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Restaurants are spread all over the island, although fewer are found in the west and northwest sections. Most restaurants out of town are easily accessible by taxi and have ample parking. If you dine in Charlotte Amalie, take a taxi. Parking close to restaurants can be difficult to find, and walking around after dark isn't advisable for safety reasons.
Dining on St. Thomas is informal. Few restaurants require a jacket and tie. Still, at dinner in the snazzier places shorts and T-shirts are inappropriate; men would do well to wear slacks and a shirt with buttons. Dress codes on St. Thomas rarely require women to wear skirts, but you can never go wrong with something flowing.
A great place to take a break and get a bite while shopping, this open-air café tucked into the alleyway of Palm Passage serves authentic Spanish cuisine for lunch and dinner. Try tapas such as mussels in brandy sauce, escargots with mushrooms and herb butter, or Galician-style octopus and baby eels served in a sizzling garlic sauce. Ask for an inside table if the idea of passersby checking out your meal isn't too appetizing.
In the old Russian consulate house at the tip of the Frenchtown peninsula, this restaurant offers superb views along with an eclectic array of dishes expertly prepared by longtime Virgin Islands chef Patricia LaCorte and her staff. Choose from the more casual bistro-style menu, which features taste-and-share charcuterie and artisanal cheese plates and entrées like flatbreads and burgers, or splurge on the more formal dinner selections like butter-poached local lobster or filet mignon. After dinner, take a five-minute stroll to nearby Frenchtown, where several bars offer live music on the weekends.
At this beautifully restored plantation house, you can dine on sophisticated starters such as beef tartare with a Creole aioli served on crostini and simply elegant surf-and-turf selections like grass-fed filet mignon or butter-poached lobster tails on skewers. Personalized attention makes dining here a delight, as does the incredible decor—think 18th-century stone walls meets modern-day elegance, with fine silver and china set on white-tablecloth-topped hardwood tables.
Tucked into a Red Hook shopping center, this down-home eatery has a congenial atmosphere and well-prepared sandwiches, flatbreads, and entrées that make it popular with local professionals. Come early for a seat at the bar and get the scoop on local island news. Lunch features starters like street corn guacamole, sandwiches (the tuna burger is from fresh catch rather than a can), and hearty salads. There's more of the same at dinner, plus entrées like pan-seared scallops and lamb shank pot pie.
A flavor of the southern U.S. is evident on the menu, from a fried green tomato appetizer to entrées like shrimp 'n grits and a southern fish fry with cornmeal-coated catfish. This same down-home theme is served for Sunday brunch. Try biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, or a southern Benedict with buttermilk biscuits topped with poached eggs, country ham, and hollandaise. The open-air setting offers an eye-catching view of the superyachts parked at the marina docks.
Come early to sip a craft cocktail on the comfy outdoor deck couches overlooking the American Yacht Harbor Marina. Inside, you'll find an ever-changing menu focusing on freshly caught seafood and locally grown veggies, fruits, and microgreens. A sampling of entrée selections includes fresh mahi topped with jumbo chunks of lump crabmeat and house-made fettuccini with braised brisket. Try the poached vanilla meringue for dessert.
Enjoy a romantic meal with an iconic bird's-eye view of the Charlotte Amalie harbor. For starters, try the kallaloo soup (shrimp and crab in a thick, creamy spinach broth). Entrées include coconut curry-braised short ribs and a whole head-on red snapper smothered in sautéed onions and peppers. Side dishes definitely offer a taste of the tropics: fried plantain, polenta-like fungi made with cornmeal and okra, and coconut rice. Key lime pie is the most sublime dessert.
For fantastic northern Italian cuisine, try this intimate, elegant, side-street hideaway. The menu has more than 40 homemade, superbly seasoned pasta dishes, like capellini with fresh tomatoes and garlic or peasant-style spaghetti in a rich tomato sauce with mushrooms and prosciutto. Eclectic art covers the two-story brick walls, and the sound of opera sets the stage for a memorable meal.
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