Like Anne said, there's LOTS of info in the other thread, but here's
my take on it - I actually think it's pretty hard to get good food and
good music in the same place at the same time. A lot of the good/high-profile bands play well after dinnertime. (Good drink is
EVERYWHERE. The whole island is a rock floating in the drink . . . get
it? HAH! OK, I'll stop now. But I will say that for a slightly more, uh, grown-up alcoholic experience, there is a nice wine bar called the Grapevine on Water Street.)
Anyway, you probably wouldn't want
to be eating while a great band is playing, 'cause you'll likely want
to dance :) For music listings, check out the Town Cryer and The Scope
(local papers) - there is ALL kind of music in St. John's, not just
trad, so just read up on the bands and decide what you want to hear.
O'Reilly's is a good standby for trad music, but if you don't like
crowds, you might not like it.
As for food, pub fare is OK just about everywhere (I really
liked Bridie Molloy's last time - and it's on George Street, close to
the action; also, good musicians play there). If you like Thai, Taste of Thai is AWESOME. There's also a little place
on, I think, Duckworth Street called the Afghan Restaurant that has
delicious, inexpensive lunch specials. I heard great things about Sun Sushi on Water Street, but haven't tested it myself yet. I better stop, because you can
get TONS of recommendations in the other thread that Anne mentioned.
Incidentally,
if you're there in early August, you'll probably catch the George
Street Festival. I am almost certainly going to be there this year;
it'll be my first George Street Festival, but if it's anything like Mardi Gras, it'll be
a blast - lots of cheery people, music everywhere, AND you can drink in the street! (And, in August, it's
warm enough to do it without gloves.)
Here is a link I recently found and LOVED - the Best of St. John's 2007. (As informative as it is hilarious.)
You'll have fun no matter what you do, though :)