StX Restaurant Ratings

IHOP opening this coming Tuesday. Looking at their menu...yup, it's an IHOP!

Noah - how was Dashi last night?

We really liked our dinner at Angry Nates - i had the Tuna and My Husband had the Jerk Chicken.
We had the Creme Brulee for Dessert - that wasn't quite right on consistancy/texture - but my husband liked it.

Dashi is always good. When we're busy/lazy we just carry it out. Edamame and ponzu beef for me, lots of sushi for my lady.

I like the new artwork on the back of Angry Nate's. ESPECIALLY the mongoose pirates!

Went to Bacchus last night. It was great. We had the Lobster Bacchus and Filet Mignon. Our friends also had the Lobster Bacchus and they tried the Lamb. Everything was so delicious. There bread is to die for especially with that Love Oil. We finished it off by sharing the Banana's Foster, it's huge enough for 4 people to enjoy.
Also, great service. Absolutely wonderful experience.

We've eaten at the Cultured Pelican at Coakley Bay several times now and have really enjoyed it. We went on Thanksgiving day and had a wonderful turkey dinner. I thought I made a good turkey, but this one was excellent. I don't know if they will do it next year, but I know folks on this board have wondered about where to go on Thanksgiving. If this year is any indication, I would recommend it to folks for next year.

We have tried a variety of pastas and have enjoyed them. I also had a wahoo dinner which was very nice. Friends of ours had the talapia and were very complimentary of the dish. The chef makes these really good risottos as a side dish.

The decor has been toned down dramatically and the ceiling fans have been raised, giving it a much airier feeling. Also, the staff is very friendly and anxious to please. We've had relaxing, enjoyable dinners there.

In the interest if fair disclosure, we do live at Coakley & my husband is on the board, so we have a natural disposition to liking the place! Kim

Golden Rail begins mexican tonight. Monday

(tu)

I head something about Lori (of Lori's Deli) building a new restaurant on/near Sierra Verde off East End Road. Is this true or just a rumor?

Bernie

That's right Bernie, gonna be called Blue Water (something). Maybe Cafe, or restaurant...not exactly sure...but Blue Water is the main name. They're getting close, possibly opening in a few weeks.

Awesome. Glad to hear there will be another option for us on the East End!

Bernie

I am a regular frequenter of many restaurants on St Croix.

For new people to the island, you need to realize a few things.
1. Food is more expensive here, also, we don't have chain restaurants, so realize that chains are generally cheaper.
2. Things take longer here.
3. Portion size is smaller here. We keep hearing about how Americans need to eat smaller portions; well St. Croix is leading the fight.

Rowdy Joes- They do fish tacos right. The rest of the menu is a bit shaky at times but the specials are usually a safe bet. The wait staff can be a bit tempermental at times and the owner seems to be the worse of the bunch. Agree with the outside benches comment, they need cushions. The ice cream there is top notch (new Brownie Chocolate Chunk is great).

Bacchus- Probably the best of the high end restaurants. The food is always great. I had the veal and it was cooked perfectly. Currently have some amazing beers not available on St. Croix. The wait staff is top notch and the little extras (bread and chocolates) make for a great meal.

Pickled Greek- Started as one of my favorites but raising of the prices recently has turned me off. The appetizers are a bit on the high price side and while the food is great, its tough that they don't have the best gyro in town (Paradise Cafe does). Seemed to have lost a bit recently, the wait staff is good though.

Paradise Cafe- They rock sandwiches. Probably the best place to get one in Christiansted.

Turtles Deli- Technically not a restaurant but my favorite place to get a sandwich in St. Croix. They are unbelivably slow though. You MUST call in your order if you want it when you arrive.

Galangol- Thai food restaurant. My vote for the best experience in St. Croix. When you walk in the doors, you feel like you have left the island with the decor, staff and music. The food has smaller portion sizes for non-thai curry options and prices seem on the high side for apps. and desserts but the food is great. They can really kick your ass with spice.

La Reine Chicken Shack AKA Dirty Chicken- The best deal on the island. Half a chicken and 2 johnny cakes for $5. They are busy as hell during lunch for a reason; it's delicious.

Restaurants I have been to:
Bogeys
Rowdy Hoes
Paradise Cafe
Brew Pub
Bacchus
Duggans Reef
Blue Moon
Galangol
Dashi
Eat@Cane Bay
Galleon
Coconuts
Elizabeths @ H20
19th Hole
Palms

Prob missing a few, but if you want a review of a certain one lmk, and I will see if I can dig it up.

I will be going to Dos Gringos tonight to try their mexican food. I am hoping that it is good...

Uuaww- Rowdy Hoes?? They must like their work. LMAO!!

Haha, oops. On a serious note, I tried out the Mexican food at Golden Rail last night Featuring Los Gringos.

Opening night, so you can expect that they would have a few kinks that need to be worked out but from what we saw, they outlook is good for the future.

We started off with chips and guacamole. The chips were good and I liked the guacamole but my friend didn't. $7 for Chips and Guac is also a bit pricey.
We both got sangria and it was delicious, no complaints there.
For entrees, I got the Beef Colorado, and my friend got the carne asada. The dishes came with tortillas (your choice of corn or flour) beans and rice. One of the downsides was they charge extra for sour cream, guac and salsa with these. Entrees ran about 16 plus a bit for the extras. Both meats were delicious and the carne asada was some of the best I've had. The salsa was hot and amazing. Great salsa, make sure you get it.

I am not gonna comment on the waits for food as it was their first night and they have kinks to work out, they still don't have all the equipment but they were still pretty fast. The owner came around to each table and talked to the customers, asking about the meals and feedback. She was really friendly and was almost a second waitress. Our waitress on the other hand was borderline awful. She waited long periods to ask if we were ready to order, left empty drinks on the table, talked on her cell phone in the parking lot, and wasn't at all attentive to our meal. It would be different if she was busy, but we were the only table she was seeing!

Overall it was a great experience. The menu has everything you can ask for in a mexican restaurant and I can't wait to try a few more items. They show a lot of promise and I hope they stick around for a while.

Anyone know if the Thai restaurant uses MSG? My husband has a bad heart reaction to it. I LOVE Chinese,Thai,Vietnamese,etc and I'm going into withdrawl now that we're skipping any food that might have MSG in it. I would love to try the new Thai restaurant on St Croix.

Also, how was the first day at the IHOP? Anyone go?

I was in Sunny Isle yesterday morning, and the IHOP did not appear open. Maybe it opened for lunch or dinner?

There was an article about IHOP in the Avis yesterday - they are keeping the opening VERY soft..seemingly for the first month!?
But eventually it's going to be 7am-10pm during the week and 24 hr. on Friday and Saturday.

Does that mean it WAS open yesterday?

paper didn't say

Thanks for the info-- I would imagine they would need a very soft opening,ha. I was just wondering. I hope customers have patience with them until they get it down. We were at our local IHOP Saturday, it's been here for 15 or so years and you still never know what to expect. Some mornings everythings great and then there's a day like last Sat... My husband and I are not complainers-- both our kids have had to work in restaurants during college and we've heard all the horror stories we need. And many odd ones. Our daughter worked in one place for a short while that had nice paper napkins. One very regular customer always asked to be seated in her area where he would always ask for an extra napkin and leave the napkin folded up in some really elaborate creation-- origami style-- but never a tip. She was nice to him but tossed the napkin after every visit. One day not long before she quit she accidentally unfolded the napkin and found a VERY nice tip hidden inside! Who knows how much money she was tossing every evening? Then there's the story of my poor son who worked in an upscale restaurant where he had to carry HUGE trays up in the air loaded with plates,glasses,etc. (he's 6'4"-- so it was really up there!) One night he felt something 'up there' shift and before he could do anything he realized he was dropping the huge thing. He was able to turn slightly so that it happened to land with an ear shattering crash on a just emptied table. Both kids have told me so many stories of people being rude and demanding,even when it's obviously not the servers fault-- and how many people don't tip, tip very small, or expect special service as if they were the only ones to be waited on. It really opened my eyes to the 'other side' of what's happening in a restaurant. Anyhooo.... hope IHOP can get going and not have too many problems.

So it's an IHOP, do you really expect it to be any better than a mc pancake?

Yeah, it's just an IHOP I know, but they do have an actual breakfast menu that you can't compare McDonalds breakfast choices to. At least they don't microwave a square of hash browns and serve them on styrofoam.

We eat there some Saturdays because I love to eat breakfast out and that's our only choice around here-- unless we want to go to McDonalds. I know from experience there's no comparison between the french toast at IHOP and the french toast at Paradise Cafe. I was simply wondering how the opening had gone.

I drove up Tuesday at 1 and the sign on the door said training in progress. I wonder if they would have seated us if we walked in.....

So it's an IHOP, do you really expect it to be any better than a mc pancake?

Better? I don't know. Different? Most definitely!!

LOL...I would venture to say Ofngone doesn't live here or is just "teasing".

We just ate at the new IHOP in Sunny Isle on STX. It was a good experience. In fact, I’d say it was great, given that they just opened yesterday.

My wife and I went in at 11am today. It was quite crowded with customers. There were also a lot of staff present, probably more than normal because they’re still starting up. We were seated in 5 minutes. Our order was taken 10 minutes later. The server was friendly and knowledgeable. She said that yesterday was nerve-wracking for the staff, but today was much better. The food appeared 25 minutes later, which was fine with me since it was their second day and they were crowded. The food was good, just like I remembered from stateside. The prices were reasonable. We had a breakfast combo dish and 4 pancakes, which were $7.95 each, I think. The sodas were about $3, I think, with free refills.

I think IHOP will do well here. They’re open daily 7am to 10pm, and next month they’ll be open 24 hours on Fri and Sat, with security.

I heard that IHOP has 55 employees, which is amazing.