Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant shares cozy escape from winter

By Kelsey Smith

Tucked right along the water’s edge of Lake Macatawa in Holland, Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant offers incredible views paired with an eclectic cuisine all year long.

“In the winter, it’s more intimate,” said Tom Abrams, director of banquet & catering. “We have the fireplace on during the winter months, and that adds a little warmth to the space and gives it that homey feeling.”

During the holiday season, the restaurant bustles with regular customers, a variety of events and a lot of parties.

“We host quite a few holiday parties,” Abrams said. “The first 20 days of December, we typically do between 55 and 60 events.”

With the addition of the Event Center in 2015, the restaurant handles the high volume of celebrations with ease. The 5,600-square-foot center houses the Black River Ballroom and Macatawa Room, with options to reserve additional outdoor space.

Special banquet menus are offered during the holidays, as well as festive cocktails and buffets.

“The mistletoe is a really popular drink,” Abrams said. “It’s a creamy, minty martini. We do quite a few drink specials here.”

Other specialties have included an eggnog martini, a candy cane martini and hot mulled apple cider. As for the food menu, the restaurant switches it up to popular comfort dishes for banquets and the regular menu.

“We have a special banquet menu that has a traditional holiday buffet with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and ham, and that’s really popular with events,” Abrams said.

During the winter months, the staff is able to get creative and tweak the regular menu.

“We’re constantly working on the menu and trying to improve that,” said Jeanne Plaggemars, general manager. “And in the winter, they (chefs) can make it more detailed, because we’re not doing as much volume. It’s nice because you can hone in on a certain thing, the bartenders make drinks that take more time to be crafted.”

Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant
216 Van Raalte Ave.
Holland
616-396-0600
boatwerksrestaurant.com