario. It has amazing views from every angle. The service was outstanding. The staff was attentive. The food delicious. And the price reasonable. If youre looking for a special spot to hold a special event go check it out. It won't disappoint.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A PB
Excellent place all around but their pricing is on the higher end.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
LILIANA MOLLER
Lack of judgement at it’s best!!! My husband and I and other friends and family members have been patrons of the Bronte Boathouse every season (and for that matter… the whole Catch Hospitality Group…) Tonight for the first time, we requested to be sat at a table for 4 at 7:15 pm. The Hostess couldn’t get a hold of the Manager at the time and she felt obligated to comply with our reasonable request. A few minutes later, the manager came by to tell us that we could not sit there as it was a table for 4. We got up and left and had a lovely dinner at the Marine Tavern. We were so disappointed that wouldn’t even consider The Plank… Should the restaurant had been busy at all, we would have never even requested the accommodation!
Service: 1
Katie Whelan
Great location. Average food.Poor service
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
JeanjacquesRousseau
Extremely disappointing and discriminatory experience. I sat at this restaurant for about 30 minutes without anyone offering me a menu or even acknowledging me. During that time, wave after wave of white customers arrived, and every single one of them was immediately greeted and served by the teenage staff.
The contrast was impossible to ignore. Regardless of the staff’s intent, the result was clear racial bias. I felt completely invisible and unwelcome.
In Canada, no customer should ever be treated this way. This restaurant failed to provide basic respect and equal service.
Steven Webb
Overall, ok place, not great though. The food quality is erratic. The fries are quite good, crunchy, not oily; the hamburger is very good but the roast beef sandwich was awful. Greasy, slippery, undercooked. The slimy mortar-like cheese made it all worse (any sandwich that drips is dubious). Not a good choice.
Service was quite good, the place seems busy (a windy Sept afternoon), had to reserve a table. Prompt friendly and helpful (they accept minor changes). Prices are ok, ~20CAD for most main courses. One might expect higher for the location: the only reason to go there is the view (not the food) and the view is quite nice, 100s of boats tied up, bobbing, waves, lake in the distance. The grounds are park-like, trees, well managed, lots of places to sit, benches. Gratis parking outside as well. An ice cream shop attached, shares building is good as well. WC quite good as well, no issues.
Super easy to find, the road around the lake in the hamlet (?) of Bronte is very nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Abhineet Dhawan
Bronte Boathouse is such a gem by the water 🌊✨ – not only is the location beautiful, but the food is absolutely amazing! Every dish feels fresh, flavorful, and perfectly made. The seafood is a real highlight 🦞🐟 – super fresh and cooked just right, but they also do a great job with comfort food, burgers, pastas, and salads. The fish tacos are a must-try, and their mains are filling without being too heavy. The desserts are also a treat 🍰🍦 – perfect to end a meal while enjoying the lake views. Pair it with a cocktail 🍹 or a glass of wine 🍷, and the whole experience feels complete. The service is friendly and welcoming, making the food taste even better. Whether you’re here for brunch, lunch, or dinner, you’ll always find something delicious. Honestly, it’s one of the best spots in Oakville for amazing food + stunning ambience. 🌅🍴
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
hassan Al Gailani
I visited The Bronte Boathouse today and unfortunately left disappointed. The location is beautiful, the vibe is relaxing, and the atmosphere, especially by the bar, is truly fantastic — no doubt this place has huge potential. Service at the bar was also very good; the staff were attentive and handled our concerns professionally. When we raised an issue with the oysters not being fresh, they were kind enough to take them off the bill, which we appreciated.
However, the food overall was a letdown. We ordered several dishes and none hit the mark. The tuna nachos were made with chips fried in oil that clearly wasn’t fresh — it affected the taste right away. The green herring salad was bland and unimaginative: just greens with a couple of strawberries, lacking any real substance. The halloumi wrap was another disappointment — it came in a fajita-style bread, not what you’d expect from a proper wrap, and lacked flavor.
It’s truly disappointing to see such a well-located, stylish venue fall short where it matters most — the food. I hope they take the feedback seriously, because this place could easily become a go-to destination if the kitchen matched the quality of the space and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 4
Ian Folkes
Amazing place for any event. Food and service staff was first class.
Such a cute patio to brunch at! Yes, young adults are the servers but the atmosphere gives off country club/beach club vibe which I expect teens/adults to work at as summer jobs (reminded me of Saved by the Bell when they go to the summer beach club.
My Lobster/shrimp roll was heavier on the baby shrimp than lobster but still okay.
I would come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Sahar Ihsan
It's a definite YES and should be on your list when ever you are visiting Oakville downtown. Amazing food , exceptional services and most spectacular view. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Agnes Javier-Loveless
We arrived 10 minutes before our 5:00 pm reservation for 9, but there was a queue, so we didn’t get to our table until about 10 minutes after. The TouchBistro reservation website states that strollers aren’t allowed on the patio, but when we arrived, we were told they aren’t allowed indoors either. I hope they update the website to reflect this, as it was such a hassle to bring the twins and all their things into the restaurant without a stroller.
The usher/server who took us to our table walked so quickly that by the time we made it inside with our 1.5 year old twins, we had already lost her. Another server then stopped us from bringing the stroller inside, and we had to explain again that we only needed a moment to settle the kids into their high chairs before my husband would take the stroller back to our car, which wasn’t very close to the restaurant, by the way.
Drinks and food were very good, but our mains didn’t arrive until around 6:10. By 6:35, when we were finally ready for dessert, our server reminded us that we only had the table until 7:00 pm. After such a long wait for food, that felt a little rushed.
All in all, the food and drinks were enjoyable, but the stroller policy, pacing and timing made the experience stressful. Thankfully, we ended the evening at Duckies next door, which had great ice cream, was kid-friendly, and not too crowded, a nice way to finish the night.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
cui lu
Yesterday, we went to The Brontë Boathouse with friends and ordered the Red Devil Calamari and oysters on the half shell. The service was very friendly and attentive, and overall, the dining experience at the restaurant itself felt pleasant.
However, later that night around 2 a.m., I suddenly experienced chills, shivering, shortness of breath, nausea, and vomiting. After some online research, my wife noticed that the symptoms seemed similar to a mild case of oyster-related foodborne illness. Interestingly, none of my friends who dined with me had the same reaction, so it is hard for me to fully judge the freshness of the oysters based only on my own experience.
I genuinely enjoyed the service and atmosphere, but unfortunately, my personal health reaction leaves me uncertain about the oyster quality that evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Kal S
The Bronte Boathouse has a beautiful location with a spacious and welcoming venue, which initially sets high expectations. Unfortunately, the overall experience fell short. The service felt unorganized and somewhat unprofessional, with younger staff who didn’t seem properly trained in customer service. A little more attentiveness and courtesy would go a long way in making guests feel valued.
The food was the biggest disappointment. The sushi was dry and tasted off, and some of the other dishes didn’t feel fresh. With such a prime location, I was expecting higher standards in both taste and presentation. The menu itself has potential, but better quality control and fresher ingredients are needed to justify the setting.
This place could really shine if management focused on training staff properly and elevating the food quality. The atmosphere is great, and the location has so much promise, but until improvements are made, it’s hard to recommend.
The service was really bad, and the waitresses borderline inhospitable. Most concerningly, the seafood made me severely ill.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
The event space at Bronte Boathouse is amazing. The perfect location for a wedding ,bridal shower or special event. The lakeside room overlooks the marina and lake Ontario. It has amazing views from every angle. The service was outstanding. The staff was attentive. The food delicious. And the price reasonable. If youre looking for a special spot to hold a special event go check it out. It won't disappoint.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent place all around but their pricing is on the higher end.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lack of judgement at it’s best!!!
My husband and I and other friends and family members have been patrons of the Bronte Boathouse every season (and for that matter… the whole Catch Hospitality Group…) Tonight for the first time, we requested to be sat at a table for 4 at 7:15 pm. The Hostess couldn’t get a hold of the Manager at the time and she felt obligated to comply with our reasonable request. A few minutes later, the manager came by to tell us that we could not sit there as it was a table for 4. We got up and left and had a lovely dinner at the Marine Tavern. We were so disappointed that wouldn’t even consider The Plank…
Should the restaurant had been busy at all, we would have never even requested the accommodation!
Service: 1
Great location. Average food.Poor service
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Extremely disappointing and discriminatory experience.
I sat at this restaurant for about 30 minutes without anyone offering me a menu or even acknowledging me. During that time, wave after wave of white customers arrived, and every single one of them was immediately greeted and served by the teenage staff.
The contrast was impossible to ignore. Regardless of the staff’s intent, the result was clear racial bias. I felt completely invisible and unwelcome.
In Canada, no customer should ever be treated this way. This restaurant failed to provide basic respect and equal service.
Overall, ok place, not great though. The food quality is erratic. The fries are quite good, crunchy, not oily; the hamburger is very good but the roast beef sandwich was awful. Greasy, slippery, undercooked. The slimy mortar-like cheese made it all worse (any sandwich that drips is dubious). Not a good choice.
Service was quite good, the place seems busy (a windy Sept afternoon), had to reserve a table. Prompt friendly and helpful (they accept minor changes). Prices are ok, ~20CAD for most main courses. One might expect higher for the location: the only reason to go there is the view (not the food) and the view is quite nice, 100s of boats tied up, bobbing, waves, lake in the distance. The grounds are park-like, trees, well managed, lots of places to sit, benches. Gratis parking outside as well. An ice cream shop attached, shares building is good as well. WC quite good as well, no issues.
Super easy to find, the road around the lake in the hamlet (?) of Bronte is very nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Bronte Boathouse is such a gem by the water 🌊✨ – not only is the location beautiful, but the food is absolutely amazing! Every dish feels fresh, flavorful, and perfectly made. The seafood is a real highlight 🦞🐟 – super fresh and cooked just right, but they also do a great job with comfort food, burgers, pastas, and salads.
The fish tacos are a must-try, and their mains are filling without being too heavy. The desserts are also a treat 🍰🍦 – perfect to end a meal while enjoying the lake views.
Pair it with a cocktail 🍹 or a glass of wine 🍷, and the whole experience feels complete. The service is friendly and welcoming, making the food taste even better.
Whether you’re here for brunch, lunch, or dinner, you’ll always find something delicious. Honestly, it’s one of the best spots in Oakville for amazing food + stunning ambience. 🌅🍴
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I visited The Bronte Boathouse today and unfortunately left disappointed. The location is beautiful, the vibe is relaxing, and the atmosphere, especially by the bar, is truly fantastic — no doubt this place has huge potential. Service at the bar was also very good; the staff were attentive and handled our concerns professionally. When we raised an issue with the oysters not being fresh, they were kind enough to take them off the bill, which we appreciated.
However, the food overall was a letdown. We ordered several dishes and none hit the mark. The tuna nachos were made with chips fried in oil that clearly wasn’t fresh — it affected the taste right away. The green herring salad was bland and unimaginative: just greens with a couple of strawberries, lacking any real substance. The halloumi wrap was another disappointment — it came in a fajita-style bread, not what you’d expect from a proper wrap, and lacked flavor.
It’s truly disappointing to see such a well-located, stylish venue fall short where it matters most — the food. I hope they take the feedback seriously, because this place could easily become a go-to destination if the kitchen matched the quality of the space and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 4
Amazing place for any event. Food and service staff was first class.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Such a cute patio to brunch at!
Yes, young adults are the servers but the atmosphere gives off country club/beach club vibe which I expect teens/adults to work at as summer jobs (reminded me of Saved by the Bell when they go to the summer beach club.
My Lobster/shrimp roll was heavier on the baby shrimp than lobster but still okay.
I would come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
It's a definite YES and should be on your list when ever you are visiting Oakville downtown. Amazing food , exceptional services and most spectacular view. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We arrived 10 minutes before our 5:00 pm reservation for 9, but there was a queue, so we didn’t get to our table until about 10 minutes after. The TouchBistro reservation website states that strollers aren’t allowed on the patio, but when we arrived, we were told they aren’t allowed indoors either. I hope they update the website to reflect this, as it was such a hassle to bring the twins and all their things into the restaurant without a stroller.
The usher/server who took us to our table walked so quickly that by the time we made it inside with our 1.5 year old twins, we had already lost her. Another server then stopped us from bringing the stroller inside, and we had to explain again that we only needed a moment to settle the kids into their high chairs before my husband would take the stroller back to our car, which wasn’t very close to the restaurant, by the way.
Drinks and food were very good, but our mains didn’t arrive until around 6:10. By 6:35, when we were finally ready for dessert, our server reminded us that we only had the table until 7:00 pm. After such a long wait for food, that felt a little rushed.
All in all, the food and drinks were enjoyable, but the stroller policy, pacing and timing made the experience stressful. Thankfully, we ended the evening at Duckies next door, which had great ice cream, was kid-friendly, and not too crowded, a nice way to finish the night.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Yesterday, we went to The Brontë Boathouse with friends and ordered the Red Devil Calamari and oysters on the half shell. The service was very friendly and attentive, and overall, the dining experience at the restaurant itself felt pleasant.
However, later that night around 2 a.m., I suddenly experienced chills, shivering, shortness of breath, nausea, and vomiting. After some online research, my wife noticed that the symptoms seemed similar to a mild case of oyster-related foodborne illness. Interestingly, none of my friends who dined with me had the same reaction, so it is hard for me to fully judge the freshness of the oysters based only on my own experience.
I genuinely enjoyed the service and atmosphere, but unfortunately, my personal health reaction leaves me uncertain about the oyster quality that evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
The Bronte Boathouse has a beautiful location with a spacious and welcoming venue, which initially sets high expectations. Unfortunately, the overall experience fell short. The service felt unorganized and somewhat unprofessional, with younger staff who didn’t seem properly trained in customer service. A little more attentiveness and courtesy would go a long way in making guests feel valued.
The food was the biggest disappointment. The sushi was dry and tasted off, and some of the other dishes didn’t feel fresh. With such a prime location, I was expecting higher standards in both taste and presentation. The menu itself has potential, but better quality control and fresher ingredients are needed to justify the setting.
This place could really shine if management focused on training staff properly and elevating the food quality. The atmosphere is great, and the location has so much promise, but until improvements are made, it’s hard to recommend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
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