SALT — Restaurant in Boulder

This is an ideal to-go restaurant...as in, the restaurant needs to go to allow for a more talented, capable, and fair use of this lovely space. The food here has always been mediocre, and I've eaten at his place from time to time when the food was not as expensive.

Today, when my husband and I went for brunch, both our meals/plates were abhorrent with nothing done to compensate via our server and the manager once I spoke with both of them. I was shocked at everything that was lacking at SALT. We will never go to this place again, ever, unless it is a new restaurant. The best thing about our meals today was my Arnold Palmer drink - lemonade and iced tea combo. Even our glasses of water tasted like dishwater.

Let me start with my " Organic Powerbowl". After this experience, I'm now convinced there was nothing organic about it. Half of the ingredients were missing from my "bowl", and the ingredients that were in there consisted of trace amounts, except for some lettuce, two strawberries, A LOT of "roasted" beets (not roasted, though) and some raw broccoli. In fact, it was actually not a "bowl" at all, but a minute side salad on a dish with about a quarter teaspoon of quinoa, four chickpeas, those two strawberries that were each quartered, raw broccoli, and again, A LOT of boiled beets. I honestly couldn't believe they were trying to pass this off as a $16.00 meal ($20.50 with the chicken). The 1/2 chicken breast that I ordered for $4.50 more was actually decent. The polenta croutons, pepitas, avocado, and fuji apple were all MISSING from this "bowl". I knew the dish looked minimal when I received the salad/"bowl", but I checked the menu when we paid, and noticed that it should have contained much more within it.

My husband ordered the "red flannel hash". The hollandaise sauce was forgotten, so he had to ask for that after the dish was served. The napa cabbage, onions, and rustic potatoes were also all missing from this dish. It must be beet season and beets must be cheap, because his "hash" was also overloaded with a bunch of cubed beets (same as my beets - not roasted, but boiled). Also, he had about a tablespoon of corned beef that was lost in the sea of beets and barely noticeable. Oh, and this was a $17.00 plate.

My advice, stay far away from this place. It is so not worth it! There are much better places on Pearl for the same prices and which include chefs and kitchen staff who won't skimp, giving you what is actually supposed to be...

Please keep in mind, I am not a gourmet connoisseur. But we do love breakfast and after living in boulder for more than 30 years, we have scouted out the available breakfast options. We do have favorites! I have to say this morning, I was disappointed. We came here for our group birthday breakfast. Let me start with the good. These are the best French fries I’ve had in a long time. However You will want to bring your own Ketchup, note the server dispensed pepper, will not save this version of ketchup. What is given in the smallest of containers will likely not get used. It’s more like a “not gazpacho” style cold, tomato soup. That aside, we ordered the beignets which were definitely made from a sturdy whole wheat dough. Each of these 4 - 2” square fried donuts were made from a dough that was reminiscent of the bread that my avocado toast was made from, these were fried and covered in powdered sugar, they are a very small order. They had a sturdy texture, and were a nice way to start our celebration, but not like a traditional beignet . I ordered iced tea and others ordered coffee. At no point did our server notice that our beverages were running low or out or offer to refill. Each refill had to be requested and those ordering coffee had to ask for spoons and cream post ordering.

I was disappointed with the avocado toast meal. What was served was a very thin layer of an avocado (I think) spread, and in several areas you could see though the smooth spread to the bread beneath, and everything on my plate was cold… The avocado was unrecognizable as having ever been an avocado other than the dull green color. It appeared to be a green spread of some kind, that was taken from a premade bowl made at some time earlier… not made to order. Not the avocado toast I was expecting, or have had before at other establishments. I did not taste any avocado… it was mostly a delicious bread as a base with a thin spread of green and two eggs on top with a side of the best French fries you will likely ever have. The servers were scarce and our meal was cold… I won’t be back unless someone I am dining with, insists… to give perspective we were here for 2 + hours. Sat with no plates, no beverages for a while after finishing our meal and had to ask for the bill… then waited for a while to have our cards picked up… once they picked them up, they were...

We dined at SALT for our wedding anniversary dinner. Overall, we couldn't be more pleased. We were seated in the cellar (the room downstairs where they often host events). It was quiet and cozy.

Service: Our server MJ was fantastic! He was busy and professional, but we were also able to get to know him and his interesting story that brought him to the U.S. and ultimately SALT. Don't hesitate to engage a bit to reduce the formality of service.

Drinks: They have a good wine selection. We had some Joseph Swan Pinot along with a few cocktails. I would say the cocktails were okay. The Old Fashioned lacked the muddled fruit and maraschino cherries which should be standard. I should have read the ingredient list before ordering. The Manhattan was better. It had the appropriate mix of ingredients and included the maraschino cherries.

Appetizers: We chose the Harvest Salad and Steamed Mussels to start. The salad was fresh and filling. My wife said she enjoyed it.

The steamed mussels were incredible! I travel around the world for work, and this had to be in my top 3 appetizers of all time. A nice balance of sweet and heat in the sauce with well cooked mussels. Put a little on the crispy crostini, and you have a excellent and balanced dish. I would come here again just for this dish!

Entrée: I tried Tom's Tavern Burger. Candidly, I chose it simply because it was named after the prior owner and was a signature dish. While it was cooked to a correct medium-rare, I found it lacked texture and flavor. It would have been much better with grilled onions or some other higher-contrast topping along with some salt or seasoning. Next time, I will get a steak.

Dessert: We ordered both the Apple Crisp and Chocolate Tart at MJ's recommendation. Both were very good, but the tart really stood out. It reminded us of the tart at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. The flavor was rich and the texture just right. It was paired with espresso ice-cream and sea salt. Delicious!

MJ and the SALT team helped make our anniversary great. We will certainly be back next time we...