Eat Salt

I really don't want to lie to you. But I also don't want to sound like a spoiled foodie. So here it is. The honest truth. I thought the food in the Florida Keys sucked. Except for this place.

I was so excited to stuff myself on fresh Floridian seafood that I suppose you could say I set my expectations a bit too high. We relied on TripAdvisor and the locals for advice on the best places to eat in the Keys and Islamorada.

Sadly we kept getting referred to run down, overpriced, tourist trap eateries who all claimed to have 'The best fish sandwich in the Keys' or 'The home of the original Conch Fritter'. I kept walking away with a sore belly, a fat check and a side of 'meh'.

That all changed on our very last night when we stumble upon a lovely place called S.A.L.T.

Well technically, our luck had already changed the night before when we visited their sister restaurant, Meat. Can't go wrong with those simple, one-word names. More meat about Meat next week my friends. For now check out the snazzy interior of Salt.

They heard we were coming so they closed the place down.

Okay, just kidding. We were hungry at 4pm. It was all we could do to wait until a semi-acceptable dinner time of 6. The place was buzzing by the time we left.

As usual, our meal started with E's beer. I went crazy and had a glass of white wine which I can't recall the name of...sorry, I'm not much of a wine connoisseur. But the folks at Salt sure are. Apparently they have a whole cellar full.

Moving right along to the Chef's special amuse bouche, aka homemade pita chip thingies and a deeeelicous bacon dipping sauce (technical names of course).

The menu is unusual. It has a load of 'small plates' which read like tapas but are not tapas.  And then some normal looking mains. I love it when I have a hard time deciding. I make E order one of my second or third choices so I can try them all. He totally loves me.

I had the Cast Iron Scallops. Amazing. But let's be honest. I love anything with gnocchi mixed in.

E had the Empanadas and the Kurobuta Pork Belly off the small plates.

Yep, amazing.

We were far too stuffed for dessert, but I have a feeling they would have been just as good as the rest.

For only having been open for 5 weeks, I'd say Salt is well on their way to being the best restaurant in the Florida Keys. Let's see if they can win over the locals and TripAdvisor.

Have you been to the Keys? What was your favorite restaurant?