Welcome to Boardwalk Restaurant

Went here for a combined birthday lunch celebration. Took us a bit of time to find it through no fault of the restaurant! The restaurant is located in the Aquarama Marina which is a boat jetty and storage yard. Parking is limited in the lot, but there was plenty of verge parking across the street. Outside it has a rather industrial feel mainly due to the tower shelves of boats and the huge forklift that puts them in and out of their cubicles. Unfortunately, these shelves and forklift can be seen from within the restaurant depending on where you sit. The restaurant itself is nicely appointed and decorated and overlooks the Swan River between two boat jetties. You can sit over your meal and watch the boats come and go or travel down the river. We enjoyed looking at the birdlife too. In between courses, you can walk out along the jetties or the boardwalk itself. This restaurant also runs a catering service of boating hampers which sound quite yummy and not overly expensive. Almost made me wish I liked boating!

We were seated at one of the tables on the enclosed verandah, so no tablecloths but linen napery and nice tableware. Inside the actual restaurant, the tables were also set with white linen cloths. While we were in the more casual area, it did not feel noticeable and was only really noted because we could see the formally set tables inside. The menu is very attractive although not huge but does include a set menu which was reasonably priced. While primarily a seafood restaurant, the meat and vegetarian dishes were so tempting, I was glad I had already decided on today’s meal prior to booking!

We decided on starting with fresh bread rolls, and Kalamata olives and feta to share. The bread was nicely warm and fresh smelling and served with whipped butter and an olive oil/balsamic vinegar mix. The olives and feta were served with little forks which were a very nice touch and it was quite a change to be able to keep your hands clean! These were both of a good quality. We also ordered bubbly but they had run out of the type we ordered and offered us the slightly dearer Seaview champagnois. Probably better than we were ordering for ourselves anyway. I found the water to have a taint to it, which I think would come from the ice machine being in need of a good clean, however I was the only one who noticed the taint. I pretty much stuck to the bubbly at that point!

For our main courses, we opted for the huge seafood platter; personally, I thought this the best seafood platter I have ever had. Everything was fresh and the cooked items well prepared and their chips were the best chips in a restaurant I have had. (Generally, I find restaurants do not know how to cook chips!) The platter included oysters natural and Kilpatrick, salt and pepper calamari, fresh prawns, fresh crab, chilli mussels, marinated baby octopus, grilled yabbies and Morton Bay bug tails, deep fried fish of the day (which today was a northern variety snapper), warm scallops in a garlic herb dressing, all served with two little bowls of tartare and seafood sauces and enough fresh lemon to add extra to the finger bowl. The platter comes complete with your choice of Greek salad or chips. We opted for the chips and ordered a pear and rocket salad which was placed on the platter as well. The platter can also include fresh crayfish if you choose. We didn’t!

As we were feeling quite indulgent, although very full, we decided to share a cinnamon brulee with our coffees (mine was an affagato, yum!). I have only limited tastebuds for these sort of desserts but this was quite light and tasty, although more of a baked custard than the normal creamy texture.

The two staff that served us were both friendly and efficient and both were prepared to have a joke with us. All up, this was a very pleasant lunch and one that will be remembered. The only issue with the meal was I was chatting too much when I went to pay the bill and forgot to use my Entertainment Card discount so the meal ended up costing me close to $150 for two. I kicked myself all the way home! (Oh well, I guess I will just have to go back so that I can use it! Such hardship!!)