Das Bootshaus

Stunning location on the Alte Donau. This has become our favourite restaurant along the river, as they offer a great mix of meat, fish, and vegetarian dishes. The staff are very kind, the dishes are served with care, and the flavours are good. The portions aren’t very large for the price, but I personally prefer quality over quantity.

Disappointing Experience Despite Beautiful Setting – Das Bootshaus Wien I recently visited Das Bootshaus Wien with my family to celebrate my husband's birthday. I had made a reservation well in advance and even followed up by email to confirm specific arrangements for the occasion—such as a specially prepared table and pre-selected wine. I received a written confirmation, so I expected everything to be ready. Unfortunately, when we arrived, none of the agreed preparations had been made. There was no wine waiting, and the table was not set up as requested. On top of that, we waited over 30 minutes just to place our order. Although there were many staff members present, the service was disorganized and lacked coordination. It felt chaotic and inattentive throughout the evening. The food itself was good, and the view is undeniably beautiful, but the overall experience was greatly diminished by poor service and long wait times. It's a shame because with better organization and attention to detail, this could have been a truly special evening.

Unfortunately, I left quite disappointed. I had been looking forward to visiting this place for a long time—it’s quite a journey from where we live, and my expectations were high. On a positive note, the ambience is lovely, both indoors and outside. The setting definitely sets the stage for a great experience. However, the food fell short. The fish and chips were probably the best dish we ordered, and even that was just average. The batter was thick and lacked the satisfying crispness that defines good fish and chips. The fries were quite greasy and underwhelming. The paella was especially disappointing—the rice was undercooked and there was no sign of the golden crust (socarrat) that gives this dish its character. The lamb skewers were tiny (individual pieces were like 1.5 cm cubes) —and unsurprisingly, the meat itself was dry. Service was slow, even though it was a quiet Monday evening, and overall, the prices felt unjustified given the quality of food and service. Sadly, despite the great atmosphere, we won’t be returning. 😔

The best restaurant by the alte donau, after trying many places the last 12 years. They have a perfect eiskaffee, fish and chips, lemonades and many other menu options. I definitely recommend this place for a chill date, or bigger groups if you reserve.

It was supposed to be a lovely dinner by the water… I had been to this restaurant a couple of times in the past and found it decent, but unfortunately, this latest visit was a big disappointment — enough to make me reconsider coming again. We ordered a mix of their classic and signature dishes, including fried whitebait fish (which was a starter and, to be fair, arrived fairly quickly), fish & chips, and beef tartare. But the rest of the food took more than 1.5 hours to arrive, despite us reminding the waiter several times. We were dining with our baby, which made the long wait even more stressful and complicated. What was especially frustrating was that several tables who arrived after us were served their meals long before we got ours. The service felt disorganized and unprofessional — even if I understand it’s a busy place. In the end, we received an apology, but it didn’t really help, as we had to eat in a rush and leave quickly. All in all, not the kind of experience you expect when dining out, especially with a child. Sadly, this visit left us with little reason to return.