we've had a hard time finding good coffee and breakfast this week. of course, we find this on our…read morelast day. delicious, fantastic, refreshing, and homey. our dirty chais were perfect, and our server was very sweet. highly reccomended!

I studied 5 years at memorial and never came up to this spot ever to try it, which makes me feel…read morekinda guilty but it is quite a trot. This spot is a lovely place that i'd be happy to bring any visitors although the service is a bit slow and menu is a bit lovely. The interior and exterior are beautiful though! I ordered the Turnip & Potato Soup with a Spicy Chicken sandwich ($13). The soup was a nice bit sweet but not too thick and the sandwich bread was a really nice soft crunchy mix. I'd say come here for the great service and delightful environment inside and out. Food isn't something I'd come here on my own for, but as I said, I'd recommend bring a friend if showing them around town. Decent 4/5 in my books :)

High quality ingredients, friendly and efficient staff and a nice ambiance make for a great…read morebreakfast spot. I had breakfast as Blue on Water this past weekend and really enjoyed the food. The fish cakes were pretty good (I was hoping for crab cakes), the eggs, potatoes and toast were all excellently prepared. The ingredients tasted high quality and were delicious. Overall, a great breakfast!

Stopped in here several times as we were staying upstairs. Drinks were great staff was friendly and…read morethe food was tasty. Had breakfast here one day too and that was a smart move, waitress was very nice. Room was very cool, we stayed here on our 4th and 5th night in St John's and I'm still trying to figure out where I lost my favorite flannel from Pelican Brewing, we were in Canada for about two weeks and the places with housekeeping were definitely hiding my clothes... definitely an awesome place to stay and experience St John's.

Pan fried cod on dinner menu is excellent. Nice vegetables on the side, and fresh lettuce salad…read more Cod was perfect. So nice to find cod that is not deep fried.

The service was fantastic. The cook was careful with my special diet and even came over to talk to…read moreus.

Just walked off the street, Water St that is! I read a lot of reviews and I have to say, impressed…read morefrom the beginning. Had a lovely Newfoundland local vodka, crisp and delicious. Ordered the seared Halibut on a penne bed with chilies flakes . Very , very good! (Not a menu item)

This restaurant is perfect for breakfast and lunch. I had fish and brewis for the first time there…read moreand I will have that again next time. The ambience is diner style and the staff are very friendly. The cost is really good for downtown. Try it

Great breakfast. Really enjoyed the traditional breakfast. And they have fish and brewes on the…read moremenu. If you know.. You know.

I stopped by here for breakfast because it was close to where I was staying. I ordered the griddle…read moresandwich and a tea. The lady behind the counter explained that it's like a McGriddle but better, and she was right. The buns had the perfect amount of sweetness to balance the aavouriness of the bacon and egg. I sat upstairs and it's very cozy, sort of like your eccentric aunt's living room. I would definitely come back again to try other items or maybe tue dinner.

The best specialty coffee in St. John's. Me and my boyfriend…read morevisit here regularly and we love their BLT (it's a must-try!) They also have the best matcha latté!

The seafood was amazing. The lobster bisque was great and the oysters on the half shower straight…read moreout of the water. Service was spot on people were friendly place was clean

(From June) The restaurant feels like family-style. The…read moreservice was good and we got a good seat at the back where the ceiling-to-floor windows are so it was nice to look onto the water. The oysters were super good and fresh (obviously) and I liked the pickled onion they gave as well. The crab was alright. It was baked so it's harder to get the meat clean off and it was quite dry. I prefer it being boiled as you also get the juice from the meat. It was heavily seasoned (personally just like my crab plain). It was well worth it though with the side dish and the amount of crab you get. The chowder was good. I really liked it but it was quite small, even as a main course meal. The downside, I got an upset stomach and threw up later that night. (thankfully not food poisoning but still a bit turned off) I'm not sure if it was a bad oyster or the chowder but I shared the crab with my mom and no one had my chowder.

Portage was amazing. I loved the craft nature of their dishes, often using locally sourced (even…read morewild crafted) ingredients. The service is great and attentive here, happy to answer all questions and make off menu beverages. The ambiance is a bit tight and loud unfortunately but the dining experience is still remarkable because of the creative food and excellent employees.

Located near the upper end of Water St just before it turns into offices, Portage's PoMo space is…read morein contrast to much of St John's historical downtown, but it's a refreshing vibe that still feels inviting and relaxed. The menu is on the larger side for a place of Portage's caliber and reputation, with several snack-sized starters and veggie-based dishes, and a leaner variety of proteins and desserts on offer. You know you're likely in for an excellent meal when it's hard to choose what to get, but after some deliberation, my wife and I landed on a handful - smoked olives, the cleverly-named Tongue and Cheek, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower souvlaki, and fingerling potatoes. Note that you can conveniently get half-sized portions of most dishes, although we, somewhat greedily, did not. Unsurprisingly, the smoked olives arrived right out of the gate. The plump green olives came as advertised and while you wouldn't know it from looking at them, tasted more like smoke than olive - and I was all for it! I'm slowly converting to olives, although it's generally only at nicer restaurants and not the olives that come out of obscenely large buckets/cans that get slopped on mediocre pizzas and salads. The cauliflower souvlaki started off our string of excellent veggie dishes. I wasn't sure what the portioning or presentation would be like for these, but they were all a generous size for two people to share, and while they were plated with consideration, it wasn't so much "haute cuisine" as it was "piles of delicious food with complementary garnishes". I was a bit surprised that the cauliflower was served at room temperature, but the charred cruciferous veg still packed a lot of flavour into each tender-crisp bite. Paired up with pickled dates, yogurt, and fresh dill and mint, the dish hit a lot of notes - savoury, lightly sweet, and tart and bright vegetal freshness. On deck were the fingering potatoes. Loaded up with sauteed onions, scrunchion-esque bits of pork belly, and a blessedly-conservative amount of Dijon, this was a dish that harkens to a lot of continental European dishes. The execution of the relatively simple ingredients is where it stood out though, with firm-but-tender potatoes that had hints of sweetness and umami from their toppings, and the crisp bits of pork belly brought some textural contrast to this comfort food classic. The dishes were coming hard and fast at this point with the broccoli, Brussels sprouts and (cod) Tongue and Cheek showing up in quick succession. Brussels sprouts have become a family sight on contemporary restaurant menus in the past 15-ish years, and the crispy, charred veg got the Boomer parent treatment, although melted Cheez Whiz was replaced by a much more natural Mornay sauce. I'm not jaded enough yet by their ubiquity to bemoan the delicious execution of these sprouts, and the cheesy goodness of the Mornay mellowed out the sharper edges of this infamous vegetable. A surprise hit was the broccoli - with velvety smooth and lightly salty ricotta, fresh micro greens and a not-insubstantial punch of heat from chili crisp, our third cruciferous vegetable of the night took top honours of the three, IMO. The Tongue and Cheek is an amusingly tongue-in-cheek play on words, using two cuts of cod that have become local delicacies. Each was fried in a light and airy batter that was only slightly heavier than a proper tempura, with a perfectly generous amount of salt. The tongues were a bit more toothsome, but still tender, while the cheeks almost melted in your mouth. They're one of the more pricey starters, but absolutely worth it. After this sizeable feast, dessert was not on the table, figuratively or literally. Service was spot-on and friendly, without the almost clinical coldness that can come with the precision that some fine dining places have. Portage is understandably representing St John's on Canada's Top 100 list with its deliberate, but unpretentious menu that will leave you wanting more and loosening your belt at the same time.