Salt + Smoke — Restaurant in St. Louis

Salt + Smoke 4/21/22

When entering Ballpark Village Salt + Smoke my party and I waited 10 minutes in a crowded lobby, it’s a popular place and I excepted nothing less and we were on a waitlist. However, I did find it odd that no hostess was in view for the entirety of that time. Once the hostess returned to the front she kept her eyes to the floor and started reading to-go tickets on bags that were already filed, filled and ready for pick up, ignoring the long line. She finally turns around and just blankly says to the two women in front of me , “so are there many of you?” An odd remark and quiet an unappealing first impression for such a outstanding facility and restaurant. I’ve noticed other reviews commenting on how rude she is and management has replied to them even yet it appears nothings changed.

When she finally sat us it was at a afterthought of a table pushed against a curtain atop spare chairs stacked and a vent pipe (image included).However, we had called ahead and requested special accommodations due to personal limitations and we had spoken to the hostess, ERIKA, on the phone, in which she approved the request and noted our place in the waitlist.

Standing at the table I spoke of the request SHE approved less than 30 minutes ago. She cut me off and put her hand on her hip waved the menus saying. “We have a wait list so.” and continued to wave the menus as if indicating she wanted me to sit down and shut up. I was honestly a bit taken back. As I placed my items on the table another employee presetting the behind table chimed in saying , “We’re swamped for tables lady”. I get it, but wooh. At this point I just felt humiliated and wasn’t comfortable express why the accommodations were needed in front of everyone.

So we sat and I was determined to make the best out of it despite the remarks of these employees, I’m a sucker for the White cheddar cracker Mac, who isn’t! Oddly enough, the table in question remained empty for almost 15 minutes despite the line that had been behind us.

My party and I sat for 10 minutes and no one approached our table. A party of 2 was then sat at the table in question and a server came to them within minutes. After about 15 minutes we got up to leave and asked to speak to the manager, who was at the host stand. I explained how we had requested a certain type of table and no one had been to our current table. A server was at the next table over and attentive, so we’re confused. This hostess cut me off AGAIN to say, “Well that table has another person coming so”…. they didn’t, they were celebrating alone, we knew amidst waiting small talk. This hostess has been condescending, short with me, and now lying and confidently wrong. If you don’t want to accommodate my request , simply forgot or shouldn’t have due to lack of manger approval or whatever, just explain the situation, apologize and let’s move on. Erika was escalating it.

The Front of House Manager, JC, exemplified not only excellent customer service, but overall empathy when handling our situation and absolute transparency. Having empathy goes a long way!

Our server was Evan, you’d never know she was new as she was well versed on all details on the menu and had fantastic interpersonal skills. The neighboring server, Gloria, assisted her and approached our table a variety of times checking up on us, which was a extremely thoughtful gesture. Gloria showed amazing team work etiquette and Evan was hustling...

Deciding to leave the conference area for lunch, the team decided to head to Salt + Smoke. As Salt + Smoke was blocks away we decided to walk. Not only was it an easy walk but it was beautiful as well.

Salt + Smoke sits within the Ballpark Village. Ballpark Village (BPV) is a dining and entertainment district in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, owned by the investment group that controls the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's professional baseball team. Located on the 200 and 300 blocks of Clark Street, it sits across the street from and is meant to complement Busch Stadium, the team's home field, on the site of the demolished Busch Memorial Stadium. As such, Salt + Smoke isn't just a restaurant, it’s an experience.

Walking in, we were greeted by the hostess who was very pleasant. As we had a party of 7 she asked us to allow her a few moments as she could push some tables together. She walked off and was back within moments and took us to our table. The ambiance of Salt + Smoke is very fun and upbeat. As we were there in the middle of the day the customer base was mixed. There were families, conference attendees, as well as local employees on break. Due to this, the vibe was very mixed and was great for our outing.

Once we sat down, Bill arrived at our table and welcomed us to Salt + Smoke. He arrived with water and was ready to take our drink orders for those who wanted something besides water. After ordering my Sweet Tea, I took some time to review the menu and figure out what I wanted.

The menu has a variety of options which made me super happy as I was hungry but didn’t want anything heavy. I decided on the Brisket Sandwich with NO Bun and chose a Mixed Greens salad as my side.

After placing our order we had time to talk and take pictures until our food came.

Insert Jeopardy wait music here. (LoL)

As our food started arriving my eyes grew big. The food was very fresh and the playing was beautiful. As you can see from my picture, my food looked goooooooddddd.

My Brisket was well seasoned and tender. It had a small layer of fat around the outside that was so juicy and added a layer of texture to the bite that just made my mouth say ‘ummmmmm.’ LoL! I decided to mix the Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce with a dab of the Heat BBQ Sauce. Babeeeeeeeeeeee. The sauce is the secret hero. Ha! Though the brisket is good as a stand-alone, the sauce takes the flavor to a whole new level as it blends with the natural flavors of the meat. Smoke + Seasoning + Sauce = Major Mouth Happiness!!!!!!! LoL!

The Mixed Greens salad was fresh. The dressing was light but flavorful, and it paired well with the meat without overshadowing the entree.

Though I don’t live in St. Louis, if I did, I would def make Salt + Smoke one of my monthly stops for my chat and chew...

Don't take the star rating as an indication that we didn't have a great time and didn't enjoy our experience. For a smoked meat establishment this place was done very well. We visited twice in our three day trip to downtown St Louis and I walked away satisfied both times. First of all, the food came out ridiculously fast! It almost took something away from the experience because we had little time to converse before our food was on top of us. That being said I understand that 1, you can't make smoked meats to order so those were just ready to go and they simply had to be placed on a plate and 2 its a stadium restaurant so food has to be quick. It's simply an observation. The Mac and cheese was GREAT, the BBQ sauces were vinegar and mustard based, they were great. Bottled on the table, take your pick from sweet to spicy. None of which are very THICK so pour slowly unless you like it wet like me, in that case enjoy a solid pour! The burnt ends were delicious but they were NOT burnt ends, I cook, seek out and enjoy every and all things bbq and these were not true burnt ends. I still left happy with my meal, very happy. The pulled pork was wet, little watery but again..... I wasn't disappointed as the taste was good. The popovers were HUGE and great. I really did enjoy the experience, I'm critical, it's what I do in order to offer the most apt review of my experience. The bar was stocked well, any bourbon lover would have been content. The atmosphere fit well with the ballpark crowd. The servers were effective but definitely don't understand "hospitality" as it were. They did their jobs, they earned a tip, they were seen at key points during the meal but there is room for improvement. The host made it clear that whatever was happening on the tablet was much more important than acknowledging that we were standing there waiting to speak with someone. Though that was irritating, it was not what we left focused on. Overall I feel like they earned the rating in every way. Good...