About
Polly’s at the Pier is a very popular breakfast and lunch place in Frederiksted on St. Croix. If your St. Croix vacation rental is on the west side of the island, you owe it to yourself to come here for breakfast. There really aren’t a lot of good places to grab breakfast on the west side of the island, so this place gets very busy. It opened in 2009, and since then it’s received numerous awards, including an “excellent” rating on TripAdvisor, which isn’t an easy feat. In 2014, Polly’s got new ownership from Chuck and Chris, who had a combined 35 years of restaurant experience. They pride themselves on their friendly service, which I can personally attest to, especially from Chuck, who is really sweet and helpful. The food is fresh and they always have unique daily specials, as well as some gluten-free offerings. I heard that a lot of locals make a special point of coming here for the coffee. Basically, they have the kind of loyal following that Starbucks has in the states. Interestingly, Polly’s also has a full bar, so if you enjoy a little something extra in your coffee, Polly’s is ready to please!
Getting There & Parking
Polly’s at the Pier is on Strand Street in downtown Frederiksted, right down from where the cruise ships dock. This makes it a super popular place for arriving tourists to stop in for their first taste of island food. They are directly across from the water, on the block between Market Street and Custom House Street. Polly’s is open seven days a week, from 8 AM to 3 PM. There is plenty of parking down the street from Polly’s, but not directly in front, because that area is often cordoned off to allow vendors to sell from their popup tents and tables. There’s more street parking behind Polly’s on King Street.
Environment & Service
Polly’s is a very casual place to get breakfast and lunch. It’s in the pavilion down from the pier and offers outdoor seating in front, indoor seating and outdoor seating in back, in a cozy little courtyard. As a quick aside, they have excellent wifi, so you’re likely to see more than a few people sitting around with their laptops, working or browsing the internet. No one is in a hurry on St Croix in general and especially not at Polly’s. While the service itself was fast, I didn’t feel rushed to eat up and leave. I’m pretty sure I could have sat there all day with my book and they would have let me. The staff are all very friendly and full of smiles. Also, since it’s right across from the water and in a touristy area, it is a great place to just lounge around and do some people watching. You could also do some chicken watching, because Frederiksted and Christiansted both have their fair share of wild chickens and roosters. They love to strut their stuff on Strand Street, probably trying to get a ride back to the mainland with a friendly tourist just off the boat! Seriously, though, they are really cute.
What's Good on the Menu
The breakfast menu here is both expected and unique. By that I mean that you can get all your favorite standbys like eggs, waffles and bacon, but they also have some neat house dishes with variations that are interesting. For example, there’s the Polly Egg Muffin, which is made with egg, veggie sausage and cheese. Then they have Polly’s Sweet & Salty Waffle, which I ordered with two pieces of bacon and maple syrup. I’m usually a pancake person, but this was uncommonly good.
For lunch, I recommend the Gourmet Quesadilla, which you can have with chicken or tofu. It was so big I couldn’t finish it. They have a wide range of wraps, like Caribbean Jerk Wrap, Southwest Wrap, Greek Wrap, Asian Wrap, Caesar Wrap and more. There are lots of different salad options, including a spinach salad that I said yes to, and a southwest salad that my friend described as “heavenly.”
Coffee, Tea, Smoothies, & More
Polly’s at the Pier has an expansive beverage menu and I can’t help but wonder if my friend’s enthusiasm was spurred a little by her foray into Polly’s Liquid Breakfast options. As I mentioned, they have a full bar, which means this is where you come to get a breakfast Bloody Mary, Mimosa, Screwdriver, or hey, just a straight up Pino Grigio.
Polly’s gets all their coffee beans from their boutique coffee roaster in Iowa. They offer lattes, espresso, mochas, and something crazy good called a frozen Ghiradelli Frappe. In terms of tea, they have all kinds of herbal teas, flavored ice tea and organic tea, all freshly brewed in-house