Day Trip to St. John & Authentic Mexican at Viva Cantina

This last post wraps up my trip to St. Thomas. During my one week stay in St. Thomas, I took a day trip to St. John via a short ferry ride. The water in St. John is unreal! It is so crystal clear that I was able to see my feet in 4 feet deep water, and I’m not exaggerating. There are 2 main parts of the island. Cruz Bay, which is more populated and also where the ferry docks, is located on the west side of the island. On the eastern side of the island is Coral Bay. I decided to rent a car for the day to explore St. John as well as stop over at Trunk Bay Beach, one of the most popular beaches in St. John. In my opinion, renting a car was probably not the best idea since there isn’t much to see or do in Coral Bay – the east part side of the island. You’re better off heading to Trunk Bay Beach via cab and then back to Cruz Bay where you can walk around and explore the area. You will save a good amount of money by skipping the car rental completely. Lastly, there are plenty of restaurants in Cruz Bay, but I highly recommend Viva Cantina which serves authentic and delicious Mexican food. Enjoy!

1 Day St. John Travel Diary

St. Thomas Ferry Station. The cost to get to St. John from St. Thomas is $14 round trip.

That’s me looking all happy, but I had no idea this was going to be one bumpy ferry ride. I was scared the ferry would tip over. I was scared because I can’t swim. So yeah, I was pretty cranky, nauseous and scared.

Approaching St. John.

Stunning view over looking Trunk Bay Beach.

Arrived at Trunk Bay Beach. This was my favorite beach on the entire trip. There were people here, I just avoided taking their pictures. 🙂

See, how clear the water is.

Driving around the island. The roads were narrow and windy.

Picture taken from Coral Bay.

Viva La Revolution Cantina: Delicious & Authentic Mexican Food 
Dinner at an authentic Mexican. Amazing enchiladas, tacos and tamales.

Complimentary Salsa & Chips, Cocktails & Para La Tabla
Chips & Salsa (top left): The salsa was so flavorful and not spicy. Delicious.
Kiss of the Jumbie (bottom left): Essentially a Passionfruit Margarita prepared with infused habanero tequila, passionfruit, lime juice, and a spicy sweet rim. The margarita was definitely strong, but I wasn’t able to detect any passionfruit which was disappointing.
Classic Margarita (bottom left): The classic margarita was too strong for me, but my friend loved the drink.
Tableside Guacamole (bottom right): Viva Cantina offers tableside guacamole which is nice. The guacamole was okay because it was too limey and it needed more cilantro.

Tacos
Viva Fish Taco (right): Crispy mahi mahi, pico slaw, mango pineapple chutney in a flour tortilla. This fish taco was my favorite and bursting with flavor. The fish tasted fresh, moist and tender. The tortilla was fresh and homemade. Just wow!
Grilled Fish Taco (left): Grilled mahi mahi, avocado lime crema, pico slaw in a flour tortilla. This taco was just okay for me since it didn’t have too much flavor.

Platos
Viva Platter No. 1: This platter right here is a great option because it consisted of a little bit of everything. In this case, I was able to enjoy a chile rellano, tamale and an enchilada along with rice and black beans.
Chile Rellano: A chile stuffed with potato, jack cheese and drowned in enchilada sauce. The rellano was spicy and so soft, it literally melted in my mouth. Outstanding, and a favorite!
Chicken Tamale: Also delicious. The masa corn tamale was super soft. Now although the pulled chicken inside was incredibly flavorful, I felt the tamale could have been stuffed with more chicken. There appeared to be more dough than chicken. Regardless, very, very tasty!
Chicken Enchilada: Holy delicious! The chicken enchiladas were my favorite out of the 3. Shredded chicken and jack cheese inside a tortilla and topped with enchilada sauce and jack cheese. Again, incredibly flavorful chicken and melts in your mouth. A favorite!
Rice & Black Beans: Phenomenal. Perfectly salted, perfection.

Postres
Coffee: Solid and robust in flavor.
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake: The cheesecake was light, not dense and surprisingly not too sweet which is a good thing.

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Viva La Revolution Cantina
COST: $$
CUISINE: Mexican
FAVORITES: Chips & Salsa | Viva Fish Taco | Chicken Enchiladas | Chicken Tamale | Chile Rellano | Coffee
VERDICT: 4.25 / 5
Viva La Revolution Cantina is a newly opened Mexican restaurant in St. John and I enjoyed the authentic Mexican flavors at this establishment. I was especially impressed to see tamales on the menu, how often do you see tamales on any menu? The Viva Platter No. 1 was easily my favorite along with the Viva Fish Taco. The corn and flour tortillas are made in-house and both tasted fresh and light. Despite eating all the food seen above, I didn’t leave the restaurant feeling grossly full, and thus the ingredients being used here are most definitely fresh, and not processed. Overall, authentic, delicious Mexican at a reasonable cost in St. John! Viva La Revolution Cantina is just a short walk from the Cruz Bay Ferry Terminal. Additionally, there are some cute shops in the vicinity worth checking out.
Food: Excellent | Drinks: Good | Décor: Casual/Relaxed | Service: Attentive |Value: Reasonable

LOCATION: Mongoose Junction 6D Cruz Bay Box 37, St. John, VI, U.S. Virgin Islands

Other Recommended Restaurants:
Sun Dog Cafe
Extra Virgin Bistro
La Tapa
Morgan’s Mango

Have you been to St. John? If so, what did you do? Where did you eat? Did you visit Trunk Bay Beach?