St. John's Restaurant Tips by jamiesno

Restaurant Name: The Casbah!

The Casbah was a newer restaurant in St. John's when I first went there and was the "in" place to go at the time. From what I can tell it is still very popular.

The atmosphere in this place is really cool, the service is great and of course the food is probably the best I had eaten in St. John's ever.

I'll definitley be going back. It is recommended that you get a reservation here as well. I tried to just pop in a couple of times now and there was just nowhere to sit :-(.

Favorite Dish: I had the stuffed chicken for dinner. I was there with my brother and his fiance. They both had the glazed salmon with wild berries. I tried that too and it was awesome.

I remember the bruschetta was possibly the best I had ever eaten as well.

On another occassion I had the Black Angus steak and I consistently said it was the best cooked steak I had ever eaten. Very very well done!

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Theme: African
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 1-709-738-5293
Address: 2 Cathedral Street
Directions: If your on Duckworth Street downtown it is just off of that particular street and its on a hill. Just look up and you'll see it going by. Be careful when you get out of your car or you'll role out, LOL. The parking is also on the hill.
Website: http://www.thecasbah.ca

Restaurant Name: Merlo's Press and Bean Restaurant

This restuarant is in a great location downtown in the city. It is a very cozy place with lots of character.

I'll always particularly remember the very friendly server who was just great and made the whole time at the Press and Bean fun.

I remember it is a small world too because she actually remembered seeing my brother in the newspaper for his engagement annoucement. Good memory on that girl!

Favorite Dish: This place is known for its Panini grilled sandwiches. This is an Italian sandwich grilled and there is a list of different kinds you can get.

Trust me they are great and it makes a great place for lunch. I am going to go back sometime for the dinner menu.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 1-709-753-2457
Directions: Located between water street and harbour drive in the historic Murray Premises.
Website: http://www.pressandbean.com/

Restaurant Name: Ches's Fish and Chips

Ches's Fish and Chips is St. John's most famous fish and chips location. All the fish is deep fried like a lot of food in Newfoundland so people will call it a greasy spoon.

Historically cod fish was a staple food in this area so for something traditional as modest as it may seem you should make a stop by Ches's. Probably for lunch. It is very filling and less expensive than other places you might go.

There are a couple of locations in St. John's but the Freshwater Road location is the original and you'll see lots of local people there. The streets are awkward around this area so as soon as you see the sign then start paying attention to where you are going to park or else your going to get mixed up with the off roads and complex stops.

They usually have some oven baked goods around to at Ches's. Enjoy your fish and chips!!!

Favorite Dish: Two peice fish and chips with gravy on the home fries.

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Theme: Seafood
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 709-726-3434
Address: 9 Freshwater Road
Directions: Downtown
Website: http://www.chessfishandchips.ca

Restaurant Name: Aqua Restaurant and Bar

I was sold on trying the Aqua Restaurant and Bar by a business associate that raved about it may have been the best calamari he had ever tasted and he was a calamari fan, so I thought it would be great to experience for myself.

Obviously I had the calamari as an appetizer and he wasn’t wrong. This was very well cooked and awesome. I hate it when you get it battered. This was very fine dining.

I was excited to see on the menu Seafood Paella. As you can see from my pages I had been to Spain, enjoyed Paella and have since learned how to cook it myself so that’s what I ordered. Finding Paella in Newfoundland is rare let me tell you.

So when it came out I was a little surprised. I thought Paella was normally made with rice. This particular Paella was made with little round balls of cous cous which made it a very different meal that I had thought. But it was very good all the same. The shrimp, sausage, scallops and mussels where all very good and it went down well with a glass of Wolf Blass Yellow Label red wine.

So for some fine dining in this city, the Aqua Restaurant is a good choice. I almost forgot the bread prior to the meal was great as well with some different spreads and a treat from the chef was a mussel in some sort of sauce containing avocado. That was a pleasant surprise.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 576-2782
Address: 310 Water Street
Directions: Right across the road from the Downhomer shop.
Website: www.aquarestaurant.ca
Other Contact: info@aquarestaurant.ca

Restaurant Name: East Side Marios

This restaurant is a very busy one in St. John's with lots of people generally always there. There is an adjoining pub that is always busy as well.

Great place to enjoy sports, or just chat and have bar grub. It's a great atmosphere and the staff are great!

Favorite Dish: Great Pasta and Wraps.

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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 709-722-6900
Address: 180 Portugal Cove Road
Website: http://www.primerestaurants.com/eastsidemarios/index.asp

Restaurant Name: Don Cherry's

Don Cherry's is a great spot to catch all the hockey, baseball, football and basketball games on big screen and in booth televisions.

The staff and atmosphere are great. Seeing the game you want should not be a problem at all.

There is generally a wing's night every week. If you are into Sport's Bars this is the spot for you in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Favorite Dish: Carlos Nachos, the Don's Ultimate Wings, Monte Cristo and the Apple Dessert.

Recently I tried the Irish Nachos and they were good too but Don's Ultimate Wings are still the best anywhere.

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Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 709-576-2583
Address: 290 Freshwater Road
Website: http://www.doncherrys.ca

Restaurant Name: The Peppermill

The Peppermill is a nice little restaurant on Water Street. I went there a couple of times and the food here lived up to what I was expecting. The first night I ordered a cod fish special that was possibly the best cod fish I had ever tasted. It was tender and juicy and toped with a cream sauce and some sort of sweet carrot garnishing. It was awesome. The chef also sent out a treat that I wouldn’t be able to tell you know what it was. But it was tiny in comparison to the plate. Not that, that matters it was good.

The second time at this place was for lunch. I ordered a seafood linguini with blue cheese. This was awesome and extremely filling. I didn’t come close to finishing all of that pasta. I made sure to get all the seafood but I was very full.

On both occasions the service was very good and the hostesses were good. It is a small but very nice atmosphere place.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 726-7585
Address: 178 Water Street
Directions: Right downtown.

Restaurant Name: MAGNUM & STEIN'S

Prior to going to this place I was under the impression it was a steakhouse but I was wrong it was a fine dining restaurant and the person that mentioned it to me must have meant he had a very good steak there in the past.

For an appetizer I had probably the best seafood soup I had ever had. It was a very large proportion and the seafood pieces were huge. So that went down very well. Being in the mood for steak I then ordered up the tenderloin steak. There was a striploin on the menu as well and ordered it medium.

It was a good size steak but I think I little too cooked for medium and not as tender as I was in the mood for. The peppercorn sauce I did enjoy. It came with garlic mashed potatoes and these reminded me of the ones you mix up and put in the microwave. I don’t like those kinds of potatoes and wasn’t expecting that at a fine dining restaurant.

A co-worker with me had the lamb and that looked very good as well. The tenderloin was probably better than I thought. I was just comparing to Le Charbon Steakhouse in Quebec City where I had been to just a couple weeks prior and that was the best steak I had ever eaten to date.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 576-6500
Address: 284 Duckworth Street

Restaurant Name: Moo Moo's Ice Cream Inc (Market Convenience)

Moo Moos is a place small little place downtown that used to be more of a market from what I understand. I’ve visited because it is also referred to as Moo Moos and famous for its variety of ice creams.

You will no the place as soon as you see it. It is uniquely painted black and white to appear like a cow as you can see from this picture. I am not sure how many types of ice cream there is but there are many. They make them all there as well from what I remember from a news story on the place one time.

My favorite is called Torpedo. Its chocolate with brownie chunks mixed in. It was great.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 709-753-0999
Address: 88 Kings Road

Restaurant Name: Restaurant 21

Named after the site of the restaurant, "21" Queen's Road, Restaurant 21 is a new place in St. John's that is great for fine dining. The owner has another place in the past were we used the address to name his restaurant which seems like a simple way to do it but the food here isn't as simple for sure.

This restaurant is located downtown St. John's but it's not right down around the George / Water / Duckworth Street areas. It's up some hills so you won't want to necessarily walk up the hill. But it would be easy to walk back to downtown from this place. You will get to see all the colorful architechure in St. John's if you stroll either to or from this place.

Highly recommended!

Favorite Dish: I enjoyed the duck that was on the menu with glasses of red wine. During my visit to Restaurant 21 they also provided some unexpected treats from the chef which were great too.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 576-2112
Address: 21 Queen's Road (at Prescott St.)