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St. John's Fish Exchange

3.9 (101 reviews)
PriceySeafood, Bars
Closed • 4:30 pm - 9:00 PM

St. John's Fish Exchange Photos

Business Info

ST. JOHN'S FISH EXCHANGE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Touristy
Trendy
Intimate

Recommended Reviews - St. John's Fish Exchange

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Reviews With Photos

NL Seafood Cioppino
Scott K.

So this is our second time to the SJFX . This time was better than the last time. We were here this time in our last night of our trip and the restaurant did not disappoint. We were there on Saturday night and reservation is highly recommended. The wait for a table was about 45 min if you,were walking in that night. We were seated in the area that had a great view of the harbour our severe that night was Nick. He was amazing ( especially being a transplant from the west coast ). He was attentive had great suggestions. The food was great the oysters were delicious and the fish was fresh and very delicious. One of had the grilled Halibut, one had the Fishing Admirals feast ( which included Salmon, halibut, Cod shrimp and scallops), I had the NL Seafood Cioppino which was fantastic. Thank you to the staff for making this night best way to end out trip

Seafood scampi
Jacqueline B.

Great view of the harbour, friendly staff. Fantastic food. Fresh flavirful and plenty for leftovers

I think it is the lobster bisque
Janice Y.

This is a delayed review for my trip back in July. I had an amazing meal at St. John's Fish Exchange. When I was there it was busy and we had to add our names to the waitlist to be called back later but it was well worth the wait. From start to finish, all the dishes we had were great. The fish and chips are perfectly made and the lobster and shrimp pappardelle is absolutely yum. The cheesecake dessert we had was also a great way to finish our meal. Our server was also very personable and made sure we had a good time. Highly recommend for a seafood dinner at St John's.

Bacon wrapped halibut (made gluten free) with clam chowder and a "staycation" Ie pineapple margarita.
Marie S.

Just an absolutely outstanding restaurant. I highly recommend if you're in the area. Great food, drinks and service.

Shrimp and Lobster Papardelle- 4.5/5
Racquel S.

We went here to celebrate my birthday. Food- 4.5/5 I've had the shrimp and lobster papardelle, it was super good. Ambiance- 5/5 Service -4/5

fish exchange
Ewhan H.

The establishment is nice and clean, however, it is very busy. We ordered the Seafood duo and Tuna steak. The food was good, but the price tag heavy for what it was. Please note that the portion sizes were severely lacking. An issue we did have was the service. As the place was very busy, our server was not able to attend our table that often. Unfortunately I would not recommend this place to my friends from my personal experience.

Shrimp and crab pasta.

The food was amazing. The service was just as good. Great location and definitely will eat here again next time I visit.

Interior
Scott L.

Wonderfully friendly bar service gets 4 Stars!!! Allison is the best! Highly recommend the SJFE spin on an Old Fashioned and their wine list is excellent. Cod Cheek app hit the spot: perfectly battered and fried fish. The main, lobster Mac-n-cheese was a huge disappointment. Ordered because it looked great in front of another bar patron, mine looked like it was made in another restaurant?!? My dish took a LONG time to arrive. I suspect it sat under the heat lamp as the cheese dried up and pasta hardened well beyond the creamy, delectable dish I'd ordered

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12 days ago

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10 months ago

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8 months ago

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2 months ago

Love! Love! Love!!! Everything about this place is amazing. From the food to the atmosphere you can't go wrong!

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9 months ago

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1 year ago

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Photo of Jim P.
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2 years ago

Great food, and nice setting . Definitely make reservations if planning on eating here.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

The staff were so kind. The food was great. Lots on the menu. They even made a custom sundae for us!

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8 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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5 years ago

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

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2 years ago

Service and atmosphere is excellent, but sadly the food quality used to be much better. No longer my go to when in St. John's:(

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3 years ago

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Portage

Portage

4.5(19 reviews)
0.8 km

Located near the upper end of Water St just before it turns into offices, Portage's PoMo space is…read morein contrast to much of St John's historical downtown, but it's a refreshing vibe that still feels inviting and relaxed. The menu is on the larger side for a place of Portage's caliber and reputation, with several snack-sized starters and veggie-based dishes, and a leaner variety of proteins and desserts on offer. You know you're likely in for an excellent meal when it's hard to choose what to get, but after some deliberation, my wife and I landed on a handful - smoked olives, the cleverly-named Tongue and Cheek, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower souvlaki, and fingerling potatoes. Note that you can conveniently get half-sized portions of most dishes, although we, somewhat greedily, did not. Unsurprisingly, the smoked olives arrived right out of the gate. The plump green olives came as advertised and while you wouldn't know it from looking at them, tasted more like smoke than olive - and I was all for it! I'm slowly converting to olives, although it's generally only at nicer restaurants and not the olives that come out of obscenely large buckets/cans that get slopped on mediocre pizzas and salads. The cauliflower souvlaki started off our string of excellent veggie dishes. I wasn't sure what the portioning or presentation would be like for these, but they were all a generous size for two people to share, and while they were plated with consideration, it wasn't so much "haute cuisine" as it was "piles of delicious food with complementary garnishes". I was a bit surprised that the cauliflower was served at room temperature, but the charred cruciferous veg still packed a lot of flavour into each tender-crisp bite. Paired up with pickled dates, yogurt, and fresh dill and mint, the dish hit a lot of notes - savoury, lightly sweet, and tart and bright vegetal freshness. On deck were the fingering potatoes. Loaded up with sauteed onions, scrunchion-esque bits of pork belly, and a blessedly-conservative amount of Dijon, this was a dish that harkens to a lot of continental European dishes. The execution of the relatively simple ingredients is where it stood out though, with firm-but-tender potatoes that had hints of sweetness and umami from their toppings, and the crisp bits of pork belly brought some textural contrast to this comfort food classic. The dishes were coming hard and fast at this point with the broccoli, Brussels sprouts and (cod) Tongue and Cheek showing up in quick succession. Brussels sprouts have become a family sight on contemporary restaurant menus in the past 15-ish years, and the crispy, charred veg got the Boomer parent treatment, although melted Cheez Whiz was replaced by a much more natural Mornay sauce. I'm not jaded enough yet by their ubiquity to bemoan the delicious execution of these sprouts, and the cheesy goodness of the Mornay mellowed out the sharper edges of this infamous vegetable. A surprise hit was the broccoli - with velvety smooth and lightly salty ricotta, fresh micro greens and a not-insubstantial punch of heat from chili crisp, our third cruciferous vegetable of the night took top honours of the three, IMO. The Tongue and Cheek is an amusingly tongue-in-cheek play on words, using two cuts of cod that have become local delicacies. Each was fried in a light and airy batter that was only slightly heavier than a proper tempura, with a perfectly generous amount of salt. The tongues were a bit more toothsome, but still tender, while the cheeks almost melted in your mouth. They're one of the more pricey starters, but absolutely worth it. After this sizeable feast, dessert was not on the table, figuratively or literally. Service was spot-on and friendly, without the almost clinical coldness that can come with the precision that some fine dining places have. Portage is understandably representing St John's on Canada's Top 100 list with its deliberate, but unpretentious menu that will leave you wanting more and loosening your belt at the same time.

Had a wonderful meal at Portage. Shout out to our server…read moreCaroline who really looked after us well. Highly recommend this spot for offering specialities of the area. Please note that I also highly recommend reservations as it's not a huge dining space and because the food is so good, they do get busy. We started with the seafood sampler platter. So wonderful. And then we shared the Halibut, rice and spinach/fiddleheads with shrimp hollandaise (which were a fantastic complement to each other). Only one thing we did not like (it was not the fault of the restaurant, but our table for 2 was flanked by a table for 8. We don't mind that generally but 2 of the party were children who initially were running around and flinging themselves on the banquette seating for the first half of the meal. I started to wonder if I was going to end up with one of them in our laps. Fortunately they settled down at some point). Despite all this I would go back in a heartbeat.

Photos
Portage - Dining room

Dining room

Portage - Broccoli with ricotta and chili crisp

Broccoli with ricotta and chili crisp

Portage

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St. John's Fish Exchange - seafood - Updated May 2026

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