Well, I'm guessing that the ferry drops you off in Red Hook, if so there are many restaurants within walking distance of the dock. Molly Malone's, Caribbean Saloon, East End Cafe....oh man....I need vacation .....I can't think of any other suggestions, and I know there are a few more, sorry.

Negative. The Westin Ferry runs to Crown Bay in Sub Base. There is a restaurant right there as you get off the ferry. Trouble is, I don't believe the ferry runs late afternoon nor does it return at night. You could come earlier in the day, I believe they have a town shuttle as well. After that, you will be on your own. Frenchtown has quite a few great restaurants and is not far from town or Crown Bay.

RL

Sorry for the bad info....I REALLY need vacation 🙁

Just talked to the Westin. They do have an afternoon run around 4. Might work ofr you but will have to take the Red Hook ferry back in the evening and taxi it to the Westin.

RL

If you're able to make the timing/logistics happen with the Westin ferry from STJ to/from CrownBay/STT, there's a couple of places I suggest: Tickles is right there at Crown Bay Marina. They serve good "casual" food/reasonably to low priced with fun views of the marina and all the activities going on and the nice blue water - and really friendly waitstaff. There's also Craig & Sally's in Frenchtown (Ronnie suggested Frenchtown area above) - a little more pricey and no view (not that I recall) but the food is excellent. Very close/short safari ride to Frenchtown. If you need directions on where to get to the safari stop closest to Crown Bay Marina and then to Frenchtown/Craig & Sallys, let me know.

Note: I would not recommend Escargot.....which is just outside the Crown Bay Marina pedestrian gate to the right.

Will your friends on STT have a car? If so, you can eat wherever you want and they can drop you off at the Red Hook ferry if dinner runs late.

Awesome suggestions! Yes, our friends will have a car, so that is a great idea to have them pick us up and drive somewhere. So... the Westin "free" ferry leaves around 1pm but we'd have to take the paid one back from Red Hook to Cruz Bay. With that in mind, would Craig and Sally's be a great bet? I'm guessing we'd take a ferry over to St Thomas that morning, shop around and work our way over to wherever we want to go for din din.

Whoops - just went online to check out reviews and just found these.... I think we need somewhere different. Is Frenchtown the best St Thomas experience in your opinions? I was there for a week 20 years ago and don't remember much. We don't drink, so a place that centers around wine or drinking isn't good for us. Plus, we'll have our 13 year old daughter.

"Disappointed
Posted by Lahdedah from Laurens, SC on 12/23/2006
I don't like being treated as though they are doing me a favor by taking my money for over-priced, badly done food. I don't mind paying for quality but this place doesn't have it.
Don't Waste Your Time or MONEY!

Posted by Jack from Louisville, KY on 01/10/2005
Overrated and Overpriced. Food and service totally below par. I suspect the only reason it is in Fordor's is because it was a clean upscale atmosphere. They only had 2 fish selections on the menu. Lobster was tough. This place needs to get with it. Oh yeah, the wine was stale.

Food Atmosphere Service Value RATING
2.0 4.0 3.0 1.0 2.4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reservations in pocket not book!!!
Posted by Peggie from N.J. on 11/23/2004
This was our third year visiting St.Thomas.We tried Craig and Sally's for the first time last week Nov20th.We had the WORST experience.First off when we arrived craig the owner said he didn't have our reservation.He pulled this little piece of paper out of his pocket with names on it and said he didn't have ours.We were not very happy since I called 3 days earlier.He did eventually seat us with a bad attitude.Service was awful.They had a special with shrimp,sallops and crusted wahoo.They said they only had one serving left so I said I wanted it.When our dinner arrived 1 hour and 45 min later there were TWO TINY pcs of wahoo.We thought it was a joke.Overall the owner was nasty,service was poor,very loud and a very BAD experience.While we wanted to speak to Craig he said he didn't have the time!!Try the Banana Tree Grill they have service with a smile!!! "

Any other places you could recommend? No offense, and I know that some of you probably love Craig and Sally but we'd have to look elsewhere. One other thing... the restaurant we go to has to offer vegetarian pasta for our little vegetarian daugher.

Thanks much,
Steve R
Silver Spring MD

I strongly recommend Alexander's Bella Blu in Frenchtown. Consistently good food!

RL

Also, and I've never even been to C&S's, these rrviews are all more than a year old.

Avoid Banana Tree Grill! The food is "not all that" and the prices are Horrible for what you get. The view is great BUT if you're going to go in that direction there is another great place to eat just a few feet away called "Room with a View".. Both restaurants are located in the Bluebeard's Castle resort and "Room with a View" is SOO much the superior establishment. The owner is a great guy who will great you as you enter the place, warm and friendly . I got the feeling I was being welcomed into a friends home. The food is awesome, served by an attentive staff and the view is beautiful. Best wine selection on the island - NO JOKE! - and the prices, though up there, are well worth the dining experience. They're opened all week except Sundays from 5pm - Midnight and you can make a reservation by calling 340-774-2377. Call and they'll give you directions, anyone that knows the island will know Bluebeard's Castle and it's right inside. Again, I suggest you not waste your time or money on Banana Tree Grill, I'm a frequent visitor to the island, know both places well and your experience will be so much better at "Room with a View". Have a great trip!

Thx for the heads on those few new ideas. Change of information - just found out our friends will have their 2 kids so they can't pick us up or take us anywhere. We don't want to spend $40+ on cab rides that day if we can avoid it either. Knowing that, we'll take the Westin free shuttle over in the mid morning, shop all day in St Thomas, then meet them for dinner at a convenient place to our departure point at Red Hook. Also, we need a very moderate place to eat instead of fancy and expensive. Our friends are on a budget (heck, so are we) and it needs to be priced like a ... Buca de Beppo, Cheesecake Factory, Calif Pizza Kitchen type pricing, but obviously a local restaurant, not a chain! Knowing this new info, where would you recommend for that? We'd shop till about 530-6pm and eat early around then. Is Frenchtown a cheap cab ride from Red hook or Crown Bay or a high dollar cab ride? Is that still the way to go for dinner knowing our new parameters?

Excited as heck! Just for giggles, I checked out the prices at the Ritz Carlton for our last 3 nights to see if they had any $279 rates like we're paying at the Westin as I heard this hotel kicked a**. We could always switch to there for our last 3 nights. They're priced at $345 a nt for a non ocean view AND they're sold out. Oh well, we'd prefer St John I'm sure, but sometimes the hotel can make a trip even greater.

Steve R

Okay, since you want to save money to pay for your $279 room. Take the Westin boat, walk out to the road by the stoplight, catch the 'dollar ride' safari for a dollar each. Get off in town and shop. Get back on one and take it to Red Hook, may cost you 2 dollars each. Never ask the driver anything, then he will know you are a tourist and charge full price. Wen you arrive at your destination, just hand them the money, again not asking how much. One dollar in town, two dollars each to RH. Some do take one dollar to RH as well. When in Red Hook, you have Duffy's, also a pizza joint as well as Molly Malone's. Should fit your bill.

RL

After reading the reviews posted above for C&S, I'm thinking my suggestion was a bum steer. As a Water Islander, I have a tendency to experience restaurants on STT for LUNCH versus dinner. Maybe that's the difference? I've only been to C&S for lunch - several times - and it's always been good food and great service. On each occasion I do acknowledge that the owner demonstrated an abrupt and condesending attitude. But, the server was wonderful, cheerful and the food was excellent each time. So......my suggestion was based on my experiences which maybe aren't the norm? There's lots of great choices to have a nice meal and atmosphere in STT and since your friends have a car . Enjoy your holiday!

Hook Line and Sinker was always good for lunch for us. Don't know if it is still there. Anyone?

Yes, it' s still there,but they need to eat on the East end.

RL

Ron USVI - Thanks for the great trips on that "dollar ride" thing. That sounds perfect for us. I'll just tell our friends to meet us at Red Hook at a restaurant there. I looked up Molly Malones and found this:

"Molly Malone's might not be in Ireland, but this dockside pub dishes up a pretty good selection of Irish fare. Shepard’s pie, corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips, bangers and mash, and mixed grill headline the menu, but for people who like something a little more American, there is New York strip steak, chicken fried steak and sandwiches. This Red Hook hot spot sees a good crowd of locals and visitors mixing and mingling till the wee hours. Stop by for the St. Patrick’s Day bash.Molly Malone's might not be in Ireland, but this dockside pub dishes up a pretty good selection of Irish fare. Shepard’s pie, corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips, bangers and mash, and mixed grill headline the menu, but for people who like something a little more American, there is New York strip steak, chicken fried steak and sandwiches. This Red Hook hot spot sees a good crowd of locals and visitors mixing and mingling till the wee hours. Stop by for the St. Patrick’s Day bash."

I think everyone could find something to eat here. Thanks for the suggestion. If they don't like the menu, I'm sure there's a place we could walk to near this spot, right?

Steve R

Yes, Duffy's, Subway, and Texas Pit BBQ stand is right across the street, East End Cafe, Lotus(Asian fusion), Caribbean Saloon(typical fare) and the new Sopchoppys(bar food) is upstairs. The pizza place and a Chinese take out a little ways towards the RH dock. You will be okay.

RL

Actually there are a few spots in Red Hook for choices some right in American Yacht Harbour ... and Molly's is one of the good ones. No one mentions Caribbean Saloon anymore and I haven't been in a couple of years. Just a word of warning, tho, don't get the corned beef at Molly's ... or maybe the nite my DH did, it was an off-ful nite - or should that be spelled awful? Or maybe we are just used to NY corned beef! Upstairs is a good seafood restuarant ( Whale of a Tale or Tale of a Whale, never could keep it straight) but probably not in your budget. Or you could Dollar Ride it to Red Hook and then taxi to Secret Harbour which is one of the better restaurants on the island but that might break the bank too -
I've not found one restaurant that wouldn't do a "special" veggie dish from the ingredients that they have on the menu.

Molly's will be great. perfect with kids, tv's going for sports etc...live music sometimes...nice outdoor island feeling