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  3. Dunbartonshire/Renfrewshire
  4. Helensburgh
  5. Helensburgh
Sugar Boat, Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire

Sugar Boat

4.4
4.4
541 Reviews
£25 and under
Bistro

Make a reservation

2 people
10:00 PM
Booked 8 times today
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
  • Great for brunch
Welcome to Sugar Boat - a relaxed & informal neighbourhood bistro in the heart of the town on Colquhoun Square, a stones throw from the sea front. We are open daily from 7.30am (8.30am on Saturday & 9am on Sunday's) through until late. We serve everything from breakfast with a cracking fry up or eggs benedict with or avocado & poached eggs on toast. For lunch & dinner we offer a la carte menus. Lunch is the more informal with burgers, fish & chips & daily sandwiches. Dinner can be a little more special. Cakes, scones & savoury snacks are available all day. We have a Wine Shop for off sales from our extensive list of over 100 wines - everything from £9.50 per bottle upwards. Enjoy a tip top cocktail from our bar made with premium sprits & our home made purees, cordials and juices or enjoy a pint of a locally brewed beer or a can of local Scottish craft ale. Choose to sit on the square or in our rear courtyard.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    £25 and under
  • Cuisines
    Bistro
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Fri 7:30 am–12:00 am Sat 8:30 am–1:00 am Sun 9:00 am–12:00 am
  • Phone number
    01436 647522
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Oliver Nodwell
  • Neighborhood
    Helensburgh
  • Cross street
    Colquhoun Street
  • Parking details
    A large car park is adjacent to the restaurant accessed via an archway from Sinclair Street & offers free parking for 2 hours. Free parking on local shopping streets for an hour or a couple of streets up the hill with no time limit. There is free parking too on the pier (5 minute walk).
  • Public transit
    Trains run direct to Helensburgh Central from Glasgow; Edinburgh (2 min walk). Trains run direct from London Euston to Helensburgh Upper (10 min walk). Local bus services drop you in the square from neighboring villages & towns to Central Glasgow. The Waverley Paddle Steamer regularly stops at the pier in Helensburgh between Easter & October.
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Outdoor Smoking Area, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Vegan, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 541 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.4
4.4 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.4Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.2Value

NoiseEnergetic

Loved For

  • Dunbartonshire/Renfrewshire

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Sugar Boat in Helensburgh is a vibrant restaurant known for its "great atmosphere" and "excellent food." Guests rave about the "friendly staff" and delightful menu options, including standout dishes like the Sunday Roast. While some found noise levels high, the "buzz" adds to the lively dining experience.

541 Reviews
  1. Brian

    Dunbartonshire

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Have been to the sugar boat a couple of times and always enjoyed the homemade feel and authenticity of the food. The staff were very friendly and the food this time was generally really good. I was just a bit disappointed with the homemade burger, it was very dence, dry and seemed over cooked, seemed to have no moisture in it at all, could be the fat to meat content in the mince used, if it’s homemade could you offer to cook it slightly under, so much so I only ate a bit of it! I had the scollops from the specials menu as a starter these were very tasty, and my friend also had humounus and sourdough which he enjoyed a lot and he went on to have fish and chips which he thought was very good. Will not put me of going again, but would put me off having the burger again!

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  2. GERALD

    Dunbartonshire

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 14, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Very good food very fast atentative service even though very busy

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  3. Jennie

    Oxford

    7 reviews

    4.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on December 4, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Short menu but some lovely choices. Good wine options but would have been great to have a cocktail menu. Have stayed/eaten here before a number of times and would really recommend the venue. Do wish the lighting was better over some tables as rather gloomy in certain areas. Pools of light to ensure a warm ambience and being able to easily read menus would be so helpful. Will definitely return. Service was very good with a most polite and efficient server.

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  4. Johann

    Dunbartonshire

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 2, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    As always service and food very good. Just disappointed with cleanliness of both bathrooms, restaurant floor and seats. Having visited the sugar boat on many occasions I was very surprised by lack of cleanliness as this never been en issue before!

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  5. SARAH

    Dunbartonshire

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 23, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Sugar boat Helensburgh food excellent, service superb could not fault it.

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  6. Paul

    Glasgow

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 18, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Every time i go there I have great service and great food.......couldn't recommend enough!

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  7. Lynn

    Glasgow

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 3, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Sugar Boat was absolutely amazing. We were a table of 9 for Sunday Lunch and it was totally perfect from start to finish.

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  8. Heather

    Glasgow

    8 reviews

    3.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on November 3, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    Sugarboat is a great restaurant, good food, good service but today they were off their game. Appeared to be short staffed and 3 of their brunch items weren’t available - no kedgeree, no smoked salmon or sausages, this seemed to have unsettled the waiting staff. As we had chosen to go to Sugarboat today because their kedgeree us so good , so a bit disappointed.

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  9. Iain

    Dunbartonshire

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 2, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Waiters were very attentive and quick to sort any small issues. Food was great with plenty of choices.

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  10. Jessica

    Dunbartonshire

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 17, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    The Cullen skink was outstandingly bland, two people in our party of 5 ordered it and it was quite disappointing, the smoked fish flavour wasn’t there and it just tasted like cream, however the garlic bread served alongside it was exceptionally good and well seasoned. The beef burgers were quite overdone in our opinion, again two people in our party had them and both of them were unfortunately overcooked. Not once were we asked how our food was which was quite disappointing. The shop looked very nice but not everything had a price tag which made us quite disinterested. Overall, our experience dinning there was quite poor.

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FAQs

Sugar Boat is rated 4.4 stars by 541 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
10:00 PM
Booked 8 times today
Google Map for Sugar Boat

30 Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire G84 8AQ

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Colquhoun Street
  • Neighborhood
    Helensburgh
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Fri 7:30 am–12:00 am Sat 8:30 am–1:00 am Sun 9:00 am–12:00 am
  • Price
    £25 and under
  • Cuisines
    Bistro
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    A large car park is adjacent to the restaurant accessed via an archway from Sinclair Street & offers free parking for 2 hours. Free parking on local shopping streets for an hour or a couple of streets up the hill with no time limit. There is free parking too on the pier (5 minute walk).
  • Public transit
    Trains run direct to Helensburgh Central from Glasgow; Edinburgh (2 min walk). Trains run direct from London Euston to Helensburgh Upper (10 min walk). Local bus services drop you in the square from neighboring villages & towns to Central Glasgow. The Waverley Paddle Steamer regularly stops at the pier in Helensburgh between Easter & October.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Oliver Nodwell
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Outdoor Smoking Area, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Vegan, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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