Aqua Restaurant & Bar

I wish I could have gone back for another meal — everything here was so good. I couldn’t believe the size of the portions and most of us struggled to finish our meals. We had the pasta, cod fish, chowder, and a bunch of cocktails. Everything was delicious. I highly recommend Aqua.

I thoroughly enjoyed the food here and the server was really open to any drink I asked for (including my signature drink — the negroni — which she made to perfection). It was a really nice atmosphere and quite enjoyable. Had a short wait at the beginning so remember to make reservations.

Not very good at all. Been in Newfoundland for ten days and by far our worst meal. Cold over cooked and tasteless describes our appetizers and entrees. Service was slow and to the level of a low end family restaurant.

This is a tough one as all was great and creative food, wonderful bread, amuse bouche etc but I personally encountered some challenges with my main.
Cooking is maybe a bit bold or overload in the mixture (as in your veggies you get with fish there is also pork etc).
So my tuna was great but my cod tasted weird (cook agreed, something went unusually wrong). Guess happens… the service was very attentive and I was not charged for the main! however there was a mistake with the change at the end.
So I think this place is great and I was a bit unlucky.

Miso mussels are a must try. Service was excellent. Cod was good. Water was good too.

The food was pretty good but the service was extremely slow. It took nearly 2.5 hours for 4 people who just got appetizers and mains. It is also very pricey and not worth it due to the service. I expected some sort of comment or apology about the service but received none. Bar guy was nice though.

We were definitely not expecting the culinary genius that we experienced at this restaurant! MUST GO! I might just return to NFLD just to eat here again!

I was recently in St. John’s for 5 days and was able to try several restaurants there. The food here was excellent. Good variety and inventive & delicious items. The service was fairly slow however — I was in town for a conference so maybe they were busier than expected. Overall I’d go back for the food if I am in St. John’s again and hope the service improved — our waitress disappeared for 10 – 15 minutes at a time from the small dining room, and neither of the servers for other tables would acknowledge any table that was not their own.

Definitely the best meal I’ve had this year.

You know when some place on Unilocal gets all these props and it builds expectation? These cats know how to cook. The waitstaff are good fun and bevvies seemed about the right price. The menu says it all. Who is behind this joint?
Had some of the best oysters I’ve had in North America from PEI. The cod tongues were worth the try. Tasty little morsels of Coddy goodness.
The Indian spiced salmon was awesome and I understand why it’s a menu favourite.
Try the parsnip cake for dessert. Tasty tasty tasty.
We’ll done you guys. The menu is a spectacle and your attention to detail in this place shows. Bravo!

This place was pricey but the food and service were very good. The atmosphere is casual, yet it has the touches of an upscale restaurant, like the free amuse-​bouche appetizers.
Highly recommend if you’re willing to pay the price.

⁹⁰⁄₁₀₀
Walked all the way down from the Sheraton and was told, sadly, LOBSTER POUTINE IS NO LONGER ON THE MENU. Traveled across the country with this one place in mind. What a disappointment. If someone from the restaurant is reading this, an explanation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Especially since when you click the above link,. it states that Lobster poutine is on the menu. My fault for not going directly to their website
edit: I am gonna assume that KC B’s comment about new chef and new menu means I just missed out. I have sent a recommendation to Unilocal for the above link to be modified (or perhaps removed altogether).

Had my first experience at Aqua on July 19^th, 2013.
One of the better dining experiences in St. John’s. Chef Mark McCrowe (also the owner and head chef at The Club) knows how to create a unique and tasty menu!
The quality of the food is top notch and the variety is fantastic. I had the southern fried chicken, lobster mac and cheese with cornbread topped with an apricot jalapeño marmalade for my main. It was fantastic and the portion sizes were quite hearty.
The service and wait staff were also excellent. Very fast, knowledgeable and friendly. Would highly recommend Aqua for a nice meal out!

Hey, this is not a bad spot to eat, the food for the most part is great.
I had the lobster poutine, which was OK, I think there were a few strips of smokey back bacon which kind of over-​powered the rest of the dish. Also, for my liking, I could have used more lobster in the dish, there was very little lobster in the dish.
The restaurant has a nice look and feel, a small place which made it a great spot for our anniversary dinner, and the service was GREAT.
One draw back to the ‘small’ setting, there were a table of four, well into a few drinks, and were they ever loud, felt like telling them to use their ‘inside voice’, so we found it a little loud.
Will go there again; but will ask for a different entrée next time!

After seeing several positive reviews of this restaurant prior to our St. John’s trip, my travel partner/​friend and I targeted Aqua for dinner one of our nights in town. It did not disappoint, and in fact I commented as we were concluding our meal that I couldn’t think of one thing less than excellent about it.
Our waiter was attentive to a fault, and helpful with suggestions and answering our questions. My friend chose their special of the day which was a bacon-​wrapped cod with spaghetti putanesca. I chose the menu item of scallops and prawns over spaghetti with a different sauce (I can’t recall the name of it) with capers, bacon, onions, and a few other goodies in it. I also had an an appetizer of chili with black beans and chorizo, and my friend chose an arugula salad. In all cases the food was well presented and exceptionally tasty (we sampled each other’s dishes); his cod was flaky while my scallops were buttery with no grit whatsoever. Between these dishes and the tasty and fresh bread served with balsamic vinegar and sun dried tomato for dipping, we were stuffed with no room for dessert. While our meal was not inexpensive by any means, we considered it worth every penny and would return to Aqua again if the situation presented itself.

I’m writing this review after spending 6 days in St. John’s and visiting 10 or so restaurants. Aqua was the only one I patronized twice. I hesitate to dole out 5 stars this early, but hey, why not? I could always change it later, though I doubt I’ll need to.
Dining alone limits the number of dishes you can try, but everything I had was just right. My dinners both started off with the complimentary focaccia and sun-​dried tomato and basil olive oil. I’m not in love with sun-​dried tomatoes, yet the dish still managed to satisfy. The bread was deliciously fresh, unlike at many restaurants. Both nights also featured a complimentary tasting dish from the kitchen. The first was nothing to writing home about, but the second was a mussel Caesar — a mussel floating in a shot-​sized Caesar garnished with celery. Caesars aren’t my thing, but the Caesar-​soaked mussel was fantastic!
My first night’s main course was a special of the night — pork loin topped with a barbecue sauce. The pork was cooked perfectly! The second night’s dish was the southern friend quarter chicken. It’s not your traditional southern chicken, but it sure is tasty with the sweet honey batter. The biscuits, greens, and mac ‘n cheese were all good, but they could use a little more TLC to southern them up.
The roasted parsnips cake. Mmm. It’s a moist spice cake with caramel cream cheese frosting generously topped with crispy roasted parsnips. Give it a try!
Call ahead for reservations on the weekends. I think it’s worth it!

The lobster poutine is to die for and it was $ 5 mussel night. Highly recommend

On a Monday night in downtown St. John’s, our family of 5 had to beg a little to squeeze in to this hot restaurant for an early dinner. And the begging was definitely worth it. The atmosphere was simple yet funky and cosy. Service (after the begging) was excellent and attentive. And the food was truly lovely. We all had the pear and arugula salad which was perfectly dressed. A simple Amuse Bouche of southern fried cod, polenta and jalapeño salsa was yummy, if slightly over salted. Main courses were all plentiful. The lamb shank was a bit fatty — but hey, it’s lamb shank. Both the salmon (with maple glaze) and the trout were cooked to perfection. Desserts were decadent and scrumptious. I’m a chocolate snob, and even I loved the brownie!