Bacalao - St. John's

Told that this is where to go. - and food was slow - and just OK. Fish over cooked. Not worth the visit. Plus now view!!

We went here on recommendation of other reviews. Service was good, prices were average for a nice meal and food was awesome! Our bill was 125 for 2 drinks, soup, salad and 2 entrees. We were there when it was really hot, humidex of 32. This is not normal for St John's I hear so a lot of places don't have air conditioning. This is one of them. I was warm but by the end of our meal my husband found himself getting uncomfortable. Not a complaint just a fact. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening here.

Recently visited St. John's and was looking forward to sharing a nice meal with a friend at this restaurant that rec'd such great reviews on line.We had a 1:30 pm lunch reservation; hardly anyone in the restaurant and the service was terribly slow from beginning to end. The appetizers eventually arrived after about 40 or more mins; mine was a salad and it was just okay. The tomatoes were not ripe and lacked any flavour. Salad dressing was just 'so, so.' Again, a very long wait for the mains. My friend ordered a specific potato dish with her pan fried cod that she was looking forward to trying but got something totally different so was disappointed. My salt fish dish (bacalieu, I think it was called) was just okay. The restaurant was expensive and so disappointing. I wouldn't recommend it or return again when I am in St. John's.

For some strange reason the lady at reception didn't want us wait at the front and made us stand in the back outside the kitchen door while she prepared our table. Then she asked me if it was my coat I was holding in my hands (as if I had taken someone else's coat off the rack!?). Anyway, our waiter Gary and the delicious food made up for the initial unpleasant experience.

I ate here with my partner for her birthday. It was a quiet Saturday evening with maybe 2 to 3 other tables being served. I ended up getting the lamb and my partner ended up getting the game of the day. The lamb has to be one of the worst lamb dishes I have ever had in a restaurant. There was a big slab of meat which was extremely chewy and lacked a lot of flavour. The presentation left a lot to be desired as well. The sauce was splattered on the plate. My partner's duck was a little better but definitely not much of improvement. I had big expectations from this restaurant, being one of the originals fine dining establishments in St John's. I was thoroughly let down with this experience that ended up costing close to 200 dollars without a tip. I ended up tipping 18 percent as the waitress was really nice but really should have given lower based on the sub par food. Maybe it was an off night but when there are only 4 total tables... There aren't really any excuses.