Rock Cafe-Virgin Gorda

Headed down for a bareboat charter with Waypoints from Feb.9-18. Any word on whether the Rock Cafe (not Top Of The Rock) has reopened and, if so, any reports on the experience these days? My wife and I celebrated our anniversary there many years ago, but haven't been back. And as far as I could tell it wasn't open during our recent annual trips.

Rock Cafe is open! Pussers has apparently bought it, but still operates it as Rock Cafe

👍👍👍

Check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ErzVqIsQbg

Thanks, Kmon! That's really cool. Great memories there and would love to go back.

To me its a littl sad to see Pusser's taking over some of our favorite ,popular place.Their takeover of Myett's was shortlived.If they do it I hope they just dont replicate the same Pussers' menu.

Manpot, is Myett's closed or just bought out by Pusser's? Heard 2 different things.

Myett’s is aIive and well!

So glad to hear this

Pusser's stint at Myett's was short lived and an awful fit. New kitchen staff now but old favorites serving and bartending!

FB gives little info. Anyone eaten there recently? We really enjoyed the Rock Cafe prior to 2017.

Is this where the new place Winnie’s Steak House went? Guavaberry posted about it, but the location seemed vague. Maybe it’s in the Yacht Harbor. “Located within a 20 minute walk from Guavaberry, at the Village Rose opposite from Bucks Market.” Was there last March and don’t know where the Village Rose is.

There's a little strip mall called "The Village Rose" across from Buck's parking lot; Winnie's is in the part of the edifice that is contiguous with the street, and has a turret.

We just ate at Winnies on Jan 3rd. I walked away with mixed feelings. It is VERY NYC steakhouse inside-velvet chairs, chandeliers, dark wood....it's really a gorgeous place. But is that what people are looking for in VG? Not sure. While it was a beautiful place I always do prefer to be outside on or near the water or with views.
We are a very carnivorous family and frequent very good steakhouses and I would say overall it was solid. I went in with low expectations for the steak itself and was pleasantly surprised. Service was very attentive and drinks were strong and welll done. We only had one app because we had come from Michael beans and already had some. It was steak crostini and it was Meh. Everything is a la carte and we shared mashed potatoes (excellent), mac n cheese (also excellent) and mushrooms (very good but ridiculously small portion). Steaks come with side sauces which were all very good. Very good bread basket.
Here's perhaps the biggest issue- it's wildly expensive IMO. Family of 4- only 2 cocktails total, one app, 4 steaks, 3 sides, no dessert or coffee and the bill was $440 before any added extra tip. Had we not already had drinks and some apps at the Michael Beans show our bill could have easily been way over $500 putting it at the most expensive meal of the trip, and that includes our private chef!
So.....I doubt the locals will be frequenting it and I just wonder how many tourists will choose something like this. I wish them well because overall they are doing a good job (and they are local people) but I question if they are filling a need that actually exists. Yes, VG needs a few more higher end places for those of us that stay for longer periods and refuse to cook but then again, I can't afford $500 meals every night anyway.
I was definitely impressed by the bar vibe and like i said, cocktails seemed inventive and were strong. I think their best angle could be to build a bar following.
We went back and forth about trying The Rock cafe and in the end skipped it. All the reviews I heard were pretty generic "OK", "Good" etc...none were outstanding. And one person complained it was so cold in there she was miserable. I think that was the one that killed it for me. Overall, the locals do NOT care for Vanterpool so I wonder if the very Blah reviews reflect that sentiment as it was mostly locals I was talking to.

Thanks for the report, Skip. We bring 2” Piedmontese Delmonicos from home so will be skipping an overpriced NYC style steakhouse while on island. 🙂 I would love to see more restaurants like Coco Maya or Indigo Beach House. We love an outdoor, beachfront Caribbean vibe. I have all winter to eat inside here…..

As sailors you all experience more eating establishments than I do. But one of the main reasons we love Anegada is everywhere we eat is open air or in the sand. As MIDiver said, I have all winter to eat inside.

Every place I can think of on VG is open air or beachside as well which is why I wonder how they will make a go of this place. To be fair they do have an outside area. It's a patio off the main dining room. It was not open when we were there-probably because they weren't busy. Although not at street level, unfortunately it still overlooks the supermarket!

I just decided to take one for the team!

Skipdastraw, interesting observations about your experience at Winnie's. I was going to try it before I left last week, but other stuff got in the way and I'm wondering how it will ultimately fare, because like you, I prefer open air dining, especially for the kinds of prices Winnie's is charging. A review of the menu (https://www.facebook.com/permalink....4FC6sXmeKV13WsXLl&id=100023066797261) shows that a 12 ounce rib eye is $63 and a 12 ounce sirloin is $68

The Pavilion at Little Dix Bay has a carnivore loving meat menu called “Cuts Night” on Fridays, and here it is: https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/content/dam/rosewoodhotels/property/little-dix-bay-virgin-gorda/en/documents/dining/Cut%20Night%20Menu-%20a.pdf; the 16 ounce rib eye (which I've had and it's wonderful) is $80 and the 16 ounce sirloin is $60, so the former is about $5 per ounce, ~ the same as Winnie's, whereas the latter is $3.75, much less than Winnie's $5.65 per ounce (also, 8 oz. filet at Winnie's is $60, whereas at The Pavilion it's $55). The price per ounce calculation is obviously not one that takes into account nuances - and fairness requires that I mention side dishes at Cuts Night are $12, whereas at Winnie's they range from $6-8 - although your observation about their paltry portion of the mushrooms is deserving of note.

In any event, given the Pavilion's wonderful open-air setting (and the service is always first rate), I can't see patronizing Winnie's unless I'm not willing to wait for a Friday night to patronize The Pavilion. Like you, I wish Winnie's well, and think that it's a great addition to VG's dining choices, but as you point out, they're in for a heavy lift if they count on local residents being a substantial complement of their regular clientele. MAF

Anyone eaten at Rock Cafe yet?

I still have not as I was waiting for them to get their feet under them a little. But am headed there Friday for the first time

I just bought $120 of steaks (10 lbs) I will take it with me, cook it on our outdoor Grill, finish it off with lots of mushrooms and other add ons and have a great meal overlooking the sea, with soothing music in the background.. Probably spend $30 a plate at max. including lots of beverages. Much better solution !

We ate there in February and it was really good. We went with low expections. I knew our friend would enjoy the boulder setting. We all really enjoyed our food. Our friend said it was the best fish dish he had in a very long time.

Can confirm - the outdoor boulder setting out back is absolutely lovely!!!

I wasn't blown away by the menu, but want to go back to give the lobster mac and cheese a try.

Last night we just sat by the bar and had two apps (cracked conch and tuna carpaccio) and some cocktails.

I'll give the cracked conch a 5.2 (would not get again) and the tuna carpaccio a 7.3 (really liked the capers with it, would get again)

I'm going to go back for a full dinner out back in the boulders