The Boat Inn

One of my favourite things to do is eat out as is most peoples I can imagine. My Mom and Dad have always raved about this place in Lichfield called the Boat but whenever I drove past it didn’t look like much at all just your average day pub. They told me that appearances can be deceptive and boy was she right. I went with them both and my sister for a meal one Friday night and now The Boat is now one of my favourite places to go and have a meal and I will now tell you why.
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What is The Boat?
The Boat looks like your average pub from the outside but it is actually a very nice restaurant which specialises in extremely healthy food. It is open in the afternoon for your lunch and then in the evening for your tea and every meal is cooked to perfection. You will not find things like chips on the menu as everything is cooked as healthy as it can and they have only just started serving things like custard on the menu but only if you ask as a little hint.
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Where can you find the Boat?
Walsall Road,
Summerhill,
Lichfield
Staffordshire
WS14 0BU.
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Location:
Now I actually do not think the location is that good as it is just off a main road so literally you will be driving at 60mph and you have to catch the turning which can be quite hard to see. The Boat is near to Lichfield but the centre is still about a ten minute drive away so you do have to really have a car to get there. When you are in the Boat it does have a nice outside area to sit in and over the main road you can see lots of fields so it is quite nice to just sit there and watch the world go by.
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Outside Appearance:
Honestly if you look at it from the outside you can not tell how nice it is inside. It does look like a pub, a nice pub at that but absolutely nothing special.
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Parking:
The car park is quite big as it needs to be because only people living in the small community by the restaurant could walk there. It does get quite busy though and you always have to book a table but the car park is big enough for everybody and we have never had a problem getting in there even when there hasn’t been a spare table in the restaurant.
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Inside Appearance:
So you walk in from the outside expecting to come into a place which looks like a traditional pub. What you step into is a room with white walls everywhere, big leather sofas to sit on and wait and a very impressive and posh looking bar area. To the left is a very nice eating area with wooden tables and walls which look like you have just stepped into a wood cabin. To the right is the other area of the restaurant which looks lovely as it has nice carpets and lovely pictures and sculptures on the walls and on window sills.
As you walk in to the front of you is the waiting area and a chalk board which shows all of the meals on offer that lunch or evening. You choose what you want and then a waiter will take your order and you sit in the waiting are a which like I said has great big leather sofas. You can sit there and have a drink while you wait and you can see the kitchens as they are all open plan which always makes me feel better as you can see how clean the kitchens are.
When you are ready to be seated you will be taken to your table and it is a lovely restaurant as the tables are spaced out and wherever you sit it is really comfortable and you get a nice view of the restaurant.
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Drinks:
The drinks in here are very nice and they serve a lot of things apart from cocktails. You can buy hot cold, spirits and wine and they have a great selection. The drinks are quite reasonably priced at about £3.50 for a glass of wine and £2.20 for a J2o. You should be able to get what you want from there and you can choose to order your drinks from the bar in there or the waiter can take your order from your table.
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Food:
As I mentioned above the food is absolutely spectacular. They do specialise in healthy food so you get a lot of fish on the menu which I always have as it is lovely. They do a lot of meat and steak is always on the menu but you will always have it cooked nicely. Whatever you order you will get a choice of vegetables or salad. The vegetables are so nice and the red cabbage they do is just superb. The salad has a lot of lettuce and peppers in it with a nice dressing.
If you have a meal which has potatoes then you will be asked how you like them and please be aware that they do not do chips as my Dad asks every time and has the same disappointed look on his face when they say no.
After you have ordered you will be bought some bread and butter to your table and it is up to you whether you want it as nibbles before the meal or keep it for during the meal. If you do eat it all though they ask if you would like some more so I suppose you can have both. The meals are quite big so you will not be left with a hungry feeling.
I haven’t mentioned much about starters as we don’t often have them but when you do they are nice and big

From the dual carriageway, The Boat appears to be just another pub however on entering that impression is shattered. The first area one enters is dominated by a huge chalkboard listing an impressive choice of dishes at very reasonable prices with views into the kitchen where the team of chefs can be seen and heard at work preparing all the food from fresh ingredients. There is a choice of 3 real ales (after all I found this place in the Good Beer Guide) again at very reasonable prices. The staff were cheerful and attentive and the food they delivered was delicious. There is a landscaped area outside with a central raised decking area.