At Oceana Restaurant & Bistro our raison d'être is to combine culinary excellence with superb service and an exquisite setting, creating experiences and memories that transcends mere dining by the sea. 

Overlooking the aqua colors of the Baye de GriGri, our restaurant is regarded as one of the island’s most iconic locations for dining.  Most tables in our open-air dining room offer unobstructed views of the sea, passing sailboats and landing seaplanes, spectacular breathtaking sunsets and equally dramatic full moons rising.

Unsurprisingly seafood dominates our menu.  Whenever possible we source fresh, local seafood caught off the shores of the Virgin Islands.

We hope our passion for sustainability is evident in the highest quality and freshest ingredients we use, including seasonal produce from local farmers, grass-fed New Zealand & Wagyu beef, sustainably caught northern Atlantic seafood and free-range domestic poultry.

Our extensive wine list was chosen to balance refinement with versatility and intended to pair well with every item on our menu.

No menu is complete without dessert.  Whether you crave sweet, savory, decadent or liquid, all our desserts are house made with love.

Our Bistro offers a fun, lively atmosphere designed with a come-as-you-are feeling.  Our wish is to provide a place for our local clientele and visiting guests to gather in a more spontaneous, frequent, and casual way – complete with delicious small plates, food to share, the island’s best signature cocktails and local craft beer on tap.

A Property Rich with History

The property where Oceana stands boasts a long, fascinating history.  The estate was originally settled by the first Danish Governor of St. Thomas, Jurgen Iversen, between 1672 & 1679.  It had a variety of owners during the 18th century, and the estate’s name changed several times.

In 1894, the Russian Consulate, Theodor Brondsted, bought the property for $12,000, including several acres under sugar cultivation, the Villa and large cisterns still visible today. He renamed the estate Villa Olga and used it as the Russian Embassy for the following nine years.  In 1904 he sold the property.  It has since been resold many times.

The main house is thought to date from the 1850's; however, there is evidence of foundations dating to the early 18th century.  It was built with thick rubble walls, brought from Scotland as ballast, to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.  Its doors and windows are trimmed with thick wooden hurricane shutters, equally effective against nature’s fiercest storms.

Decorative tile work on the outside staircase entrance dates to the early 1900’s.  The surrounding galleries are typical of West Indian architecture, designed to protect from the intense tropical sun and catch the fantastic trade winds that whip through the Haulover Cut.

Oceana Restaurant originally opened its doors in 2002.  In September 2017 two back-to-back category five hurricanes, Irma & Maria, made direct landfall on St Thomas.  While the main house remained almost entirely intact, the rest of Oceana Restaurant was completely decimated.  Following a two-year labor-of-love rebuild, Oceana reopened her doors in 2019 as Oceana Restaurant & Bistro.