Went to a wedding at Caneel in June and two days before we had a dinner similar to the one you are describing at Morgan's Mango. I believe there were about 20-25 people there and they were able to handle it no problem.

Was the food and the atmosphere really good?

I do Tuesday and Thursday at the Tamarind Inn but not fridays. We get a good crowd in and it relaxed and people hop around at chat. Its kind of a local gathering place. The Inn hires chefs to work a themed night there. Tuesday is Italian night and Thursday is New Orleans seafood night. Other nights that I am not in charge of are Monday(greek), Wednesday(asian), Friday and Sunday(dinner with Garbo). I know that the Tamarind won an award for most creative cusine for 2004 by the newspaper. If you are eating at Caneel on your wedding night, I am also working at Turtle Bay when Im not at the Tamarind so I might be one of the chefs. 😉 In my opinion, I dont want to be negative about anyone but Morgan's Mango is high priced compared to what you get. Their prices to me are very close to fine dining without the fine dining service. I would expect to pay around 20-30 per person for one entree and no drinks or appetizers. Maybe they would cut you a deal. As far as the atmosphere goes, they do have some kind of music alot and it is a busy place. In my opinion, I would either spend the extra couple bucks per person and go to a fine dining place like tage or stone terrace or maybe one of the four(asolare, chateaux bordeaux, chloes, or paradiso) or hire a prive chef to cater at a nice sized villa(if thats available). Just a few thoughts.

I will defer to CC above as he obviously has more knowledge as to the local restaurants.

I can only speak to my experience --the atmosphere was good for a pre-wedding dinner --there was music in the background and it was casual enough to be able to make a couple of toasts, and the food, from what i remember, was very good.

My memory of the price is in line with CC's post....low $20s for a fish entree. Prolly not the cheapest option in St. John.

Actually, low $20s for a fish entree is inexpensive for St John. I agree with Chris about Morgans. It is what it is, but I would rather spend a couple of extra bucks and enjoy a great meal at Zozo's or Ten Tables. the four (asolare, chateaux bordeaux, chloes, or paradiso) chris mentions have really outpriced themselves, imo. someone told me paradiso lowered their prices recently, but I don't think there is anything under $30 on any of the others menus.

If I had only one spot for dinner on St John, I would go with Zozo's. Good food and incredible view! I like Zozo's because everything was done well, like nice glass ware, comfortable and attractive seating...I know it sounds stupid, but I like having a dining experience if I am going to spend the money.

Food wise my favorite is Ten Tables. I heard they renovated inside this fall and it is nice, but to be honest I haven't been in since they reopened.

Tage is excellent, but the chef can be particular...i'll leave it at that...

La Tapa does a nice job, but I don't like sitting in the street....

Never cared for Stone Terrace and their sister restaurant, Fish Trap, is not something I could recommend. I would place it on my avoid list to be honest.

If you are just looking for a good steak or grilled piece of fish try The Lime Inn. But the same applies about bang for your buck.

Hope this helps....

Thanks for all your help, but what I am really looking for is a place to have a good dinner with good entertainment; i.e. a band or something like that. I am not really worried about the cost of the food too much as long as it is good food. We also aren't really looking for a real formal place. Are there any places like that?

Off the top of my head, the only sit down restaurant that will have (should - did last season) have live entertainment on Fridays is Pastory Gardens. Island Blues in Coral Bay might as well. Not sure what, if any place will have it in Oct. It is very difficult for restaurants to justify the cost of live entertainment. There is just not a large enough margin.

www.viphonebook.com

if you want to call them directly

Hi Lori,

I am from St. John, but now live in Maryland . I recently returned home to St. John to get married at Caneel on June 20, 2004. Before the wedding, several of my stateside friends spent a week on the island doing tons of activites. One that we all absolutely loved was a dinner/entertainment activity on St. Thomas. You mentioned staying on St. John, but St. Thomas is only a 20-minute boat ride away. We went to Bolongo Bay. On Wednesday nights, they have what they call Carnival Night. They start with a wonderful West Indian buffet. Dinner is followed by a "Carnival" show. They have Mocko Jumbies (people walking on tall stilts in colorful customes); there were fire eaters; someone walking on glass bottles; they even had fun games where the entire crowd was involved. The restaurant is right on the beach. The show is done the beach as well. It was so beautiful and fun!!! It was absolutely perfect for what I was looking for -- good food, entertainment, and the chance for my state side guests to get a taste of our culture. It sounds like this would match what you are looking for --head on. It is even a causal! The only downside is, it is only offered on Wednesdays. Not sure if that fits with your schedule.

If that does not work, you may want to look into the Westin Resort on St. John. They have a restaurant that overlooks the beach. I dont' have much details about what they do, but I do remember them having some form of entertainment for their dinner guests. You may want to call and ask them.

Hope this helps! Let me know what you decide!

I am also interested in the same type of situation as Lori. My date is early January 2005. I also heard that Morgan's Mango is a "fun" place to go. We want casual but not a dump. I was sorry to hear that some of you felt the place was pricey. I'd love to hear more about it. I visited their web site and was able to see the menu. They also e mailed me the possible menu for a group function with controlled selection and price. Has anyone gone that route?

Just got back from St. John and I had the best meal of the trip at Morgan's Mango. It was a special and a little pricey for what I thought I was getting ($27), but after a couple of bites, decided the price was worth it. It was very laid back (a plus in my book) and friendly, in fact probably the friendliest service we had while we were there. You could pay more for a fancier place, but if you're looking for nice casual dining, Morgan's Mango is a good choice.

We didn't do any of the overpriced places, but did have great food several places we went. We never did find anyplace "inexpensive," but the only place we resented it was The Lime Inn, where we sat two inches from the next table, the food was nothing special, and the price (a mystery until receiving the bill) was more buck for less bang.

By the way, my husband wants you to know that the Tuna at The Fish Trap was INCREDIBLE. (I would agree:). The service, ambience, etc. was average, but the tuna, oh, the tuna...

For the wondering crowd out there...a decent resataurant in either STT or STJ will have entrees ranging from $19 - $45. $30 and $35 entress are not uncommon at all. Remember...we are "islands" and everything needs to be shipped here...except for the rum! Haha!