Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar

Let me start with their specialty cocktails… Wow! Very unique and quite impressive.
Nice selections in their menu too. We had Cheese display with chicken liver patte — served with toast stick bread — indeed pretty good! We also tried their Devils pork egg, Chicken tenders, Kogi beef etc… Pretty cool place. Good selections of wine and beer. Definitely another Gastropub I will recommend.

I’ve resisted trying this «hot spot» for years opting instead to get my culinary fix from the «land of dreams» and the city where «what happens here, stays here».
I should have listened to myself however; with a grain of salt, the food albeit bordering on salty, is worth it’s salt.
Note: Servers encourage sharing small plates. Ignore them. Order your own. It is impossible to cut a single pork belly in half without tearing it to shreds and expect to sample the garnishes and sauces without mixing everything together into a mess.
Small plates show off the kitchen’s creativity but improper cooking techniques and aggressive seasoning make it difficult to eat some dishes. The pork belly is well rendered but slightly dry. The accompanying honey miso and cider antique provide welcome acidity. The shrimp and pork sliders OK. Overcooked shrimp with a onion aioli and kim chee jam, both add a good sweetness and heat but excessive salt, makes it difficult to eat. The well cooked tako is tender but it’s subtle flavors are masked by a smoked onion purée, chorizo, and jalapenos. A flatbread unfortunately was inedible with excessive salt.
Large plates are boring compared to the small plates. The jidori chicken with its onion and sun choke purée is worthy, well cooked, good accompanying veg but once again, salty.
Service is laid back and friendly.
Drinks are creative (well balanced honey bee careful with vodka, lemon, chili, honey, and basil) when done right but are inconsistent and fail to meet the level of complexity expected for the price. Small selection of wine and beer at very high markups.
Good as a neighborhood bistro.
Back to the salt mines. Out.

Not impressed. Having just eaten at Black Hogg in Silverlake, this was just ok. The best plate we had was the tako and chorizo with potatoes.
The sliders were nothing special, french fries were salty, jidori chicken was dry, and the Chinese sausage flatbread was flavorless. And portions were dainty, especially for tapas — sharing for a party of 5 was 1 bite each.
I was excited to try Salt and wanted to love it but it just didn’t work out. They also need some febreeze because the entire upstairs reeked of sweat and moldy wet rags. Was this place previously a dance club?

Oooh, Salt, you had me at «The xx.» I walked in and remember hearing a great selection of music, ranging from vintage music to more modern indie pop, and I was sold. The hip décor, nice waitress, and good food doesn’t hurt either.
Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar is a trendy restaurant with a great selection of cocktails, beer, and wine. The first floor was mainly the bar area, while the second floor seemed like a great place to lounge. Black and white images hung on the walls greet your arrival as you walk up the stairs.
My friends and I shared quite a bit of food: local tako, flatbread, shrimp and pork sliders, fried chicken, and kimchee grilled cheese. My favorites would have to be the chicken and grilled cheese, even though the other items were pretty good as well. The chicken was soft but crispy on the outside, and they provided an amazing chili oil and honey sauce. The grilled cheese had thick but fluffy bread while the inside was gooey and cheesy. I was expecting a stronger kimchee kick to it but it was good nonetheless.
And for a side note about their menu: They got rid of some items like the gnocchi (Nooo!!!) so while you may be tempted by the delicious pictures on Unilocal and even saw it on their website like I did, it’s best to be flexible in case they change their menu again.
As for the drinks, I had the Renegade and Blood & Smoke. Funnily enough, those drinks seemed to be on opposite sides of the spectrum. Renegade was a rather fruity and sweet drink. Blood & Smoke was bitter and strong — and at the same time, it was a bit too sweet for my taste. The waitress just told me to request it less sweet and it should be an easy fix for next time. Because there will be many repeat orders, trust me. I got it because I was intrigued that they used Pig’s Nose scotch, and was pleasantly surprised that it was so smooth.
My friends also ordered these drinks, which were also good though they seem to like Renegade better in comparison:
~ Honey Bee Careful — vodka, lemon hawaiian chili, manoa honey, sweet basil
~ Punch.Drunk.Love — liliko’i, pisco, elderflower, sparkling, lemon
All in all, I would recommend this place for anyone that wants a good place to hang out with friends for an evening of good food and drinks. I’m actually looking forward to coming here again!

I have been wanting to try this place ever since it was featured in Honolulu Magazine last year. I heard mixed things from friends, so it took a little while to get around to trying it.
I came here with my boyfriend for an impromptu dinner last night. We booked last minute reservations through their website.
The space is pretty chic looking. We sat upstairs. It appears there is a private room in the back. It looked pretty small though.
The service was pretty good. My boyfriend and I noticed they didn’t smile much though. My boyfriend remarked that they must be hipsters… lol
As far the food, I had the gnocchi, and it is probably some of the best gnocchi I have ever tasted. You have to make sure that you get the other ingredients and the sauce in each bite. I, at first, though the portion was tiny, but gnocchi is pretty heavy; the portion ended up being just right. It cost $ 18.
My boyfriend got the burger, and he thought that it tasted well. I think it had a base price of $ 13. He had blue cheese.
We ordered a couple of beers. The selection wasn’t huge, but I think it is a pretty good one.
The highlight of our visit was the bread pudding with bananas baked into it. It is served with Nutella ice cream… I repeat Nutella ice cream! It was absolutely amazing!
I will be back. I liked the atmosphere – there were people of all ages in the restaurant– and the food that I tried was top notch.

This was one of the few restaurants that has impressed me in a while. Everything that hit the table was pretty much amazing. The creativity of ingredients, preparation, plating and tastes reminded me of a way more upscale restaurant (ala Mavro or Jean Georges). Minus the stuffy ness. It has a hipster vibe, with good music and no frills dining décor. We saw families, hippies, Rastas, geeks, and a mish mash of people come through there. Very eclectic crowd.
Ok– the food– We had the local tako and sausage appetizer. Everything was bursting with fresh farm to table freshness. The tako was perfectly complimented by the sausage and Maui onions accented with green olives and potatoes. I’d order that again.
The Big Island NY strip steak special was amazing. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, served with leeks, okra, greens and yellow raisin jus, which gave it a nice contrast of sweet and savory.
The shishito peppers were delicious– smoky and oily and perfect with the beer I had.
The beet salad was good but I wouldn’t

We were suppose to go somewhere else, but my buddy Kyle said this place would be new to me since it’s only been open a couple of years. It’s out in Kaimuki and if you don’t know where you’re going, you might pass it. There is a parking lot in the back with meters, but you can also try to find parking on the streets.
The floor is the bar, and it’s cozy, with a few two top tables along the wall. The main dining area is upstairs, and is small as well, but I’m thinking there is a dining area in the back behind the wait station. I could be wrong. We got their early and had a couple of signature drinks at the bar. Staff is very friendly which is a plus! We then moved upstairs to wait for Kyle and his girlfriend.
The waiter was great! We started with Salvagossa sangiovese which was really good. As soon as the others arrived, we ordered the oxtail empanadas, which were decent. I guess we might have been expecting something like the potstickers at Lucky Belly. A delicious beet salad and the kulana burger to share. I ordered the jidori chicken and the partner had the flat iron steak. Both dishes were cooked well and came with creamy potatoes. I also ordered the brown butter gnocci for the table to share as well. This dish was very tasty as well.
He: Would you like to order another bottle of wine?
Me: Yes. Let’s have some fun… we’ll have the Saint Joseph.
When we were in France, London Mark told us about the Saint Joseph winery and that the wines were amazing albeit, a little pricey… but it was worth it. French wine out in Hawaii? Yes, please!
He: We only carry three bottles at a time.
This is a fun place to come to! The service is great! The ambiance is very relaxing! We will definitely come back once we’re back on the island.