For our swan song dinner in St. Thomas we decided to take the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay in St. John and dine at Waterfront Bistro. The 15-minute ride is $7 per person each way. The restaurant is located a short 5-minute walk from the dock and offers a nice view of the water from most of the tables.

After we were seated our server asked for the drink orders. We brought a bottle of Champagne and two bottles of wine with us since the restaurant offers a BYOB option with a $20 corkage per bottle. The server, Amanda, opened and poured the Champagne and throughout the entire evening was the epitome of great service. Major kudos to her.

For my appetizer I ordered the Shrimp Ceviche, served with tomato, onion, lime, cilantro, avocado, and served alongside fried blue corn tortilla chips. The ceviche was a combination of all of the ingredients mixed together and served as a mound on the plate. The chips sat in a swath of wasabi. The flavors were bold, almost too bold, and a little different than I expected for a ceviche. After each bite I appreciated the boldness of the flavor combination, but missed the delicateness of the shrimp. This was not a citrus/fish-focused interpretation.

My choice of entrée was the Crispy Duck Breast & Leg Confit, that was accompanied by true wild and basmati rice, Vietnamese scented ‘pho’ broth, and tamarind glazed baby bok choy. A duck breast was sliced and fanned over the rice and bok choy with the “pho” broth slowly poured over the dish when served. The breast was cooked to medium, a little more than ordered, but the meat was delicious. The broth was divine and was the polar opposite of my appetizer, it showed a delicate touch with the star anise. The rice was all basmati, all white with no wild rice evident. It was very good and would have benefitted from the earthiness of the wild rice, too bad it was missing. The bok choy was a great accompaniment to the duck and broth.

Overall, I really enjoyed our visit to the Waterfront Bistro.