Reluctant Chef - St. John's

Great find, the atmosphere is awesome, the staff really friendly and laid back. The vinyl room is really nice place to enjoy good music...and yes on vinyl records you pick, and good food. Great selection of drinks and the food is unique and excellent. The chicken crack is very tasty especially the "garlic chili" option.In speaking to other guests who dined in the upstairs brasserie & tasting menu, they also had nothing but great things to say about the food, service and wine pairings. Will for sure return to try more menu options. Shout out to Craig the bartender in vinyl room who did a great job.

My wife and I booked a reservation for Saturday July 29th. We arrived 10 minutes early and were eagerly welcomed and seated at a nice window table overlooking the bustling Duckworth Street below. Scott, the sommelier was quick to the table to confirm we still wanted to do the 5 course tasting menu with wine pairings. He asked if we wanted to know the courses but we elected to keep them as a surprise. Scott was extremely professional, yet friendly and efficient. He stated if there are any courses that we are not extremely happy with when served, he wanted to know so that he could make substitutions, clearly focussed on excellent customer satisfaction. Water was poured and a nice plate of bread was served with a gererous amount of whipped butter. Shorty the first course arrived along with the wining pairings, these were not 2 oz glasses, more like 4-5 oz. I am not going to describe each dish but will say the presentation was only surpassed by the taste. Each course was a masterpiece showing off the culinary skills of the Jerrimiah, the chef and his staff whom obviously take great pride in their art. Virtually all ingredients were local and very fresh. In several of the courses there was cheese that was house made and exquisite. Throughout the night the staff was very attentive but not intrusive. The wine pairings were dynamic and the knowledge and presentation/explanation of the sommelier was just wonderful. Having travelled the world and having eaten in many fabulous restaurants, my wife and I agree that The Reluctant Chef has been the best overall culinary experience we have had.

Dined here July 28 for our anniversary, reserved a table in the Vinyl room next to a window overlooking Duckworth street. Greeted immediately and despite being 15 minutes early we were seated immediately. Daniel, who is their sommelier was excellent! Very knowledgeable and took great care of us, between Daniel and Robert we were made to feel like royalty. We chose a bottle of wine, and ordered the butter chicken, and frito pie (small plates) and both were absolutely delicious. We had a glass of wine, and then decided to try the Swiss Army Cheese, this was my favorite - highly recommend it - a fine dining take on a grilled cheese. Finished it up with an amazing desert, not sure what they call it, it had chocolate, cake, gelatin, cream and it was delicious! All in with beverages it came to under $100, very reasonable.All in all it was a great evening and I can't wait to go back again.

From my initial email inquiry, to our last bite of food, our experience at The Reluctant Chef was absolutely spectacular! Our family is an eclectic mix of diners, and with our variety of dietary needs and tastes, I was initially hesitant to book the Chef's Table. Leading up to our reservation, the kitchen communicated with me regularly to ensure our dining experience would be enjoyable for all, and it truly was! Every course was exquisitely prepared and adapted to address any individual dietary preferences. The servers were prompt, professional, friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the food they presented. My brother in law is a wine producer and broker in Europe and he was very impressed with both the wine list and wine that was recommended to us. My mother loved the beautiful table, assortment of china and silverware. We ALL loved our meal at The Reluctant Chef and would not hesitate to recommend it.

We ate dinner in The Vinyl Room, which is small, casual and relaxed. Not an extensive menu — apps and small plates, fried chicken "crack" in various flavours — we shared a few different things and it was all really tasty. Our server was a young guy who took his job seriously and did a great job. The music was eclectic and perfect, I could have spent a lot of time pawing through the record collection and making requests. We never made it back to try one of the other rooms with larger menus, we hoped we would.