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And the Best Hidden Beach Bar is…

Joes Rum Hut

So it’s looking like it’s going to be a drinking establishment kind of week here on News of St. John.

We all know how St. John has a bunch of fun little watering holes scattered across the island, but did you know that one was just named one of America’s best hidden best beach bars? Drum roll please…

Congrats Joe’s Rum Hut!

Men’s Journal just put out a list of the top 25 best hidden beach bars in America (we’re thinking they mean North America when they say America) and Joe’s Rum Hut was the only USVI bar to make the cut. How cool is that?! Here’s what Men’s Journal had to say about it:

“There are plenty more famous beach bars in the USVIs and BVIs, but for a chill time with a good some locals it’s hard to trump this Fruit Loops-hued tiki bar on Cruz Bay Beach about a minute’s walk from St. John’s ferry dock. Rock, country, and reggae music spill into the street, and patrons often space out their drinks with a swim. ‘I always recommend to go for the daily you-call-it happy hour,” says Mike Messeroff, who lived on St. John for a year, “Anything you can dream up – beer, liquor drinks, frozen cocktails – is three bucks, including top shelf. Incredible.'”

Here are a few quick facts from the article:

Feet from the water: 15 feet

The regulars: Off-duty dive instructors and just-arrived home renters

What to order: a simple Mojito made very quickly

Not only is Joe’s a fun little watering hole with killer views of Cruz Bay beach, but the food there is also pretty darn good. I really like their turkey wrap with guacamole … mmm.

Soggy Dollar over in Jost Van Dyke also made the cut. No surprise there. Soggy Dollar is always a blast, but perhaps not so hidden.

If you want to see who else made the cut, click this link.

Joes Rum Hut Sign

5 thoughts on “And the Best Hidden Beach Bar is…”

  1. Way to go Joe’s! Not to mention the best Lime In The Coconut on island. We arrive back on island in four days and I will go STRAIGHT there when we get off the ferry!

  2. “Rock, country, and reggae music spill into the street.”

    If by “spill” they mean “blast with all the auditory power of a jet engine”, then, yes, it spills. Joe’s was one of my absolute favorites for many years. Any time, day or night, you could go there and relax and more often than not, a conversation would strike up that nearly everyone at the whole bar would be in on. You met a lot of really friendly people, both local and visitors alike. I bought many rounds and had many rounds bought for me during those times. Then came the “improvements”. They really spruced up the place and put in TVs and a drop ceiling that was obviously concealing some pretty expensive (and overly powerful) audio equipment. It looked really nice. But when I was there for happy hour, the music was blasting SO loud you could barely hear the person sitting on the barstool next to you. One barstool removed, forget it. You had to yell your drink order to the bartenders. If I wanted a nightclub where everyone just sits there holding a drink while looking at each other but keeping their distance I can do that in any big city stateside. Joe’s is still one of my favorite places on island, but I hope the next time I’m there (not soon enough) they have it turned back into a beach bar at least a little. Good music does not have to be LOUD music.

    Okay. I’ll get off my beer keg now. 😉

  3. just got back to cold rain on Sat.3-22 We Stopped in at Joe’s for a Lime in de coconut Great fun The music was a little loud No complaints it was sunny and 85 Will return in June Can’t wait

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