Velma’s Restaurant & Lounge

Retro family restaurant with traditional Newfoundland fare. The food is not entirely a wow factor. The chicken is quite bland but the Clam Chowder and Turkey soups are amazing. Lunch time fills up by locals.

Velma’s c’est le restaurant qu’il faut absolument visiter quand on est à St Jean de Terre-​Neuve. Cet établissement né sera jamais dans le Zagat ou le Gault et Millau mais c’est authentique de la cuisine de Terre-​Neuve. On y va pour goûter le plat du pays: des langues de morues. Cela vous rebutera peut-​être, mais c’est en fait un très bon plat.
Velma’s c’est du poisson et des fruits de mer à la terre-​neuvienne: tout est frit, c’est un peu lourd, le décor basique et fonctionnel, mais c’est le style du pays alors profitez-​en, le cholestérol de Terre-​Neuve sera chassé par le froid !

Our cabby had recommended Velma’s on Water Street for as a breakfast place (Gord loves brekkie!).
The sign on the door says they open at 9am and we’d stopped in a couple times but they have been closed. It became a challenge for it!
We got there Friday just before noon and it was open. Yay! It was jammed when we got there and petered off when we were leaving.
I ordered a hamburger platter. It was okay, a bit cold.
Gord stayed true to where we are and ordered to appies sizes of Seafood Chowder and Fish and Brewis. The chowder had salmon, cod, halibut, crab and scallops. He said it was good.
We were determined to go back and have breakfast before we went home so stopped in yesterday. I just had fried eggs, toast and homefries. Here’s Gord’s breakfast. The homefries were good, the fishcakes a bit mushy and the eggs a bit overcooked (so no runny yoke).

Meh, was my final impression of Velma’s. My sister and I arrived in St. John’s famished after fog related flight delays and wandered into Velma’s. They were advertising mussels and cod with scallions as their specials. We split the mussels with were pretty good but the cod with scallions was decidedly bland. Plus the vegetables on the side tasted like they were frozen and the mashed potato I had was undercoocked. For the price tag it is not worth it, for the service it is not worth it, and for the food quality it is not worth it, not to mention th beers are small! I see no logical reason to ever go there.

If your grandparents had a dining room the size of a restaurant, it would look like Velma’s. They’re either going for the very down home look or haven’t changed anything in decades. Or maybe both. Either way, it’s quite quaint and seemed fitting since I came here on the advice of my Newfie friend who swore that Velma’s had the best cod tongues around.
We’re promptly seated at a table by the window, and given menus to ponder over while we wait for our drinks. One thing is obvious with a quick look; while the restaurant itself may be cozy and traditional, there’s nothing traditional about the prices as the fish entrees that form the core of the menu are all priced well into the mid-​high $ 20 range. I get that the cod tongues might be more expensive, but it didn’t just seem to be just them that have lofty price tags. But high price or no, I was here for the tongues of cod, and that’s what I was going to have! We placed our orders and waited an oddly long time considering that it wasn’t very full and it was just after the lunch rush, but I suppose kitchen staff have to eat lunch too.
The full cod tongues dinner came on a good sized plate with a lot of battered and fried cod tongues, fries, boiled carrots, mashed turnips, coleslaw, and a few pieces of green pepper and red onion that were apparently there to cover to menu description of fresh vegetables. Naturally my first bite had to be the food I was here for; the cod tongues were good, not at all as off-​putting as their name would have some people feeling. They have a mild fish flavour and a texture somewhere between regular cuts of white fish and an oyster, and the batter is light and not really crispy. The mound-o’-fries was of the hand-​cut variety and although quite plentiful, they could be more crispy and have a more seasoning on them. The boiled vegetables were as you’d expect if you’ve ever had a holiday meal in Atlantic Canada, and the coleslaw was nothing to email home about either.
All in all, I’d suggest that if you absolutely have to be a culinary tourist and have some cod tongues, I’d suggest getting the appetizer sized tongues, because the full on dinner certainly wasn’t worth it, when I was thinking the whole time what I could get for $ 30 back in Halifax. I don’t mind a high price, but when the food, service and overall atmosphere aren’t up to par with the price tag, it leaves one wanting.

I was guided here by a colleague, who suggested that I try the local specialty, cod tongues, at Velma’s. The first time I visited, they were sold out. A few months later, I tried again successfully and, for the price I paid, I expected a little more. The dish itself was okay (though not as spectacular as I’d hoped, considering all the recommendations I’d gotten for it) but the quantity was not worth what I got. I also had the fish chowder, which I wasn’t too impressed with. When I left the restaurant, I was still hungry.
Although the place is supposed to take on a family restaurant feel, I found it to be outdated and small, rather than charming. I might go back if I were with a group, though I don’t know that I would go by myself, nor do I think I’d recommend it to others.

I came to Velma’s Restaurant for dinner based on a recommendation from a local friend who knew I was looking to try traditional Newfoundland cuisine. The lounge has a separate exterior entrance from the restaurant, which was perfectly suitable for families.
The restaurant décor is old-​school family restaurant, almost retro, except I’m certain it’s been that way for some time. I tried the cod tongue, something I’ve never had before. They were lightly battered and pan fried, and a really unique experience. The sides (mashed potatoes and root vegetables) were just OK. They have Quidi Vidi beer, a local micro-​brew, by the bottle. Service was attentive and pleasant.