The Salty Dog — Restaurant in Amherstburg

I would like to preface my review with that the restaurant was understandably busy. But my experience was very unprofessional and distasteful. Brought the whole family out for Mother’s Day dinner, we called ahead asked about wait times we were told 20-30 mins wait. We get to the restaurant and put our name and phone number on the list and we are told that the wait was 20-30 mins (which we expected) told the hostess that we are going to walk on the river front until we get called. We wait over an hour and eventually get a call. The call rang twice and hung up before I could answer, I call back right away to no answer. We were a min away from the restaurant, kept trying to call back to tell the hostess we were coming and no answer. We get to the restaurant and I let the hostess know that she had just called me a minute ago and I was trying to call back for our table. We get a half smirk and apology and that she had given our table away. I asked the hostess why she would give our table away given that I was calling her back right after she hung up. The answer we received was a very nonchalant it’s busy we gave your table away, and she turned around and started talking to other customers looking to be seated. We had driven 30 mins from the city waited over an hour to be told tough luck we gave your table away, with no assistance or effort on her end to rectify her mistake or real apology. I wasted a significant amount of our Mother’s Day celebration to eat at the establishment only to be turned away when our turn came.

It very unfortunate, I have been a long time patron and stop by to eat at least a couple times a month. If management wants to reach out I can send screenshots of the missed call and my call back. I don’t believe after today I will ever want to come back to...

We went to this place for lunch. It is located at one of the best spots in Amherstburg. If you visiting this great town, that's a place to be. Almost everything there is to see in this historical spot is just within a few yards from Salty Dog. We were sitting by the window and could see the park and the river. Its across the street from another supper great coffee place. I think its called Caffeine Co or something like that. As soon as you walk in you can feel the cozy atmosphere of this place. There are not too many tables but just enough not to feel overcrowded. It was not a holiday but probably 60..70% of the place was filled up. There is a nice bar on the right when you walk in. There were a couple sitting there. We were greeted by a amazing good looking waitress. I did not ask her name but she was one of the people who made our time there really enjoyable. In the corner you can see large wooden oven where all the magic happening. We were able too see how lady prepared food which I consider a plus. Its a confidence statement on the restaurant part in my book. The menu was just right. Pretty much all you need - salads, soups, burgers, pizzas and more. We ordered a lobster pizza. It was amazing on a thin crust with just the rite amount of everything. The garlic sauce that came with pizza was delicious. Prices seamed a little high but quality and combination of everything made it barely noticeable. There were many places on that spot through the years. At one point I remember a clothing store. The Salty Dog fits this spot perfectly. I recommend it for a family dinner or any occasion. I definitely will go...

I've been to places with great food, and places with great service. Rarely do you find both in such perfect harmony.

We had to wait to be seated but were offered seats at the bar where our bartender was funny, attentive and an overall delight.

Once seated, our server was equally as awesome, but the only thing that eclipsed his stellar service was the food. We sat close enough to the pizza oven to watch them toss the hand-pulled crusts in the air and chat with them about the amazing creations they were assembling. They were nice enough to answer all the questions my kids threw at them.

EVERY single dish we had was awesome. I'll rate them in order below:

Big Dill Pizza - this was obviously a departure from your standard order but was absolutely incredible.

Beef Tips - the gorgonzola cheese in their beef tips took them to the next level.

Dynamite Shrimp - the name says it all. It was absolute dynamite.

Arancini - a classic but done SO well. Cheesy, saucy, so, so good.

Canadian Pizza - another classic, ordered for my kids who devoured it.

When you can sit in an establishment and look around at ALL of their team and realize they have all the right ingredients...from friendliness to professionalism to being incredible chefs...as an appreciative patron I not only recognize it, but wanna wave that flag.

I'll be back, MANY times. But I hope others will give it a...