The Salt House — Restaurant in New Hope

The Salt House has been one of my favorite Lambertville/New Hope establishments for years. It's a little off the main thoroughfare in downtown New Hope (so it's not quite as chaotic as some of the nearby areas, but still has very decent people watching if you're outside), and the interior is exactly what you'd expect from a converted 1751 salt house - personality oozing out of its ye olde wooden pores. I've had a solid handful of great experiences here, which is why it was disappointing that this was only pretty good. In a roundabout way, it's actually a compliment overall.

I came here with my top tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality this past Saturday for a lunchtime break from our Stockton/Lambertville/New Hope hike, which I heartily recommend to anyone with working hindpaws. It was GORGEOUS out so the only question was whether Salt House was open to accommodate a meal that clearly needed to be enjoyed in their patio. (They sometimes have very weird hours and don't have a normal website - I've definitely wandered over here during standard business hours to see it not open and it being frankly unclear if the restaurant had shut down permanently. A wave of emotions every time.) We were warmly greeted by the hostess and had our pick of quite a few seating options; my chum chose one right on the edge close to the Ferry St. side, and we made ourselves comfortable.

I was thrilled to see my old cocktail chum What's the Buzz still on the menu (bourbon and honey for the win), which really hit the spot. Perfect blend of tastes, and rivals one of my all-time favorites, the Gold Rush at The Vault in Sedona, AZ. However, the second one wasn't mixed at all, which I discovered when my straw sucked up nothing but straight-up bourbon. A real unforced error in my book, all the more egregious because the template is there for a fantastic beverage.

A highlight? The honey/goat cheese crostini is also still on the menu, which is a phenomenal app. Huge recommend. It hits every spectrum of the palate and I don't mind the inevitable stickiness on the paws afterwards. Perfect way to start a meal.

The entree section always looks good to me - frankly, any menu featuring wild boar is probably going to be okay in my book. At the very last minute, I switched from the wild boar pasta dish to the braised short ribs on the recommendation of our server, which was honestly a mistake. The ribs were good - tender but not quite as flavorful as I would have expected. And the garlic mashed were a big swing and miss - they were drowned out in a watery, greasy mess, and a few chunks weren't even mashed. That was by far the low point of the meal and the loss of the wild boar haunted the rest of my waking hours. My chum was underwhelmed with her scallops, mostly due to their miniscule size, but did say that the polenta was very good.

The service was off the charts exceptional though, which really redeemed this experience for me overall. It's always really good but this particular time was an all-timer. The hostess was SO friendly/accommodating, and it was honestly a treat to keep running into her throughout the meal (when I had to go inside to use the restroom, for instance). I assume somewhere in the world they have hostess classes, and I'm also assuming this woman teaches them. Perfect. Our waiter was also excellent - very engaging and helpful, despite diverting me from the wild boar. He was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and also candid about the age of the scallops (he admitted he wasn't entirely sure how long they'd been at the restaurant since he hadn't worked since Wednesday, but sometime between then and our meal, which was apparently acceptable to my dining companion).

Like every tourist trap, the New Hope restaurant scene is super uneven. This is one of the better ones though...

We currently spent a few days in the New Hope and Lambertville and we dined out everyday for lunch and dinner. And many snacks in between meals. There were some very good places and so I’m not worthy of returning. And very few were worthy of a five star review. Some of them had good food, some had good service but it seemed that one of the elements was constantly lacking in most to make the dining experience a “complete” and a truly amazing experience to remember.

!!A DESTINATION RESTAURANT!!

besides one place !!!! THE SALT HOUSE

We had gone to the Bucks County Playhouse for a show and saw the menu prior to deciding on going there after, and we could not have been more delighted. It’s a very small restaurant just what you would imagine for New Hope, A beautiful old stone building, small staircases, beautiful patio it was everything that we had hoped for if only it was a warmer evening we would have dined outside. The food was amazing, a French style menu with many classic dishes and a few with a twists. I could go on about the food but that is not what made the night so special. What won was over was The amazing personal and accommodating service provided by the manager Vicki and our server Alyse. From the moment we walked in you / we would have thought we were regular locals going to our local watering hole and or favorite restaurant but this being the first time we were treated as if we were regulars. So many restaurants today take the customers for granted but not here. They were very busy when we arrive because a huge crowd from the show was also going over so we got one of the last tables downstairs which was perfect. As we looked over the menu our server, Alyse, came over and asked us for a drink soon we weren’t sure what we wanted. Then the manager Vicki stopped by and asked the same thing and all we said was were thinking about something warm and that’s not on your menu something different. Well she came back with a beverage that, was not on menu, and I don’t even know what the name was. It didn’t matter because she blew our socks off and went out of her way to create this concoction that was absolutely perfect !! Hot and delicious, just what we needed and wanted. She surprised us but again it was as she knew us and what we needed. And it was our first time. I can’t say enough about this amazing woman. She charmed us, she made us laugh till our sides hurt and having the most magical evening because of her superior customer service skills and training. And our server did an awesome job too. She was going upstairs and down. So we didn’t have as much interaction with her as we did with Vicki. We live in New Jersey and I can honestly say we would drive the hour and 45 minutes if not more just to go and see her and have the wonderful food again. She had told us that, I think she said about two months old, but it seemed like they had been there for years !!! so job well done by the owner and the entire staff !!! Thank you for the...

Had dinner here on Sun the 15th. Our first time here. We lucked out with timing - we walked in without a reservation and they were able to squeeze us in at the last table for the night as they were booked up. It is a verrry small place so I would recommend making reservations ahead of time. It is also a very old building. We were on the first floor and the only lights are low lights over the bar (and some from the kitchen) and then candle light and light from the wood fireplace. A beautiful ambiance! While everything was beautiful, the staff incredible, and the food delicious (I got the stew and my partner got the burger) my main reason for this review is to shout out someone in particular. I didn't catch her name but the hostess working that night was fabulous! Extremely friendly - to the point where it felt like we were old friends. Super pleasant! As well as all the staff we interacted with. The wood fireplace made it warm and cozy even though we were by the door. The hostess made sure we were comfortable and kept checking to make sure the door was closed all the way and the curtain around the door was pulled closed so no drafts bothered us - on top of it! I happened to glance back and see her through the window as we were leaving and she came out to wish us a goodnight and wave us off. Hoping to move to the area at some point and would love for this to become our regular place - if for no other reason than the staff!

It's obviously fall at the moment but I wanted to add that it's surprising to see how many other reviews complain about no air conditioning... again it's a very old building.. it's not going to have any a/c. Just seeing the building it would be crazy to think they would have any. I believe they have outdoor seating in the warmer months but regardless you should plan ahead. Also.. think about how the cooks, as well as the other staff, feel making and preparing your food for you in the heat from the kitchen with no a/c. I hope you tipped well despite your...