If you only have 24 hours in the Saint John area, I have one very important piece of advice:
Bring a designated driver.
Seriously. This itinerary involves beer, cider, cocktails, lobster and enough food to put you into a nap by 8 p.m.
We started at Area 506 in Uptown Saint John. This place is basically a village made entirely of shipping containers, filled with local food, art, drinks and businesses. I grabbed the lobster roll from Big D’s and calling it a lobster roll feels like underselling it. This thing was HUGE. I washed it down with a local beer from The Docks.
First drink of the day. This is where the designated driver should have started feeling important.
Next stop was the Saint John City Market, the oldest market in Canada. You’ll find local meat, seafood, produce, baked goods, crafts and enough food vendors to make choosing lunch feel like a competitive sport.
I went with Katsubi for their Takoyaki, little Japanese balls filled with octopus. Crispy, delicious and very easy to convince yourself that eating six counts as lunch.
Then it was time for a Moosehead Brewery tour. If you’re in Saint John, this is absolutely worth doing. You get a behind-the-scenes look at the largest 100% Canadian-owned brewery, and of course, there may be a sample or two involved.
Again… designated driver.
Then we headed across to the Kingston Peninsula and Yip Cider. This place is an absolute oasis, with tons of indoor and outdoor seating, games, a huge yard and it’s right on the water.
There’s also a longer story about me holding up the entire ferry line because I was determined to get the perfect drone shot.
Apparently, my artistic vision did not impress everyone waiting for the ferry.
Back in Saint John, dinner was at Port City Royal. I had the tuna dish and the pickled shrimp. And before you say, “Pickled shrimp? Nope.” Trust me. It works.
We finished the night at Kakuteru, a tiny 14-seat cocktail bar. Eric, the owner and bartender, is an experience himself. He takes crazy ideas and turns them into incredible cocktails. Even when someone ordered a simple whiskey sour, he told the history of the drink before making one the guest called the best they’d ever had.
And that pretty much sums up Saint John.
Great food. Great drinks. Great local businesses and absolutely no chance your designated driver is getting bored.
Saint John’s food and drink scene has grown so much over the past decade.
Come hungry. Explore local. And please… bring the DD.
