Raymonds

My husband and I enjoyed the 7 course tasting menu with wine pairing and it was divine. The service was fabulous and we loved our evening out. The only challenge of the evening was climbing the hills of St John’s home with a belly full of wonderful food and wine.

Outstanding meal with such lovely presentation and attention to detail for all our dishes, not to mention the exquisite flavours and the freshness of each dish. It was a feast for the eyes and the palate! An experience we will certainly remember for a long time. Can’t wait to go back!

Ok this place has the thoughts reservation it takes 3 months to get reservation. The food was good but severely over priced.
Every dish was over $ 45
I would not vote it the best. The service was good but not worth the price. The atmosphere was good. No complaints but I had better food.

What can I possibly say? The chef was incredibly respectful of the heritage of Newfoundland. All the dishes gave a nice nod to the island and were amazingly imaginative and delicious while being authentic NL ingredients. We did the 7 course and wine pairing and were delighted with the offerings. Some of the descriptions made me a little squeamish (scape of the cod) but actually were divine enough to make me think twice about licking my plate lol. Truly a highlight of our vacation. Lovely, lovely restuarant.

I’d have never thought I would spend so much for a meal, but I’m glad I did! For our 10^th anniversary, my wife & I indulged ourselves with the 5-​course tasting, with wine-​pairing, and delighted with every sip and bite. We found the service to be very quick & attentive — well-​seated, well-​served, & well-​sommeliered (Is that a word?) The blends of tastes in each course, both with and without the wines, were exquisite and too intricate to detail, but the main parts included sturgeon, bacon-​wrapped rabbit medallions, roast pork, basil pesto, pan-​seared cod. Dessert included house-​made honey ice cream, a hazelnut ricotta mousse, and a dish of petit-​fours which included sesame-​date crisps and whole wheat Madeleines. The wines, from Italy, France, & Sicily, superb matched and complimented their respective courses, and the meal-​ending cappuccinos finished off perfectly, rivalling Milan in quality.
We had read Raymond’s is considered to be Canada’s best restaurant, and I certainly see why some would consider it to be so. A special place indeed!

Good restaurants don’t tell you that the poor service you are getting is because they have an important group somewhere else in the restaurant that is keeping them very busy. For $ 600 for two for dinner you don’t get to make that excuse.
We arrived for an 8:30 reservation this evening and after waiting unattended with water only for 15 minutes or so, we ordered two five course tasting menus with wine pairings ($ 180 a piece) and a caviar and blini starter at $ 80. Our waiter asked if we would like a drink with the caviar and when I enquired about the wine pairings, the waiter said the first one was champagne, so I said «great, let’s have that with the blinis». The champagne arrived as we were finishing the caviar. At 10 pm — an hour and a half after we arrived, we had enjoyed our blini starter, the belated glass of champagne, and the first course of a five course tasting menu. The waiter had been to our table maybe three times and we’d had two pieces of bread. Although we were already on the hook for $ 450, we were ready to go home and just call it a night.
When I went to look for our waiter Dylan, who at that point was coming out of the kitchen with our next course, he said he was sorry but they had an important dinner of 9 chefs from out of town and that was throwing their schedule off. He apologized and said ‘we’ll definitely make it up to you’. Quite frankly, if they had said to us when we arrived, «dinner is going to be $ 600 but the service is going to be brutal» we would have said thanks very much, we’ll come another night.
The restaurant then picked up the pace and served the next four courses, and wine pairings over an hour — nicely paced. The bill came — unadjusted — with a throwaway apology about how ‘that big group kept us so busy’. That excuse works at Kelsey’s.
This restaurant is as expensive as a truly great restaurant but is not a truly great restaurant. After having been fortunate to have eaten in a number of the world’s truly great restaurants in London, Paris, New York and San Francisco, we were excited about coming to Raymond’s — held out as ‘maybe Canada’s best restaurant’. I hope not. It may be the best restaurant in St John’s, but if our experience was any indication, that’s as far as it goes.
I would save your money for a truly special meal somewhere else.

My fiancé and I had read that this restaurant had been voted the best in Canada — and given our extensive travel in North America and the Caribbean we were anxious to put that ranking to the test. It did not disappoint. The seafood soup was beautifully balanced and flavorful. The beef tartar appetizer was incredible. Great flavor. The beef tenderloin was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was deeply infused with flavor. My fiancé had the pork tenderloin that was equally spectacular. The blend of starches, sauces and vegetables that were paired with the meats worked perfectly. And their take on carrot cake was stunning. Great sommelier. Great service. Beautiful experience. This place absolutely lived up to its hype. If you are in Newfoundland, please take the time and money to experience this wonderful treasure.

This restaurant is one of the finest in the country. I have eaten at Michelin ranked establishments as well as some of the San Pelligrino top 100 and this restaurant is every bit is good as the experience that I have had at any of them. Service was excellent, food was clever, well cooked and delicious. Wines and pairings were excellent. This is a restaurant that anyone who loves good food, great wines and good service should go and visit. I would suggest planning a trip around a dining experience in St. John’s just to ensure that you eat at this restaurant. I will go back for sure!!!

I spend a fair bit of time travelling around North America and eating the best food I can find, but yet I can still say hands down that Raymond’s is the best dining experience I’ve ever had. The food is beyond incredible and the staff are all friendly and knowledgable. It can be expensive but it is most definitely worth it.

Fantastic place!!! It is worth flying over to Newfoundland just to be able to eat at this place. Quite possibly the best meal I have had in the last decade!
We had the five course meal with wine pairing. Every component of all nine dishes were executed perfectly. Attention to details are impressive. Three of the ten people at our table had food allergies, it was not a problem for the kitchen to modify the individual meals accordingly. Wine selection was top notch.
During my meal I tried to find a negative aspect. I could not.
It is an expensive restaurant but worth it!

What a pleasant surprise. For once, the reviews were fabulous, the hype was way up there, and guess what… the restaurant lived up to the expectations. Elegant yet relaxed, extremely beautiful layout yet warm and inviting. The service is efficient, unrushed, and professional. The food lived up to the top chef designation. A wonderful experience which I recommend to all who really would like a unique memory. It is one of those perfect performances. Incidently the prices are reasonable considering what one is receiving. Fine dining at its finest. BRAVO!

Despite its beautiful view and wonderful service the food at Raymonds leaves a lot to be desired. As our starter we ordered the kale salad and the hand made pasta dish of the day. The four kale leaves served were exquisite but given the potion it would be more appropriate to refer to it as an amuse bouche. The specialty pasta was rabbit. If confronted with a blind tasting you would be hard pressed to differentiate which one came from a chef Boyardee can. The portion again was insufficient but given the complete lack of taste I considered it a blessing in disguise.
We did have a very pleasant wine pairing experience. The sommelier was courteous and knowledgeable about the background of the originating vineyards.
The main course, given the $ 50 price tag, filled us with high expectation. Unfortunately despite serving well prepared accompanying vegetables the beef tenderloin was extremely salty and my Halibut was over cooked.
All in all we left very disappointed particularly given the hype around the establishment.

This is the nicest restaurant in St. John’s…possibly all of Newfoundland.
The staff there are great and the food is excellent. I had the filet and it was one of the best filets I’ve ever had… and I am very picky about my steak so I don’t say that often. :-)
Some people recommend formal attire — ignore them. Raymonds is a classy, elegant restaurant, but it is not pretentious and neither are their staff. Everyone there was exceptionally polite and helpful to all diners, regardless of their attire.
If you are in St. John’s and want a very fine dinner, make your reservation here. Make sure to do so well in advance as they do fill up often. You might want to call or email at least a couple of weeks in advance to be safe.

If not the best meal I’ve ever had, certainly in the top 3 – 5. Terrific wine list, great staff and truly amazing cuisine. A must go in St. John’s but a bucket list restaurant either way. Do the tasting menu.

Superb! Will come back to finish the review.

This year, I celebrated my birthday at Raymond’s. It was a snowy evening in April and we had the restaurant to ourselves for the first 30 minutes… it was fantastic to have private dining in the opulent room with its waterfront view and relaxing décor. The pre-​dinner cocktails were excellent, as were the amuse bouche and warm bread. For appetizers, we had the charcuterie plate and handmade pasta, both were great. For dinner, we enjoyed the Arctic char and the duck. For dessert, a chocolate ganache cake and cheese plate. All dishes paired with wine by an attentive sommelier. Can’t wait to return… highly recommend for a special event. St. John’s is fortunate to have a restaurant of this caliber.

After reading the feature in Air Canada’s En Route magazine where Raymond’s won best new restaurant in Canada for 2011, I was looking very much forward to this meal. On my way to St. John’s, I was reading the latest issue of En Route and saw an article about the lamb used at Raymond’s, which locally raised by the Morrys. The lamb is actually ferried to an island to graze on salty coastal plants and seaweed during the summer. Needless to say I saw the lamb dish in my future!
Raymond’s clearly takes its high end status seriously, with service being top notch as soon as you walk in. The restaurant is housed in a nice brick building right on the waterfront and the main dining room is a very large room with high ceilings. They have managed to give it an opulent feel without overwhelming the diners.
Our server, Joel, was phenomenal. He had great knowledge of the food and how it was prepared. Pre-​dinner drinks were very good, with the martini being above average. Crusty house-​made bread with local butter was a great start. We were then served an amuse-​bouche of a beautiful parsnip potage, served in the style of a cappuccino. Very well presented, and the flavour was exquisite.
Unfortunately, we learned that the rack in the lamb dish was from New Zealand, while the shank was indeed the famed Morrys meat. Joel explained that with such a small local producer, it is not uncommon to run out. I would suggest that, as a substitute, the restaurant could source equally good Nova Scotia or Québec lamb instead of the NZ lamb, which is a product that should not make it to the table in a restaurant of this caliber, regardless of the reason.
As an appetizer, I chose the beef tartare and it was probably the best I’ve ever had. The presentation was beautiful, featuring a quail egg with its top masterfully carved off, ready to mix into the incredibly fresh beef. House-​made pickles, shaved parmigiano reggiano and crispy thin wedges of toasted bread made this an amazing appetizer.
After the disappointment of not being able to order the lamb, I chose the duck. The dish featured a perfectly medium-​rare Brome Lake duck breast from Québec. The skin could have been a bit crispier but it was otherwise perfect. The accompanying foie gras bread pudding also had nice pieces of duck confit, while the carrot purée was sweet, with a perfectly creamy texture.
Since I am not a big fan of desserts, I opted for the cheese plate. All the cheeses were canadian, with most of them from the province of Québec. It was a pleasure to see a cheese I hadn’t tasted in a long time, Le Douanier, which is a nice cheese featuring a layer of vegetable ash.
Raymond’s is a welcome addition in St. John’s, a city that was definitely ready for a restaurant of this caliber. I will definitely return!

Delicious amuse bouche of truffle-​celery potage. Followed by succulent fresh New Brunswick oysters and the main course of rib eye steak dry aged 8 weeks in their wine cellar. Finished by sharing fresh Neopolitan ice cream with my lover.

This is the best food in Canada full stop. The rack of lamb made me weep it was so yummy. The service was awesome. The wine list unique. The execytive Chef came to our table and the women went weak in the knees. Sort of like a well built woodsman. Wild game and fresh seafood abound. Stop in or miss the best!

I came in with a large party an had a wonderful experience. This place is very nice (formal attire recommended) and has a very upscale design. The chairs were comfortable and the views of the water were really nice. They take your coat at the front and there is a door man. The bathrooms were individual and were comfortable and clean.
I had a variety of food in my experience here:
Prosciutto wrapped melon with a goat milk crème fraîche (Complimentary): This was absolutely gross. I had much struggle swallowing this. Surprisingly though some people actually seemed to like it. It was presented on skewers in a piece of driftwood, very cool.
Beet Salad: This was very good. The beets were nice and soft and sweet. The presentation itself was professional and clean. The overall flavor was light and delicious.
Truffled Potato Ravioli: Very yummy! You can taste the truffle although I wish there had been a little more. It was perfectly cooked and very good.
Beef Tartare: This dish wasn’t overly good. There wasn’t a lot of flavor. I did like the finely diced onion or green onion that was in it. Again presented nicely but I wish it had more flavor.
Veal Chop: This dish was very tasty. Very well cooked and a good amount of flavor. The mashed potato square was my favorite part of the dish, it was light and fluffy almost like a soufflé.
Although I liked the veal chop I do regret not getting the duck breast. I tasted the foie gras breading pudding that accompanies the duck and its was sooo good.
Note on the Oysters: Apparently this restaurant has exclusive access to these types of oysters that they serve.
The waiter we had seemed very serious and even though this is a fancy place you can still be a little light-​hearted and crack a smile.
Very delicious food here I definitely recommend it if you can get the chance to stop in.