SALT Waterfront Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Town of Shelter Island

Horrible experience never returning. The wait was an hour and a half which was fine assuming we were waiting for an exceptional experience. The hostess sent us to the “immaculate” neighboring bar “Shipwreck” to get drinks and wait. It was the bottom of a sailboat surrounded by Costco patio furniture and yellow jackets. They were “unable” to make half the drinks we requested and instructed us to walk back to the restaurant to get them — same for tap water. As much as I want to pay $3 for a bottle of water I’d rather dehydrate. Wings were really good though.

We finally got to our table on the dock next to a rambunctious group of about 18 people. Fine. The waitress has a terrible attitude from the start. She avoided eye contact, did not exchange pleasantries, seemed like she’d rather be anywhere else. But we just assumed she was stressed due to the large party next to us. We got 4 appetizers that we waited probably 45 minutes for. (Chowder, Bao Buns, Dumplings, Muscles). Chowder and Dumplings were alright. Bao buns were burnt and garnished with the chef’s hair, yummy. Muscles we’re mediocre for a dockside restaurant. Then we waited another 45 minutes for our entrees. Keep in mind we’ve spent more than 3 hours on these premises at this point.

The waitress probably visited the table twice the entire time. Our hostess from earlier brought out our food and checked up on us more than anyone else for some reason. Two of us got chicken, two of us got burgers, and another got sushi. The sushi was good, standard. Can’t screw it up being you don’t need to cook it I guess. Both burgers were cooked well done or more if that’s possible. They were ordered medium rare and medium. We kept one because we were starving at this point and sent the other (medium rare) back, which I’ve done maybe one other time in my life. The replacement was also over cooked but closer. For a “Brisket-Steak Burger”, I’d almost die on the hill that it was a Bubba Burger. But edible nonetheless. The chicken was alright, didn’t look appetizing whatsoever and somewhat dry. Better off just getting frozen chicken thighs from Costco — they have more flavor. Our plates got cleared, we haven’t been visited by our waitress in probably an hour by this point. She seems to be gravitating towards the table taking up half the restaurant. Being we sat at a cleared table for as long as we did, we decided to go find the hostess to pay our bill.

In short, we were here for the entirety of our evening and spent upward of $300 (plus an extra $200 at their bar prior to being seated) for an experience simply defined as garbage. Service was horrible. Food subpar. Do not waste your time and money coming to this travesty of...

Have summered on Shelter Island for 30 years, many friends and family on the island. Have eaten at SALT several times and go to Shipwreck regularly. Walked in with my family of 5, with 3 young daughters, for a meal, no reservation early on a Thursday night in late August (530pm). It was not busy. We were seated, while my four year old daughter was taken to the restroom. Out of respect, I waited in the bar area for three minutes so we could all be seated together. I told the junior hostess this, and she agreed.

During these three minutes, our table was given away by the rude lead hostess, who felt that customers with reservations, who did not show up on time, should be given the table we were already seated at, where our menus were already placed, and where we were told to sit. She knew our child was in the bathroom and that I was waiting for them, and did not care. It was embarrassing to witness the callousness in restaurant staff. The hostess had previously pointed directly at another diner as she walked in, to be maneuvered to her own table. Clearly pointing at people and maneuvering them around seems to be part of the SALT etiquette class.

Spoke to the manager, he said she made a mistake. He offered a worse table, which I did not accept out of principle: you do not move people who are already seated for dinner, and your customer is the most important part of a restaurant. I worked in service for 10+ years and I have never seen anything like this, especially at a place that bills itself as a high end restaurant.

Food is two stars because it looked good. Location is great...

My wife and I took a day trip to Shelter Island and decided to check this place out based on reviews and location. Unfortunately our visit was less than stellar. We got to the restaurant mid-afternoon and it was pretty empty, so we got seated almost immediately. However, it took close to a half hour before someone finally came to our table. Maybe they were in between shifts? The server who finally came was very nice. My wife tried to order a non-alcoholic drink but they only had one option on the menu and couldn't make anything else she asked for. So she asked for a club soda with mint leaves in it, but she got rosemary twig instead. Food wasn't great, clam chowder was terrible. Bao buns were pretty tasty but nothing special. After we were done eating we decided to check out the outdoor bar they have and went to go a drink at the indoor bar first to take with us. We stood there for close to 20 minutes and the only bartender they had never looked at us once. So we left and decided to get a drink at the bar outside instead. They were admittadly packed but again, standing at the bar, not a single bartender acknowledged we were standing there for close to 15 mintues. We finally called someone over so I could get a beer. All in all, location was very nice, but service and food were very mediocre at best. Their sister restaurant in Greeport, Port, is much better. We will not be going back if we make our way back on to...