• Daria Bishop
• Kitchen manager Amanda Lawlor, left, and owner Jenn Sinclair with a breakfast burger

From May through October, lakefront tables under Splash at the Boathouse's sunshine-yellow umbrellas are a hot ticket. Situated on a floating dock at the Burlington Community Boathouse Marina, the seasonal spot serves summer-appropriate lobster rolls, fish tacos and "dock-tails" with a side of unobstructed Lake Champlain views. On good sunset nights, it's packed.

Ahead of its usual opening on Mother's Day weekend, Splash now offers a different, much quieter scene: preseason weekday breakfast and lunch in the restaurant's upstairs indoor space. Jenn Sinclair, who also owns Shelburne's Barkeaters Restaurant, took over Splash when founder Barb Bardin died in 2015. She and kitchen manager Amanda Lawlor launched Splash's new counter-service concept on March 20.

"We were trying to figure out how to extend the season," Sinclair said on a recent rainy Tuesday afternoon. "This lets us open up a little bit earlier and will be an opportunity for us to extend our season in October."

It's also a chance for Splash to serve breakfast; during the summer, the restaurant sticks to lunch and dinner. The totally new menu, which includes breakfast sandwiches, pancake tacos, a Southwest omelette and avocado toast, is available Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I stopped in for lunch, though when I saw the breakfast burger ($17) — a smash burger with fried egg, bacon, cheddar cheese and maple-Buffalo sauce served on a cinnamon bun — I wished I'd been a couple hours earlier (or hungrier). Along with a barbecue pulled-pork melt ($14), it's been the biggest seller so far, Sinclair said.

• Daria Bishop
• Montréal smoked meat sandwich with greens and a seltzer

Instead, I opted for the Montréal smoked meat sandwich and a side of greens ($15) — Sinclair's favorite. She and Lawlor, who are the only staff on hand for the offseason, put a menu-planning meeting on hold to take my order and whip up my lunch. Other than a couple finishing their meals near the counter, I had the dining room to myself. I chose a table by the window overlooking the lake, of course.

"We've had some people say, 'Oh, my God, it's the first time we've come down here where we didn't have to wait in line,'" Sinclair said with a laugh.

She quickly brought out my sandwich and side salad, served in takeout ware. The toasty, golden-brown bread was piled high with tender smoked brisket, melty cheddar cheese, tangy pickle slaw and horseradish mustard for a touch of heat. I devoured it, taking breaks only to gaze across the gray lake at the Adirondacks. It wasn't an obvious day for waterfront dining, but I was happy to enjoy the views in relative quiet.

Splash's usual dock setup with lunch and dinner will return in May, when the off-season offering will pause until October.

"This will be our spring and fall thing," Sinclair said of the indoor breakfast and lunch. "Whenever they come, we're excited for people to visit and enjoy this amazing scenery we have."