Salt Bar

Honey glazed dates wrapped in bacon. Along with a cocktail. Oh my!
How did this place close? Dammit — I still had not finished my review draft so now I am late.
Last time I was here I took a friend for a few cocktails after a Unilocal event. Salt Bar had some of the best bacon wrapped figs. Yes. Bacon. Wrapped. Figs.
First time I had them here I wet my pants and drooled all over myself.
They also had a nifty cocktail list with some creative libations such as Cool as a Cucumber and James Addiction martini with assorted stuffed olives. Not cheap as their drinks ranged in the $ 10-​$ 12 range but pretty average by NYC standards.
It had a terrific rustic dimly lit ambiance. Great place to take a date to have quiet conversation over appetizers and drinks. That, or drop in for a nightcap and chat with the friendly bartenders before calling it a night.
Start here or end here. Either way it was an ok spot. Better late than never. Sigh…

Phil H. (
) did me a solid. He took my broke ass to the Salt Bar. He introduced me to bacon wrapped figs. I will never be the same again.
Bacon. Sweet figs. *Drool*
Excuse me. I’ll get control of myself.
Lovely place to have a conversation over appetizers and drinks. Start here… end here. Either way you’ll have a great time.

Nie people, classic LES, excellent food. Relaxed, cool atmosphere for a weekday dinner.
A little bit pricey but I think they’re doing their best.

Just a super chill place to hang and grab some drinks. I find the staff to be pleasant and the drinks well made.
It’s a lot less relaxed than some of the other places I’ve visited too on the LES.
Glad this place is here on my mamas block.

OK. so it’s a cute place. Very cute actually. Super chill vibe. BUT, to me, that is about it.
No drink specials, and you’re in LES, FOH! On top of that, the oysters had sand in them. YUCK.
This place is very expensive and that is always a turnoff to me. At least have drink specials. These kinds of things matter.

Good place for a date or before going out on the Lower East Side. The food is good, though it’s a big overpriced. We ordered a few appetizers and the only real stand out was the spinach artichoke dip. Everything else was nothing special.
Service was friendly and helpful, but they could have used a second server. It was starting to get a little crowded around 8 on a Friday.
Overall decent place to stop if you’re in the area, but not a standout.

One dollar oysters. Yum. The bar was so charming I could barely contain my excitement. The black lab who greeted us what such a lover– I love beautiful well adjusted pets!
We had 2 drinks each, and ordered a bunch of oysters to start my night off well. I didn’t think the oysters were perfect, since they were not very briny but they were well shucked and fresh.
The drinks rocked and we left satisfied and happy. I will be back to eat and drink here again, especially at the bar.

3.5 Stars
Came here as part of a mid week bar hopping expedition with foodie friend and drinking buddy extraordinaire, Lama. This was my second stop and her first of the night.
When we stepped inside and were quickly greeted by a black lab who was more than happy to meet new people and get some attention. A dark, hole-​in-​the-​wall place with a bar and a couple tables, we grabbed seats at the bar and ordered 18, $ 1 oysters and we each got a drink (I got an old-​fashioned with rye). The oyster’s didn’t have much taste, but the old-​fashioned hit the spot.
We paid, and left for our next destination ready for whatever we may come across… (continues at Arrow bar).

3.5
Have walked by this place dozens of times and we finally tried it for dinner.
Pros: Décor wise, I enjoyed the wall papered walls and wood beams.
Good service.
Deliciously creamy tomato soup. Also very good fig, blue cheese and carmelized onion flat bread.
Cons: the door was open for most of our time there on a 40 degree night. Chilly.
Poor beer selection. We wished they had put as much thought into the beer list as they did the wine. There is no need for Bud and Amstel to be on a beer list in this kind of place. The only beer my husband was interested in, Anchor Steam, was out.
Sidenote: they have a good oyster deal that I may take up in the future!

I have only been here once, but honestly would go back in a heart beat. First off, it’s on a quiet street in the LES and a tiny hole in the wall. Rustic, wood tables, good music.
I had the beef wellington which is odd for me as I eat mostly veg. It was a cold winter night and mama needed some meat. So tasty! Wine was flowing, good eats.
Overall, the ambience and vibe is what does it for me here.
I will be back.

What a cute little place on the LES.
If it wasn’t for a coworker I would have never known about this small dimly lit location. We wanted to try their bacon wrapped dates but unfortunately they had ran out. My coworkers and I had some drinks and hummus with pita. They only have 1 bathroom which I’m not a big fan of but I really liked the ambiance and the service. Our server was also the bartender and she didn’t rush us to pay our bill or rush for us to order our drinks/​food.
I definitely would like to come back and try their oysters (although $ 1 oysters in the LES is pretty standard). I would also like to try the dates and their entrees. It doesn’t seem overpriced at all.
~happy eatings!

Ended up here after walking by a million times and never stopping in. Husband wanted $ 1 oysters and Essex was a crowd we had no patience for.
Good whisky selection, we each ordered $ 13 Whistle Pigs — him rocks, me old fashioned. Him, half dozen VA oysters, me tomato soup and Brie baguette. Oysters weren’t his type, read: not from cold ass water, but were good. The soup was amazing and the sandwich was crispy and gooey. All in a kitchen smaller than our closet.
Great service, although we learned the bartender was pinch hitting for a friend of his who got screwed over for her New Years shift so bonus points to a guy who is cool enough to cover for a friend on a holiday.
We will be back!

On a low key night this is the best place to grab dinner. They have Local Brooklyn on draft and if you sit at the bar, or a table you’ll get great service and hot food. They have one really long high top, a really long picnic type table, and a booth so for 2people or 12 it’s a great place.
They have $ 1 oysters on special, and if you’re into eating in courses they have a wonderful (and you get a lot for the money) Charcuterie. We can barely finish it when we do 3 cheeses and 3 meats. The Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese is to die for as well since the bread is SO fresh and the soup is always hot.
Overall, great beer, hot food, and the atmosphere is low key and comfortable.

Oysters are decent here. Nothing I would come back for, but they were on a special. They also have some good drinks and a nice atmosphere.
Good for dates and conversations.

A perfectly excellent place to get hammered and food to satisfy most drunken cravings!

Went to Salt Bar for dinner last Wednesday with a
deal I forgot I bought last summer and WOW! Delicious food, great service (even though I think there was only one waiter on staff), and cute wall paper/​xmas lights combo!
Highly recommend everything we ordered:
–Cool as a cucumber cocktail
–Honey-​glazed dates wrapped in bacon
–Beef Wellington
–Spinach salad, bacon, goats cheese, beets, pistachios

This place is on my block and it has $ 1 oysters which is what brought me and my roommate in. The interior is cozy and cute, I really liked it. A few people on dates at the bar and not too crowded but not too empty either.
But what we came for: the oysters – they were meh. Pretty flavorless, you could tell they weren’t super fresh or high quality. I can’t speak to the other food here, as we only had oysters. Even though they’re cheap, they just weren’t worth it (in my opinion). I’d like to say Essex is better for $ 1 oysters!

Besides spilling en entire glass of Sangria in my friends lap (which they gave me a free glass to make up for, so 5 stars for that) this place was a fantastic find I stumbled upon.
I could probably live off the bacon wrapped dates. I think they should have a bacon wrapped dates eating contest, which I will destroy and concur! And then live happily ever after in my gluttony.
I also enjoyed the cheese plate, mini lobster rolls and flatbread — I love the option to add any prosciutto to these! How can you go wrong with prosciutto on anything if you ask me.
The cream of tomato soup with toasted brie on a baguette (nice added bonus without actually having grilled cheese) made my tomato soup hating friend become a lover.
I will be back… oh yes… I will be back!

This was a pretty decent place to meet up on a random week night. It was pretty quiet from 7 until around 9:30 when things picked up and the cute wooden tables filled up.
The drinks were just okay. I had a pretty good Pimms cup (feting one of the last chances to kiss summer goodbye) but my other gin-​based drink with sage and something else (the Old Man something) tasted like standing water that you’d find sitting in your garage after a rainy winter. o_​O
The bacon wrapped dates were pretty good, as were the lobster rolls. The portions were small and shareable, but I’ve had better versions of both elsewhere. Nothing disappointing, nothing to write home about.
The flatbread with figs/​caramelized onions had me salivating at its description but was dry and boring in execution.
Good ambiance, service was a little sleepy, I’d go back in a pinch but I wouldn’t make it a destination.

After being sat on a remarkably broken (I could rock back and forth on it good 2 inches each way)… chair, I asked the waitress for another chair. Her response was that she knew it was broken but they don’t have other chairs. :-? Envisioning myself landing on the floor on a pile of splintered chair remnants, I remained uncomfortably still throughout the entire dinner. AWKWARD to say the least!
Surely the dinner could only go up from there? Unfortunately no, Salt Bar was also afflicted with disappearing waitress syndrome that night. We ordered our drinks (wine for my friend, a whisky cocktail for me)… and waited a good 10 minutes before the drinks came. The waitress took our food orders at that time…
Bacon Wrapped Dates, Lobster Rolls, and a plate of 5 meats and cheese. When we asked for suggestions for wine and cheese… the waitress answered with a very blunt «they are all good.» Is there a more frustrating answer? Could she have just recommended SOMETHING? Le sigh.
I give 2 stars instead of 1 because the bacon wrapped dates were actually ridiculously good. The other stuff was good but not overly impressive. The kicker on this badly serviced meal was that it took us forever to get the check. The waitress was just NOT slowing down to notice us trying to flag her down. Finally we had to get up and walk across the restaurant to her and ask for the check. Not good.