Sugar Boat

4.4

550 Reviews

£25 and under

Bistro

Make a reservation

2 people

Feb 16, 2025

7:00 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
Website
http://www.sugarboat.co.uk/
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress
Executive chef
Oliver Nodwell

Location
30 Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire G84 8AQ
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

Sugar Boat Fry up£12.00
bacon, egg, sausage, black pudding, beans, potato scone, mushroom, tomato, toast & butter
Kedgeree – Smoked Haddock, Poached Egg£11.00
Grilled Loch Fyne Kipper, Sourdough, Lemon£10.00
Eggs Your Way (Poached, Scramble or Fried), Toast, Bacon£10.00
Avocado on Toast, Poached Eggs, Tomato & Shallot Dressing£12.00

Breakfast Muffins

Benedict£12.00
prosciutto cotto, rocket, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise
Royale£12.50
Loch Fyne smoked salmon, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise
Hebridean£12.50
Stornoway black pudding, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise
Florentine£10.50
ricotta & spinach, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise

Sweetthings

Porridge with Fruit Compote, Honey, Flaked Almonds & Chia Seeds£8.00
Natural Yoghurt with Fruit Compote, Honey, Flaked Almonds & Chia Seeds£8.00
Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes, Maple Syrup (Until Midday)£9.50

Continental Breakfast

£13.50

Tea or Coffee
Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
Croissant or Toast with Homemade Strawberry Jam
Natural Yoghurt with Nuts & Seeds
Serrano Ham & Emmenthal Cheese

What 550 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
4.5Service
4.3Ambience
4.2Value

Noise • Energetic

Loved For

Dunbartonshire/Renfrewshire
Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Sugar Boat in Helensburgh offers "lovely food" and "superb service" in a charming atmosphere. Guests appreciate the "homemade feel and authenticity" of the dishes, with highlights like mussels and Cullen Skink. While some note occasional issues with cleanliness and menu consistency, most experiences are overwhelmingly positive, ensuring frequent return visits.

550 Reviews

C
Chris
Dunbartonshire
3 reviews
3.0
3 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 2
Good food and service. Our suggestion for an enhanced ambience would be spacing of tables so that they are not too close together. For us this did detract from our experience and enjoyment
Is this helpful?
S
Sara
Dunbartonshire
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on February 8, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Staff are lovely very helpful and attentive , food is always excellent, one of our favourite places to eat .
Is this helpful?
S
Stewart
London
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on February 7, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Outstanding value, great food and service as always, a very enjoyable Friday night.
Is this helpful?
R
Robert
New York City
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on January 31, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Food was lovely as always! Staff very friendly and helpful.
Is this helpful?
I
Iain
Glasgow
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 29, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Good food and great service. Good atmosphere and company with a good range of drinks. Restaurant and cafe area with outside tables for good weather
Is this helpful?
J
John
Glasgow
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 20, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great service and advice from Chloe, followed by a generous serving of moules frites with sour dough for main course, and then crumble for dessert.
Is this helpful?
S
Steven
Shropshire
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 14, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great food in a lovely restaurant. Service was excellent and food arrived quickly
Is this helpful?
S
Sanuek
Dunbartonshire
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 12, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
The food is always top quality and the staff always friendly and on hand
Is this helpful?
M
Michael
N. Ireland
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 31, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
Food and service was excellent. Will definitely be back
Is this helpful?
B
Brian
Dunbartonshire
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 27, 2024
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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FAQs

Sugar Boat is rated 4.4 stars by 550 OpenTable diners.

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

Make a reservation

2 people

Feb 16, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 8 times today

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

Website
http://www.sugarboat.co.uk/
Phone number
01436 647522

Sugar Boat

Make a reservation

Dining areas

Additional information

Menu

Main

Sugar Boat Fry up£12.00

Kedgeree – Smoked Haddock, Poached Egg£11.00

Grilled Loch Fyne Kipper, Sourdough, Lemon£10.00

Eggs Your Way (Poached, Scramble or Fried), Toast, Bacon£10.00

Avocado on Toast, Poached Eggs, Tomato & Shallot Dressing£12.00

Breakfast Muffins

Benedict£12.00

Royale£12.50

Hebridean£12.50

Florentine£10.50

Sweetthings

Porridge with Fruit Compote, Honey, Flaked Almonds & Chia Seeds£8.00

Natural Yoghurt with Fruit Compote, Honey, Flaked Almonds & Chia Seeds£8.00

Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes, Maple Syrup (Until Midday)£9.50

Continental Breakfast

Tea or Coffee

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Croissant or Toast with Homemade Strawberry Jam

Natural Yoghurt with Nuts & Seeds

Serrano Ham & Emmenthal Cheese

What 550 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Review summary

FAQs

How is Sugar Boat restaurant rated?

Is Sugar Boat currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Dining areas

Additional information