Vu Restaurant — Restaurant in St. John's

Our highly anticipated New Year’s Eve experience at Vu Resto turned into a sequence of profound letdowns, ultimately leading to an overall disappointing evening. With expectations set high for a memorable night of exceptional food and service, our hopes were swiftly dashed from the onset.

The evening commenced with a rather lackluster array of non-alcoholic beverages, a surprising and disappointing start for a venue of this stature. The limited options initially presented by the server failed to include a mocktail, which, upon specific request, was begrudgingly provided for my mother, who was driving. This oversight in offering diverse drink choices seemed out of place for a supposedly upscale establishment.

Transitioning to the fixed 4-course New Year’s Eve menu, our only option for the evening, the dishes consistently failed to meet the mark. Starting with the 'Amuse-Bouche' of watermelon with whipped feta and balsamic reduction, the dish lacked sophistication and was notably unremarkable. Following this, the calamari, saturated in grease and devoid of flavor, left an unpleasant taste lingering.

Adding to the dismay, the dining choices were inflexible and disappointingly limiting. When ordering the 'Steak au Poivre,' the chef’s insistence on cooking solely to a medium-medium rare doneness without any flexibility for alternative preferences felt restrictive and incongruent with the expectations of a premium dining experience. Moreover, the lack of knowledge and dismissive response from the server regarding sauce options highlighted a glaring gap in professional service.

The main courses further compounded the disappointment: both mine and my father's steaks were served raw in the center and cold, while my mother's pan-fried cod, served over potatoes, was equally unsatisfactory—cold and utterly lacking in flavor.

Attempts to address our concerns with the server were met with a dismissive and unhelpful attitude, exacerbating our frustration. Upon escalating the issue to the manager, the response remained lackluster, with an inadequate attempt at resolution through the offering of 'complimentary' champagne, already included in the fixed menu.

Even the dessert, a meringue with mango sauce, was overly sugary and challenging to consume, further contributing to the culmination of our unsatisfactory dining experience.

The menu, priced at $150 per person, offered a 4-course meal with complimentary champagne as the only included alcohol option, setting the stage for our anticipated dining experience. Regrettably, this high price point failed to match the quality of both the food and service, resulting in profound disappointment. The rushed service, evident from the immediate succession of courses, made us wonder if the meals were pre-prepared.

Despite acknowledging the potential challenges of a bustling New Year’s Eve, the inadequacies in service and quality of dishes at Vu Resto fell significantly below what should be expected from a high-end establishment. The lack of attentiveness, dismissive attitude towards complaints, and overall quality of the meal leaves us deeply dissatisfied.

Our experience stands as a firm testament to the divergence from the positive reviews we had heard about Vu Resto. While we understand the pressures of such occasions, friendly and attentive service should remain a priority. Unfortunately, based on this disappointing experience, we are firmly resolved against returning to Vu Resto...

Visited Friday, May 20, 615pm to 9pm.

This has been the best experience we've had so far at a restaurant. Absolutely nothing bad to say about this place at all, the atmosphere, the staff, the view and the food were all excellent.

We came a little early but the staff accommodated us with a table until ours became available. We started with the Jiggs Croquettes as an appetizer and she ordered a Vu Breeze and I ordered a pineapple margarita. The drinks were mixed perfectly, packed a great punch but not overbearing. The croquettes were much better than even expected. They sat atop peas pudding and had mustard pickles and homemade pickled beet. She doesn't like beets much but enjoyed it with this.

After we enjoyed our drinks and the Croquettes, we were moved to our table and the view was amazing, the 2nd floor overlooking St. John's harbor and it was a beautiful Friday evening with several boats leaving the harbor. It really set the mood. I then persuaded her to try scallops for the first time, so we ordered the pan roasted sea scallops and the were not disappointing. I may have preferred them to be cooked a little more firmer, but they were fresh and clean, she actually enjoyed them and would try them again. The scallops had a delicious blueberry gastrique, crispy shallots, and bacon and onion jam. Everything just went together so well. Would recommend even if you don't like scallops.

We then ordered our mains she ordered the Buffalo Honey Chicken Sandwich and I ordered the Pan Seared "AAA" Beef Tenderloin.

I've always found most Buffalo and honey chicken sandwiches to be lacking with the sweet and the heat just takes over, but they balanced it well and from the bite i had, it's probably my favorite of all the spicy and honey chicken sandwiches I've ever tried. The side was truffle parmesan fries which were also good and better than the time we had them at Moxies.

I ordered my tenderloin rare and it was cooked immaculately. The bone marrow and horseradish butter and demi-glace pushed this steak above and beyond. Fried asparagus was good but could have used a little boost, I fry mine and finish with parmesan cheese. The side was supposed to be parmesan and roasted garlic duchess potatoes, but they just had the same truffle parmesan fries. If I had my time back, I would have asked them to replace it with the Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes, I just prefer not having fries with steak if I can help it. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

At the end, she ordered a piece of their white chocolate and orange cheesecake. It came with a blueberry coulis, blueberries and raspberries. It was cooked perfectly and the flavors were good, the orange wasn't overpowering to the white chocolate and was quite light.

I commend the staff too, they were friendly and chatted with us. One of the waitresses was talking to us asking us what we thought of the food and was just very friendly. Our waitress was amazing and attentive, and I loved that they left water at our table to pour ourselves.

I would highly recommend Vu to everyone, no real complaints at all, we cannot wait to revisit and try some of their...

It was our last night in Newfoundland and we wanted to treat ourselves after working the Avalon Expo. I met the owners wife and she said I had to try the food here after I talked about my passion for eating duck. Well we made it in time and I was definitely not disappointed.

Our server and bartender was Krista. She was very friendly and got us a perfect seat for the view to watch the boats coming and going.

The drinks we got were the house white wine and an old fashioned. The house wine was surprisingly crisp and had a great taste. Alex’s old fashioned was made really well. A little on the sweet side but she said she liked it more than other places.

Our chef was Chris. He definitely knows what the heck he’s doing back there. High five to that guy.

For dinner we had the scallops, chicken pasta, and of course the duck for me. Dessert was the lavender crème brûlée and the chocolate mouse.

The scallops were the best in Canada I ever had. Cooked to perfection. And the sweet bacon and curry. Omg it was really the best thing ever. Please try it if you go. They are so fresh, caught by Angus I was told. So Angus good catch!

The chicken pasta, with hand made noodles hit the spot. The noodles were made like I was actually back in Italy. Never found a chef that got is so good in North America. The sauce was delicious and chicken was tender and juicy.

The duck as you all know me I judge pretty harshly. It’s my favourite to have when eating out to a nice place. So the duck was pretty good. It was a touch dry for my taste. But it comes with cheese/bacon risotto. And man that really did make it a great meal. The veggies were amazing. Alex kept taking mine lol. I did find also there was little to much berries on the duck too. It kind of took away from the duck flavours I love so much. But I pushed some of the berries aside and then I got what the chef was saying in the dish. It really popped for me then. And the cold smoked flavour was amazing. Definitely loved that added touch.

The lavender crème brûlée was perfect. I could taste the lavender and the creaminess was very smooth. Alex and I both loved it. The top was flamed just the way I like it. Hard as heck but also not too thick.

The chocolate mousse with the caramelly sauce on top was to die for. Alex was full from the dinner but she ate the whole slice. I did get one try of it as she was protecting it from me lol. It was amazing. The chocolate was delicious and not as soft as other mousse I have had in my travels. I really enjoyed that about it. And getting a little of that caramel sauce was the cherry on top. There’s no cherries on it but there is lots of blueberries right from Newfoundland.

Would definitely recommend if you’re coming here for a visit...