Fine food fans have yet another option for dining on St. John. In March, Chef Walter Hinds quietly opened the doors of his new eponymous restaurant in Meada’s Plaza in Cruz Bay.
It’s not the first restaurant named “Hinds” in Cruz Bay. Long-time residents may remember back to around 2008 – between the tenures of Tage and Fatty Crab – when Chef Hinds opened the doors of a high-end restaurant on the site of what is now Extra Virgin.
Hinds had been back on St. John overseeing the kitchen at Oceans 362 for over a year when the space for a restaurant again became available at Meada’s Plaza. After being introduced to the property owners through mutual friends, Hinds, and the owners found that they shared a similar concept for a new restaurant and agreed to bring back dinner service to the unique, enclosed, outdoor patio dining space.
The restaurant is now open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays through Sundays, serving contemporary American cuisine with multi-ethnic influences.
First-course offerings currently include a roast beet salad with artichoke “tapenade,” prosciutto, apples, aged goat cheese, and curry lentil vinaigrette ($22) and seared Maine sea scallops with oxtail risotto, black truffle jus, and fine herbs ($25).
Second-course choices include duck breast with rose honey, star anise poached pear, foie gras “bon bons,” glazed turnips, and wild blueberries ($42) and wild striped bass with sweet pea puree, ‘nduja, young potatoes, and coconut “clam chowder” sauce ($48).
If it sounds a bit fancy, well yes, it is. Hinds trained at Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School (now called the Institute of Culinary Education), but he said his most important cooking influences were his mother, grandmother, and housekeeper. “It was always intriguing to me to see them take ingredients and turn them into something beautiful and soul-warming,” he said.
Shortly after 9/11, he moved to St. Martin and operated a restaurant called Club Bliss. After several years, he moved to St. John for the first time and became the chef at The Still in Coral Bay.
Hinds continued to develop “the art, craft, and discipline” of haut cuisine during further training at Lucas Carton, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, and at 75 Main Street, a popular upscale restaurant in Southampton, N.Y.
For now, he’s enjoying the freedom of operating in his own space and being able to change the menu whenever he feels the urge. He appreciates that he’s starting this new venture as the tourist season is slowing down, and he’s looking forward to “an aggressive boost” in marketing in the upcoming season.
Reservations may be made on the restaurant’s website or by calling 340-423-6606.
