Salt and Iron — Restaurant in Edmonds

Take out was my first review. We went as a family of 6 last month and thought everything was good except the service was amiss.

Food: modern new American with twists that surprisingly worked well. Delicious. The halibut was a hit.

The seafood pot was well seasoned (shrimp overcooked but otherwise not bad).

The duck was smoked well but a wee bit dry & the vegetables were blocking so much of the puree at the bottom I thought the dish was underwhelming but realized the puree pairs very well with the protein - maybe the puree needed to be on the side or more of it on the outer edges because I couldn't get to it until the end of eating.

My mom said the pork chops were slightly overdone but didn't have the heart to let them know for whatever reason. So that's on her.

The desserts were not bad but their entrees were better. Carrot cake was too rich/heavy and the cheesecake flavor with mint & yuzu was wonderful but texture could have been lighter.

Okay... the service was what made me pause. My parents have been looking for a restaurant to go to in the Edmonds area and at first we thought this was it. But our server didn't provide any utensils or table setting for my son; she forgot the steak knife for my mom (later came back and apologized but my mom did have to use a butter knife 1/3 of the time); I asked for black pepper and she handed me a pepper shaker that added absolutely no flavor. This is when I thought, "Oh maybe this isn't a fine dining restaurant...." She didn't offer fresh ground black pepper and didn't come back to us half the night unless we flagged her down or got up to look for her. It was disappointing.

I think food wise it's definitely worth coming back to. Our service was honestly lacking. She was friendly but not considerate. I will say this was our first time dining in so I'm willing to give it another try but with this first subpar experience in mind.

Review from a couple years ago:

I would rate my experience with 4.5 stars. (Minor side notes are below, but otherwise it was a wonderful dinner.)

My husband and I wanted to celebrate our anniversary at home so we ordered take-out. Even after 40 minutes (the food came out about 20 minutes earlier plus another 20 minutes to get back home)... we were stunned that the food was still delicious.

He ordered the salmon and was delighted at how crispy the skin was. The flesh was still at a tender medium. I tried the bowl of chowder, which seemed pricey at first. All I saw at the top of my take-out bag was a small bowl and I freaked out thinking this was it. I'm not gonna lie, you guys had me in the first half! It turned out the rest of the "chowder" was at the bottom in a wonderfully presented box of succulent shrimp, plump mussels, and juicy clams. Again, I'm not a big seafood eater, but having a more gravy-like chowder over this shellfish affair blew my expectations away. This may sound over-the-top, but it sort of revolutionized the way I enjoyed a bowl of seafood chowder-- instead of having bits of chewy, indiscernible shellfish in a gelatin-like appetizer I actually enjoyed this as an elegant entrée. Who would have thought!

I was so impressed by the flavor, the textures, the body and seasonings of the chowder itself, and the balance of a single lemon wedge was perfection; it truly deserves the "award-winning" title unlike others that proclaim to be so. It was still rich and creamy yet was not on the heavy side so that was a pleasant surprise. It paired beautifully with a glass of white wine. My compliments to the chef.

Small side notes: The bread that came with it was tough to chew, but again, that was after a 40 minute wait so I won't count it. Also, I would have liked the fish to be "rinsed" in some cooking wine to take out any smells, otherwise it was a wonderful dish.

We wondered if the take-out was this good... how would the experience be at the restaurant? We look forward to going in-person someday and hope this will become a local favorite (so we don't have to flip a coin anymore to...

I went there last night for dinner (March 2023) with 3 other adults, this was our experience:

The Good

Service: It was good, server was attentive. Also, this is the first place ever that knew how to properly split a ticket amongst 2 couples by splitting the wine and appetizers only, a small thing but I liked it. Place: The restaurant looks nice, we sat closer to the kitchen and it was fine although a bit noisy and tons of foot traffic, it was noticeable that the other "room" was better on the noise levels. (The restaurant has 2 main areas, the restaurant itself and a less formal room by the kitchen) Appetizer: The Octopus appetizer was tasty and not rubbery. It was the only highlight of the night food wise. Sides: We ordered the Whipped Potatoes for sides on the steaks and they were good with a great texture and flavor. Also, the sides alone are so large you can get full on them. Drinks: We ordered a bottle of Syrah so can't comment on the drinks, however, the price for the bottle was ok.

The Bad

Appetizer: Fried Calamari was just ok with very little flavor other than the jalapeño. The calamari steered me away from ordering more seafood as I thought to myself "this is not a seafood place"

Desserts: We ordered 2 desserts, the Upside Down special and the hazelnut one, none of them were special and we only finished them because we had to. Now, they weren't bad by themselves but for the price paid ($30 for the 2) I expected them to be good.

The Ugly

Entrees: We ordered steaks and none were good so I'll explain why:

Flat Iron Steak ($38) - ordered medium and cooked correctly, smothered on a wine glaze that ruins the experience (this is not mentioned on the menu). The steak itself was so rubbery that my wife had to stop eating it, she described it as trying to eat a beach sandal.

New York Strip ($50) - ordered medium and cooked correctly. This too was smothered on a wine glaze ruining the steak and even the server agreed with me on it (after the fact). The steak itself was very low quality beef and something I would expect at a chain restaurant that doesn’t specialize on steaks, this is at most a low-level supermarket steak, if this steak was $17 instead of $50, I would've still felt I overpaid. That's how bad it was.

On the steaks TL;DR; The restaurant smothers the steak on a thick sauce to hide the poor quality beef and I don't thinks thats something to celebrate and they should be called out for not putting it crystal clear on the menu. For $50 (NY Strip) I would expect at least a good steak, I got a poor excuse for it and the restaurant needs to start sourcing better quality beef if they are to sell them at the price they do. Also, PLEASE, put the sauce on the side!

Conclusion:

I went in with high expectations and left completely dissatisfied. We had a $190 check with tip (after ticket split, this was the total for 2 people) and the quality was not better than going to a chain restaurant, in many ways, it was worse because the expectations were higher.

If you are into steaks, stay away, this is not the place for you. I would rather pay $20-$50 more per steak at a proper place than returning here.

I hope this review helps, I tried my best to not be negative and provide data that helps others. One thing to notice, when I review I think less of the money paid and more about what I got for the money paid if that makes sense.

(Photo attached is the New York as served with...

So my wife and I decided to try out a new place for brunch this morning outside of the area we live in so we decided to check out Salt & Iron, about a 20 minute drive from our home.

We were able to book a table in advance, which was nice, so we had no wait upon arrival. Once seated, our waiter greeted us and took our drink order. Usual coffee for myself, but my wife decided to try out one of their "Liquid breakfast" drinks, thinking it would be a mimosa-like drink. Turns out, her drink was VERY STRONG (vodka) and was more suited to be something served at a bar or nightclub, not on a brunch menu.

We started with an order of their cookie butter madelines with strawberry jam (and a side of whip cream...a must have addition). These were delicious! I would go here just for coffee and madelines, honestly.

At the recommendation of our waiter (who said this was his all-around favorite menu item), my wife ordered the Crab Benedict and I simply ordered a cinnamon roll (not being a big Benedict fan myself).

Upon arriving, I snagged a few potatoes off of my wife's crab Benedict plate as she took her first bite, and we both immediately asked, "Is it supposed to be cold?"

Aside from being slightly cold, the potatoes were decent, slightly overcooked but decent. The crab Benedict, however, another story. My wife is NOT a picky eater, and we RARELY EVER send a dish back, but sadly, this ended up being the case with the Crab Benedict.

She took one bite of it and immediately began to gag, having to spit the food out into her napkin, and then she had to take off to the restroom bc she was going to be sick. Upon returning to the table, she explained that the dish was SO SALTY that it was literally inedible and the crab used was more or less a crab type spread, not any sort of actual crab whatsoever. Even after returning from the restroom, my wife asked for the car keys because she continued to be so nauseous that she was simply too uncomfortable and too unsure if she was going to get sick again to remain in the restaurant. So she headed to the car as I paid the check and all.

To their credit, the waiter was so very gracious and understanding and did remove the dish from our check. I can not tell you just HOW EMBARRASSING it is to have to send ANY DISH back at a restaurant so his understanding and empathy were much appreciated.

I'm not going to completely count this place out based on one bad dish, but convincing my wife to return may be a monumental...