An early Friday, very chilly evening led us to the much buzzed about Saltie Girl in Back Bay. I had been dying to try this little restaurant located in a brownstone on Dartmouth Street since it opened a little more than a year ago.
This small restaurant is one side bar seating of about 10 seats and one side of about five booths. Its loudly intimate and showcases a wall of tinned fish, figurehead mermaids and bright colorful beachy tiles. Unfortunately, reservations can’t be made at Saltie Girl so I met my friend Erika at 5.30pm and lucky for us, at that time we had our pick of seating. We picked booth seating.
Saltie Girl bar seating
The menu offers an all-day seafood menu of crudo, smoked fish, large plate seafood entrées, toasts, fried dishes and a menu filled with tinned seafood of caviar, sardines, anchovies and cockles and mussels. Let me be clear here, you are most definitely not seeing Starkist or Bumble Bee, this is seriously high-end. I have never quite seen anything like it and I was utterly intrigued.
Given how early it was neither of us were too hungry so we started with a plate of salty, sweet and briny oysters. They had seven on the menu that night and we had all seven each.
Selection of oysters
To pair with our oysters I opted for a crisp white glass of Le Touraine Blanc. Perfect for the oysters but I felt like I was drinking out of a test tube, the glass was so thin and narrow.
Erika, the cocktail adventure picked the Grapefruit cocktail which beautifully combined vodka, aperol and citrus topped with a purple flower. It was awesome!
Grapefruit – Vodka, Aperol, Elderflower, Lemon
Finally read to order we focused on the all-day menu. My next trip will adventure into the tinned food menu.
We started with a spectacular and colorful beet salad. A beautiful plate of beets combined with creamy chevre and crunchy pecans with a hint of sweetness delighted both of us.
Trio of Beets – persille de chevre, pecans, granola, yogurt, honey
Our next share was the Snow Crab Toast. Sweet crab with avocado and combined with a cream is piled high onto toast. Absolutely scrumptious!
Snow Crab Toast- avocado, pistachios, stracciatella
We were ready for our next dishes. First up was a special of Tuna Poke. Delicate small bites of tuna in a light soy simply melted in the mouth.
Tuna Poke
A side of slightly salty, superbly cooked Brussel Sprouts arrived at the same time.
Brussels Sprouts- lardon, sticky soy
At the end of the meal they bring over a little wooden tray with rolled up hand wipes. Be careful not to pop them in your mouth, they are not marshmallows. If you have seen the movie The Heat, you will know what I am talking about. Pour the warm water on and wipe your hands.
Mini hand towels
We simply could not have ordered better for our first-time dining at Saltie Girl. Everything from arrival to service and of course of the food was fantastic.
If there is any fault to be commented on about Saltie Girl, I would suggest using actual wine glasses, especially for white wine, which you want to remain cold and slightly comfier seating as the booths are like sitting on church pews. That said, if the seats were more bottom friendly we may have never left and the line that was forming at the entrance for seats would have had to wait even longer.
Saltie Girl is worthy of waiting in line. Put your name in, get a cocktail and wait for the call. It will be worth it!
It sounds wonderful – but since I really don’t like eating dinner in the middle of the afternoon or standing around aimlessly on a sidewalk waiting for three hours for a table, I doubt they’ll be receiving my custom anytime soon. We don’t leave the house without a confirmed reservation, not for any night of the week, not ever. It is just too dangerous.
I am usually the same but I really wanted to try this place. Go early doors, put your name in and go around the corner for a cocktail if there isnt a table available. Its worth it 🙂