The Boat House Dining

31/03/2023

So now the scores and dishes are in. There are some brilliant plates going out, next Wednesday we were scheduled for our next wine wars.
So using our wine wars format (no ridiculously priced bottles) what would you have paired.

Starter : Snake by the lake
Fish: A moon shaped pool
Main: Cow pie
Dessert: Food fight

IT'S BANQUET DAY! Join us TONIGHT 9pm on at the Brighton Pavillion where our chefs will be whipping up a feast of dishes inspired by illustration and animation to celebrate Paddington Bear's 65th birthday! Who will be crowned the champion of champions?

24/03/2023

Goodbye from the Boat House Crew

It is with a heavy heart that we wish to inform you that The Boat House Dining has decided to close its doors on this current incarnation.

With the sudden departure of our Head Chef combined with the current economic climate, we have come to the conclusion that it is just not feasible to carry on the way we are. We have decided, therefore, to look at other options including putting the restaurant on the market. We trust that the next caretakers of this great building will continue providing great food from great local produce.

For those with vouchers please e-mail [email protected] with a photograph of the voucher and contact details and we will be in touch to arrange a refund. Alternatively, take a copy and send the voucher to Ken at the Boat House.

It only remains for me to thank the great crew we have employed at the Boat House for creating such a special place, and to thank you, our loyal customers, for bringing the craic with you.

19/03/2023

2nd to pizza,
I understand that

18/03/2023

For this evenings service we really want to celebrate our guests, the diversity and passion they bring to the restaurant.
So, each guest has three jukebox vouchers, this will be our playlist for the night and we shall publish it after.

17/03/2023

Catch of the day

16/03/2023

15/03/2023

OK so now the scores are in.
Following last week's completion of our 100 days of happiness challenge we've had a chance to look at your response to it and see what we can learn.
Top shares where jointly Andys announcement he was returning and our take on the Negroni Sbagliatto with the flickering five spice.

By response
At number 10
Day 14, our fantastic ladies at lunch with their absinthe toast
At number 9
Day 83
Our sister property The Peppery Cat
At number 8
Day 66
Our calming influence in the kitchen Rachael
At number 7
Day 3
Our negroni sbagliatto
At number 6
Our Agnieska celebrating her birthday
At number 5
Sarah starting with us as mixologist
At number 4
Day 1
John's announcement that he was leaving us
At number 3
Day 98
Our appreciation of the fantastic ladies we have in the Boat House on International Woman's Day
At number 2
Day 26
Santa
At number 1
Kens summary.

So what do we learn
Well, you like and appreciate our ladies as much as we do.
You like to see what we can do a little differently
Further down the list you like to see how we value our customers and our interaction with them.
Also
Not to do 100 days of anything, 50 is more than enough

13/03/2023

Guess the wine

Anyone that guesses the correct wine in the glass goes into a draw on Saturday to win a bottle.
First clue
Southern Hemisphere

Second clue
Jimi Hendrix

Clue 3
It's not on the nice list

Clue 4
It made an appearance at one of our recent event dinners

12/03/2023

We will also be rooting for Kerry who’s first Head Chef position was at our sister property The Salty Dog.

12/03/2023

We love seeing ourselves on screen! And even though he has since moved on we will really be rooting for John in this year’s competition.

12/03/2023

We love the way our little building draws in fantastic stortytellers. Today we were doing some fun stuff which you will see soon and by chance we're visited by the fantastic Marianne Mc Shane Storyteller . She was telling us about her book , the pictures look amazing and definitely provide some inspiration

11/03/2023

Do we stretch it to day 101?

10/03/2023

Looking forward to seeing , our old Head Chef, taking part in GBM next week. The third Chef to do so from the Boat House after Private dining by joery castel and . A bit of extra interest this year as one of The Salty Dog Head Chefs Kerry Roper, who was there when we were sister properties is also taking part! So tune in and enjoy some great cooking from some top NI Chefs.

10/03/2023

So here we are Day 100 of our 100 Days of Happiness.

I have to say thank you to David for the idea and the vast majority of contributions. I also have to say thank you to you our "loyal reader" (a small prize if you recognise the reference). The likes and engagement for the eclectic selection of posts make it all worthwhile.

And to be honest that is probably the thing that makes me happiest about the Boat House. The engagement between our crew and our guests. The craic that goes on, the appreciation they have for each other, the interest they take in each other's lives. The way that both the crew and our guests support the overall objective of the business.

So thank you to my Crew and our Guests for making me a very happy restaurant owner. Ken

09/03/2023

Day 99 of our 100 days of happiness challenge (almost there)
Today for lunch we had a couple of long established regulars in, sometimes when we have guests like this we are conscious about not taking them for granted and trying to make their experience as noteworthy as their first visit to us.
Today was fun, despite their many visits and countless wine pairings today we gave them a full complement of wines that were entirely new to them.
It's good to be able to surprise after all these years

08/03/2023

Day 98 of our 100 days of happiness challenge

And we land on International Woman's Day
Did you know 70% of our fb followers are women as are 2/3 of our staff (and they're fairly International too)
Chances are I'm the only male you'll deal with on your visit with us and it creates a very different atmosphere than when I first started, it adds a very different creative vibe and for that we are very pleased

07/03/2023

The "thick and gin" for our St Patrick's Day Shortcross Gourmet Tasting Menu

07/03/2023

Day 97 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

While we take guidance regarding the weather for Sundays fishing trip let's have a look at something more cheerful.

Many times when we open a bottle of bubbles one of the people at the table will keep the cork as a keepsake.
I make a little guy to sit on top of the bottle but one of our fabulous regulars taught me how to do the champagne turtle, so now we have a grouping of them.
So what is the proper collective for this?

Oh and remember book for St Patrick's day

06/03/2023

Day 96 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

Hmmmm
If I wasn't working I'd be coming to us for our Express menu then going to this.
Think there's just the one Black Sabbath song on our playlists

06/03/2023

A few close-ups of our 6-course tasting menu (yup maths was always our problem!) Available for the price of our Express Menu for a limited period as part of the Ards and North Down Borough Council March Support Local Campaign.

06/03/2023

We are delighted to be taking part in this campaign.

Enjoy our full Six Course Tasting Menu for the price of our Express Four Course Tasting Menu. £50pp instead £70pp. Quote Support Local Campaign

Available all lunchtimes and Wednesday/ Thursday evenings (excluding when events are taking place)

Your default description here

05/03/2023

Another one of our cocktails from our upcoming St Patrick's Day Shortcross Gourmet Tasting Menu
This time the Peated Jam

05/03/2023

Day 95 of our 100 days of happiness challenge

Quiet night last night due to cancellations (18 in total) so felt like a rather strange Saturday night.
However it meant that the vibe we normally have on a Saturday lunch, we had on the evening instead. That chilled, relaxed evening where we have absolutely fascinating conversations with our guests.
So last night one of our tables had a gentleman who has been both a supplier and a customer of the boathouse since long before I had heard of it.
This gentleman used to dive, and 30 years ago he fulfilled what had been a 6 year quest. There was a shipwreck off Rathlin Island in 1872 which had been shipping whisky. The mission was to find these bottles of whisky and bring them 150 years further on from when they last were dry.
The nature of the currents made this a challenge but finally 6 bottles were rescued. A bottle was drank on the boat in celebration, another was sent of to see if it was still good.
Perhaps not the most health and safety conscious sequence but the atmosphere on that diving boat must have been electric.
So the Cork on the bottle had shrank but at the time corks were sealed with lead and that was intact. The bottle was obviously handmade and was stamped 1870, it was the Pipers Blend. Not a particularly noted brand but that wasn't the point.
So he still has the whisky, decanted into a separate bottle as the Cork began to deteriorate, still had the bottle and the lead lined cork. Doesnt really know what to do with it now but would be great to see it on display somewhere

04/03/2023

Day 94 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.
Sarah has been busy finessing the drinks for our St Patrick's Day Shortcross Gourmet Tasting Menu
Loving the texture of the whiskey daiquiri.
Get it booked

03/03/2023

Day 93 of our 100 days of happiness challenge

This is something that has come up before but doesn't make it any less worthwhile.
Today we had a couple of tables in for lunch, each marking a different occasion. One was celebratory and the other seeking a little escapism.
We are always incredibly humbled that people choose us for this

02/03/2023

Day 92 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

Well it's the morning after the night before. I think most of our guests/judges/jurors would agree that it was a great night.

So this is the stage where we look forward to the next one and how we can improve it.
With the night being such a social occasion and with a cancellation list of people not able to get a place we think it would be a splendid idea to follow the lead from our open house events and have social seating.
This means if you book as a 2 you may be sharing a table, we had a table do this last night and they chose nearly all my wines.
Next one is on the first Wednesday in April

01/03/2023

Congratulations to David on winning his first wine wars (against the boss😖) he went big and bold and it paid off. For those who want the whole story see our stories!

01/03/2023

It’s the details that count … strawberry gel for our strawberry parfait and vanilla mascarpone course.
(One all after first two courses, see our story for the result)

01/03/2023

Plating up our Cauliflower Veloute, Foie Gras, Curry Oil and Hazelnuts for first course. Follow the battle on our stories!

01/03/2023

Day 91 of our 100 days of happiness challenges
And here we are
Wine wars are back
Will Ken have the element of surprise or is St David's day an omen

We shall be running this menu with the winning wines as our Express menu this week for those unable to get a table tonight

28/02/2023

Day 90 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

On my own fb one of my friends reminded me that it has been 7 years since I got the chance to conduct the ulster orchestra .
This prompted me, we haven't mentioned music in this yet.
Music is a huge element in creating the atmosphere we want in the restaurant. We are constantly seeking out new tunes to add to the playlists. You ever sit in a restaurant and you know exactly what song is coming next? We want to avoid that.
So what do we look for in a tune, well first we don't want anything too abrasive, we are trying to cater for a broad variety of tastes so no Slayer or extreme jazz fusion.
Next we see how it sits in the room, there are songs that sound great in the car but put them in a public place and they say all the energy out.
Then there is the appropriately bland test, do people notice it? We want it to contribute rather than be wallpaper.
Then we have the quirky element, occasionally we will add a cover, but one that is done very differently. So you have that familiarity but can't place the song and that makes it more intriguing.
Lastly, we like energy in the room so if something has a nice bounce to it we'll give it a go.

The official music video for the song "Pot Roast and Kisses," from the 2015 album release "So Delicious" from The Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band. The song and...

27/02/2023

Day 89 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

We love new stuff, this time it's the bazoo bamboo toilet roll. If you have been on over the past year you've probably seen our gift tree information. We add a voluntary 1.23 on every bill, we match it and gift tree then use that money to plant trees to offset the food miles.
So far there have been thousands of trees planted by them, the obvious step is to carry that on with our actual toilet roll.
This isn't some austere, harsh product though , it is winning awards as the softest toilet paper out there

Latest new product Bazoo loo roll … made from the fastest growing plant on the planet … bamboo!

Bazoo fact for the day … “A bamboo forest releases 35% more oxygen into the atmosphere than an equivalent sized forest.”

26/02/2023

Day 88 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.
In Bangor we are very fortunate with the diversity of interesting organisations and people offering something a little different.
The latest one we have come across is Our place in space which does real world installations demonstrating the scale of the solar system so kids can understand.
This week to get the word out about what they do they have been doing the drive in at the transport museum.
We love stuff like this, it makes us think about what we offer with our u3a events, days like our catch and cook, our mother's day coppersmithing and what else we can do in the future

25/02/2023

Day 87 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

I think Kacper is the the only member of the team not mentioned here yet.
We are very fortunate to have our renaissance man in the kitchen. A gifted scholar, thespian, physician in training and connoisseur of fine wines.
We don't believe in the "just a kp" term as the team is everything, particularly when they're smarter than everyone else (except maybe Rachael)

25/02/2023

Can’t wait to hear from Fiona and David at our St Patrick's Day Shortcross Gourmet Tasting Menu Dinner!

This Whiskey Wednesday, we celebrate our very own female Founder and Managing Director, Fiona.

Distilling whiskey at Rademon Estate since 2015, Fiona was the very first female Founder and Operator of an Irish Distillery.

Read more over on our site:

https://shortcrosswhiskey.com/about-shortcross-irish-whiskey/

25/02/2023

24/02/2023

Day 86 of our 100 days of happiness challenge.

And its gone, many will have fond memories of the salty pup from lockdown. We were very grateful for it as the cashflow from that and our Sailaway menus meant we could stay employed.
Since then the chef shortage has meant its just sat beside us unused and supposedly unloved.
So as we move forward and develop our offering it is something that had to go.
Sad to see that because of what it did for us but grateful and excited about what new developments may be coming

Oh and check out our shortcross night on paddy's.day