Tanners Boathouse: Lobster Rolls, Lake Views + Canoes in Tannersville
Tanners Boat House, a New England seafood shack in Tannersville, has lobster rolls, lakeside views, a little beach, rent-able canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, and tubes, a giant playground next door, beer, wine, booze, and a trolley to take you back to town. This is the restaurant’s first summer of operation and it’s 2022’s best new full-service family-friendly destination in the Catskills.
Tanners Boathouse in Tannersville brings a New England seafood shack to the Catskills.
Their lobster rolls can be served cold with mayo or hot with butter, which was how we got it, and it was served with a generous helping of juicy lobster meat, crisp, salty fries, and a tangy little cup of coleslaw. I’d also recommend the fresh corn salad, which comes with crunchy cucumbers, sweet tomatoes, buttery avocado, basil, and lettuce that tastes like it was just snipped from a neighbors garden—all in a bright citrus vinaigrette. My kids were thrilled with the chicken fingers and mac and cheese.
The Tanners Boat House menu features a full New England seafood shack line-up. They’ve also got fried shrimp, fish and chips, fried calamari, clam chowder, a decent crab roll (which was not as good as the lobster rolls), and burgers — plus a vegan quinoa bowl with market veggies in a coconut curry sauce.
The best seats at Tanners Boathouse are the picnic tables out front with views of Rip Van Winkle Lake.
They’ve got indoor and outdoor seating, and all the picnic tables have views of Rip Van Winkle Lake and the rolling hills behind it. On the other side of the building, you’ll find Rip Van Winkle Park — an amazing playground that I’ll be covering in a future post. It’s the perfect place to take turns bringing antsy kids before/after/during dinner.
Whatever you do, definitely order the lobster roll.
The beach is small, but it’s got a bit of sand, and for the entirety of our meal, a man sat out in a canoe in the middle of the lake, looking as peaceful as a painting.
Speaking of which, Bob Ross was playing on the TV inside the restaurant, but the sound was drowned out by the kitchen staff, who were singing a very loud (and quite impressive) a capella version of “Manic Monday” as their Friday lunch shift began. Everyone was super friendly. If the guy pictured above at the bar looks a little cranky, that’s probably because he’s on his way to a long workday in the hot sun — shortly after this photo was taken, he climbed up on the lifeguard chair on the beach.
Tanners Boat House serves cold, canned, local beer, wine, and a full bar. And if you drink too many Narragansetts, there’s a trolley to take you back into town to walk it off or back to Scribner’s Catskill Lodge in Hunter, where you might want to spend the night.
Tanner Boathouse is located at Located at 27 Lake Road, Tannersville, NY on Rip Van Winkle Lake. Open Tuesdays from 4:00pm-9:00pm; Wednesday-Sunday from 9:00am-9:00pm; closed Mondays; (518) 589-1186.
