Mallard Cottage

St John's


A lot of restaurants give lip service to 'local and sustainable,' but this one is spot-on and devilishly good. The blackboard menu changes daily. Think turnips with yogurt and crispy shallots or brined duck with spaetzle and fried rosemary. The adorable Mallard Cottage, which dates from the 1750s, is a historical site in and of itself.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby St John's attractions

1. Quidi Vidi

0.15 MILES

Over Signal Hill, away from town, is the tiny picturesque village of Quidi Vidi. Check out the 18th-century battery and the lakeside regatta museum, but…

2. Quidi Vidi Battery

0.24 MILES

Built in 1762 and still symbolically guarding the bay from up the hill is Quidi Vidi Battery. Built by the French after they took St John's, the battery…

3. Signal Hill National Historic Site

0.8 MILES

The city's most famous landmark is worth it for the glorious view alone, though there's much more to see. The tiny castle atop the hill is Cabot Tower,…

4. Cabot Tower

0.8 MILES

Construction on this squat stone tower began in 1898 to mark both Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of…

5. Johnson Geo Centre

0.81 MILES

Nowhere in the world can geo-history, going back to the birth of the earth, be accessed so easily as in Newfoundland. The Geo Centre does a grand job of…

6. Royal St John's Regatta Museum

0.81 MILES

Quidi Vidi Lake is the site of the city-stopping St John's Regatta. The Royal St John's Regatta Museum is on the 2nd floor of the boathouse, and gives an…

7. Signal Hill Visitor Centre

0.83 MILES

Features interactive displays on the site's history. The last North American battle of the Seven Years' War took place here in 1762, and Britain's victory…

8. Harbourside Park

1.53 MILES

With iconic statues of a Newfoundland dog and a Labrador Retriever, this park hosts the City of St John’s free Music at Harbourside lunchtime concert…