Salt & Bubbles Wine Bar and Market — Restaurant in Essex

The term nerd is often thought of as pejorative. At the very least it is one-note. The term passion is also absurdly over-used to the point of being meaningless; divorced from what passion actually is. Kayla Silver might be characterized by the lazy as a passionate food nerd, but what she actually is is a chef owner who has superbly discerning taste, and a base level purity of drive to do the work of shaping truly outstanding experiences that are at their core entirely about the food, with a real intention, discernment, and directness of purpose. Her warm and intimate new restaurant has a focused, no-nonsense but welcoming feel, much like Kayla herself, and utterly lacking in the pretentions that a chef of equal skill but inferior character might well feel she was entitled to. Kayla has a scholarly, almost professorial approach, and from top to bottom her menu is exceptionally well-crafted, and succeeds in existing as a holistic whole but also encompassing a broad range of superbly balanced and complementary flavors which alternate between the bold and the ethereal; the subtle and the brash. There are no face cards in this deck, they're all aces, and the menu is precisely as big as it needs to be, and no bigger. A dish as seemingly simple as Burratta and grilled carrots is so well designed that it invites you to be truly present in that moment, and understanding the impact of Kayla's talent to finely observe and create. The overall experience is equal parts focused and relaxed, and no matter how much you think you might know about food, and local food especially, you will always leave Salt & Bubbles having learned something new. Kayla's skill and ability to finely observe and evaluate are second to none, and her abilities as a curator are undeniably first-rate. The Vermont restaurant landscape, much like the state itself, is sparse but beautifully populated, and Kayla should be now considered one of its leading lights and most...

“This is the best baby shower ever!” So said one of the guests at my baby shower we held at Salt & Bubbles in March. Indeed, everyone had such a wonderful, relaxing time – thanks to the fabulous help and service we received from Kayla and her staff.

Kayla is absolutely fabulous to work with and couldn’t have been any more helpful with planning this event – from meeting with us a couple of times to show us how the space could be utilized, to working with Travis her chef to personalize and fine tune a menu of charcuterie boards, small Jambon-Beurre sandwiches and other delicious tidbits—there wasn’t a detail that was overlooked. She even put together a special fizzy cocktail served in lovely wine glasses that greeted our guests as they arrived! It was unique touches like this that really made our event stand out.

On the day, the shower went off without a hitch. We cannot say enough positive things about Kayla and her staff. Willem, who was behind the bar ensured that guests were served in a timely fashion and collected empty plates and glassware - all while wearing a bright welcoming smile; and Taylor, Salt & Bubbles Assistant Manager who, in addition to assisting customers in the market, was seen washing dishes and helping out at the bar.

Prior to the event, we have dined at Salt & Bubbles many times and always had fantastic experiences from start to finish. I encourage you to stop in whether it is for a flight or a glass and a selection from their food menu- you cannot go wrong! Also while you’re there, be sure to inquire about the wine club as well because I can guarantee it will be hard to leave without a bottle (or two) and something tasty from their wine market!

We highly recommend and suggest you check into what Salt & Bubbles has to offer for your next event. We can’t thank Kayla and her wonderful staff enough for helping us make our vision for my baby shower...

This would be 3.5 if I could. I want to love this place, it is the thing we need locally, has a pretty cool vibe, and we were really happy with our charcuterie plate but there are some things that need to change to make it the 5 star place I hope it will be.

Service was subpar. The waitress was good when we had her attention but she spent too much time talking to the people at another table whom she seemed to have a personal connection with. This led her to not ask us how we liked our first drinks or 1st appetizer until we were completely finished with them. We were ready to order the next “course” long before she came back.

Food was slow. We ordered our second course and it took over 30 minutes before it came to us. We had to ask to have it boxed up. This might be because there isn’t actually a kitchen per se and the bartender is too busy to do both the chef work and the bartender duties or it’s possible the order didn’t get entered in a timely fashion. Either way, not ideal.

Wines are almost exclusively European. There are European wines that I like but in America I expect to have access to many of the amazing California wines too.

Redeeming factor: we didn’t complain, or ask for anything special but just because we asked to have the food boxed up they realized the situation, comped us two glasses of wine and gave us a nice gift card for the next time. The food was good, the atmosphere is 90% there (high ceilings without decorations make it feel like a warehouse). We will definitely go back and give them...