Lloyd L.
Yelp
I went with my wife. We cook often and eat out often as well, but avoid places that specialize in grease infused menu items. Blue isn't one of those places. The decor and the general vibe was pretty good, but we went for the food.
We are foodies with experiences in many countries, and like most of the "so-called" better restaurants, the prices were mostly as we expected, if not a little higher. With soup apps at $9+(CAN) you get the idea. No bread or any kind of complimentary starter was offered as we waited for our apps. I had the Curry Cauliflower soup, my wife the Squash Soup. Both were very good, though neither came with any bread either. It was then we realized we had no napkins. Doh! Quickly rectified, and then after a reasonable wait, the waiter returned to inquire whether we had left room for dessert! He was obviously confused - we had not even had our entrées at this point!
The mains finally came. My wife had the Pot au Feu; seafood served in a hot bowl. The Pot au Feu at 29+ did not seem too fresh. The scallops, in particular, had an "off" scent. (and she knows her scallops) In all, there were two scallops, two shrimp, around 12 mussels, and one piece of rather bland salmon (over cooked) There was a lot of liquid (soup?), and for veg, the equivalent of about 1/2 small sliced carrot - not a starch nor a green veg to be seen at all in this main dish. Not what was expected at the price point of $29.
I had the grilled salmon, a simple prep to be sure. It was as good as any I had, but no better than most. It was served with a measure of tartar type sauce drizzled on the plate and small square (2" X 2" approx.) of scalloped potato with cheese, the cheese on bottom being overly browned from the pan and next to impossible to cut right through with just a fork. For veg it came with about a fork full of sautéed arugula. This, at $28+(CAN) seems a little bit too pricey. Considering the prep time and the fact that the salmon was obviously farmed - not wild Atlantic or Pacific, though I know that's near impossible to come by nowadays, this was mediocre at best. (They must have been short on any kind of green veg that evening.)
Add in, a middle of the road glass of pino for 10 bucks each and you end up with a nice bill, and a not so nice dining experience. (ambiance and service generally excluded.)
Would we return? Probably not, considering the abundant choices of fine dining restaurants in St. John's now. I wouldn't be able to recommend it to others, but wouldn't try to talk you out of it either. Your experience may be better. Considering this was on a slow early Monday evening, I hope it wasn't as good as they get at Blue On Water.