I really enjoyed this lovely spot on Ossington! I came here for Summerlicious, and each course was delicious. My favourite was the grilled octopus, which was tender and flavourful. The service was also efficient and kind. It's quite dark inside the restaurant, but I would say it added to the wine bar vibe. read more

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Salt Wine Bar located along Ossington near Dundas St. W. serves up Spanish tapas with an large wine list featuring many Spanish and Portuguese wines. The menu has many sharable plates and the restaurant can accommodate a large number of customers either at the bar or in their dining room. In the summer they have their street patio as well. The washroom is not accessible as you do need to go downstairs to use the toilet. I've dined at Salt Wine Bar years ago but don't remember much of my experience then. This time, I recently dined at Salt Wine Bar with a friend where we tried their Summerlicious menu (priced at $55). We made reservations just in case although during our time there, there were empty tables available for walk ins as well. Upon arrival, we were greeted by staff who led us to a table. Staff were able to give me a wine recommendation based on the type of preferred wine I like drinking. My friend got a mocktail based on their preference for either a sweet or sour mocktail. Food wise, we ordered the following items. We were able to share the appetizers and desserts. - Steak tartare (AAA Ontario beef, caper, quail yolk, white anchovy aioli, chive, grilled sourdough) - Iberian pork pate (chorizo spice, gundilla peppers, grilled sourdough, sea salt) - Seafood risotto (lobsters, prawns, calamari, peas, cherry tomatoes, saffron rice) - Dulce de leche ice cream (pecan crumble, maldon salt) - Madagascar vanilla bean creme brulee (blueberry compote) The pork pate was great - creamy, light, and smooth. It was great over the grilled sourdough and the peppers added some spice and the pickled peppers refreshed our palettes. The steak tartare was decent - the beef was cut to a good size and the anchovy aioli added extra umami to the dish. The seafood risotto was great - there were pieces of lobster, prawns, and calamari throughout and the rice was cooked slightly al dente. The dish was filling and came out hot, which was much appreciated. Lastly, the desserts were nice - the ice cream was sweet but then you got hints of saltiness from the salt throughout. The sweet and salty combination with the pecan crumble was great. The creme brulee was good as well. Overall, a great Summerlicious meal! The food was tasty and the appetizers were great to go with the wine I had. The meal left us feeling full and satisfied. Staff were also friendly and the pace of the meal didn't feel rushed. Do check out Salt Wine Bar along Ossington if you're around the area! read more

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Had Summerlicious dinner($55) - Hokkaido Scallops were super fresh & was a nice bite. Crunch watermelon radish & nice spicy finish from chili. It went great with the glass of Portuguese white wine( They have good selections of Spanish & Portuguese wine) - Iberian Pork Pate with Blackbird Sourdough. Excellent! Highly recommend it -Grilled Spanish Octopus w/ Romesco, Asparagus, Olives. My favorite. Generous amount of Octopus was served and it was cooked to be very tender. Also you cannot go wrong with romesco sauce. - Seafood Risotto actually had fresh lobster in it!! was a bit in a salty saide though. Bomba rice was cooked to Al dente. - Vanilla bean creme brulee & Chocolate cake were okay. Nothing special. I would just go in for a glass of wine & octopus on a friday night. It was very pleasant experience. read more

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Excellent experience at salt. Table for four shared steak tartare, beet salad, duck confit Fried chicken and of course the gnocchi. My favorite dish, pillows in cream and truffle.perfect. Very deep and approachable wine list, lots for choice between 60-90 dollars. read more

The perfect spot for a girls dinner. All shareable and delicious tapas dishes and a nice long wine list. Super friendly and nice staff. Evokes memories of Barcelona. read more

I really enjoyed my meal here. The food was all delicious and the wine selection was fantastic. Our waiter was on the ball and knew when to bring our many courses of food. There was also a good Spanish beer selections. It was very busy when I first arrived but cleared out around 9PM. The tables are close together which to me is not a bad thing. Then you can see what people are eating and get feedback. Highlights were the lamb chops, charcuterie and scallops. read more

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Pretty unremarkable dining experience. Ambiance is trendy casual. Service is pleasant. Food was acceptable but the price to quality ratio was off. This is not a destination but an all right choice in area. read more

Loved this place for a romantic date night. Ordered a bottle of wine and the 3 cheeses, with a side of marinated olives and the blackbird sourdough to start. I'm all about the blackbird bread and you mix it up with some amazing cheeses, you have a meal. We were full after that but went on to order the shrimp ceviche, patatas bravas, and the chicken. My husband loved the ceviche. I thought it was just ok. Seemed a little fishy to me. And they serve it with bbq tortillas. The tastes were fighting with each other. We asked them to replace the tortillas with crostini. No problem. And it was WAY better. The potato's were ok but came out WAY before the chicken. Was hoping to have them at the same time. My husband hated the chicken but I think he was stuffed by then. I thought the chicken was excellent. Nice and crispy with a sweet sauce on the side. Not sure if I'll ever be back but really enjoyed the meal. read more

My friend and I wandered in here after having a stuffy and uncomfortable time at another restaurant along queen west. Salt offered the opposite experience: great/chill playlist, delicious wine at a good price, and great recommendations from the staff. Everyone was really friendly. It's a warm and inviting place, perfect for colder Autumn nights. read more

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Salt Wine Bar was the perfect tapas-style restaurant. I booked a reservation for myself and a friend day-of so there were only spots left at the bar, but it was spacious enough for our food and beverages. The service was friendly and unpretentious, with fantastic wine recommendations - I ended up having 3 glasses of white wine and I usually prefer to stick to red! We had Jamon Iberico, Patatas Bravas, Heirloom Beets, Wagyu Beef Sliders, and Truffle Gnocchi. This was more than enough food for the two of us, and we were stuffed by the end of the night! I can't recall the name of the wine I had, unfortunately, but I was sold by the description, "disguises itself as a Burgundy." The Toque Suave was fantastic as well - not too sweet, and so smooth! The ambience was great, the restaurant looked beautiful inside, and the music volume was perfect. I will definitely revisit! read more

Salt Wine Bar - Heirloom Beets, Jamon Iberico, Patatas Bravas, Truffle Gnocchi - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

All amazing food, amazing service, music was amazing, very respectful environment. I would definitely recommend trying the friend chicken as my wife and I both agreed that was our favorite on the menu, all very delicious and leaves you full but not overfull read more

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Was out for an impromptu dinner and happened upon Salt, our first choice did not have any tables available, and Salt was open. Ambiance was very nice, great lighting, table was comfortable (not too crowded, chairs were comfortable). We ordered wine, which was very good. We ordered 3 dishes, again, very tasty, but definitely on the small side. I know, tapas, you should expect small, sure but than I expect prices to match. The piri piri chicken, essentially 4 chicken nuggets, it was very tasty but for the price I expected more. And the paella, delicious again, but portion was tiny. The highlight was the burrata salad. We ordered the desserts- again very good but super small. It was a good meal, but I left feeling unfulfilled. The service was very good. I always make a value assessment and I do not feel like we received good value for the price. Sorry Salt, not planning to return. There are so many great options available, why settle. Next time I will do more research and book a reservation in advance. read more

Pretty unremarkable food and certainly not Spanish at all. Risotto was just blend, pickles did not taste homemade and patatas bravas nothing like the Spanish ones. Service was also quite cold - I had asked if I could try some of the wine on the list and they said no because they did not have an open bottle even if it is a wine bar. Would not go back, especially considering the prices. It might explain why the restaurant was half empty on a Saturday night. read more

We enjoyed a delightful Cava here!! the gnocchi was sensational, melts in your mouth! all of the tapas were delicious - and affordable to split with friends. Cozy, wine cellar vibes, highly recommend! read more

Salt Wine Bar - Kale and goat cheese salad - very good!! - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

It was my birthday and I wanted to try somewhere new. My friend heard that Salt Wine Bar was excellent. I made reservations and off we went. Close to Ossington & Dundas, I walked right by it! I completely missed the sign on the sidewalk, but still made it on time. Keep an eye out when you head over! When you get inside you are surrounded by wine. They have a large wine list, many of which I had never heard of. Their cocktail list is also interesting, some ingredients I had never heard of. It was a night to learn of new things! Our server was patient as we tried to decide what to get; everything looked amazing. We decided! Sea Bream Ceviche($13), Lobster & Pork Belly($18), Jamon Serano & Manchego Croquettes($8) and Truffle Gnocchi($22). The ceviche arrived first. We each ordered our own and we were glad we did. It was to-die-for. The mixture of the sea bream, cucumber and pineapple made this an instant favourite. My Lobster & Pork Belly arrived and it looked so pretty, I didn't want to eat it. It was alright, the small lobster tail was a little tough, but the pork belly was fatty, juicy and tender. The Truffle Gnocchi is the kind of dish that you involuntarily roll your eyes back in your head with your first bite. Creamy and mushroomy, this was a fantastic gnocchi! The Croquettes were also quite taste and super cute. The smooth filling topped with grainy mustard was a great plate to share. Dessert! We saw Crème Brulee on the menu and knew we had to get it. It arrived and you could tell it was just made. Sugar was warm and the custard was creamy. I told them it was my birthday and our server put a candle with it. So sweet of her! A great ending to fantastic meal. I'd love to try the rest of the menu. I can't believe every dish was so good! Must have more! read more

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They had great selection of wine and the place was cute. I knocked off a star because the food was meh. But all in all, I'd recommend this place! read more

Stopped in for dinner on a Friday night with no reservation. We were able to sit at the bar and ordered three plates to share. The goat cheese bruschetta was amazing. Grilled octopus was fabulous, so tender and paired with broccolini. The salty of the octopus paired great with the slightly bitter broccolini. Paella was wonderful and just the right size portion for two people. Bartender gave great advice for pairings, especially a really nice white with the octopus. Pretty dimly lit, could've been just a bit brighter. I'd recommend making a reservation if you can, but even at the counter it was worth it! read more

The visit was new for me and my friends - there wasn't anything that'll bring us back. This is a tapas bar with a lot of wine options (go figure) but unfortunately the food wasn't memorable enough for us in any way to warrant a return. We're more foodies than winos, so that could be a contributing factor. We got a number of things to share and the server was attentive to our party of four and made the necessary recommendations to add extra pieces so everyone could have a share of items. Overall, service wasn't bad. I recall a tartare being okay but not notable. An octopus/squid item that wasn't much to talk about, and something that sat atop a cucumber slice of sorts that I didn't enjoy. Overall, the items I was anticipating did not deliver because the flavours didn't mesh together or did not pay off. Salt Wine Bar would've been two stars if not for the wide selection of wines, the food really wasn't there. The service was okay and décor was nice enough, so I might stop in for a drink if I'm in the area but otherwise won't be back. read more

It's been 3 days and I'm still fantasizing about our recent dinner at Salt Wine Bar on Saturday night. I'd heard about this Iberian tapas place from friends in past and the word had been pretty good, a few standout dishes were a must try and overall the meal was a great. I feel like my friends undersold this Ossington standout. Our experience was amazing. We had a later reso, around 8:45pm, and upon arrival had a great cozy corner spot near the rear of the restaurant. Our server came by and walked us through the menu while explaining the recommended number of tapas plates we should order for a group our size (typically 2 dishes per person). We had 6 people together so this meant we could be frivolous with our 12 choices and order some doubles while really testing the limits of the menu. I'll be honest, I can't recall everything we had but here is a list of all the items I remember, and know that for the most part everything was amazing and I would 100% order them again: Octopus, meatballs, sea bream ceviche, steak frites, steak tartar, wild mushroom gnocchi, rapini, large sized cheese board... Some of the above were ordered twice to ensure everyone received a good tasting of it. My one complaint was with the cheese board as I felt that while the taste of the cheeses were quite nice and paired nicely with our meals, I felt it to be overpriced for the portion size that was offered. Aside from the food, I also imbibed on their smoked old fashioned for starters and 4 of us shared in an excellent bottle of wine which sat around the $75 mark. As is the case with many Tapas restaurants, when you're ordering so many small dishes at times the price can creep up on you. The average price per head worked out (with booze) to be around $100 by the end of the night, not the highest I've paid but certainly on the pricier side. So conservative diners beware. Overall, would return (just to have the meatballs and steak frites all to myself). Eatcrest Out! read more

Salt Wine Bar - Steak tartar - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Two things you should know about this place. 1) the food is delicious 2) the portions are tiny 4 of us decided to try this place out on Friday evening for drinks and nibblies...and we definitely got nibblies. I understand it's a tapas menu, but seriously? If the plates are designed for sharing, I would hope that they would a little bit more food on them. We ordered the beet carpacio, the beef tartare, prawns, risotto, chorizo sausage plate and the pulled pork crostini. We had assumed, incorrectly, that ordering 2 plates per person would be sufficient. Boy, were we wrong. I cannot complain too much about the quality of the food, wine or ambiance of the restaurant. Yes, the risotto was a bit underdone in my opinion, the 12 slivers (yes, slivers - not slices) of chorizo were very tasty, but way to small a portion size. I did really enjoy the beet carpacio and the beef tartare, but again...too little of either was served. I guess if you're going to hit Salt Wine Bar you should be ready to pay for the ambiance, the place is lovely, but at the end of the night, be ready to hit up another restaurant for some cheap eats that won't leave you hungry (that's what we did). read more

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Trendy tapas in the Little Portugal hood. Found the place just by walking in as we roamed all over the area to find a table. If you don't have a reservation, be prepared to wait. But the wait isn't ever too long. We got seated at the bar and though it was loud, it was pretty well managed. The menu is a tapas menu so expect small portions but some of the items that stand out are Gnochhi and Steak tartare. We ordered the Grilled Octopus too but it seemed rubbery and a little cold. The ceviche caught my eye too but I tried to be different this time. The bar menu is pretty nice too and they have the classics as well as some house specialities. Come for the ambience; whether you are a hipster or not, this place will delight you! PS: Good date spot!! read more

This place is not over hyped... Salt wine bar is actually SO GOOD. Yes the portions are small but every single portion is quality and well worth it. We're coming here for tapas and good wine not uncomfortably huge North American portions. Order a few dishes. Eat slowly and taste it. Sip it with your wine and enjoy the show while the mixologist smokes your old fashion. Although the cocktails are mediocre, the food is outstanding, and the wine selection is above average. read more

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We were so hungover from last night so we skipped out on the wine but had enough of an appetite to tell if the food was good or not. We had ordered: Sauteed rapini - like any other rapini dish... Beet salad - a pretty salad. Refreshing and good quantity of it. Patatas bravas - tasted like eggs smart home fries... but freshly fried.. King crab cakes - my fave dish from everything else. Nothing special but was the tastiest. Their unique sauces that came with it made it worthwhile (still not worth $18) Risotto negra - definitely not our cup of tea. Maybe it was because it was our last dish (quite full), but this was my least favourited dish amongst everything else. I was happy throughout the entire visit but having to write this review has made me realize how disappointing the food was.. Overall though, the service saved the restaurant's name. read more

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The food was delicious, although I'm not sure I can justify the price. I have to agree with some of the reviewers here and say that the portion sizes are small. If you visit, be prepared to get at least 3-4 dishes per person. I enjoyed the food I just don't think I was prepared to pay that much. I liked the crispy pork belly. The pork meat was soft, and nicely contrasted the crunchy pork crackling. The pork skin was nicely rendered down wonderfully, which made great crackling. All the components of each of the dishes worked really well. My favourite dish was the mushroom truffle dish. Any dish that contains truffles elevates a dish. The food was beautifully presented, and a great use of plate space. They do have a really nice selection of wines and the place is nicely decorated, showcasing the different wines. The service for most part was good. I was immediately greeted when we first arrived and the bartender was friendly. However, I felt like the waiter after he took our order, ignored us. Not sure if I would go back for another visit. I can't deny the food is good, but I have tried better. read more

Salt Wine Bar - Venison with quail egg and truffles. - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Good wine not at a reasonable price haha, yeah but it had been a long time since we had been to the Ossington strip and it was happening for sure ... at a social distance mostly of course, though if you are extra careful keep the mask on at all times, even when walking, except when at the table. Good vibes at this new place for us, food was good without being great, make sure to order the Wagyu sliders (I have a soft spot for Wagyu or Kobe for that matter) and the Gnocchi (excellent flavor mix with the truffle), tuna was tasty as well mostly due to the sauce and the bed of vegetables, and I would give a thumbs up to the patatas bravas as there is some value there. Overall, slightly higher price though I am wiling to overlook due to the current covid environment and that has not impacted the rating. Service was on point. read more

I wonder what it's like to dine in a wine cellar... Enter: Salt Wine Bar. Solid service, fabulous food, intimate atmosphere. Take your beau here or make it family ordeal or a classy GNO affair; very versatile space where you honestly can choose any dish and it won't disappoint. We tried (and would try again): patatas bravas, truffle gnocchi, grilled octopus, and scallop ceviche verde. read more

It's very expensive for the portions. The service was very good. The wine was off and we told the waiter and they replaced the wine but I was expecting for a wine bar better quality. Meh would not go back. read more

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Hubby took me here as our last date night before baby arrives as I'm just past 38 weeks pregnant right now. We were looking for a place that had comfortable seating, classy atmosphere and was romantic. 3 check marks here. Salt Wine Bar really did not disappoint any of our expectations. Service - Our server was a really nice guy, super attentive and made perfect recommendations. When we sat down he shared with us the style of plating (tapas) and suggested that we order around 5 dishes to share as that tended to be the perfect amount for 2 people (he was right). He also helped with a wine selection for the hubby which he very much enjoyed. Food - 1. Started with the charcuterie (5-6 different meats, spreads) which came with bread and cornbread crisps and pickled veg. Delicious. 2. Beet salad - a really lovely light side dish with a creamy dressing - so good and hubby enjoyed it too, even though he's not one for beets. 3. Fried chicken - was spicy and crispy and really flavourful (hubby's favourite). 4. Lamb meatballs - my god. Flavour town all the way. MUST TRY. 5. Short ribs - with pineapple, sweet and spicy flavours, meat was fall off the bone. Dessert - we split the creme brulee and churros and laughed and enjoyed the entire thing. Great way to top off an amazing dinner. Overall would highly recommend and we will definitely be back in the future. read more

Props to LG for telling it like it is. Honestly - this place has 4-5 star potential, but the extreme ridiculousness of the portion sizes drops it immediately to a 2. W-T-F? Tapas are supposed to SHARED plates. The portions here are so tiny that you would possibly need a magnifying glass if you tried cutting some of the food into pieces. The "plates" ranged in price from $8-$15 or so. You would honestly have to order about 10 plates each to feel satisfied. I was a complete joke. We actually had to go and eat cheap Vietnamese food afterward. I recently ate at Le Bremner in Montreal (Chuck Hughes new place) which also serves up "shared plates". The cost of the dishes there were on par with Salt Wine Bar, yet the portions were 5-6 times larger. It's sad - because everything else about this place is great. Amazing wine selection, lovely ambiance/decor and extremely attentive waitstaff. Unfortunately it's just extremely overpriced. read more

Shoop. Push It. Everybody knows Salt n Pepa belong together, and I had a lovely bestie date here with Matt M last weekend. He is the Salt to my Pepper, the butter to my bread, the Ann Perkins to my Leslie Knope. We started with their smoked cedar Manhattan, which sounds over-the-top and douche-y but it was tasty and a pretty average price for a fancy cocktail on the strip -- much cheaper than BarChef or somewhere cooking up something similar. We then ordered a bottle of the reserve cava. Because treat yo'self. It was delicious, but to be honest I can't tell the difference between a $90 bottle of Cava or a $20, so I should probably keep the plastic in my pocket and go for the cheaper option next time. To eat we had the cheese board and beat salad followed by the duck confit, which was like poultry candy. All delish. The tables for two are spaced a little too close together for my liking. The date sitting next to us was the wooo-oorst and constantly looked at our fun with disdain, which only made us more fun. This review was fully powered by bestie Parks and Rec binge watching. #jeanralpheoforlife read more

Gorgeous room, friendly staff, intriguing menu, but good goddamn, how little food you get. What you do get is delicious, but I think we realized we were going to leave hungry when our waiter brought a bread basket to the table that was the size of a fingerbowl. (Filled with four or five wafer-thin crostini and served with a dab of tapenade.) The ambience is nice and this place would be great just for drinks, but don't expect a full meal here. read more

The server asked us "How'd you hear about us?" Well let's see, we just passed on a 1.5 hour line-up at Libretto and you're next door. So, we lied :) First thing about Salt, the storefront doesn't do justice to the interior--can't figure out why. The raw wood and concrete that figures in much of the dining room gives the place great ambience. Somehow reminded us of Jamon in NYC. Older crowd than Libretto and hence fewer high pitched giggles and screams than you get with the "girls gone wild" crowd that sometimes overwhelms Ossington. Come to the think of it, the staff look older too--so the tone is altogether more relaxed, less frenetic than other Ossington/Queen hot spots. And, good tapas (it's a tapas place right?). Ham croquettes were stand out memorable. Haven't had decent croquettes since Coca. Beet and goat cheese salad. Yup. Good. Tuna crudo ... hmmm... kinda bland. Nothing wrong with the ingredients, just.. was it mango in there... nothing to bring the tuna flavor out. Duck confit mmm, very duck and very confit. Then two beautiful cheeses for desert (from an enormous selection). I get the impression you could go in there and simply dine on cheese and wine. Should try that sometime. As it was, we had a very credible Crianza with the meal. Service was attentive. Definitely give Salt a try. read more

Checked out Salt last night (March 4) Great place, so so ambiance and the service was awesome The Tapas we had were delicious, and the friends I was out with mentioned that the Martini's they had were YUMMY, I just drank some Portuguese Sparkling Water which was ok, nothing really special about it. The only thing I would definitely do a fixer-upper on is that UGLY BROWN CURTAIN they have near the entrance what the heck is that supposed to be, thank goodness for the nice guy that opened the door for me as we were walking into the same place, I would have definitely tripped........ GET RID OF IT, it's not doing anything for your DECOR read more

I had some food and wine there with my friend last week. It was a special night so we decided to splurge and go trendy. The room was almost empty when I arrived but the maitre d' squished us in a corner behind the cash register and was very curt. The assistant maitre d' looked a little sheepish - I am not sure why. But the evening started with kind of a weird vibe. We had: Arugula salad - Tasty. Good for 2. Seared Scallops - Very nice. Cooked perfectly. A little sweet for me but I can recommend these. But $17 for 4 - OUCH! Grilled Prawns - Yum! The usual but a very good version. Again, cooked perfectly. Risotto - Lovely flavour. The rice was sort of long grain and cooked a little al dente. i like the softer version of risotto better. It was okay but I would not order it again. Rapini -Yummy and quite a healthy portion. You can fill up on rapini at $5 a plate :) We had some cheese and crackers. The cheese was nice but the portion size made us giggle. And the crackers were icky. We liked the food but our waiter was OBNOXIOUS! He kept trying to make us order stuff we did not want and schooling us in an intrusive manner. After our bill hit $130, he just brought it over unasked with no offer of dessert, coffee, more liquor... so we paid up, finished our wine at a leisurely pace, and headed north to the Black Skirt where we were given the usual warm welcome and served coffee, delicious dessert and lovely liqueurs. I am glad I tried it out but doubt I'll go back to Salt. The Black Skirt OTOH remains an often-visited favourite. PS - the in house prices are higher than the ones posted on the internet menu. read more

I love, love, love the place. It was our first time there and we were disapointed. Unfortunatelly service is not the best, we walk in the bar saturday night 10pm, place is empty, only 4 tables w people. 5 servers at the bar looking at us, no one says anything, finally bar tender asks how many people. He ask us to wait again, ????? Really? He desapeared and while he is gone everybody at the bar keep looking at us, but noone has the decency of asking if we have been served or if we need help. Finally bar tender comes back and give us a table. It was hard to understand the server and he kept asking us to repeat bcs the music was so loud and we could not understand him either. Not really knowledgeable, they were all over the place and not very attentive with customers. It is a shame because the place is really nice, we loved it and the concept is great. Food was nice too. read more

1 1/2* This is the second time I've gone to Salt - both for birthday parties and again I've been disappointed. We ordered an assortment of food from the menu. This time I tried 3: charcuterie platter, duck risotto, bison tartar. The Charcuterie platter included pork & duck prosciutto, some from of pulled pork spread, chorizo & what I think was a rabbit patte All were mediocre except the pulled pork spread. That seemed to be balanced (although quite bland.) The duck risotto came with a duck leg/thigh bone in on top of risotto. The risotto in the duck risotto was way too watery, although the risotto itself was finished properly. It seemed to have quite a bit of butter - which of course tastes great. The duck itself was nicely done. The skin was crispy and delicious - and normally i try a little and leave the rest, but I couldn't resist finishing it. The bison tartar was properly seasoned with salt and other spices. This was a decent dish and I'd recommend it if you find yourself at salt. SERVICE: The service was actually terrible this time. The waiter was forceful about where to sit (we had a large group and a few tables.) Ultimately, a lot of people looking to catch up weren't sitting together. Second, he told us because we were in such a large group that if we wanted the food to come out together, each table had to fully order at one time - something we were planning to do anyways. Nevertheless, we did do what he suggested, and the food came out 1 plate at a time, over the course of 30-40 minutes. Food ** Ambiance **1/2 Service 1/2* (out of ****) If you're in the area and Libretto is busy, go to the casual old school Lakeview Diner on Dundas, just east of Ossington. Cheap, unpretentious, great service, and the food is alright. read more

I've been here about 4 times now, and every time has been great. I like the fact that it takes the local portuguese flavours and modernizes them into tapas dishes. I'm always a sucker for tapas, and cured meats, and they have both. And their portuguese fare is great, from nicely cooked sardines to delicious calamari. The staff is always friendly and I really like the wine list which has a lot of reasonably priced wines - a lot of which you don't find at a lot of other restaurants. Definitely worth checking out. It's now one of my fave Ossington places. read more

3.5 stars VIBE I love the look of this place. The perimeter of the whole bar is surrounded by wine bottles so it feels like you're in a wine cellar on the top floor. Lots of chandeliers and dim lighting are bonus points in my books. It's a bustling, sophisticated atmosphere and lots of dates and young professionals hanging out here. WE ATE/DRANK If you love seafood, you're in for a treat. That's their specialty here. We were waiting for our reservation next door at Yours Truly so we had a glass of wine and the ceviche. Wine: Alandra - notes of honey, apple and pear clean finish It's a great wine if you're just starting with an appetizer or getting your night started. Light and refreshing and not overly sweet. I'd get this again. The ceviche was a surprise. I'm used to having it in a bowl but it was all laid out on a wooden platter. The presentation was lovely but I wasn't expecting it at all. It also wasn't very filling. That said, the flavours went very well together if you like citrus tastes. I probably wouldn't get it again though. OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK Salt is not salty but left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. I'd come back. Great first date place or place to catch up with a long lost girlfriend. I agree with Lauren -- it'd have 4/5 star potential if the food was more hearty. read more

3.75. Went for a girls dinner recently. Everything was chill and tasty. Highlights for me were the lighter, smaller plates. Great for sharing. Beet salad and manchego cheese crustini. They paced things well and server was kind. A bit slow at the start and they had no ginger beer. Wine list is great and creative. Not funky or cool really. More of a grown up, if slightly laid back vibe. The lighting is warm and romantic, with wine lining the walls. Older crowd. Good place for taking parents or colleagues. Also worked well for girl chats, which is what we were up to. Would go again but not in a crazy rush. Nice place to have on the roster for when you fancy a wine oriented meal. read more

I can't speak for the food, but their drinks are spectacular! Their drinks are all custom crafted by very knowledgable bartenders who go out of their way to make them special... ie. using a wood chipper to smoke the glass they use for their manhattans! this bar really helps put Toronto on the map for the bartending and cocktail scene that is so big in the states. They also have a great wine selection and great staff. Alas, they're a bit expensive for me to come back as regularly as I would like but definitely a treat that is worth the money. We will be back for food sometime soon I hope! read more