Mallard Cottage restaurant finally gets to dish it up

After some major setbacks, the opening of one of St. John's most anticipated restaurants will be marked on Friday. 

Local chef Todd Perrin has been transforming Quidi Vidi's historic Mallard Cottage into a gourmet eatery for more than a year.

The restaurant was scheduled to open in July, but was derailed by an electrical fire that destroyed parts of the building. 

Perrin said they are now finally ready to greet guests.   

"Once people start coming through the doors and the place gets a bit of life, all of that toughness will all be washed away and we'll forget about all the negative stuff," said Perrin. 

"It delayed us a couple of months, longer than we wanted it to be, but in the big scheme of things it's just another part of our tale."

Perrin said the eatery is unique, melding the old with the new.  

"Apart from the historic nature of the building and stuff, I mean, our idea for the restaurant is a fun, casual place to come and enjoy some good Newfoundland ingredients in a relaxed atmosphere. We're trying to take some of the pretension away from food. We're just cooking dinner for people." 

Perrin said patrons can enjoy traditional Newfoundland cuisine with a bit of a modern twist.

"What we're trying to do is show people different ways that you can eat salt cod and moose and rabbit and turr, and all these things that have been traditionally eaten, but maybe in a narrow kind of way."

Mallard Cottage was made a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1986. As one of the oldest residential structures in the province and in the country, it's believed the cottage was built sometime between 1820 and 1840. 

It was also designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983.

The restaurant will welcome its first customers on Friday night.