The attractive decor at this venue promises much, but either delivers or is dragged down by the…read morefood, and horrid parking!
Meals.
The first visit rendered their fish and chips to be 2 stars and:
1. very little of everything = what?
2. the one small piece of deep-fried 'dory' came out so overcooked that it was mushy and tasteless inside an attractive-looking slightly-herbed thin-layered batter that also gave little umph! As well, it was far too hot: the fish repeatedly burned my mouth even 10 minutes after served. What a drag!.
3. short, fat and tasty, there were only 6-7 steak fries!
4. their cole slaw was good, but the red colour didn't seem to be paprika. Fake colouring as some strange twist from the kitchen?
5. no lemon for the fish, but only white vinegar?
6. for 295 pesos, surely they could put more on the plate!
7. the attractive-looking wood container has a paper insert that can disintegrate and become part of your meal if not careful...
Separately, I ordered a side of baked beans. Pleasantly surprized, they were quite good. Real baked beans with onions, ham and nice consistency (4 stars).
On our next visit, we enjoyed the meal much more (3.75 stars):
1. my wife's chicken steak was large and filling: pleasantly-flavoured with a few subtle-tasting herbs, it came with a separate medium-sized bowl of mashed potatoes, a side bowl of mushroom gravy that added little, and a medium bowl of lettuce, tomato wedges and orange pieces dipped in a somewhat tangy sauce. Overall quite good.
2. flavourful and tender, the bbq'd short ribs were limited in size, and their steak fries almost doubled up to 10 pieces.
3. the small quantity of baked beans were so welcome.
4. slightly disintegrated, almost ate some of that paper lining...
5. after ascertaining that the caesar salad was prepared from scratch, was quite good, but definitely on the small side..
6. the service was very good: recognizing me from the lunch the day before, they treated us kindly, and for our anniversary offered a paired dessert of vanilla ice-cream with a shaved nut-sauce topping and a cream brulee that was nicely accented. A warm 'thank-you' to the hard-working staff!
In general a good meal, but their portion control is not okay! Better to add 10-20 pesos than to scrimp on the main! My wife ran a good pizza and salad restaurant in Canada, and in time we found out that truly great restos are hard to find over there also. It's much harder here.
Their well-designed durable menu offers several steak options, but I hold back from ordering one: as a decent cook myself, after having found it hard to get great choice or prime steak even in a big 'cow-country' Canadian city, and after reading another review of an overdone steak at Salt, I am not sure of the skill of the kitchen: as it's really hard to get good beef from a good butcher anywhere in the country, many qualified questions are easily raised. But beef from Bel Cris out of Bacolod will likely be good: a better than average frozen meat and cheese supplier, it's not a stand-alone butcher shop.
On our third visit we ordered mushroom pizza and 'molo loko' burger on rice pilaf with fried egg, but unimpressive. Authentic beef a good start, but greasy pie with no mushrooms in sight and only okay flavours = only 2.5 stars for it all.
One meal out 15 minutes before the other = lack of awareness on timing and finesse.
Found out the 1350p rib-eye steak is only 1-/2 to 3/4 inch thick, not enough to get a good sear or medium rare, but likely only well done! Sheesh!
Parking.
Squished between the busy two-lane street and a flyway that, serving several unrelated other businesses, leaves very few parking spots for Salt. Patrons having to endure this dumb situation often double-park into the street, trapping properly-parked cars and bottle-necking traffic. In talking to a Salt shift leader, he agreed that it's very poor for business.
As well, oddly enough, it can only be accessed through a separate coffee shop to the back of the building.
Service.
Given the place's shortcomings, the crew does a great job (5 stars)!
I wish I could salute this nice-looking American-styled place with more enthusiasm and a higher rating.
As great chefs in North America and truly-qualified chefs in the Phils are in desperately short supply, we can hardly fault places like Muelle, FTI, and Salt for putting out food and portions that often miss.
As owners often make questionable decisions behind the scenes, hardly can we fault the crew for following them!
Vibe.
Using technology effectively, a two-man live band did a good job of some oldies. Nice touch. Although most tunes fit right in, too bad they insist on doing old Cat Stevens stuff.
As an upper-middle class venue, Salt would be well-served with some cloth napkins? Better than going through so many cheap clingy tissues that hate any kind of moisture.
Ever come back?
Sadly, it's still better than most venues in the city.
