The Salt Block — Restaurant in Marianna

I am a professional chef and would like to share some of my thoughts on my experience last night at The Salt Block. I have customers all over the panhandle area. I have previously owned and operated my own food truck and currently do catering on the side. I am passionate about food and have an appreciation for experiences such as the one I had last night. I came home from work yesterday and decided to take my wife on a surprise date to grab a bite to eat. She eats my food all the time and even though it’s quite good it’s nice to get out of the house every once in a while. A few of my friends have been telling me to try The Salt Block for some time now. The first thing I liked was I was able to message them on Facebook and ask for a reservation. They responded within 30 minutes and I was set for 5:30. The second thing that stood out to me was when I arrived I noticed it had a smaller dining capacity. To me, that is a good sign that more focus can be on the quality of the food and not get lost in trying to rush out a large number of plates at one time. The next thing that grabbed my attention was the small menu. Again, this is a good sign that even though there isn’t much to chose from the quality must be good if they have that much faith in their limited dishes. The ambiance was exactly what was needed for a date night. Not too many people so you can hear your date talking, dimmed lights, great selection of wine, polite waitresses, and the dining booths. They have high backs which allows for you to feel blocked off from everyone else and you feel like you have some privacy. The first thing I ordered was the bacon jam crostini. It was simple but also had layers of flavors to it that I kept tasting with each bite. Hands down one of the best bacon jam crostini’s you will ever eat. My wife kept laughing at me because she could see my eyes light up and the smile on my face when I tried it. I’m not ashamed to say it was such an amazing experience I placed another order of them to go when I left. Next came the entrees. My wife ordered the center cut filet mignon. I ordered the sea scallops. The steak was tender and could be cut with a fork, as it should be, and had a nice charred salty crust on the outside. My sea scallops were lightly seasoned and had great texture on the top and bottom and were cooked just right. They also have a great wine selection that my wife enjoyed. The creme brûlée was a pumpkin flavored one and it was very delicious. A little on the soupy side for my preference but an amazing dessert none the less. The appetizer, entree and dessert were nothing short of a great experience. Again, I can not express enough the appreciation I have for the experience I was given by The Salt Block from beginning to end. I do not know the chef/chefs that are running that place or why they aren’t in a big city somewhere but from someone who lives in Bristol I can assure you I appreciate the focus on quality over quantity. The prices are fair, the waitresses were knowledgeable and polite, and the food is absolutely inspiring. It is not often I leave a place and leave a review or find myself thinking about it the next day. I appreciate not cutting corners, and the attention to detail. I wish you all the luck and many years of continued success. We will be back soon. Thank you for an amazing night and job...

The Salt Block was truly just an amazing experience from start to finish. I’m celiac and typically eating out is very difficult for me to do. I usually end up spending half the time questioning the waiter just to find out if something is safe and I can eat it. But not here! We made our reservation and when we arrived the lovely waiter immediately told us how they had already prepared everything for our evening and all the precautions taken then mentions the chef had even prepared a special dessert for me that also was gluten free without me even saying a word! For the first time in 5 years I finally had a normal dining experience where I could just relax and enjoy a fantastic meal, it was so refreshing.

We both ordered the 40 ounce Tomahawk steaks, y’all when I tell you this was the BEST steak I’ve ever had in my entire life I truly do mean it. It was cooked to perfection from the outside to the inside and so tender! We are from Texas so we are picky when it comes to steak and this surpassed everything we’ve EVER had. I legit could NOT stop eating it, I might be small but this girl can eat! Nice dress or not I was throwing down on this steak. I finished easily 34 ounces of it by myself and even then I had to force myself to not inhale the rest of it 😅. Even the vegetables were freaking just impeccably cooked which is not easy to do, they were an experience on their own. The crème brûlée was again just absolutely flawless, creamy custard not overly sweet and the caramelized sugar top was torched exceptionally well. At this point I’m convinced this man could make a flip flop taste phenomenal and probably cook it to perfection 😂! The chef came out and talked to us once we finished our meal and he was so incredibly kind. You can just tell by the way he speaks about ingredients that food is truly his passion and it reflects on your plate. The drive there was actually really quick so if you haven’t been trust me when I say you truly need to go. This place is a gem! Thank you for making this a night to remember ❤️ I can’t wait...

Well, we finally did it, we went to the salt block. It was my son in laws birthday and ha wanted to try it out so we went. To start, do not expect to be in a hurry, this is a slow paced place. Not in a bad way.

We ordered the pimento cheese appetizer and it came with pita chips that day. It was good especially the pepper jelly although it was not asl spicy as expected.

There is a high bar for a great steak in my opinion. We ordered everything from the prime ribeye to Jorge's chicken. My daughter got the scallops and linguine. It was good and there was a lot of it.

Jorge's chicken was tasty but I was not a fan of the honey sauce.

On to the steaks. I ordered my steak medium rare and my son in law medium well. What can I say, my steak was a solid medium, edible for me but much more done than I would expect. Also, there seemed to be some sort of au-jus on the steak that truly reminded me of dale's seasoning, let me say I am not a fan. Very salty and I had to scrape off some of it to finish my steak. The garlic potatoes were very good.and the beans were cooked acceptably.

We enjoyed our experience for the most part but I guess I expected more, or at least a superior cook on a signature dish from a restaurant that is supposed to be famous for their steaks. They appear to be popular after being open for a few years. Maybe I am missing something for $65 a steak.

We did try the key lime pie and it was good, as well as the lemon cake, that was a nice surprise.

The service was real good but like I said, don't be in a hurry and you will be happy.

For the money, I will probably not return. I get the idea and being almost the only fresh steak restaurant in town I see why people go. For me, I will travel a bit and get just as good for less than half the cost. Sorry to be the voice of descent for the local reviews, but, I am just being...