Mallory Johnson may have grown up playing a broad range of musical genres in St. John's, but when she released her debut self-titled album in 2018, it became clear she was destined to be a country singer.
In addition to garnering much acclaim with awards such as the ECMA for country recording of the year as well as three nominations for Country Artist, Rising Star and Female Artist of the Year, Johnson has also shared the stage with a number of notable country artists, such as Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Rascal Flatts, and Blake Shelton.
Her follow up project, a two-track digital 45 titled Double Shot, also saw its share of critical and commercial success, earning her nominations for Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year and SOCAN songwriter of the year at the 2020 MusicNL awards.
More recently, the talented singer-songwriter–who has called Nashville home for the past few years–joined forces with powerhouse country duo Twin Kennedy to write and record "Wise Woman", a truly empowering anthem inspired by their struggles as women in a male-dominated industry.
We recently had a chance to catch up with Johnson, who filled us in on all of her favourite places to eat and drink in her hometown of St. John’s.
Breakfast
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and Bagel Cafe has it all! My go-to is a bagel Benedict or a bagel breakfast sandwich, but if you’re a CFA (Come From Away) then you’re obligated to try the toutons.
Lunch
I love the Oh My Cheeses food truck located at the Port Rexton Brewery (They also have a location at the St. John’s Farmers’ Market). Port Rexton has some pretty amazing hiking trails with breathtaking views of the ocean. Whenever I’m there, I hike the Skerwink Trail then finish the afternoon at the Brewery for a beer and a Gull Island Partridgeberry and Brie Sandwich.
Dinner
Tough call. I love so many of the local restaurants downtown St. John’s. Yellowbelly is my favourite place to go before a show, No.4 is one of my favourites if I’m getting dressed up for dinner and cocktails, and Spirit of Newfoundland is the place to be for dinner theatre.
Drinks
I can’t name just one. The Bull & Barrel and Green Sleeves are high on my list because of the atmosphere and live music. I’ll always end up at one or both of those places when I have a night out on George Street. If you like more of a lounge atmosphere with fancy cocktails, Loose Tie is great. The Gypsy Tearoom also makes a fantastic grape martini. Fun fact: I filmed part of my music video for “Hungover” at Loose Tie, and part of my video for “Drunk Mind, Sober Heart” at The Bull & Barrel!
