Staying at Ritz St. Thomas- Nearby restaurant recommendations?
 

My husband and I are staying at the Ritz in St. Thomas this coming May. For both of us it will be our first visit to USVI. We plan to dine at the hotel a few nights but we also want to venture offsite for some local cuisine, as we are renting a car. We love good food and are willing to pay for it- But we want to avoid overpriced tourist traps. A friend of mine went to St. Thomas last year and complained that she didn't have one good meal while there. This worries me.. But certainly she must not have gone to the right places. Can any fellow epicureans out there please recommend some restaurants in the general vicinity of the Ritz? Moderately priced or high-end, whatever, as long as the food is good!

There are many good places to eat in all different price ranges.

Old Stone Farmhouse, Herve, Duffy's LoveShaq etc. I wouldn't take a trip to the USVI without visiting the usvi forum first. There you can get alot more information including restaraunt reviews. Go to:
http://www.usvi-on-line.com/usviforum.html

We always ask the "locals" (no matter which island we are on) for the best places (if you are looking for West Indian food). Ask two or three - someone at the front desk, your bellman, a waiter.

If you are looking for "fine food", the Ritz is it! We've had some of the best meals there than anywhere else in the Caribbean with excellent service.

Enjoy! We return to the Ritz next April and can hardly wait. (and plan to eat every meal there too!)

Nice restaurants, in the vicinty of the Ritz, would be The Blue Moon at Secret Harbour and also Robert's at Elysian Hotel. Both are within a few minutes, if not less, from the Ritz. To experience local cuisine at it's best, you would have to cab it into town and go to Cuzzin's Caribbean Restaurant on Backstreet!
Ronnie

Have also eaten at Blue Moon and can recommend it. I also recall a lovely evening at Agave Terrace in 2000, not sure about proximity to the Ritz.

We were just there a few weeks ago at the Ritz. Food at the hotel was great. Especially their Sunday brunch that a local friend highly recommended. If you want local food, you can pop into Gladys' while you're shopping on Main st. Some great restaurants that we went to based on hotel staff and some of the guests' recommendations were, Old Stone Farmhouse, Romano's, Craig & Sally's, and Asolare (in St. John, but worth the trip!).

Thanks to everyone for the replies, these are very helpful. I'm encouraged that several of you enjoyed the Ritz food, because there were a few bad reviews for St. Thomas Ritz food on this site.. Although most folks appeared to be upset about the cost more than anything, but I say if you're worried about food budget, for goodness sake don't eat at the Ritz!! I purposely will limit my shopping budget so I can splurge on food. Looking forward to May now more than ever!