Mallard Cottage
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Amazingly wonderful overall experience! We chose this restaurant for the last diner of our honeymoon trip in St John's. We were absolutely delighted by the quality of the drinks, the food and the service. They are so creative that they create a new diner menu each day, can you imagine. The menu was composed of four choices of appetizers, four side dishes and for main courses, we would have taken all of it if we could eat that much! The restaurant is in an old 19th century cottage, as the name says, that they beautifully preserved in the cutest neighborhood called Quidi Vidi. You do need a reservation for the diner but, if like us, you are last minute, you can probably get a place at the bar. You can call in 30 mins in advance to see if they do have a place at the bar and make a reservation that they will hold for 30 mins. Or, if you're in no rush, we went for the happy hour and had a couple of drinks until it was diner time. The staff was super friendly and professional, they work as a great team to deliver the best experience possible. For drinks we had the Mallard Cottage Old Fashion cocktail and it was perfectly balanced, a must. For dinner, we took a dozen oysters for starter, it came with a special vinegar that was way better then the lemon (they also had lemon). For the main course I had the Halibut steak with the smash potatoes and my wife had the chicken with the cauliflower (she's allergic to fish and they made sure she survived the experience ;) ). Everything was uniquely tasty and cooked to the perfection, just wow. I recommend sharing the sides as they are good portions even for a gourmand like I. They do have desert but we went with an Irish Coffee instead. It's not a cheap experience but you'll soon realize that it was worth every penny, I more than recommend you try this great restaurant if you're in St John's!
Gabriel CornellierGabriel Cornellier
00
So im not too sure why do people give this place a 5 star. Been to many brunch places and this one was by far the most disappointing. First you need to book waaaay in advance to actually get a table (like 2weeks or more). My friends and I couldnt book anything since everyday was fully booked for a week interval. We still showed up before opening and we were seated at the bar. Be aware ! there are only max 6 seats at the bar so make sure you are there early enough to actually get a spot. Now the food part was what bothered me the most. All of their brunch dishes are over 15$. You read the menu and everything sounds so fancy and good but then when the food comes its very disappointing. The portions are INCREDIBLY small for the price you pay. I got the Hash Skillet which had ZERO broccoli in there, half of baked potato and a bunch of chickpeas to compensate for the empty space in the bowl and of course the egg on top.... Now the WORSE PART the damn CHICKEN which is why I took this plate and why its advertised as 17$. There was literately a tiny string of it (max 2 bites if you have a tiny mouth) Taste wise is nothing special, I had to ask for a sauce just to have some flavor in there. People here who say the food is delicious had never had good food in their life apparently cause i dont see what can be so incredibly tasty about a potato egg and chickpeas.... I tasted from my friends plate which again nothing special. Their Breakfast Sandwich is even more of a joke than the Skillet, not even a sandwich just an egg on a biscuit which is even smaller than sandwich bread you buy at a grocery store ... Now to top it all after being disappointed by the food we were like "hey at least there is the cake table to save the day" ha good joke Mallard Cottage. You get a plate of either 10$ or 15$ to fill with anything from the cake table. The 10$ honestly looked so small that you wont even break even for what you can fit in there if you buy everything separately. We took the 15$ take out option to share between the 3 of us. Looking at older pics it seems that they change their cake table often but just to say they are very very basic cakes. You know those Dollorama Betty Croker cake boxes for 1.5$. Im 100% sure thats what they use to make all their cakes. They didnt even bother to have real brownies batter, they used the same "chocolate cake" batter for them. No fillings no special flavors , just dry cakes with some icing on top. It looks very appealing but like I said its just dry cake. My advice is to fill your plate or take out box with cookies the're the only ones who taste decently or have REAL CHOCOLATE in them. If you are in St. John, dont bother going there I GUARANTEE YOU ARE NOT MISSING ANYTHING. Save your money and time. If you do end up going there just eat before cause you will definitely still be hungry afterwards. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE LOOKS.
Cristian ArdeleanCristian Ardelean
00
Appetizers were good. The mushroom toast (pictured) and the bread with butter were fantastic. Thought we were in for a nice meal Then came the mains. The $52 hanger steak was horrendous. The sauce, mind you, was great. But a hanger steak is supposed to be tender and juicy. The one we were served was, and I am not kidding, the toughest steak I've ever had at a restaurant. It looked fine, but the outer crust was burnt and the inside was tough as nails. Let's be fair, I did order steak at a Newfoundland restaurant where fish is the main focus. My best decision? No absolutely not. But I figured it would at least be decent. Also had the baked Hake. Good fish, but about average for any fish dish in the city. Absolutely nothing stood out about it. Almost no seasoning. It was flaky though. Definitely well-cooked. Our clothes reeked of fish after we left, though I don't blame the restaurant or the dish for this, could have been multiple factors. Service was also ok. Waiter was kind and very helpful, though we were often left waiting for 10-15 minutes on end. And even though we arrived in time for our reservation we had to wait about 5-7 minutes for the table to be cleaned. Not necessarily their fault though, could be many reasons for that. Atmosphere, as always, is fantastic. Lovely location, lively people, decor is amazing. 5 stars for that. We were hoping to have a nice anniversary dinner and left rather disappointed. I wouldn't tell you to avoid this place though. I know they have good dishes (like the honey walnut potatoes we had as a side), but the main courses are exorbitantly expensive for the quality (in our experience) and I know multiple people who have shared that same sentiment in the past year or two. Now with Mr. Perrin not being as involved this place is seemingly going downhill. Could be wrong on that, but it's my observation. I remember the quality being far better. I truly hope they can bounce back. And I do know that people still have wonderful meals here. Don't take my review as gospel. Do your own research. But my advice: come here to have some apps and relax. Stay away from the mains.
Josh G.Josh G.
00
This place was recommended by several people during our trip and by a family member who had been. Everyone insisted that when stopping in Quidi Vidi, it would be a shame not to make reservations at Mallards. Thing is, there are very few places to eat here… we didn’t stay in Quidi Vidi so didn’t try any other eatery but were a bit stressed when we were there at mealtime and found only (I think it was) only 2-3 places that served food! Mallards is a place you NEED reservations or you’re highly unlikely to get in. They did have a skipped reservation so we got lucky but we were ready to leave until that option was made available to us. It isn’t something I’d bank on. The menu was good without being overwhelming with lots of interesting dishes created, with a Newfoundland flare. There is also a tasting menu with a full meal or the appetizer only tasters. We went with the appetizer tasting menu and added another one we wanted to try, on there. The food was lovingly executed and everything tasted divine! Portions were suitable and we weren’t hungry afterwards. We also ordered cocktails because they do them quite well here! If you’re looking for a smaller meal with no dessert, the appetizer tasting menu is a good portion. The atmosphere is quaint and cozy. It is a bit on the dark side for us but felt warm and cozy enough that that was easily overlooked. The décor is eclectic but fitting and felt intentional. Their seating areas are large and I believe that there are different rooms so things change depending on where you sit. Service was informal but polite and friendly. Our server could talk about any dishes we had questions about, in detail as it is always reassuring when the staff have tried a bunch of stuff on the menu too!
Deborah KuoDeborah Kuo
00
Very Disappointed. This is somewhere I have eaten many times and always recommended highly to visiting friends and family. We would usually get the family style dinner which is when you are served 8-10 dishes off the menu to the whole table and it was always delicious and a fantastic amount of food. This month, myself and several friends went for dinner. We asked to order the family style dinner. The waitress did respond that sure we could have the chefs tasting menu. None of us at the table realized she was making a distinction. This tasting menu was $20-30 more expensive (per person) than the family style dinner but the family style dinner had gone up in price before so we just figured again the price had been raised. We had less than half the number of dishes compared to previous experiences and the portions were much smaller. We had to order extra bread for the table, and the person in our group with the smallest appetite was still hungry when we left. When we brought up at the end of the meal that we were a bit shocked that for an increased price we had so much less food than normal - this is when she informed us that the chefs tasting menu is different than the family style dinner and that the family style dinner was no longer offered anymore. I feel like this absolutely should have been addressed at the start of the meal when we specifically asked for the family style meal. As a group of foodies who are happy to pay good money for good food we were incredibly disappointed compared to past experiences. We would not recommend this to anyone as for $120 a person we felt the food portions were small and the quality of food was less than previous visits.
Mahdi GhiasiMahdi Ghiasi
00
We are from ontario. Been here a few times in the past. Food was always good so this is not our first time here. Firstly the service provided by the servers were excellent. As for the food. The menu was small with very limited selection. With that very limited menu some items were not available. We ordered the brussel sprout salad, the 20oz steak and the Newfoundland fish. The salad was the star of the meal! Really nicely made with amazing flavours. The fish was cooked well and tasted good. The 20oz steak didn’t look 20oz. 16oz at most and that’s not being honest promising a 20oz cut that’s is at most and I stress AT MOST a 16oz cut. The cook and taste was just average at best. Let’s put it this way. My wife makes a better steak any day. Dessert was a real disaster! It was highway robbery for $15 each. The chef should ask himself if he would pay that much for that before serving them to the diners. We got some apple crumble topped with toasted oats and a white chocolate mousse with blueberry compote. The portions were horribly small. Horribly tiny! Much smaller than mini baby food jars and it cost $15 each! The jar was so small you couldn’t fit a teaspoon inside without spilling the oats. And for the toasted oats they were not even crispy. More warm and mushy. The apple crumble tasted like apple sauce you feed your baby with and that mousse was watery. $15 each for dessert. Please skip! I’m doing you guys a favour for those who are going! Don’t bother ordering dessert. We are crossing this restaurant out of our to go list!
Buster CatBuster Cat
00
Nearby Attractions Of Mallard Cottage
East Coast Trail - Sugarloaf Path
Quidi Vidi Lake
Ladies Lookout Trail
Iceberg Alley Performance Tent
Cuckolds Cove
East Coast Trail - Sugarloaf Path
4.8
(84)Click for details
Quidi Vidi Lake
4.6
(58)Click for details
Ladies Lookout Trail
4.7
(43)Click for details
Iceberg Alley Performance Tent
4.4
(13)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Mallard Cottage
Quidi Vidi Brewery
Quidi Vidi Brewery
4.4
(471)Click for details
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Address
8 Barrows Rd, St. John's, NL A1A 1G8, Canada
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Phone
+1 709-237-7314
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Website
mallardcottage.ca
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Reviews
Overview
4.6
(645 reviews)$$
Ratings & Description
Description
Cozy, rustic cottage-turned-restaurant offering a changing menu of locally sourced seasonal meals.
attractions: East Coast Trail - Sugarloaf Path, Quidi Vidi Lake, Ladies Lookout Trail, Iceberg Alley Performance Tent, Cuckolds Cove, restaurants: Quidi Vidi Brewery
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