StX Restaurant Ratings

We visited the Lobster Reef on my wife's b/day in March and boy...........did we have a bad dinner!! The place is filthy, but we at anyway as it was a long drive for us. The steak was over cooked ( took one bite) and the red wine ordered with my meal still has not arrived at the table. I pointed out to my wife that the bartender was on a long smoke break and forgot my red wine. We ask for the bill and left.

We ended up at off the wall for dessert and a beer. Hated the dessert and the bartender was unfriendly......It was time to head home.

It's hard enough to do well in the restaurant business.... you wonder why owners can't see the flaws their customers do.
Lobster Reef could be something nice with a little attention and care.

And I have to agree about the bartender at Off the Wall. Is it that hard to find congenial help??
Too bad Kenny is no longer there.

I recommend watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. If you can find the BBC version, it's much less dramatic than the US version.

It's amazing how blind some restaurant owners/managers are to the problems surrounding them. And, it shows that Gordon is a normal guy, and not the crazed psycho that people love on Hell's Kitchen.

You can find the US version on hulu.com. It's a great show!

i watch hells kitchen every week, gordon is a doll. wouldnt want to work for him though, i would be crying all the time

Love Gordon Ramsay and agree the BBC verison is much better. Not so much needless drama. Also the F word is great on BBC too. Almost seems like he owns BBC America channels as he's on it for about 10 hours out of the 24 hours a day. 🙂 Another really well done show is Last Restaurant Standing on BBC. There was a lame attempt at a american verison last month or so.

My latest BBC-America favorite it Hotel Inspector.

I love Ono's out west....there open mondays now ....

they were one of my favs at Taste of STX - "onos"

The poor person who has to press the "BLEEP" button for Gordon's shows MUST have one really BIG callous!:D Love his shows and my mother has a big crush on him too!;)

LOL you guys,jacob at off the wall is not unfriendly he's just brisk and efficient,i really enjoy him because he's not chatty,when i go out i do not want to be chatted up by anyone,he had a packed bar yesterday for lunch and tables as well and he's a pleasure to watch work because he can handle the rush in a business like manner,,i had a great pizza there yesterday.!!!!!!!!!

I love love love Galongal (not sure on the spelling), but it is the new Thai place in Christiansted. My new favorite!

I miss BBC

Hey TRW...might want to exclude his actual name.

When I go to a restaurant or bar I expect basic friendliness.
It's human nature, and part of the dining experience.
And it's one of the reasons I like stopping in at your place. 😉

trl
have to disagree Jacob is the only reason we do not go to off the wall.........a complete rude ##%............well i do not need to continue our group.........10 and sometimes more refuse to go when he is working........a shame we love Diane ...........but who wants to sit and stare at someone who is miserable

ok ok i surrender,if i've waited on any of you you all know i'm a yapper and a stx tour guide and booster if i feel that the customer wants that,i personally don't like ken or barbie waiting on me with that "hi i'm ken or barbie and i'll be your server",i honestly could care less just shut up and feed me,LOL and Neil everyone knows we're talking about jacob because people have been complaning and or complimenting him since at least 1999,thats when he first waited on me and i became aware of him.

I would do to off The Wall every week if it wasn't for Jacob, he was not as rude to me as he was to my young daughter. I can't stand rudeness in a man,I won't tolerate it!!

I do have to step in here in defense of Jacob. You are all correct, he doesn't chat when he's busy, and he doesn't suffer fools gladly. But I agree with TRW, when he's going full steam, he is a sight to behold. And when he's not busy, he does chat. To say that he is an unhappy person is just wrong. I will admit his sense of humor is somewhat dry.

One night the bar was busy and he tossed some ice on the rocks and accidently hit a kid climbing on the rocks. Both the parent and the punk kid came up and were practically screaming at him. I tell you what, that night I probably would have gone to jail. I would not allow any child to talk to me the way that child talked to him -- and the kid's parent was right there chiming in.

One thing about servers and really any other service worker on St. Croix. If you find someone who comes in every day and works hard -- that person is gold. A server who wows the customer is not much good if they don't show up when scheduled.

Climbing down from the soap box. Isn't it wonderful that we all have free choice. So many restaurants, so little time!!

as a person who has worked in the restaurant industry for over 35 years........I will disagree, a bartenders job is to be polite happy and nice to everyone.........Jacob is a total ass..........and should not be in the business.........we will never go to a restaurant he works at.......and their are plenty of patrons who agree with me...........off the wall is loosing vital summer business from locals who do not appreciate his attitude........sorry but true............

As I said, to each his/her own.

I have never found Jacob rude, but when it is busy he is quiet. He's not as talkative as some but to each his own.

Maybe Jacob is not a "people person" but he makes awesome sunset shots. I love Off the Wall. Best place for kids, delicious pizza, great location...

I love the jazz night (Wednesday?). The other night they had Wii Bowling.

wow, i wasnt even referring to jacob, i was referring to the female server. wouldnt mind giving him a shot, you can tell if people are just rude or busy. the original complainer was referring to jacob, seems like hes rude to alot of people. as for the ice throwing incident, isnt there a sign that says not to climb on the rocks??? seems that if thats the case that kid and parents were a bit out of line as the kid would really be at fault for being where he wasnt allowed to begin with.

Well many parents don't pay attention to what the kids are doing and get pissed if something happens. I was at Luncheria a few months ago and some young (6 & 8 yrs maybe) boys were taking the Tiki torches out of the ground and trying to start the grass on fire. I went to the bar and asked if the bartender knew the kids. The Dad (sitting at the bar drinking) said they were his and when I told him what they were doing he said, "boys will be boys" and turned back to his drink. Amazing.
Is Jacob the guy with curly black hair? If so, I agree that he is efficient as a server but not very friendly. He has never been rude to me but is always focused on what needs to be done and frankly, I'd rather have an efficient non-chatty server than an inefficient chatty one. If it is not busy he will chat. I think that works for that venue....just my opinion.
We had drinks at Galangal last night during jump up. Made reservations to have dinner there next week and can't wait. I love the food there!

Well, I'm just going to have to go to Off the Wall and check this out. We've only sat at the bar a few times, and I do remember we had a male bartender with dark hair, so maybe it was Jacob. I thought he was fine, nothing to comment on either way. The last time we were there, our server was terrific. It was busy, she was hustling and always a smile and quick witted too. I've been on STX over 2 years now, and it's still the best pizza I've found, IMHO.

dont you like vinnies, i think its better than off the wall

I haven't been to Vinnie's yet. We've tried a couple of times and found it closed. Might have been on Sundays. My husband went once for spaghetti, and he said it was "fine".