Sun Dog Cafe — Restaurant in Saint John

(Before you read this, please note that Casey (bartender) at the bar was wonderful and super on top of things, but she couldn’t leave the bar area because she was swamped.)

We went twice… the first time it was my wife and I and it was pretty busy but we sat down at 8pm to eat. We didn’t think too much about the pace of service because we were enjoying a date without the kids. How ever we were only served one round of water, and one round of cocktails throughout the entire experience. The food was excellent so we tried to take the family back there two days later. This is when the service was really sub-par.

Our family was seated at 4:54pm. Menus were given to us at 5:10pm. (Usually when you are seated the menus are given at that time).

Drink/cocktail orders were placed at 5:15 and didn’t get them for 45 minutes. (We watched them sit at the bar the entire time).

Waters were given out to the table at 5:20pm.

There was a party of 8 that was seated after us, ordered before us, and ate their entire meal and paid before we received our plates.

When we did get our meals, my daughter ordered the Ribeye steak cooked medium ($36 plate) it was 1/2” thick and extremely overcooked. My son and I ordered the Steak Tacos, they were delicious but came out Luke warm. My wife ordered the Mahi Tacos and they great in flavor but they were very soggy as the tortilla seemed to be sitting in the sauce/juices from the taco for a long time.

We also asked for another round of drinks and water and they never showed (order was never placed).

I spoke to the bar tender (Casey) and she was very apologetic for the lack of service. She was nice enough to comp the only round of drinks that did receive.

So, in short, the food can be great, the service is there (if you sit at the bar) just be ready for a long wait if sit at a table.

Enjoy your...

So. I was going to write this review, saying, who doesn't like good food and great service?--but then I realized that some might mis-read that. SO:

GREAT FOOD.

GREAT SERVICE.

And...shade! The open-air seating is in a sort of alley, almost completely shaded. And....(wait! Wait for it)....they have PARKING.

This might be a little misleading, insofar as the parking is in the back of the mall, called Mongoose Junction, and the parking for the mall is on the right--park on the left, for locals with permits, and you'll be towed.

Here's the deal: parking in Cruz Bay is basically non-existent. But...time it right, pull into the parking lot, and have lunch at the Sun Dog. It might be the best lunch of your life.

The menu is pretty eclectic, with a wide variety of choices. The ones you want are marked a smiley sun, for "staff recommendations." I had three of them. They are all worthy.

The crabcake burger is loaded with crab. It's deep-fried, I think, but still really good. The Vera Cruz Shrimp is loaded with shrimp, encased in a nicely crispy tortilla (how do they do that?!) and some delicate, tasty sauces drizzled over the top. Rich, filling, delicious.

The mahi tacos are so good that our waitress told us she was on probation--that much fried food wasn't healthy. But I only had them once. Fantastic. Tasty, meaty, fishy (in the best sense).

Jane had black bean tostadas that were so good she had them twice. With enough leftovers for dinner.

While you're waiting, watch the mother hen with her brood of clueless chicks (Jane named one of them "Bob", I have no idea why). Sit in the shade, drink your Painkiller, and watch the panoply of tourists and natives in a great restaurant.

Highly, highly recommended by a...

We stumbled upon this place after taking the ferry over from St. thomas on 9/12 around noonish.Cute outdoorsy location! Upon approaching the bar, two employees kept talking so I had to get closer on them to ask to be seated. Bartender sat us and got us some water, she was pretty nice. We were greeted by our server whom was a older white woman with a bob marley face, while we reviewed the menu she went right back over to bartender to start talking again. At first this wasn't a issue. We ordered two quesadillas (one blackbean & one herb chicken), we specifically asked her if my friend's dish would have pico or any peppers inside the quesadilla. She claims it's all on the side. We patiently await the food and it's done because we set it on the counter. We're looking back at the bar where these women are STILL gossiping and she's not noticing our food is ready. The whole time we had to get up and get what we needed from the hut. Mind you, I'm 5 months pregnant and burning up as it is, so this truly irritated us. Not only was she chatting it up with bartender but she was near the restroom chatting with someone that pulled up!!! I couldn't believe it. I'm thinking she has to be a owner or something to be just casually walking around talking but not attending to guests. It would of been nice for coworkers to reel her in so guests were properly served but nope! Finally got our bill and definitely did not tip at all. I'm usually always one to give nice tips as I used to serve as well prior to college. Honestly disappointing and the ONLY reason I gave this place 4 stars instead of 5. The food was absolutely amazing & the best I've had on the island thus far but service was...