The British Empire foods of St John's

Where to eat Newfoundland specialties in St John’s

Newfoundland is like a different country. The people there have a distinct accent and their own dictionary. Place names seem to be made up by pirates. The level of development is 10 years behind the urbanized provinces of Canada. And the food appears to have branched off from Britain and Ireland in the 1800s and developed into its own, much like Quebec did with French cuisine in the 1700s.

Here’s where to try the mildly intriguing foods of Newfoundland in St John’s.

Fries with dressing

Ches’s Famous Fish and Chips

No, not salad dressing. Newfoundland dressing is what the rest of Canada calls turkey stuffing. It’s a mealy mix of bread crumbs and summer savoury, the key ingredient. Summer savoury is a herb that was somewhat popular in British cooking but fell out of favour in the rest of Canada. Here, it lives on through dressing.

Dressing is usually found with fries and doused with gravy, leading some to call it “Newfoundland poutine”. Pubs and greasy diners serve them. For fish and chips with dressing, local institution Ches’s is a good introduction.

Exterior of Ches's Famous Fish and Chips — Ches’s Famous Fish and Chips

Ches’s isn’t the best fish and chips in St John’s (some say it’s The Duke of Duckworth) but it’s one of the oldest. My cod bites and chips were traditional British style. Rather bland flour batter and thick-cut chips. The magic is in the gravy and dressing (both sold separately). The dressing was crumbly and one could clearly see and taste the green savoury leaves. The gravy was one-note but combined with the dressing and fries, it was a novel and satisfying experience. It’s like turkey dinner without the turkey. 7/10.

Cod bites and chips with dressing and gravy from Ches's Famous Fish and Chips — Cod bites and chips with dressing and gravy from Ches’s Famous Fish and Chips

Cod bites and chips meal from Ches's Famous Fish and Chips — Takeout package

Cod bites and chips from Ches's Famous Fish and Chips — Takeout package

Scrunchions and cod

Get Stuffed

Scrunchions are another Newfoundland thing: small bits of cured pork that are fried until the fat is rendered. It’s almost always served with cod, whether it is fresh, frozen, or salted. When added to salted cod and hard bread, it becomes another of Newfoundland’s specialty: fish and brewis.

Fresh cod is hard to find in Newfoundland. It’s the fish of choice on the island and there was even a thriving fishing industry for a few hundred years. However, the industry collapsed in 1992 due to overfishing. Since then, the cod population hasn’t recovered and catches are tightly regulated. It’s one of the worst human-caused environmental catastrophes in Canadian history and serves as a cautionary tale to the rest of the world.

Get Stuffed is a casual bistro that is known for their “get stuffed” option: upsized portions for a few dollars more. The menu doesn’t push the envelope far. It reads like a mid-range restaurant. Note that their “nine ways of salmon” isn’t really nine preparations of salmon on a single plate. There is a choice of 3 preparations and 3 sauces, so the number of combinations is 3 x 3 = 9. You just pick one of the nine combinations.

My mission here was their Newfoundland cod with scrunchions. It was served with dressing and lemon-drawn butter.

Newfoundland cod with savoury dressing and scrunchions from Get Stuffed

The cod was ok. It wasn’t as rich in oil as cod from other parts of the world. The scrunchions were too salty and chewy. They lack pork-iness and didn’t mesh with the cod. The dish was also rather greasy from the butter. On the plus side, the fish was flakey. The savoury dressing was standard–no complaints. I felt that the dish needed some acid or crisp components to liven it up. 6/10.

A signature dish here is cheese n’ doo. Essentially a mac and cheese but with scooby doo (a type of spiral pasta) instead of macaroni. The mix of friulano, cheddar, and gruyere cheeses was assertive. The top was baked crisp but some pasta pieces at the top had dried out. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. 7.5/10.

Cheese n' doo from Get Stuffed — Cheese n’ doo from Get Stuffed

Toutons

Touton Lane

A touton is a deep-fried puck of leavened dough. Pronounced as tout-en, rhymes with clout-earn. Nobody knows the exact origin but I’d wager it was from British settlers, same as bannock. To me, toutons are simply a chewier bannock. In Newfoundland, the syrup of choice is molasses.

For a modern take, head to Touton Lane. With combinations like chicken avocado and banana nutella, they’re “not your nans’ toutons”. Indigenous chefs have recognized the creative possibilities of bannock for years. It was about time someone did the same for toutons.

The toutons here are pressed like a waffle, not fried. This makes them healthier but they lack a crisp crust and loose crumb.

Takeout box from Touton Lane — Takeout box

I chose the flavour of the month, which was cinnamon swirl. The icing and cinnamon sprinkles were perfect. It reminded me of Cinnabon. However, the touton was dense and very chewy. I wished they had an option to deep-fry it or use a more aerated dough. That would improve the texture. 6.5/10.

Touton Lane also doubles as a cat cafe. It’s the only place in the world where one can pat cats and eat toutons.

Interior of Touton Lane — Cat cafe at Touton Lane

For traditional toutons, go to Classic Cafe East. It’s a greasy spoon diner. Besides toutons with molasses, they have other Newfoundland specialties like bologna and cod cheeks.

Exterior of Classic Cafe East — Classic Cafe East

Another place that comes up often for toutons is The Bagel Cafe. Their execution is faithful but I hesitate to recommend it due to the exorbitant price. It costs two to three times more than average. A plain piece of fried dough is not worth more than $5.

Exterior of The Bagel Cafe — The Bagel Cafe

Touton with molasses from The Bagel Cafe — The Bagel Cafe

Jiggs’ dinner

The Celtic Hearth

Unique to Newfoundland, this is a meal with boiled salted meats, mashed root vegetables, and gravy. It’s exactly the same as Irish boiled dinners with the exception of dessert: jiggy duff (boiled raisin pudding). Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find restaurants that serve this in Newfoundland. It’s a Sunday home-cooked meal. If you don’t mind trying it in other formats, there are options in St John’s to satisfy your curiosity.

The Celtic Hearth offers Jiggs’ dinner in pie and poutine format. They used to do a Sunday Jiggs’ brunch buffet but discontinued it a few years ago.

Exterior of The Celtic Hearth — The Celtic Hearth

The Jigg’s dinner pie turned out to be like a shepherd’s pie: topped with a layer of mashed potatoes. I was a little disappointed it was not an actual pie with a dough crust.

Jiggs' dinner pie from The Celtic Hearth — Jiggs’ dinner pie, with a side of more mashed potatoes from The Celtic Hearth

There wasn’t a lot of gravy but it works. The salt beef already had enough salt. Occasionally, I got a bite of gaminess from unknown meat parts. The mashed potatoes were peppery, somewhat gummy, and topped with shredded cheese. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. The only downside was the price—a common complaint for visitors to Newfoundland. 7/10.

Salt beef of Jiggs' dinner pie from The Celtic Hearth — Salt beef and gravy from The Celtic Hearth

Interior of The Celtic Hearth — Victorian decor

Seating at The Celtic Hearth — Victorian decor

Bologna

Chinched

This is Newfoundland’s version of spam. A salty, highly-processed product that is unrecognizable as meat. It comes in pale, giant logs. Bologna was used as a substitute for fresh meat during economic troubles but has persisted in households because of nostalgia. Um, I mean tradition. Slices of bologna can be found in sandwiches. They can also be deep-fried or barbecued.

The most gourmet version comes from Chinched, which happens to be the best deli on the island and an excellent nose-to-tail gastropub.

Deli in Chinched — Deli display at Chinched

The difference with mass-produced bologna was subtle but perceptible. If one looked closely, there were black flecks of spices. The spice mix was a smidge more complex than factory bologna. It wasn’t mind-blowing but it would be the choice for bologna that can stand on its own. 6.5/10.

Don’t miss out on the restaurant part of Chinched. Their crispy pig ears were exceedingly crunchy and had a light porky taste. 8/10.

Dill pickle crispy pig ears from Chinched — Crispy pig ears dusted with dill pickle powder from Chinched

Modern Newfoundland

Mallard Cottage

There are less than five modern Canadian restaurants in Newfoundland. They are all in St John’s. Raymonds Restaurant gets top billing but Mallard Cottage is more accessible to the masses.

Mallard Cottage is located in a historic home in Quidi Vidi, a suburb just north of Signal Hill. They use lots of local produce and seek to elevate Newfoundland classics.

Exterior of Mallard Cottage — Mallard Cottage

Their menu changes seasonally so it’s hard to give recommendations. When I visited, they had among other things, a fancy bologna sandwich sourced from Chinched. I went for the Newfoundland sow schnitzel with partridgeberries, winter chanterelles, mashed potatoes, and brown butter.

Newfoundland sow schnitzel from Mallard Cottage

The sow meat was…different from regular pork. It was dark, had some gristle, and an earthier taste. The chanterelles were an upscale version of mushroom gravy. The most creative component was the partridgeberries, known elsewhere as lingonberries. It’s a tart fruit and each bite released a pop of sourness. I get what the chef was going for—substituting traditional components of a schnitzel with Newfoundland ingredients. But the partridgeberries didn’t work as well as a traditional lemon juice drizzle. The tartness came in uneven bursts and didn’t integrate with the meat. Perhaps a partridgeberry jam or compôte would be more effective. 8/10.

Schnitzel from Mallard Cottage — Slice of schnitzel from Mallard Cottage

Local favourites

Finally, here are some institutions at St John’s. While they don’t offer unique Newfoundland foods, they are local favourites.

Turkey pie and snowballs @ Fabulous Foods

Turkey pie is the runaway bestseller at this humble bakery.

Exterior of Fabulous Foods — Fabulous Foods

Interior of Fabulous Foods — Pies and menu at Fabulous Foods

The turkey flavour was front and centre. Impressive for a mild tasting bird. The filling was just turkey and gravy; no fillers like peas and potatoes. Flakey and structurally-sound pastry. Generous portions of meat at only $8.05 for a 20 cm pie. 8.5/10.

Turkey pie from Fabulous Foods — Turkey pie

Scoop of turkey pie from Fabulous Foods — Turkey pie

They also have snowballs. These coconut covered chocolate balls hail from Britain and have vanished from the rest of Canada.

They were like compacted oatmeal and didn’t have any strong flavours. It would have worked better as a one-bite treat instead of being baseball-sized. 5/10.

Snowball from Fabulous Foods — Components of snowball from Fabulous Foods

Ice cream @ Moo Moo’s Ice Cream

The local institution for ice cream. You can’t miss the black and white cow exterior of the building.

Exterior of Moo Moo's Ice Cream — Moo Moo’s Ice Cream

Their signature flavour is turtle cheesecake, with chocolate and cheese. Instead of smooth and creamy, it was sticky and chewy. It was reminiscent of Turkish dondurma, another member of the stretchy ice cream family. It was very sweet but didn’t taste of any particular flavour. Perhaps I should pick a simpler flavour next time. 5.5/10.

Turtle cheesecake ice cream from Moo Moo's Ice Cream — Turtle cheesecake ice cream from Moo Moo’s Ice Cream

Ice cream tables at Moo Moo's Ice Cream — Ice cream displays

Ice cream flavours at Moo Moo's Ice Cream — Ice cream displays

Processed snacks

Purity and Newfoundland Chocolate Company

Newfoundlanders have a fondness for certain confections, the most famous being Purity’s jam-jams. These are soft sandwich cookies that bruise easily, so watch out when transporting them. The jam tasted like generic sugar pectin more than any particular fruit. I’d chalk that as another Newfoundland thing I don’t get. 4/10.

Other products from the same company have a loyal following too, like ginger snaps and cream crackers. Apparently, the recipes haven’t changed for decades. No surprise that their cream crackers still contain lard. 5/10.

For souvenirs, Newfoundland Chocolate Company is popular. Honestly, they are too expensive to be a frequent indulgence. The vitality bar has chia and dried blueberries that you can taste. The cocoa was above-average. Honestly, my favourite part was the whimsical Newfoundland sayings and designs on the packaging. 7/10.

Purity cream crackers, Jam Jams, and Newfoundland Chocolate Company Vitality bar

Where to get Newfoundland foods in Toronto

There are no Newfoundland restaurants in Toronto.

Purity products can be found in some supermarkets. The Metro supermarket on Front Street East, near St Lawrence Market, is a good bet.

Verdict

None of the food specialties in Newfoundland can be considered destination-worthy. Still, they are intriguing enough for a tourist to see how foods from the British Empire have evolved in isolation on this island.

Practical information