St. John VI restaurants

liamsaunt · February 28, 2023

Yesterday we went to dinner on Lovango Cay. When you make a reservation for dinner, you also make a reservation for their ferry (or you can arrive via private charter). Here's the ferry. That's St. Thomas in the background to the right. St. John is to the left, out of sight.

View of boats in Cruz Bay harbor on the way to dinner

We've been snorkeling off Lovango Cay for years, and have always been interested in the possibility of staying over there, but it's pretty isolated if you don't have a boat. Other than a couple of year-round residences and a few rental villas, this eco resort is the first time (that I know of) that anyone has tried to develop the land on Lovango. The owners also run Winnetu on Martha's Vineyard and the Nantucket Hotel on Nantucket. I am sure this place will be successful too. After seeing what they've done on Lovango, I wish they would consider redeveloping the still destroyed Caneel Bay on St. John. I think they would do a great job.

We had a nice table on the waterside. View

Drinks menu. I didn't notice the aguas frescas on the bottom or I would have ordered one.

Husband ordered the Martha's Vineyard Castaway.

Dinner menu

Husband started with the lobster croquette

and I had the tuna crudo

For mains, husband chose the lobster schnitzel (I guess it was lobster night for him!)

and I had the catch of the day, which was strawberry grouper.

Both entrees were excellent.

A large catamaran with about 40 guests from the Ritz Carlton over on St. Thomas arrived during our dinner. Everyone on the boat must have eaten quickly because they were all done and boarding before we left.

Dessert menu

We ordered the Lime in a Coconut to split. This was the only misstep of the dinner for us. The dessert doesn't mention chocolate, and as you can see, the coconut is made from a hard chocolate shell. (the lime curd was inside). Neither of us were in the mood for chocolate. Oh well, we ate it anyway! The sorbet was really good--intensely flavored.

Here's a picture of the resort restaurant at night, taken from the ferry as we were leaving (random guests blurred out for their privacy). The glamping tents are up in the hills of the cay, and hidden from sight.

Today's another "no plans" day. Husband is nursing a mild cold, so we probably won't do too much.

liamsaunt · March 1, 2023

Yesterday was pretty much a do nothing day. I got up in time to watch the sunrise. Here are a couple of pictures

We went out twice to try and find a hiking trail we used to do. It seems to be gone. I think someone built a house where the start of the trail used to be. I did see lots of pretty plants on the walk around. I am terrible at plant identification, but here they are. If anyone knows what they are, tell me!

Orange plant

Yellow and purple plants

This one I know: bougainvillea

Green plant with red kernal flower stalk

There are often funny signs leading to the homes in neighborhoods. Here's one

After our failed hike we just spent the afternoon here

Neither of us were in the mood for a big dinner so we went to Rum Hut and shared some stuff

Conch fritters. Husband liked them. I thought they were undercooked in the middle

Crab bao. Again, husband liked this more than me.

Shrimp bao

And Irie Pops vegan soft serve for dessert

Today we are supposed to visit a floating taco bar for lunch, and then we have a fancy dinner planned, but those plans will depend on how husband feels when he wakes up. If he's sick we won't go anywhere.

**Smithy** · March 2, 2023

Beautiful photos, as always! I liked the comment in the menu above: "Loved your meal? Buy the kitchen a 6-pack for $20" -- that's an innovative way to tip. 🙂

liamsaunt · March 2, 2023

Yesterday we visited the Lime Out floating taco bar. You have to arrive by boat--no swimming up to it for safety reasons. We were not booking a private boat charter this trip so we opted to take the shuttle service from shore. The shuttle gets you very close to the taco bar and then you do have to swim to your seats. The shuttle makes you wear a snorkel belt regardless of your swimming ability, so I would say it's easily doable as long as you have a basic knowledge of swimming. Here's the taco bar on approach.

You can opt to sit on one of the yellow "lily pads" or there are underwater bar stools along both long sides of the boat. I forgot to take a picture of the menu, but it's just eight types of tacos, and then mixed drinks plus non alcoholic options. All drinks are served in reusable Yeti cups and the tacos come in compostable containers. There are no napkins or silverware to cut down on waste and cleanup. The owners of the taco boat own two other restaurants on St. John, and that's where the food is prepared. The boat is basically a "keep warm and assemble" operation. I have to admit that I was very skeptical, but the overall experience was quite fun, and the tacos were tasty too.

We opted to try the three fish options. Left to right, there's blackened shrimp with pesto, local greens and tomatoes; jerk spiced tuna with pineapple, cucumber-jicama spicy relish, and chipotle slaw; and grouper seveche with citrus, jalepenos, jicama, chili garlic passion fruit dressing, and chipotle slaw.

View from our liliypad. The staff puts your food and drinks into a floating raft and pushes it over to your lily pad when everything is ready.

The ceviche taco was my favorite, and husband liked the tuna best, but all were really good. I also really enjoyed the cucumber lime soda I ordered. It was not sweet all all and very refreshing. We are coming back in the summer with my niece and nephew, and I know they will love this operation.

Later that night, we headed out to dinner at La Tapa. Menu

Husband ordered a dirty martini, and I stuck to club soda with lime (we were the first table seated for the second seating, which is why the restaurant looks so empty--it was completely full five minutes later!)

We ordered the tomato bread and a special of tuna tartare to share. We probably should have skipped the tomato bread. It was fine, but we didn't eat most of it. The tuna was very delicious, so we concentrated on eating that.

For entrees, husband chose the langoustine pasta. I was surprised as he usually doesn't opt for pasta in restaurants unless it's Italian. He seemed to be regretting it when he saw my plate.

I ordered the local tuna with crispy polenta and slaw. It was excellent.

We decided to skip dessert as it was getting late.

We have no dinner reservations today. Plans include hiking out to see a flock of wild flamingoes that is visiting the island, swimming at one of our favorite beaches in the afternoon, and probably just getting some casual food somewhere along the way.

KennethT · March 2, 2023

@liamsauntGlad to see that your husband is feeling better!

liamsaunt · March 2, 2023

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

Beautiful photos, as always! I liked the comment in the menu above: "Loved your meal? Buy the kitchen a 6-pack for $20" -- that's an innovative way to tip. 🙂

I just remembered a funny story from the first time we came to St. John, way back in 2003. We tried to buy a round of drinks for the kitchen staff at a restaurant in a remote location after a very good dinner. The chef came out and laughed (nicely) at us and said they got all the drinks that they wanted for free, and then gave US a free drink! 🤣

kayb · March 2, 2023

Many pics of the flamingoes, please.

heidih · March 2, 2023

Can you elaborate on chipotle slaw? A cabbage slaw with chipotle pepper in dressing or? Thanks.

The floating taco bar sounds fun. We were at a resort in Acapulco once with a swim up bar. A freeing experience until my son's godfather lost track of his daughter. No harm but she was under water longer than one would want. Swimming lessons were immediately booked.

liamsaunt · March 3, 2023

19 hours ago, heidih said:

Can you elaborate on chipotle slaw? A cabbage slaw with chipotle pepper in dressing or? Thanks.

The floating taco bar sounds fun. We were at a resort in Acapulco once with a swim up bar. A freeing experience until my son's godfather lost track of his daughter. No harm but she was under water longer than one would want. Swimming lessons were immediately booked.

It was a cabbage slaw with chipotle dressing. Very tasty and a good bit of heat.

Kids and water can be scary. Once when my niece was very small (4 or 5) we rented a house near Disney with a swimming pool. A friend we had invited along was supposed to be watching her while I cooked dinner and my sister showered. When I came out to check on things all seemed fine at first--he was watching her, and she was standing quietly in the pool. When I looked at her closely however, I saw how frightened she looked, and then I noticed that her mouth and nostrils were under water. I jumped in the pool with all my clothes on and lifted her out, and of course she started screaming. She had started drifting to the deeper part of the pool and was too scared to call for help. I later read this enlightening article: drowning doesn't look like drowning. Everyone should read it!

Anyway, back to St. John. Seeing the flamingoes was on the schedule for yesterday. This required a hike in to one of the more isolated beaches and the salt pond behind it, Salt Pond Bay. It's about a half mile walk down to the beach (and then a hike back up after!) When we started coming here, we would always have this beach to ourselves. Not so much anymore.

There's a large salt pond behind the beach, and that's where the flamingoes were. I counted 17 of them. Unfortunately, they were on the far side of the pond, so this is the best picture I could get. They looked pinker with the naked eye. It was very cool to see.

We continued on to the next beach behind the salt pond, Drunk Bay. The next land after this beach is in Africa! Needless to say, the beach is very rough and swimming is definitely not advised. It's cool to walk around and enjoy the breezes though.

After we hiked back up to the parking lot, we went back to look for more sea glass. This was our haul. My husband found the orange piece.

For lunch, we visited Skinny Legs, a burger bar on this side of the island. My sister and my niece don't eat burgers, so I figured I would take one for the team and go here with my husband now so we do not have to come back this summer. When we first started coming here, the entire place was decorated in NE Patriots gear, and the roof was an old canvas tent. Everything pretty much blew away in the storms five years ago. The theming is now college sports (with a corner still dedicated to NE sports, plus some Pittsburgh stuff sprinkled in since the new owners are from there). The roof is a new and sturdy actual roof, thanks to country superstar Kenny Chesney. He has a (very large) house on the island and paid for a lot of reconstruction projects after the storms.

The restaurant, with new roof

The menu

Husband had a cheeseburger

and I had a blackened mahi sandwich

It was pretty late in the afternoon after we finished eating, so we decided to go cool off at a beach, since most people would have left for happy hour. Maho Bay, much calmer than it normally is earlier in the day.

Fancy boats offshore

Neither of us wanted dinner, so we went to town and had ice cream. Why not? It's vacation!

TicTac · March 3, 2023

Gorgeous photos as always.

Nice to see some blue skies, as we prepare for yet another snow storm on the east coast!

So scary to hear the stories of kids and near drowning experiences. I got lucky and my wife was a lifeguard and swim instructor in her teens, and when each of our kids were about 4-6 months old, first thing she did was dunk em in the pool and start them getting comfortable in the water. Bunch of little fishys now.

liamsaunt · March 4, 2023

Yesterday's beach, Hawksnest.

Dinner was at Zozos at the former Caneel Bay resort. They went to a four course prix fixe a few years ago. We've done it a few times now, and it's just too much food, so this time we decided to reserve seats at the bar, where you can order a la carte. Pre dinner drinks: husband had a dirty martini and I had my usual club soda with lime.

There wasn't a sunset to speak of last night, but I liked the way the sun came though the clouds in this photo

Last night's menu.

We decided to share an order of the wild mushroom pappardelle to start. This is the full order, we split it at the bar.

We both wanted the same entree, so we each ordered the grouper. It was really delicious.

Finally, we split to budino for dessert.

Husband had a limoncello to end the evening.

Goodnight Caneel. Those bright dots in the sky are Jupiter and Venus.

KennethT · March 4, 2023

What is the fried ball-like thing next to the grouper?

**Shelby** · March 4, 2023

22 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Those bright dots in the sky are Jupiter and Venus.

We went out last night and looked at them too! Maybe we were all looking at the same time

I need to get or make some limoncello.

weinoo · March 4, 2023

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

What is the fried ball-like thing next to the grouper?

Looks like the purple potato croquette?

What I am most fascinated with by looking at the menu is how the prices are higher (in some cases, a lot higher) than here in NYC.

liamsaunt · March 5, 2023

22 hours ago, KennethT said:

What is the fried ball-like thing next to the grouper?

The purple potato croquette. It was coated in panic before frying, that's why it's brown. It was bright purple inside.

20 hours ago, weinoo said:

Looks like the purple potato croquette?

What I am most fascinated with by looking at the menu is how the prices are higher (in some cases, a lot higher) than here in NYC.

Everything has to be imported. We were supposed to go to Turks and Caicos this trip but had to cancel last minute. I checked the grocery store prices there while planning. Their prices were even worse. I remember that a case of Heineken--on sale for 30% off--was $90!

Yesterday we had lunch at Mis Lucy's. It's always nice and breezy here. It's not a place to go if you are in a hurry, but the food is usually very good.

Menu is pretty simple. They were out of conch fritters, unfortunately.

Husband got his usual crunchy grouper sandwich

They had their West Indian fish fry on special, so I got that.

We spent the afternoon at Trunk Bay

And then went to Longboard for some snacks. Husband's cocktail--I forget what it was.

Sea bass seveche.

Spicy shrimp tostones

Fish tacos

Husband's second cocktail-frose

I didn't like this meal as much as the one we had at the beginning of the trip. Everything tasted a little flat. Not as spicy, not as limey, etc.

Dessert

**Shelby** · March 5, 2023

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

The purple potato croquette. It was coated in panic before frying

I'll remember to bring my Xanax if I ever go to this restaurant.

😅

weinoo · March 5, 2023

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Everything has to be imported. We were supposed to go to Turks and Caicos this trip but had to cancel last minute. I checked the grocery store prices there while planning. Their prices were even worse. I remember that a case of Heineken--on sale for 30% off--was $90!

What were they charging for good beer?

liamsaunt · March 6, 2023

On 3/5/2023 at 9:42 AM, weinoo said:

What were they charging for good beer?

A LOT more! Only the crappy stuff was on sale 🤣

We had to be out of the rental house by 10AM yesterday. It was hard to say goodbye to this view and the constant sea breezes.

Husband wanted to go to town and have breakfast at High Tide before taking the car ferry back to St. Thomas. I had no preference either way. Menu

View from our table. The view is the best thing about this restaurant. That and the fact that they will store your bags for you while you eat. We had to bring our Jeep back to St. Thomas so just left the bags in the car, but normally this service is very appreciated on check in or check out day.

The food was fairly terrible, which summed up how we were feeling about leaving! BLT

Very sad looking surf and turf omelet

View of a small cruise ship offshore. They only anchor off St. John occasionally, and only in the winter. By contrast, there were four full size cruise ships in port on St. Thomas yesterday! The ship in the picture holds about 600 passengers. That's the passenger ferry to St. Thomas on the left.

View from the car ferry of the house we rented last summer. There's a good amount of sea glass on that beach.

Good bye for now St. John!

KennethT · March 6, 2023

Like always, thanks for bringing us along! Just looking at your photos warmed me up....

**TdeV** · March 6, 2023

Thanks for the pictures. Great fun.

rotuts · March 6, 2023

@liamsaunt

many thanks for taking us along.

and I appreciate the menus's

Senior Sea Kayaker · March 7, 2023

Thanks for the virtual break from winter. Great photos.

gfweb · April 25, 2023

Interesting piece.

https://www.foodandwine.com/st-john-caribbean-travel-guide-6823504?utm_campaign=foodandwine&utm_content=bestof_360days&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=64471ffd29be170001672b65

liamsaunt · April 25, 2023

10 hours ago, gfweb said:

Interesting piece.

https://www.foodandwine.com/st-john-caribbean-travel-guide-6823504?utm_campaign=foodandwine&utm_content=bestof_360days&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=64471ffd29be170001672b65

I read this when it came out (of course). I have never understood how travel articles like this come up with their recommendations for lodging. Peter Bay is one of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods on the island. Limetree is definitely one of the cheapest houses in the neighborhood to rent, but it's not cheap! And Mooncottage is one of the most expensive places for couples to rent in the generally more reasonable Coral Bay! These rates also do not include the 14% tax rate on top, or the other associated fees that go along with renting from a villa agency (greeter fee, non refundable damage deposit, cleaning fee, etc.).

The pictures are pretty though 😀

gfweb · April 25, 2023

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

I read this when it came out (of course). I have never understood how travel articles like this come up with their recommendations for lodging. Peter Bay is one of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods on the island. Limetree is definitely one of the cheapest houses in the neighborhood to rent, but it's not cheap! And Mooncottage is one of the most expensive places for couples to rent in the generally more reasonable Coral Bay! These rates also do not include the 14% tax rate on top, or the other associated fees that go along with renting from a villa agency (greeter fee, non refundable damage deposit, cleaning fee, etc.).

The pictures are pretty though 😀

I think F&W writes everything from press releases. I doubt the author has even been to the island

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