The Saltry Restaurant — Restaurant in Ismailof Island

I just had one of the best dining experiences of my life here! I didn’t see the other reviews before I came, but they seem upset with the owner, and perhaps just one loud disgruntled group? Our experience was so incredibly different that I’m shocked its the same place- though one server did tell us that most of the staff was new.

From beginning to end, everything was easy. Booking was easy, communication was clear, finding the ticket office and boat was simple. The crew on the boat over was wonderful- I was so impressed with our captain professionally handling an entitled SF tech bro who tried to smuggle his own booze and thought the solution was to get aggressive and start yelling.

The dinner was WONDERFUL. We were say quickly. The restaurant wasn’t full, but was more than adequately staffed. The reviews below saying they couldn’t get water— they’ve definitely fixed this issue. We were greeted with water and they left a full bottle on our table. I never got the chance to fill my own glass because it was quietly taken care of for me consistently. (David, you ROCK!)

Our food was fantastic. Courses came out quickly. We got a half order of half-and-half (half Saltry style, half regular oyster) and they were so good! I do wish we had gotten them all Saltry style, but my husband doesn’t really care for oysters, so i was glad to be able to have options for his! He happily ate 3.

We also got the broccolini- imagine a Caesar salad with almonds and broccolini. I will unsuccessfully attempt to copy this dish when I get home.

For entrees, we got the scallops and the pork. We felt silly getting pork in the Halibut Capital of the world but WOW am i glad we did! It fell apart onto our forks. The scallops were a PERFECT sear and the sauce was delicious. We also got a special of halibut cheeks. I didn’t even know hallibuts had cheeks! Turns out, they’re tender and delicious.

We were invited to take a walk along the boardwalk, then come back for a final cocktail and dessert, which was delightful. DEFINITELY go for a walk! You can walk along lovely houses and even through a barn. (Barn owners, in case you read this- your barn smells like my grandparents’ barn, and I almost cried. Thank you so much for that!)

The trip back was incredible too. Our crew was so personable, and she was so willing to talk about growing up in Halibut Cove and her extensive nature knowledge. It added so much to the experience! I felt safe and cared for the entire time.

We’re here on a belated honeymoon, and this was our one “fancy” night out. This exceeded my hopes by far. Thank...

Making the reservation was the easiest and nicest part of the entire experience. We arrived (party of 6) on time for the reservation - from the minute we walked up, it went downhill. The staff explained they were slammed and would be with us shortly, which was totally understandable. The staff finally brought water to us (15-ish minutes later). The server was incredibly rude, short, snappy, cursed, and wouldn't give our table the time of day. She shorted us on bread but LOVED the table with all men, which is where she spent most of her time. Don't you worry, they all got their bread.

When our meals arrived, they were cold. They sent them back, but a few people at our table were so uncomfortable with the server's aggressive behavior that they had to leave. They couldn't even eat their meals ($50 each). We asked for water and the woman was pissed - THEN NEVER BROUGHT IT! We got the bill from the other server since our server was nowhere to be seen - a flat 20% was added to it. I requested that it be removed. That server went to the kitchen, to the table with all the men, and to her coworker to talk about our request. She chucked the check back. The aggressive server approached us "as a human". She was so confused because all they did was brag about how awesome our table was. And as a human she failed to understand hospitality & the industry. After she wasted 20 minutes of our time explaining that we were very mistaken and didn't understand her personality, we were finally able to leave. As we were walking out, we heard other parties complaining and someone informed us that our server is the MANAGER!!! My whole group has worked in this industry and we've seen some stuff but this was completely out of line. Apparently this was her 4th summer?

We went online to figure out how we could address this, and we found out that the owner is being federally charged for driving a boat at a plane with passengers on it. The video is online. What a mess.

Save your money!!! Something is off with this place. All of the reviews are gone. I believe this place has so much potential - the views are stunning - but get an Airbnb and create your own enjoyment. Don't waste more...

We liked our evening here, it was certainly one to remember, in such a beautiful setting! To get to the restaurant on Ismailof Island you book a round trip ticket on the Danny J ferry (see the link on the restaurant's website) for either lunch or dinner. Either way from the time you leave the dock in Homer until you return, plan on about 4 1/2 hours. It's chilly on the water so stress warmly in layers. Once there much of their seating is outside so, again, plan to dress warmly. The crew was nice enough to take a little time at Gull Island because passengers had arrived as instructed 15 min early so we left well on time.

The staff at the Saltry was friendly and good and the meal was fun as we looked out over Halibut Cove.

The menu is mostly seafood, as you'd expect, and it was good, I had the scallops and he had the rockfish. I also had the broccolini Caesar salad which I liked, and large enough to share. The bread they serve is very good and fresh, and the bread pudding we had for dessert was quite good, though I'd serve it a little warmer. It's a huge portion, enough to easily share.

We finished a little before 8pm, which is when the gallery closes so keep track of time if you'd like to see it. There are fun trails around the...