San Antonio Realtor finds romance, history, seafood at The Boathouse

On my first evening in San Diego, here for the NAR convention, I was treated to a fabulous dinner at the Boathouse in Coronado. Although I am staying in the Gaslamp Quarter, which is teeming with great restaurants, I was glad to not have to make any decisions on where to eat.

Even after a long day traveling, and with little sleep the night before, I could see that the Boathouse was something special. My friend told me that it was built before the Hotel Del Coronado as a sort of exercise in building before construction started on "the Del." It is located right across the street from the hotel.

Besides the charming architecture, the restaurant has a lovely, romantic ambiance. I expected it to be dark, but it turned out to be quite open and welcoming. There are fabulous views of the yacht club and the bridge to downtown San Diego from practically every table.

Enough history--how was the food?

I started with some oysters on the half shell. The cocktail sauce had a dollop of horse radish, and the oysters were attractively arranged on a bed of seaweed and ice. The special that evening was sea scallops, served on a bed of rice pilaf with asparagus spears. The sea scallops were perfectly cooked--tender and tasty, as was the asparagus. My friend shared some of his Caesar salad with me, and it was excellent. The dressing was piquant and garlicky, nearly as good as mine. I pride myself on my Caesar salad. Our waitress asked him if he wanted anchovies. In many restaurants, that isn't even an option. A true Caesar salad should have them.

Now I wonder why I passed on the dessert--I guess I was just too full. There was a creme brulee with raspberries, some sort of decadent chocolate-lava cake, New York cheesecake, and Key lime pie, among others. All the desserts are made on the premises at the Boathouse. I may have to take the water taxi and go back for coffee and dessert tomorrow before I head back home to San Antonio.

So maybe I didn't find romance after all (I already have a romantic husband back home taking care of the kitties--I hope). But you could try to find it, and enjoy a wonderful lunch or dinner on the waterfront, at the Boathouse. Here is another link to their website, where you can check out their menu. The phone number is 619 435-0155.