Thanksgiving on St. John
 

Will be on St. John for Thanksgiving and am wondering if anyone else has been there on that date and if there are any recommendations for dining. Not sure I need to have turkey, but would like to mark the day in some manner (in addition to doing the Reef Bay hike, which is scheduled for that day as well). THanks.

We go every year for Thanksgiving and I haven't seen Turkey on the menu (you can order it from the gourmet deli in Coral Bay for take out ).<BR><BR>We usually book reservations early in the week for a sunset dinner at Asolare. No turkey but certainly memorable.<BR><BR>Maybe we'll see you there! LOL! Enjoy your visit.<BR><BR>L

Del -<BR><BR>I recently posted this question on the USVI website for St. John and did not really get an answer. We, too, will be there this year for Thanksgiving. In fact, that is our arrival date. In the past, we have had wonderful, traditional Thanksgiving dinners at Ellington's, which is a restaurant on-site at Gallow's Point. It was always extremely crowded and we booked well in advance of our trip. This restaurant, however, has officially closed/changed hands and I understand another has just recently opened. I do not know if their Thanksgiving dinner menu would be traditional. I have to call our villa rental agent next week to take care of the final payment and I will ask this question. If I get a response, I will post here for your information.

Thanks, both of you, for your responses. Must have picked the wrong islands to post under -- thought I picked USVI. Oh well. Thanks again.

A great Italian restaurant, Zozo's, is in the old Ellington's space so doubt that it'll have traditional turkey but then you never know. Might want to try Chateau Bordeaux and the sister properties via email and maybe they could tell you about Paradiso, Asolare, Chateau or Chloe and Bernards @ [email protected] <BR>

We were in St. John for last year's Thanksgiving. We brought along some frozen turkey dinners in a cooler, and nuked them in the microwave at our villa. Booze is cheap as dirt in the USVI. We stocked up on bottles of the local Cruzan Rum for only about about $3!!! It just doesn't get any better! You will love it!

Del -<BR><BR>You didn't post on the wrong Fodor's website. I guess I didn't clarify. There is a USVI dedicated website http://www.usvi-on-line.com/sj/sjs.shtml that I was referencing. That's where I did not get an answer. I'm sure Debbie is familiar with it. By the way, thanks Debbie, for the info re Zozo's. Would hardly think an Italian restaurant would do turkey, but, who knows? Anyway, the seafood is so fresh, that can be our dinner on Thanksgiving. There are many wonderful restaurants on STJ.

Hi Del,<BR> I have a beautiful suggestion for you if you don't mind going over to St.Thomas for the evening. I think it would be a perfect evening. The dinner place I would highly recommend is the Agave restaurant located in a beautiful cove overlooking St.Johns and the BVI. I have a condo there that I rent out in Point pleasant resort and it is one of the most beautiful places.<BR>Thank you<BR>Lisa

There is a bakery called Rolling Pin who often takes orders for complete meal pre-cooked to pick up that dayor check KatiLadi Caterers as she would do prepared to take also. ENJOY!

Del,<BR>With respect to finding Turkey on St. John, I can't help you. However, I do have a couple of recommendations on dining. My wife and I along with another couple spent a few days at Caneel Bay late last summer. In the time that we had, we did our best to tour what was touted as the best restaurants on the island at the time. We started at Caneel itself, at the Equator restaurant in the old sugar mill - what a disappointment. Since this was the off season, the Turtle Bay Estate House wasn't open so I can't speak for that. Also, they were in the process of building a large wine cellar for the estate house so that may have made a positive difference. If nothing has changed, I would avoid the Equator like the plaque - standard grilled seafood served by inattentive staff at outrageous prices.<BR>The following two nights we went to Paradiso and Asolare respectively. Both were memorable meals - and not just relative to the Caribbean. I would highly recommend either of these, but my favorite, at least in terms of the food was Paradiso which I liken to Stephen Starr's 'Buddakhan' in Philadelphia. Our friends ranked Asolare as their favorite. Even going so far as to take the water taxi from St. Thomas during their summer vacation this year, just to have another memorable experience.<BR>We saved what I thought would be the best for last - Chateau Bordeaux. Following the guide books, we attempted to get there for a sunset but were too late. Though the atmosphere inside isn't too bad, it can't hold a candle to any of the restaurants I've already mentioned. By comparison, CB is an upscale Caribbean shack. We are enthusiastic about our wines and so looked forward to this meal. Unfortunately, the corkage prices were outrages. The service was excellent, but the food, for the money nothing memorable. From a value perspective, there are better choices on the island. We did not get the chance to try Chloe and Bernards, but heard good things about it.<BR>A final note about Caneel. My wife and I just returned from Virgin Gorda where we took what we thought would be a chance and had dinner at Caneel's sister resort, Little Dix Bay. We were told that they had recently gone through a change of staff and that what had previously been a relatively medeocre dining experience had been turned around. We weren't disappointed. The service and food were the best we've ever had in the islands, and the corkage prices were even reasonable. If the change at Little Dix has any relation to Caneel, it may be well worth a visit.<BR>Trevor

Are you staying at a villa or home? I can recommend a private chef to hire.<BR>