St. John Restaurants That Are No More

In my next few upcoming blogs, I’ll be covering Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The horrible devastation that occurred is something the island is still recovering from even 5 years later.

For a small island, St. John has many restaurants to accommodate tourists different tastes and experiences. This blog will be about the restaurants that did not make it but hold a special place in our hearts💕

Asolare:

This restaurant was very popular with tourists because its perfect overlook of Cruz Bay and for their French/Asian cuisine. Though pricey, locals would many times come at happy hour to enjoy some unique appetizers and drinks to catch the sunset view. I remember being invited along with Michelle to one particular birthday party being celebrated there since the birthday girl was one of their servers. We had a delicious meal served by the chef with lots of special appetizers at a greatly reduced rate! Helps to know the staff🤗

Unfortunately, Asolare never was rebuilt and remnants of the restaurant can still be seen on the hillside as you enter Cruz Bay from the water😢

Barefoot Cowboy Lounge:

The Barefoot Cowboy Lounge was located in an area called The Lumberyard. A large complex with a few restaurants, businesses and an actual lumberyard in the back of the parking lot. The Lumberyard even had apartments in the second story but a friend of mine who used to live there said it was quite loud because the Cowboy Lounge had music playing into the wee hours provided by local talent.😬. This was a locals hangout with good BBQ meals, cheap drinks, music and one of the few places that had a pool table on island.

Driftwood Dave’s and Jakes All-Day Breakfast Restaurant:

Driftwood Dave’s was located right below the Barefoot Cowboy Lounge. Dave’s was known for their great grilled hamburgers, BBQ and lunch fare.

Jake’s was popular for its reasonably priced breakfasts. I really liked Jake’s and ate there often since I’m more of a midmorning breakfast person, which sometimes midmorning was midafternoon depending on my waking schedule that day😂

After Irma:

All four of these restaurants were part of the Lumberyard area.

The entire area is now a parking lot😭

Candi’s BBQ:

Now this little enterprise was owned and run by a West Indian local and probably most frequently patronized by the nearby locals. Delicious barbecue with sides of dirty rice and beans, corn on the cob, cole slaw and plantains. You could smell the BBQ grill cooking up these favorites as you drove by…. so that’s when you would swing your car back around! So yummy!!!

Unfortunately, as you could tell by its structure, this poor little restaurant did not survive the severe high winds of Irma and was quite literally blown away.

Château Bordeaux:

As you would make your way to the other end of the island, which is Coral Bay, almost to the center of the island and one of the highest points of the island is an area called Bordeaux. Château Bordeaux had one of the most breathtaking overlooks of Coral Bay but was definitely a tourist trap. (You were not allowed to park there to take a picture of the spectacular view unless you were a dining customer for the restaurant 😬). The main reason someone would stop and eat there was for the view and was known for making the best Dirty Monkey …. rum, banana, Kahlua, pineapple juice, coconut cream blended together with ice and then topped off with chocolate syrup stirred in. That should put you into a diabetic coma🤣

Waterfront Bistro:

This upscale restaurant featured a French Caribbean dining experience with many delicious seafood dishes, lamb, duck, filet mignon, and unique veggie dishes for vegetarians. They took great pride in having all the dishes elegantly presented as well as perfectly prepared. The setting was also perfect with a view of Cruz Bay and evening sunsets. Since my daughter, Michelle, co-managed this restaurant for a while, I did get to enjoy quite a bit of time there🥰

After Irma:

Boats that were moored in the bay during Hurricane Irma were thrown up onto the shore and into the restaurant waterfronts!😢

Waterfront Bistro never reopened but just recently , five years later, was remodeled and La Tapa restaurant moved into that desired waterfront spot. Tourists and locals, alike, are thrilled to have an excellent restaurant with an outstanding chef at this prime location!👏👏👏

Zozo’s Restaurant (Caneel Resort):

Zozo’s was an exclusive Italian restaurant located on the Caneel Bay Resort property built by Lawrence Rockefeller, philanthropist and conservationist. A beautiful restaurant with a view over the lush well-maintained property and high enough to have an ocean view. It was not uncommon to see deer grazing on the hillside.

On one of my last evenings in May 2017, daughters, Michelle and Cortney took me out for a special Mother’s Day dinner. It was one of the best meal experiences I had ever had! I remember telling them when I thought I was going to come back to Island in 2018 that we would definitely have to return more often.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma destroyed the restaurant😭😭😭

Hurricanes Irma and Maria took away not only restaurant structures but jobs from the people who used to work at the Caneel Resort and Zozo’s and all the other restaurants I featured in this blog.

****My next few blogs will be covering hurricanes Irma and Maria and what it meant to the island of St. John.