The Boathouse is officially open – the long-awaited restaurant revealed to eager crowds

The Boathouse North Wollongong has prepped for a bumper first weekend, with the beachside restaurant being inundated with bookings and interest since its official opening yesterday.

The long-awaited venue launched its new menu by Mark LaBrooy and Lachie Houghton to eager crowds at lunch on Friday (18 October) after months of anticipation and a last-minute rush to make it all happen.

The Boathouse Group head of commercial and marketing Ben Collis said it had taken a great deal of effort to pull it all together and a ”mad dash at the end”, but the community support had been ”overwhelming”.

“There were a few late nights but we’re so proud of what we’ve created here,” Ben said. “And from people coming in here and the club, we’ve just had this amazing positive feedback and that makes it all worth it.”

Members of the North Wollongong Surf Club were the first to try the new restaurant before its official launch, with many involved in the drawn-out renovation process and key instigators in the upgrade.

“Full credit to the club for their support and they’re a key partner of ours on this project,” Ben said.

“We had a few life members here and guys who have been visualising this for the past 50 years. There were a few tears – everyone was very, very happy.”

The blue crab linguini was already a customer favourite for those at lunch, but for others a beer and view was all that was needed to hit the spot.

“The whales have been putting on an amazing show,” customer Tania said. “It’s a good view, good location, good drinks, nice atmosphere, it’s great.”

Her husband Luke added: “It’s about time that NSW surf clubs have caught up with Queensland and had this type of set-up. It would be great to see this sort of thing at all clubs.”

Another customer, Sandra, said: “We came up for a stickybeak and it looked so nice that we thought we’d stay for a drink.”

Her friend Rita was also won over. “I’m really impressed, I’m delighted. It’s such a beautiful setting and I think it’s just really nicely done,” she said.

Despite the huge interest, the Boathouse North Wollongong was still finding ways to make the experience better for customers, with new promotions about to launch to improve affordability.

“Monday night is Burger Night so we’re doing $20 for a burger and a drink, so house wine or tap beer,” Ben said.

“Tuesday night is Schnitty Night so you get a schnitty and drink for $25, and Wednesday night we’re doing half-price pizza and then on Thursday night we’re doing a double happy hour, so it starts at 4 pm and goes to 8 pm.”

“We want to make sure the community knows that we’re here and to give them the value and use the space as much as possible.”

And he’s expecting the popularity to continue throughout the festive season, with some events on the horizon.

“Whether you’re celebrating with your girlfriends or your work, there’s a great opportunity to book a table in the bistro,” Ben said. ”We can do large groups up to 20, so you can bring the whole office in, or you can come in and just enjoy the bar and the terrace and have a few Christmas drinks. The venue is perfect for celebrating.

“And understanding what New Year’s Eve is like here, you’ve got the fireworks and arguably we’ve got the best view in town for those fireworks, so we want to do something special and there will be some free-flowing champagne and things like that, so keep an eye out for that because it will go on sale in the next couple of weeks.”

Bookings are open three months in advance through the Boathouse North Wollongong website.