StX Restaurant Ratings

Had dinner the other night at Rowdy Joes.
Food was, as usual, very good.
And we were surprised by how many people were there.

One of the reasons I go out to ask is to relax.
But the service was harried and unfriendly.
The porch was full so we ate inside -which was a mistake.
I wonder if they realize how loud the inside is. It's a concrete pillbox.
And the cigarette smoke was really heavy ...which we are used to tolerating in most other places.
Never really noticed the noise and smoke before because the place has been nearly deserted when we'd been there before.

Word to the wise: make a U-turn if the porch is full.

The wife and I went to Polly's in Fredericksted on Sunday for lunch. The menu is limited because they don't have a grill. They offer salads, wraps, and a few toasted items. We both ordered salads made from organic veggies. The salads were very large and tasty for $12 -- no skimping on the meats and cheeses. The staff was also very friendly. I'd recommend them for a light meal.

St Croix - what did you get from Rowdy Joes?

Sugarlander - I LOVE polly's - their breakfast burritos are good too, and their coffee is excellent.

I really like the staff at Polly's and their food is generally good. However, if you are a beer drinker and are tempted by the promise of Polly's own brews. don't. After six weeks of patiently waiting for the beer's arrival (which are brewed in the owner's home), I had my first Polly's Pale Ale last weekend. Pretty disappointing. For a pale ale, it had very little flavor and no hoppiness. And to make matters worse, it was $6! So, I'd skip Polly's brew and have the brew pub's beers, which are far better and much cheaper (at only $4 each).

Bernie

I'm not a beer drinker Bernie, but the ice tea at Polly's was pretty good. 🙂

Sorry you didn't like the beer, Bernie.

I have been experimenting with the recipe lately based on feedback that has been given, and I am trying to lock down what the majority of customers like and then keep it consistent from there.

I try to keep the Pale Ale available, then offer something different from the other tap. I will have a Bock beer on tap tomorrow, so if you are coming out west again, I'll buy you one. Just ask for Seth or Steve and tell them who you are. (Please only the real Bernie!8-)

I am not an owner, just a friend of the owners who makes the beer.

BTW- The brew pub serves 12 ounce beers, Polly's server a full pint. That's why the difference in price. They do have a short glass if you just want to sample for a lower price.

Darrin

Hi, Darrin--thanks so much for taking the time to respond (and clear some things up about the size/price difference). Looking back on my original post, I think I was a bit harsh. The beer was not bad--it was just not what I was expecting in a pale ale. But it may very well appeal to people who like something lighter and, for lack of a better term, mellower. I, for one, would love to have a hoppy option on island (similar to the brew pub's Hammerhead Pale). At times, I get tired of the Carib/Presidente/Red Stripe genre and need something to wake up my taste buds. Would you be able to do something along those lines? If so, I'd line up for it (and, if you offered growlers, take some home).

And knowing that the beer is a full pint, I rescind my objection to the price 😀

Bernie

We had dinner at Sam Woo Barbecue tonight, after their recent radio commercials invited us to come in and taste "what real sushi tastes like" and to eat at their affordable prices. The prices listed below are from memory.

Tokyo Roll sushi, $15. This is an eel roll. It was bland and mushy. They used the wrong rice. Tasted OK, but not like "real sushi." The sushi menu was limited to about 6 choices, and it came with a sweet, spicy Teriyaki-like sauce, which is wrong for sushi. We'll stick with the Chinese side of the menu next time.

Happy Family, $20. Pretty close to the stateside version. The sauce needed more flavor. The dish was warm, not hot. Probably not cooked to order. Tasted good.

We intended to get only sushi, but the prices were too high and the selection was too limited. We found the prices were pretty high in general. For example, French fries were $8 (fries are standard on a Cruzan Chinese menu).

Service was very good. Sam Woo is probably the best Chinese restaurant on STX in terms of food, service, and décor, but the food is below average by stateside standards.

Went to Savant last night (after not having been there in 3 years). The food was OK, just OK, not good, not great. For the prices they charge I want to be able to say, "that was great". The service was good, not great. I think that if you spend almost $100 per person you should be able to walk away saying that everything (service and food) was great, fantastic, terrific - you pick the adjective. I will not be rushing back to Savant.

We have just spent two weeks in Christiansted, and I'll post a couple of our restaurant experiences here.

Our favorite was Bombay Club, because of their friendly service, nice ambience, and consistently good food (including fantastic hamburgers and prime rib),

We also liked Angry Nates, especially their Wednesday Prime Rib menu.

Bacchus was a nice experience, with good food and waiter service (amusingly, somewhat in contrast with the attitude of the manager, having identified us as tourists with limited repeat potential). Was it worth twice the cost of the two aforementioned? Probably not for us.

Last year we had booked a table at Savant for an anniversary, but they made a mistake with our booking. We booked again this year, and guess what - our table was gone when we arrived. I think we've learned the lesson now.

At Rumrunners, both the starter of chicken wings and the entree of fish and chips had a vinegary taste, whereas the hamburger was good.

At the recommendation of friends and with great expectations, we had pizza last night at the Lost Dog in F'sted.
Very disappointing. Cardboard like crust, very skimpy cheese and a thin smear of sauce.

Recently had pizza at Smugglers Cove (in Mill Harbor condos) and was pleasantly surprised.

Last month we had pizza at Pizza Hut (on the Northside Road next to the La Reine McDonalds) and it was just as good as the stateside version.

Finally made it to Rowdy Joe's for lunch weekend before last. I must say I was impressed. Great food and reasonable service at really good prices. Had blackened mahi soft tacos which came with a thai peanut sauced cole slaw along with mango chutney. Mahi was local and fresh. Nicely done. Friend I went with had fish and chips with the same mahi. Said it was great - not greasy and heavy like most fish n chips. Four homemade ice creams on the menu. Nice casual menu with really good food and very reasonable prices. I'd definitely go back. Not a great view, but the food more than makes up for the lack of ambiance. Now if they'd just move closer to town........:)

we went to Smuggler's cove last week.
I ordered a burger and my husband had pizza. I really liked my burger (I got the rum burger)
but he thought his pizza was just "ok" - a little soggy
There was a MAJOR problem with the service though - this goes above and beyond... his pizza came out 45 min after my burger - not exaggerating.
it was a weeknight, we were exhausted and frustrated.
then getting the bill and getting the server to come back and run the credit card took another 20+ min.

Not a good experience.
Maybe call-in an order next time, but there are too many other places I like better.

We usually bring cash to restaurants. It saves lots of time, we spend less money, and restaurants and servers prefer it over credit cards.

Last night (Saturday) we had dinner at the Mahogany Room at Carambola. This was quite possibly the best meal I've had in my 8+ years living here on St. Croix. I ate waaaaaaaaaaay too much and enjoyed every bite! Accompanied with a wonderful Chilean chardonnay, which I don't remember the name of, recommended by the chef, this was fine dining at it's finest. (tu) I've not had dinner there previously, but do know the 2 current chefs are here from the states and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America.

We started with a delicious salad of very fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, hearts of palm, a delicious cheese on top and a light mango vinaigrette; wonderful. Followed by an appetizer made from panko crusted fresh spinach, pineapple and tuna and a wonderful sauce. The main course: "almond crusted mahi-mahi drizzled with passion fruit beurre blanc, black bean papaya salsa and Caribbean seasoned rice and fresh veggies" ... YUM! And as if that wasn't enough, dessert: Mango empanadas with homemade vanilla ice cream ... YUM! I was already so full, but just had to have a bite.

Not sure if this will work, I'm hoping this link will show the pictures ...

http://jillslifeinparadise.blogspot.com/2010/03/dinner-at-mahogany-room-at-carambola.html

~Jill~

Jill,
I made the mistake of looking at your pictures before breakfast. Lovely, and now I'm starving!

Went to Bacchus last week, had a wonderful meal and the service was great.
I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive. I would go more often.

Went to Eat @ Cane Bay last night, I had the wahoo special which was great. I asked for lemon caper sauce instead of the curry sauce and it was no problem to accommodate. We had a table of 8 and everyone was happy.

Also, we ate at Rowdy Joe's Monday night and food was fantastic. Loving those pork wontons with the seaweed salad. Service was great. Thank you Ryan & Jordan for taking good care of us.

It's nice when we have friends in town, we tend to eat out alot more:-)

We had dinner at Tutto Bene tonight. Food, service and ambience were all very good.

Mixed drink $4.50*
Wine $8 per glass x 2
Chicken parm & pasta $26
Seafood pasta $30
Total $76.50 + tip

* The drink was served in the smallest glass I've ever seen (aside from a shot glass). That's my only gripe.

our cleaning lady accidentally slipped and smashed our glass-top stove so we've been eating out a lot this week.

Cultured Pelican for 2 for Thursday was ok.... and I've really liked it in the past so it's hard for me to say anything bad, but My food came out looking so gross I refused to eat it and asked for something else (it was the grease from the risoto mixing with the water from the fresh veggies and sitting on the plate in a MUSH)

Saturday - the Lamb stew at Angry Nates after the Parade - it was a LOT of gravy and a little bit of the other stuff, guess I was supposed to be too drunk to notice, but I noticed.

Wednesday - Corn Beef and Cabbage at Good Spirits, the corn beef was really yummy. And we had an appetizer sample platter - chicken egg roll, coconut shrimp, and the stuffed jalapeno poppers (3 fried mice)

Tonight we went to happy hour at Zebos - and started selecting off the TAPAS menu... tapas=little bites... they were good -but totally over priced. I had Pot stickers, Ahi tuna, and we had Ceviche off the regular menu. I would've ordered an entree but it all seemed too overpriced for my intention of a casual night out.

I tried the food at the new Tavern 1844 in Christiansted this week. Absolutely fabulous food and great prices. I had a heaping dish of their mac and cheese - oh my, I'm in love! I'll definitly order that again! Also got the brussel sprouts, delish! My friend had the vegetarian shepherds pie and it looked heavenly. I'm not using all these yummy adjectives just for grins you know. Seriously, very good food, very nice service and very good value! Menu changes nightly depending on whats fresh but great pub food thats upscaled but not over priced.

Congratulations to the owners/staff/cooks of this new establishment... I would never have thought to think about them for food. YUMMM. I'll be back. Just wish they had more tables for eating.

Don't know about Tavern? Its in the old Bongo's space... but don't let that scare you away. Go try it!

limetime - re the tavern... do they still allow cigarette smoking in there?

Thanks

Limetime2,

One more thing to add about Tavern 1844 as I'm not sure if anyone said it yet. They got their draft beer in. Yes, there is draft Guiness now available on St. Croix! Apparantly though they are waiting to get the line hooked up to Nitrogen so that they can do the proper Guiness pour but even now with it hooked up to CO2 it is actually surpisingly good...I didn't even notice the difference except for how fast it was pouring. They should have the lines hooked up this week, they want to be sure that its done right as aparantly you can mess things up pretty badly.

They also have Harp on tap as well....they've done a great job on the food and now on getting real draft beer in.

For full disclosure, I'm friends with the owner, but I wouldn't post this if I didn't think he was doing a great job so far!

Sean

STXfoodie... Good Point! No, no smoking! The dining room is smoke free but smoking areas are available out back in the courtyard, or just step out into the street. The place is small , only 5 tables plus the bar... so this is a real plus and makes dining and drinking more pleasurable for all! Definitly try this place if you haven't already.

stcroix, did you say the pizza hut WAS GOOD. i have heard alot of bad things about there, especially the cleanliness of the place. i worked at one in the states and i could still eat it everyday. i only get it when i go back to the states.
How was the service there?