Salt Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in North Island

Chefs, Richard and Freddie's gave us the dining experience of a lifetime. Well,I was with Michael, their dad. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink and watched optimistic potential diners’ turn into disappointed ones because every table was taken. Our feast began with: Pan fried scallops, with herb couscous & coconut broth. Michael’s scallops rested on a small bed of couscous, mine, because I’m coeliac, rested on braised leeks. The dish was complemented with radish garnish and a light frothy coconut sauce, a delicious combination. Our empty plates were cleared, more drinks and clean cutlery delivered and we waited in a state of impressed anticipation. “Ding.” The waiter headed our way holding two square, wooden platters exhibiting: Summer tomato & wild rice salad with mozzarella, candy nuts & basil. We tucked into another well-constructed dish where different flavours and textures delighted the palate. The wild rice had the texture of meat and later, Richard told me, they sauté it in bacon fat. Salt hummed with friendly efficiency. Richard and Freddie, heads bowed, assembled orders, placed them on the servery counter, rang the bell and moved on to the next plate. Time for the fish course and you may well be thinking, ‘God, how much food are these two going to eat?’ In our defence, we had climbed up Taranaki earlier that day and the boys had reduced the portion size so we could enjoy lots of different culinary delights. Cured fish of the day & horseradish snow with cucumber & spinach dressing. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Richard and Freddie added another dimension to the taste experience. Fresh lime juice and a hint of star anise sweetened the cured fish, but the piece de resistance had to be the horseradish frozen in crème fraiche and then grated on top, like snow. The frozen ‘snow’ melted in the mouth so that I experienced different flavours, textures and temperatures. Pan roasted pork loin with red cabbage & apple, soft cashew nuts & a light pork jus. After my taste buds had been teased and delicately delighted we were now moved onto the main course. This food had a different energy; the flavours were strong and powerful, exemplifying the justified dominance of a main course. A refreshing apple foam counterbalanced melt in the mouth tenderloins of pork. A Turkish dome of pureed potato nestled on strips of red cabbage with cashew nuts. The jus was rich and mysterious. The cress peppered the pork and a leaf of pak choi provided a chewy resistance. We finished with: Warm apricots & pears with honeycomb & pistachio ice-cream. Warm apricots combined with the sweetness of the blueberries and cold of the pistachio ice-cream. A honeycomb wedge and a thin layer of poached pear complemented this refreshing dessert. A perfect finish to a perfect dining experience. I asked Freddie about his sauces and how he achieved such richness. He told me they have seven basic sauces, some taking two days to prepare; these are frozen and then defrosted as needed. Freddie said. “Being Head Chef at Salt has been an amazing experience. When I came here, it was Asian style, which was a bit weird. We introduced the French style which other restaurants around here weren’t doing; a few were but not many. “ “What next?” I asked. “Just always try to get better,” he replied. For me, this was an experience of a lifetime and though I fail to see how it can be surpassed, I believe that Freddie and Richard’s passion will drive them to be ever more inventive and creative. They understand and cater for customers with special diets. Salt favours the wines and beers of New Zealand producers and knows how to serve them at just the right temperatures. Residents in New Plymouth are lucky to have Salt on their doorstep. Excellent food at an excellent price. This standard of cuisine in another country or another city might be double or treble the price. If you’re on a limited budget, I suggest the Seafood...

Very disappointing. Firstly we made a reservation at least a week prior to dining (for my husbands birthday). We then reconfirmed 24hrs when we get the email asking us to confirm. We turn up at the restaurant at the correct time, and no table ready or available. Server ran around finding a table, but it was squished in the corner and by a large party, plus no view all it had was a curtain and by the door so it would have been busy with foot traffic, we said we were not happy with that table so we had to wait for them to get another table ready. No apology offered. We sat and order our drinks and meal. $200+ for two people. The food was boring and lack luster, we had been told it was epic, so that is why we thought we would give it ago. I had the risotto, it was luke warm to cold and very minimal flavour. Just as we put our knife and fork down from our main, our waitress came over and said the bar and kitchen are closing, do you want anything else. We said yes lets see the dessert menu. What a let down, my cheesecake was more like a pancetta! We dine out regularly in NP but have not been to Salt for a number of years (after the worst table service ever!); anyway after hearing good things we thought we would give it ago. Never again, you wouldn't be able to twist my arm with a free meal there! We will stick to our top five restaurants from now on and not be back at Salt sorry. I would like to say this restaurant has the best sea views...

While i waited for a friend i ordered a drink- Prosecco. This tasted bad and i returned to the counter. During this time it looked like there was a team meeting taking place, i was acknowledged but i was happy to wait till they finished. This led on to casual banter, photos and jokes while i was sat there waiting for nearly 10 mins. Finally i was asked if i needed anything and i requested a drink- this time i was served Lindauer which i politely refused. For a fine dining restaurant that was a let down. In the end i ended up with a fluroscent cosmo which tasted like watered down lime juice. I was served 3 drinks which i couldnt drink and i still paid for all 3. This just came across as poor customer service as most other places would write off atleast 1 drink. Our waitress, Milla, was lovely. Attentive, friendly and polite. The food was nice. Nothing to make me feel excited to go back but just ok. In the previous years at Salt the food and drinks have been amazing ! Used to be one of my favourite places but i was really let down this time. It didnt feel like the “high end” restaurant it portrays to be. For the amount of staff onsite the care to customers was awful. I wont be going back and most likely wont be recommending this...