201 Water Street, St. John’s
738-1120
Nautical Nellies
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Comments (which include restaurant reviews, Rants, Wha? questions and I Saw You submissions) appearing on the site are not the opinion of The Scope, but only of the comment writer. We may remove questions, answers, and comments that are hateful, inflammatory, spam, or any other nonsense. Please play nice. More detailed terms here.
21 Reader Reviews of Nautical Nellies
(13 positive, 7 negative)
You can write a review right away below or you can log in here. (New user? Sign up here!)
Don't have an account? Register for an account on The Scope. Takes just a minute or two.
Lost password?
Leave a Review
© 2007 The Scope.
September 1st, 2008 at 6:12 pm
God love Wednesdays, for it brings us mussels on special for 3-something a basket. Sure 1 or 2 might be missing from their shells but it’s still a good deal you picky bastards. For extra credit, try drinking some of the broth using a shell as a spoon. Gets really busy and the typical clientele is generally over 30 (button up shirts and business casual galore!!) but whatever.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I went there for breakfast on Saturday and, as usual, I was not dissapointed. I ordered the English Breakfast which contains sausage, bacon, fries, black and white pudding, beans, eggs and toast. The cost was around $11 and the serving was very large. Everything was very well cooked. I especially enjoyed the toast which was very fresh. The only complaint I have is that the scrambled eggs were not as fluffy as I would have liked.
My girlfriend ordered the eggs benedict and it was without a doubt the best eggs benedict I have tried in the city. The eggs were perfectly done and they came with a generous slice of ham and what I think was a homemade english muffin. It came with lots of home fries on the side.
Overall, service was good. The waitress was friendly and the atmosphere was nice and casual. The meal cost about $30 for two and was worth every penny. 5 Stars!
January 21st, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Best pub food in St. John’s, hands down!
The cod is always fresh, and the Nellie’s Burger is deadly.
Also, nice to see they’ve put a veg burger on the menu.
Thumbs up.
August 16th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Steer clear until they have some time to work out their new menu, kitchen and wait staff. They’ve got a giant menu, yet we were told they’re not serving brunch on the weekend. Long wait times, mixed up orders, and so-so food made for an unsatisfying experience.
August 31st, 2010 at 11:17 am
went there last night, i’ve only had brunch there before in the past, which was awesome, but i don’t think i’ll be going back anytime soon. the nachos were just chips with tinned cheese over them and a bit of sour cream, terrible guacamole and some pico de gallo to dip the chips in, and for the meals even our french fries were terrible, the gravy was awful. the new menu seems to need some work, and if you’re a vegetarian, this place is probably to be avoided.
September 21st, 2010 at 5:06 pm
in their defence, the nachos on the menu are stated as coming with just cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. why people assume that this REALLY means the option of chicken or beef, tomatoes, onion, peppers, olives, etc etc etc is beyond me. READ THE MENU!!! i had the nachos and as someone who is not particularly fond of excess toppings, i thought they were very tasty.
February 3rd, 2011 at 10:42 am
This place has certainly gone downhill since a new owner took it over late last summer. I used to eat here at least twice a month — now I have no desire to go back. It’s simply not a cozy little pub any more, and the food is too hit-or-miss for me to want to take chances.
February 3rd, 2011 at 1:18 pm
I agree. Nellies went from being the best, to being the worst, just like that.
February 21st, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I ate at Nellie’s recently and the staff are so sweet!!! Also had one of the best bowls of turkey soup that I have ever had. Full of vegetables and turkey.. I was also informed that it is made from scratch in their kitchen. I also overheard another customer say that Nellie’s has “the best fries in town”.
February 28th, 2012 at 9:48 am
I had a great meal the other day at Nautical Nellies. The Burger is HUGE, and there’s a lot of fries on the plate too. I couldn’t finish all of it. My girlfriend got the Pulled Pork special and the salad. Also a ton of food.
Either way, too much is better than too little. The servers were conversational townies, which are the best.
March 11th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Ate here for the first time tonight. VERY VERY impressed. We ordered a bunch of stuff and everything was SO GOOD. More people need to know about this place!! the parmesan fries are amazing! Will definitely be back. Overheard the waitress saying they have re-done their menu a few times recently and it is GREAT!! Tons of veggie options as well.
March 14th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Ate here last week. Lots of vegetarian and seafood options, which was great for me. The portion sizes were giant, the service was laid-back and friendly, and as for cost, I’ve definitely spent more at Jungle Jim’s. Will be back soon.
April 9th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
Parmesan Fries were SO good.
Was really surprised by the menu – went in expecting the normal pub style foods (which are plentiful) they seem to have something for everyone.
Definitely left feeling full, happy, and satisfied.
August 21st, 2012 at 8:07 am
Food is great, service is terrible. Try the chowder and go for brunch, but avoid the waitress that fueled an argument with a customer in the middle of the bar, which happened while we were there a couple of weeks ago. Awkward!!
September 29th, 2012 at 11:10 am
Have been here twice…The first time was good (food-wise), the second time was o-k, and the third time we tried to go, we made a reservation, we showed up then they said they forgot to tell us there was a private party booked that night so they couldn’t keep our reservation.
The food is not bad. Not amazing though. Very greasy pub-ish food. The fish and chips were a disappointment, considering this place is ‘nautical’ themed and has quite a bit of fish on their menu. (It seems they put some kind of a curry or cumin spice in their batter). The fish itself was quite tasteless and was mushy as well. Their parmesan fries are tasty however, and I know other people I ate with were satisfied.
Was pretty unimpressed with their inability to take a reservation or at least inform us that they weren’t open to the public the night we made a reservation. I was also unimpressed with the way they handled the situation – they said sorry and that we could sit at their bar and buy drinks while we decide where else to go…you’d think they’d offer a drink on the house or something along those lines?
Not a terrible experience but won’t be my first choice the next time I decide where to eat!
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I used to go to Nautical Nellie’s quite often – that is until the best staff they had left. I returned for lunch today, only to be very disappointment. The staff were extremely slow taking our orders (actually a couple sat next to us had to sing out to a waitress as she walked by, as they had been sitting for an extended period of time with nobody approaching them). The tables had puddles of water on them, the environment just was not the same as the Nellie’s I grew to love in the past.
The new staff seemed like they would rather be pulling polar bear teeth then be serving customers; the environment sucked, there’s no other way to say it.
The most disappointing aspect of this was the food – I guess a new chef has been hired, and he/she must not prepare food the same way as before. I brought two new people to the restaurant telling them how good the food was there, only to be very disappointed. The sandwiches we ordered looked like they were thrown together, were very dry, and just overall displeasing.
Furthermore, I paid over 19 dollars for the exact meal I once paid between 14-15 for….anybody willing to figure that one out? The menu hasn’t changed, the prices seemed to be the same..is Nellie’s automatically adding the tips to your bill now?
Not impressed. At all.
November 13th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THEIR STAFF?!?!?!
This place would be awesome if you could eat the food without having to deal with the staff. the blonde girl is probably amongst the rudest that i’ve encountered in a customer service setting. disappointing, as the food is just great.
February 23rd, 2013 at 4:26 am
I like this place a lot.
But the food that comes with cheese could use more cheese.
Mmm…cheese.
March 4th, 2013 at 12:13 pm
The pub fare at Nellies is always good. But I was in there Friday, March 1 and it was, frankly, disgusting. Not the food, but the place itself. Broken mussel shells littered the floor along with dirty knives (yes dirty cutlery on the floor) and used napkins. It was an absolute pig-sty which really put us off our food. When I mentioned to our server that “your floor could use a sweep” , she just kind of grunted and turned on her heel and went back behind the bar. So, good food but gross floors and servers. Yuck.
p.s. – I believe Nellie’s is now owned by the same management as Blue on Water which makes sense because the restaurant servers are equally rude and clueless there.
March 4th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
Amazing food and amazing service.
Huge selection of vegetarian-friendly dishes on their menu, along with some very tasty-sounding meat dishes. My dining companions tell me that they’re as delicious as they sound. Have never had a bad meal here. The food is always hot, fresh, and delicious.
After being there only once, the next time I went back, the waitress remembered that I’m a vegetarian. Food is served in a timely manner, we’re always checked on at appropriate intervals, and the casual/friendly demeanour of the waitstaff is welcoming.
Great spot for a group of mixed-eaters (or for meat eaters or vegetarians).
April 9th, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Since the new ownership, Nellie’s is fantastic! The food is always made to perfection, and a great price. The menu has a wide selection of options (lots of vegetarian choices) and the specials are always to die for! The staff are friendly and efficient. They have 16 beers on tap (including local beers) and have live music a couple times a week. It’s always a great time, especially on Friday night. It’s packed – so get there early to find a seat and enjoy the live music!