Sea Salt

Great experience from start to finish...

by Accident Prone , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

Went here for the first time last night, and it was a great experience from start to finish.

I like dry, not-too-tart wine, and the server got it right with his suggestion - the very first time.

The food was excellent. We had deviled duck eggs (served with lox on top - that was a surprise), warm broccolini salad, fresh oysters, swordfish with local mushrooms, and steelhead.

I'd never had steelhead before. The server explained it was like salmon but better...and it was.

For dessert, we had a strawberry-rhubarb tart, and chocolate bread pudding.

I can't say enough how wonderful this place was. It is a bit out of my price range for everyday, but they do have a happy hour...

From 3-6 and again from 10-12, oysters are $1 and there are drink specials too. They are open until 12 every night...even Sunday.

• Pros: Attentive staff, wonderful food, open late, oyster specials
• Cons: none

Moderately priced dinner.

by tulip333 at Citysearch

Sea Salt is located near the corner of Dwight Way and San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. As is the case with many restaurants in Berkeley, Sea Salt does not have its own parking lot. There is, however, plenty of parking available on the nearby side streets. The menu features mostly seafood options. I ordered the white clam chowder, fish & chips, and sorbet. The clam chowder was flavorful and the bacon scattered throughout the soup was a nice addition. The fish & chips were very good. I particularly liked the aioli that was served on the side. I ordered the sorbet for dessert and thought it was a refreshing end to the meal. My dinner companion ordered the dungeness crab cakes as the main entree and the sweet potato pecan pie for dessert. If you typically eat small portions at dinner, the crab cakes would be just right for you. On the other hand, if you prefer more sustenance at dinner, the 2 crab cakes would not be filling. As for the overall quality of the crab cakes, I have tasted better. The pie earns a mixed review. While the filling was excellent, the crust was too hard and without much flavor.

Fresh, well-prepared seafood

by aquilandasja at Citysearch

I love Sea Salt.. I live on Alameda and head here whenever I am in the mood for fresh, well-prepared seafood. The ambiance is unique, and very fitting a high-end seafood restaurant. And if you ever want to test whether a restaurant truly has friendly service, go with a baby. We had four adults and an infant on our first visit. We didn't get any askance glances from wait staff (or other diners), and were able to enjoy a truly adult meal with great conversation. This place is not cheap, especially if you love oysters (which our group did) and keep ordering more. But the quality of the food and excellent service still makes it an overall excellent value.

• Pros: Truly excellent seafood, oysters
• Cons: Price, no reservations, so you can be waiting during busy times

Good food, but loud and expensive.

by mcarden at Citysearch

My wife and I went to Sea Salt for dinner on a Saturday night, and were a bit disappointed by the experience. There is nothing wrong with the food, exactly - it is all nicely cooked and so forth, and the service is quite good, but I just didn't feel that it was very good value for the money. Our bill, including two glasses of their cheaper wine, was a tad under $100, without the tip, which I thought excessive. $18 in particular for fish and chips is a bit over the top. The ambience also leaves a lot to be desired - it is another of these ultra modern restaurants with hard surfaces everywhere, nothing to absorb the sound, and is quite loud. We found it difficult to have a conversation at a normal voice level, which I detest. Quite frankly, if I'm going to drop $100 on a meal, I would go somewhere more soothing, like JoJo's or Citron, rather than have my eardrums assaulted at Sea Salt.

• Pros: Food is quite tasty and well presented.
• Cons: Expensive, loud.

Great seafood and great service!

by flyintl at Citysearch

I dined at Sea Salt with a group of eight friends and the meal, service and wine was solidly good. Our server, L*sa, was very attentive, friendly and provided good recommendations. Everyone in the group enjoyed the different appetizers we ordered and everyone's salad was well liked. (I ordered the Marin Root Salad which was superb.) I asked our server to pick a fish for me since I was undecisive and the Hawaiian Walu I received was one of the best fish dishes around. Desserts were ordered all around and followed by the comment "Wow!" On the way home, a friend and I remarked how no one offered tasts of their meals or desserts. The reason...everyone liked their meal so much they weren't willing to give any of it up.

• Pros: Delicious seafood variety, good service and not noisy.
• Cons: None.