About
Hamilton’s is an exclusive, high-end restaurant, with incredible desserts also made in-house. It’s named in honor of St Croix's famous son, Alexander Hamilton. Apparently, Alexander Hamilton, considered to be a Founding Father of the United States, spent a great deal of his childhood on St Croix and, in fact, learned much of his business sense while working as a clerk’s assistant on St. Croix. He experienced a very turbulent childhood, but proved himself to be an avid scholar and great leader. It's no wonder that the owners of Hamilton's would be proud to name their restaurant after such an important historical figure.
Location & Environment
Located at 39 Queen Cross Street in Christiansted, Hamilton’s is open seven days a week from 5 PM to 9 PM. They offer in-house dining exclusively and no not offer takeout specifically. This is in keeping with their philosophy of customer service first. One of the unusual aspects of Hamilton’s is that they maintain no website or Facebook page. They only have an Instagram page. That Instagram page is the only way to make reservations online. You need to message them through Instagram and then someone will get back to you. This is the way I made my reservation and someone got back to me within two hours. I suppose you might be able to make a reservation in person if you happen to be in the area, but I’m not sure of that, since they make a point of saying that no messages on Instagram will be acknowledged or responded to during serving times. So I don’t know how receptive they would be if you tried to book a reservation between 5 and 9.
Exemplary Service
Hamilton’s prides itself on service. Dining guests take precedence over everything else. They take this philosophy to such an extreme that they don’t even have a phone number that the pubic can use to contact them during dining hours. The general manager of Hamilton’s, Garry Tupper, emphasizes that they are not in business simply to peddle libations or edibles. Rather, their goal is to “create emotion” so that guests are happy and excited to be dining there. Another way that this restaurant differs from most other places is the small amount of available seating. They obviously aren’t interested in packing the place and turning tables as soon as possible. There were a limited number of diners, and we never had to wait long for service. As soon as we finished a dish, our next dish arrived. Yet, we never felt hurried or rushed to finish. I definitely felt like the object was for us to enjoy a delicious, leisurely meal and to enjoy ourselves in the process. The whole thing felt more like an experience than just “eating out.”
What's on the Menu
All of the dishes on the menu are well-made and bursting with flavor, thanks to the use of high-quality ingredients and masterful cooking. Because of his vast training and travels, Executive Chef Ken Robinson is not only an excellent cook, but also an excellent communicator and positive presence in the kitchen.
Hamilton’s calls itself an American-style steak house, but it’s much more than what you would get at any steakhouse on the mainland. On the menu at Hamilton’s, you’ll find lobster tail, shrimp dishes, mussels, blackened fish, seafood pasta and of course several cuts of steak. I had the open faced shrimp sandwich as an appetizer and everything about it was scrumptious. My friend had a blackened filet mignon and she kept going on and on about how it melted in her mouth and it was the best steak she’d ever tasted. Our waiter told us that it was grass fed, which I think made a big difference. For my entree, I selected the Chicken Coq au Vin, that was dripping with succulent flavors. I also eyed the Bouillabaisse with mussels and shrimp, but decided to save that for next time.
Beverages & Desserts
They offer wine and champagne by the bottle or the glass, such as Veuve Clicquot and several varieties from Napa. Their cocktail menu includes signature cocktails like The Spanish Hookup, The Hamilton Paloma and the Passion Mule. The Passion Mule is the most popular, so I decided to try it. I had to consciously pace myself with it, because the mix of vodka, passionfruit, lime, ginger beer and mint honestly made it taste like juicy fruit punch.
The range of desserts make it impossible to say no to a sweet finish at Hamilton’s. I’ll always go for the Creme Brûlée no matter where I am, so that’s what I enjoyed. They also have a Lemon Posset that is like whipped mouse with lemon, strawberry and shortbread. My friend ordered that and after she let me have a bite, it was all I could do not to finish it off while she went to the restroom.