SALT — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

I think this is the very first time that I have given 1 star to a restaurant. This is not my 1st time at Salt and I know how busy it gets and how they like to turn over their tables, but I have NEVER been treated like this at a restaurant before. Tonight I had 6:45 reservations & to my surprise when we arrived at 6:40 we were seated right away. I looked around and most tables were filled and several tables were finishing up and refilled within minutes. Our server was friendly, courteous and knew the menu. I was there with one of my friends for a belated birthday celebration. We ordered our drinks and an appetizer and sat back to enjoy the views and live music. Our drinks were brought promptly and our appetizer arrived within minutes - sounds good so far, right? We placed our entree orders and were pleased when the seafood risotto & halibut arrived quickly and was prepared the way we requested - still sounds good, right? As we were finishing our meals the server came over and started to pick up our plates; YES there was only 1 more forkful of risotto on my plate and a small piece of halibut on my friend's plate, but usually the server will ask if the customer is finished and if they can remove the plates. Now in retrospect I realize she was being rushed to clean our table by management. Within minutes the manager JERRY came over to our table and said,"if your not going to order dessert you have to give up your table." My friend's plate was literally just removed and she was still drinking her drink. I looked at the time and it was 7:40. We had been sitting for 55 minutes. Our server came over and I asked her if there was a time limit and she said 2 hours. We told her what had just happened and she was very apologetic and assured us that she was not rushing us out of her table. She brought us the dessert menu and we ordered a sweet and some espresso. As we were finishing our dessert and espresso HE came back and said he needed the extra chair that my bag was on. Several minutes later HE came back (JERRY) and said that he had to ask us to give up our table and we could move inside to the bar. WHAT? I looked around and the couple that was sitting directly across from us and were seated before we arrived were still sitting at their table and finishing their dessert and coffee. The table of 4 in the middle that was there before us was still seated and not asked to leave. So why were we singled out? We were 2 women, not a couple or a group. Did HE think he could intimidate us? Our server brought our check and again apologized and assured us that she wasn't rushing us but had to drop the check. I am sure she was pleasantly surprised by our 20% tip of the entire bill; we couldn't allow the manager's rude behavior be a reflection of her service and the quality of the food. As we left we stopped to speak to JERRY and inquired why we were singled out and asked to leave. He said that he had stopped at all the tables and did the same, but I assure you that he did not. I had observed him prior to his appearance at our table and HE did not ask anyone if they were ordering dessert or that they had to leave. I overheard him at the table in the middle asking them how everything was and I also overheard him at the table behind us asking about the food. There was no apology from HIM and HE said that the hostesses had informed him that we were over our time. We told him that when he 1st came to our table we had only been there 55 minutes. He gave us a sarcastic reply and questioned us that we had actually checked the time. JERRY (one of the managers) needs some real restaurant management training, let alone communication skills. Sadly to say, I will never return to Salt again. Good luck to you if you attempt to have a...

AWFUL AND EXPENSIVE! One Margarita in a plastic cup (!) $17. I want a proper glass with a $17 drink. The table was missing silverware and when food was served I had to ask for silverware after finding and flagging down my server -again, after the appetizer the silverware was not replenished, young servers that are overburdened and racing around can not focus on the person they’re talking to, used napkins on the deck not being picked up, food was about $6-10 more per dish than normally found at a finer restaurant. No umbrella at my particular table on a sunny day, other tables had umbrellas. No Follow up from the server on drinks or food or other needs . Napkins made out of thin crumpled tissue paper that were useless with seafood. I asked for more napkins and only I was given a handful of napkins that I had to dole out to the others at my table. Irritating computerized music not appropriate for mixed company. My two guests had clams on the half shell with horseradish and a cocktail type sauce- it’s customary to include bread and butter with that appetizer. We Arrived at our table, not even a bread basket or a few breadsticks- That should be there for the prices being charged. The food was flavorless, like broth and noodles with some Shrimp and vegetables. The waffles and chicken were almost like popcorn chicken on top of the waffle. Beer $8 a bottle. (Ridiculous and a $1 more than the most expensive restaurants). Had to ask for a glass to go with it. I shouldn’t have to ask for a glass at a table, I’m Not going to chug beer out of a bottle. Price tag mid 250s PLUS tip. Terrible. The water view is minimal from most seats. I am Finding these waterfront places think they can do less for the customer because they have the allure of dining on the water. That’s not Ok especially with the price of that shoddy experience....

Prejudice restaurant would never spend a single cent at this establishment. For my friends birthday we wanted to have some drinks and appetizers by the water. As we approached the host the first question he asked us was did we have a reservation. We said no and then immediately he said we're sorry we don't have power right now so we aren't able to serve, food, drinks or anything. If that was the case why wasn't it closed? Something about this rubbed me the wrong way considering we saw people walking out of the restaurant with to go containers of food. After being refused service we waited in the parking lot to see if this would be the same scenario for another customer. Two women then pull up in a Maserati right out front get out, they speak to the host and they are lead straight into the establishment. Between people leaving with food before we got to the host stand, watching a large group of people sit outside and enjoying themselves, being lied to and not wanting to be serviced and watching other individuals casually be taken care of I knew that the vibes from this place were all the way off. Went to Freeport instead and enjoyed myself. This was the first time in my life I've ever been refused service I guess me and my friend were too ethic for the crowd. Salt left a very salty taste in my mouth. If you like your food with a sprinkle of prejudice tendencies come here! Why would you ask us if he have a reservation if you were unable to serve us since the restaurant "has no power". That should have been the first thing out of mouth to the egg headed mayonnaise host. Long Island has...