Renovated Kiosk now Manly Boathouse

The old Kiosk restaurant at Shelly Beach has been fully renovated and will be opening in May.

The Boathouse at Balmoral

How does a new restaurant make friends with its neighbours? It invites 50 of them over for a free lunch. 

The Boathouse, which is set to open its doors at Shelly Beach next month, has delighted locals by including them in a "soft opening" event. 

Restaurant co-owner Andrew Goldsmith says the lunch  will give new staff a chance to work with "real" customers, as well as  giving locals a preview of Manly's newest eatery. 

"The nature of the cafe business is that locals are crucial, " Goldsmith said at the Fairy Bower Precinct meeting earlier this month.

"What's important to locals - like breakfast - is important to us."

The Boathouse team won the lease for the Shelly Beach site, formerly occupied by Le Kiosk, early last year. 

Goldsmith said they loved the feel of being "at the end of the line". 
"It's such a fantastic location, we really want to do it justice," he said.

The Boathouse mix of good food in a relaxed space, with lush plants and beach house-style furniture, has made the restaurant a big hit in both its Palm Beach and Balmoral incarnations.

Ours will have all that, plus a shady landscaped garden and maybe even a waterfall.

The Boatshed will be open from 6am seven days a week, with dinner every night except Sunday. There's room for 80 people downstairs, with an upstairs event space for 70-80. The front facade of the heritage-listed cottage has been retained but most of the rest is new. The restaurant is licensed until 12pm, but upstairs events will finish at 11pm to decrease disturbance for neighbours.