Salt — Restaurant in Fernandina Beach

We began the evening at the SALT bar where our bartender Matt mixed me a Manhattan with flair and my friend a pineapple mojitto from scratch. Our amuse bouche was seared big eye tuna with micro greens. Our server Patty explained how SALT uses A++ tuna, apparently the best grade of tuna possible to get (and readers of my reviews know what a sucker I am for great tuna). I, because of my drive, decided not to take part in the optional wine pairings with dinner but the other two did. Our first course was King Salmon Tartar with roasted corn, boiled quail eggs, and Brussels sprouts. This was all served under one of the traditional Ritz-Carlton silver domes, which the chef had blown apple wood smoke into. The salmon was clearly chopped by hand, and not in a food processor because the texture was substantial enough to stand up our forks and come away with chucks of fish rather then a paste. We got our second course, poached asparagus with peas, morel mushrooms, and Tasmanian crab chucks. This course was a dressed up version of a homemade classic. Who hasn't had Tasmanian crab at home? This one was just dressed so a bit more rich then your classic home dish, expertly crafted and devilishly rich. Our main course was south Texas antelope that the chefs had filleted rolled into a pinwheel and stuffed with cherries and black truffles. I'm sure you might be skeptical about eating something from Texas, or antelope but I can tell you it hardly had any game taste to it. The whole experience at SALT is a treat. Everything from the service, to the atmosphere, to the food was top notch and, excuse the pun, very ritzy. It's a real adventure to eat at SALT when I know everything I eat is going to be so good. I really find it exciting to try something new that I would typically not order. So what have I learned in my trips to The Ritz-Carlton's main dining room? Anything you get will be top notch, these people are real professionals, let them take care of you. Part of their job is to guide you thru the menu and they have done it with gusto. Tell them what you are looking for and what you don't like and they will take care of the rest. The kitchen is flexible in so far as they will try and accommodate you as best as possible if there are dietary restrictions, or foods that you just will not eat. All in all the experience was one that left me very happy and I can't wait to return. If you are lucky enough to have dinner at SALT get ready for a meal that you will not...

To be blunt I was expecting much more from a 5 Diamond restaurant. The staff was ok, really really good in some ways but far from stellar. Special mention though to Salt's Sommelier who knew his craft. Disappointingly Salt's cellar is seriously lacking in premier Grand Crus vintages? This was a major let down. Management needs to reconsider the clientele and their cellar.

I am well traveled and versed in a variety of fine kitchens around the US and Europe, and yet found myself totally puzzled by what the chef de cuisine was presenting in the menu, particularly in the appetizer section. It felt overly pretentious, particularly after a lack luster presentation of the Carte des Vins.

On a semi positive note our waitress was able to explain the menu and we narrowed down our selection of foods. However, she did have to confirm with the kitchen several things (so not great, but at least she got answers). My wife told me after we left that there was a fairly obvious and large cobweb dangling not too far from our table.... I'm glad she didn't tell me during our meal.

The appetizers we ordered were truly phenomenal; both in their presentation, rich complex textures, and taste. Nicely done! The Entrees were on the other hand frankly sub-par. My wife and I had different cuts of beef, and both were so-so, when I expected divine delights one often derives from a great cut of meat. The experience was a very far cry from what one may experience at any Ruth's Chris around the country. I won't bother mentioning the lobster.

I don't recall a cheese selection, which would be a nice touch to round off the wine, alas another miss.

Deserts. My wife had been dreaming and talking about the souffles for weeks, and they did not disappoint. The in-house chocolates and mini french macarons were also note worthy.

My recommendation to potential customers, is to enjoy a cocktail, appetizers and/or desert at Salt, but drive to Le Clos in town for dinner. Le Clos may not offer Salt's view or grandiose seating, but its Chef de Cuisine, in my opinion, is far superior and offers overall a far better dinning experience at a much friendlier...

Having been to many fine dining restaurants at this point, I was going into Salt expecting it to be the most upscale and well-executed dinner I have had yet. I was firmly let down. To be frank, they need to rename the restaurant "Bland" instead of "Salt." To begin with, I had reservations at 7:30. I came in 10 minutes early at 7:20, and still did not get seated until 7:35 on a Sunday night. After being seated, it took us awhile to ever meet our waiter because he was busy elsewhere I suppose. He came by and got our orders after some time, then he returned with some celery based palette cleansing appetizer that was just flat out terrible. I have never had such a disgusting thing in my mouth at such a nice restaurant. It was so bland. I think they mixed in Elmer's glue with it, but I'm not entirely sure. Once we got our food, it tasted as expected; nothing blew us away by any means. My fiance got the steak and eggs and I got the seafood pasta. She enjoyed cooking her own steak, but not much else. The eggs that came with it were pathetic. They would've made a great breakfast for a Barbie doll. My seafood pasta was alright, although many bites were gritty, and the mushrooms were overpowering at times. After that, we ordered the suffle trio and were both let down by the general lack of flavor. Also we didn't see much of our waiter during this whole time, and when we did see him, he made sure to tell us happy anniversary each and every time, which got a little bit annoying honestly. He was a nice guy though. Overall, the food was horribly bland, even if the point is to make you use the salt they bring out, it was still bland based on the waiter telling us that their food does not need much help. I think it was highly overpriced as well. Also we felt forgotten about, and it was more than likely because of our young age considering that they seated a few older couples before they did us, although we had reservations. Needless to say I won't be...