Salt Wood Kitchen and Oysterette

we love, love, love Saltwood. That being said, the Market Salad is not a meal. You get a small, admittedly very artful, and two small scallops for $24. That is a ripoff. My husband's shrimp and Grits was delicious and good value. The other meals we've had there (been there 4 times) have been more fulfilling with more value. Perhaps they need to re-evaluate some of the other dishes.
Otherwise, fantastic bartender, Bryan. Great ambiance, good music and great vibe.

Excellent service, local, fresh seafood, and great experience overall.

I wanted to take my wife somewhere special for her birthday and surprised her with Salt Wood Kitchen. The ambiance is pleasant: the floor-plan is open, bright, and diners can have an easy view of the central grilling area where much of the cooking is done. We opted for the fresh-catch for two (rockfish) and Monterey sardines as an appetizer, both were grilled perfectly and tasted delicious. The sides of polenta and carrots were similarly well-prepared.

The nicest part of the experience were the little extras: the waiter (Dominic) was very friendly in wishing my wife a happy birthday and even arranged for a small desert at the end of our meal. This was one of the best dining experiences I have had and would absolutely recommend as a great date spot, especially if you want to taste local seafood.

We made a 6:30 pm reservation for a Tuesday but arrived earlier, figuring we would sit at the bar if our table wasn't available. The hostess stand took a few minutes; they seemed to be figuring out seating for a larger group. After a few minutes they sat us near the window, but at a very small table. We then opted to instead sit at the bar, as it seemed like a better option.

Although we were not in a hurry, it took quite a while for the bartender, Brandy, to acknowledge us. It seemed as though there was some confusing regarding another table and drinks... it seemed like she was in a funk after that. She did her job but was definitely not overly friendly. Seemed she needed help making drinks, as she was referring to some papers quite frequently.

She finally took our drink order, made our drinks, and took our food order. We ordered the sardines, the JC appetizer, the strawberry salad, and the seafood boil to share. The sardines and the JC came out rather quickly; the sardines were so incredibly flavorful. The JC was supposed to have brie in it but if it did, they fooled me! Tasty, just not quite what I felt was advertised. The salad took a while to arrive, and when it did, it was... weak. Maybe 2 strawberries in the entire salad. It was lacking flavor and salt and pepper are not on the tables (or it was not offered to us at the bar).

We enjoyed the entrée - about that time my friend finished his beer and was offered another by a gentleman - perhaps a barback? - and politely declined. Shortly thereafter I finished my dirty martini - which needed to be made dirty after I received it - and I was not offered another drink during the rest of my time at the establishment. So I decided to save my money and did not request another.

Overall we enjoyed the food and it has the potential to be awesome. Next time we won't sit at the bar. I would suggest they have more than one bartender for a place that size. I'll give them a little time to work out the kinks before I go back.

Was very lovely! We sat outside and watched the whales go on by while the sun was setting. The food was so delicious! Overall, it was the perfect intimate setting to celebrate my fiancé’s birthday!

Outstanding service by management and 60% of the staff. That is pretty obvious right off the bat. Food is aMazing, TRY the oysters...I don't even like them but, my waiter talked me into trying one and it was BBQ and wonderful topping flavors. Drinks are $$ and regular well drinks not strong or even adequate. Thierry fu-fu drinks are nice. You just need the right bartender to pour a decent drink. Outdoor ambience and firepits and heaters are great.

Loved the first two nights (stayed at the Santuary next door so only option if you don’t want to drive). Had a crappy crowded table for the first night despite requesting special occasion. Second night ate at bar which was much more comfortable and fun. Good food but overpriced for what you get. Ask for bread if you want to feel full. Final night had an awesome table and waitress but the whole fish special was bland and we were screwed on the strawberry torte after having it for two nights—guess they were running out because kitchen skimped on every ingredient in this otherwise tasty “deconstructed” torte. Lovely place tho. Would go back while staying at resort again.

My friends and I each ordered the halibut that was delicious. Also, tried an oyster and was pleasantly surprised at its wonderful flavor with the additional seasoning. The ambience is too-notch. Staff friendly and attentive.

Excellent!

Four of us enjoyed Sunset sessions. We had reservations for dinner. The king salmon was a disappointment. It did not taste like king salmon I have had other restaurants.
The roasted veggies were flame black on one side. Halibut was fine. Fish for two okay. The dinning experience was not what we had anticipated.

Great time pet friendly calm fun outdoor ambience

Great date night
Wonderful wood fired oysters.
Fantastic Halibut

It was our first time staying at the Sanctuary, so we had to try the restaurant. The food was excellent! The atmosphere was nice, though a little crowded and loud. The staff was very friendly, and the wait service was quick and knowledgeable. Overall a lovely experience. PS: The short ribs were fantastic!!

Enjoyed both lunch and dinner at this modern food emporium. The chef is not afraid to try new and delicious ways to present his well balanced menu. The food was very will prepared, presented and thoroughly enjoyable. This restaurant is a true "find" for the Monterey Bay area.

We have been to this location throughout its history as different dining establishments, but this is the most attractive and tasty iteration. We tried it for early Saturday brunch to celebrate a birthday and it was a lovely treat. We will return to try other menu items. Everything we ordered was well done and our drinks were generous and properly prepared. The decor was bright and fresh and reminded us of our favorite Seattle restaurants. There were a few tables filled, so we cannot address noise level if filled, but it was pleasant and service was perfect and accommodating. There are several other options I would check on this review, but for some reason, not all check boxes work. Again, lovely addition to our dining options and nice that it is closer to us than Monterey/Carmel. Will definitely be returning!

My scallops were cooked perfectly and the service was exceptional. The pasta dishes were average. Overall the food selections were somewhat over priced but the wine selection was reasonable. The great service bumped up my experience to 4 stars.

great food and service. The ambiance is super. Well-stocked bar.

Somewhat limited menu, but food was good. Fish and vegetables were very fresh! I do not recommend the fried chicken - not much flavor, hard to eat. Stick with seafood - oysters & halibut were excellent.

We ate at Salt Wood 3 times during our stay at The Sanctuary Beach Resort. We made reservations for all three visits. The first was dinner. We sat close to the bar and where they had an open air area where we could watch one person shuck oysters and the other grill the oysters, fish and other special items on the menu. Our kids loved it!!! The place was booked!! Our server Melissa was great and very friendly as well attentive to our needs. There was a word of mouth kids menu which was reasonably priced. We had cocktails which were super yummy too!! Loved the oysters and all the fixings they offer you. The next meal was Brunch on Saturday. Great variety of items and we all enjoyed the flavors. For dinner that night we had the most amazing meal. We ordered the Whole Snapper for 2. It was grilled to perfection and came with 2 sides. The kids had a blast eating it and were so entertained. No complaints!!!

We were seated very quickly. The atmosphere was calm and relaxing. Upon being seated, the couple next to us recommended the fish for two. Our service was excellent and Nick was very friendly and quick. We both ordered short ribs. It was delicious and melt-in-your-mouth tender. The carrots that accompanied the short ribs were very tasty and tender. I would like, however, to see more dinner choices . All-in-all it was a very quaint and enjoyable anniversary dinner date with my husband.

My husband is wheelchair bound. There was no w/c auto door opening, so as I struggled to open the doors, the two able bodied hostesses stood at their stand making absolutely no effort to help me at all. We were greeted, then told that they could put two tables together in the bar to accomodate our w/c needs or we could sit up in the dinning area. We chose the bar area as it was quieter. When we got there, they had put two tiny round cocktail tables together...not very accommodating, so we said lets try the dinning area space. We were taken to small banquet table jammed next to people on both sides with no room for me, let alone my husband and w/c. We ended up back in the bar area. It took 20 min for our waitress to acknowledge our presence. The service was horrendous. I had ordered a cocktail that was undrinkable and served sloppily in a small sugar rimed glass that was not even 1/2 full. My husbands main course and my salad were delivered quickly....too quickly...at the same time. I had ordered a fish side to go with the salad as my main course, my husband ordered other food to go with his main course. Neither was delivered. 10 min or so later our waitress comes by and says let me check on your food. We started eating so we could at least have warm food. After 1/2hr our waitress finally returned. I said to please cancel the rest of our food order. She said that she would notify to the manager. He came over about 20 min later and asked how was our meal etc. The waitress had said nothing to him. I told him what had happened and he asked that if the food was now ready, do we want it. I said no, Please cancel!!! What a shame that the chef in the Kitchen has no organizational skills to run what is supposed to be a 3 star restaurant. There was no excuse for what happened to us. I don't care how good the food Might be, if you cannot deliver good service, you are nothing. I will not be returning. BTW manager did comp part of our meal.

The food was fabulous but the service was agonizingly slow.

The entire family loved it! The food, the environment and the services. We will definitely come back!

Varied, fresh menu with great oyster selection. Upscale but casual and comfortable feel. Veggie sides are especially tasty - unique and perfectly prepared.

I got the fried chicken and was served with an embarrassingly huge plate with three pieces of fried chicken. It was so thick I couldn't bite through it so I cut it up instead. The chicken I side was terribly dry while the outside could have been good but it just didn't have any flavor. I didn't even eat the meal.
My husband got fish and while he said it was very good, it was also very small. Overall we spent $175 on a very overpriced meal and I went to the hotel hungry.

My husband did enjoy the oysters though.

Food was great, our server was fab but all other staff could do with some customer service training.

Food and ambiance is very good. First evening was great until the server gave away our brownie deserts to another table. It took another half hour to get ours. Then they ran out of vanilla ice cream. We got sherbet instead. Second evening, the waitress was at another table. We had sat for 15 min with to greeting or waiter. When she finished the taking orders at the other table she fled by, not a glance or comment, like: I'll be with you in a minute, We had to go the the entrance and tell the hostess we would like a waiter. Question; why would you run out of vanilla ice cream on your special desert offering? Another question is who is monitoring the servers? It takes over 10 minutes to get a glass of wine.

Delious food
beautiful place
friendly service

A group went for brunch, it was perfect!
The bloody Mary’s were very good. There were 4 different meals ordered and all were delicious! My personal favorite for brunch is chicken and waffles. My favorite dinner entree their short rib, outstanding!

I am local and have dined at most of the restaurants in the Monterey Bay Area. I have also traveled extensively all over the world and have eaten seafood at many restaurants.

This was our second try at this restaurant. The first time we Tried the whole fish for 2. It was not fresh and very “fishy”. It was not edible.

This time we had a waiter who knew nothing about the wines or the food and repeatedly blaimed the kitchen for slow service.

The halibut was listed as Alaskan, but the waiter told us it was central coast. Wherever it came from it was previously frozen and not edible. The first piece was undercooked and awful. The replacement was cooked, just awful.

I would not return to this restaurant, nor would I recommend it to anyone.

Interesting menu - good variety. Enjoyed!

The Table seating for a couple is very small our plate would not even completely fit on the table. Yes, hung over the edge. The staff just laugh at the small table tops. So I would request seating for 4. The chicken was amazing. The seating was beyond horrible very small table tops for couples. Oh, Also I had reservations and they would not re-accommodate us?

Food is good but I would not recommend taking a date. Ok! I would not recommend at all continue into Monterey and eat in comfort.

Very disappointed!!

We showed up for an 8:30 for dinner at its busiest time. The server was a bit busy and although oysters arrived prior to the meal, other apps arrived at the same time as the entrees. The server apologized but the table was packed full. The food is exceptional. Not one bad dish served. The fried chicken, whole fish, and corn pudding dessert alone are worth the trip.

My cousin who owns a catering company in the valley recommended this restaurant. Boy we’re we glad we ate there! This place is phenomenal. We went for Sunday brunch. The breakfast sandwich was massive and oh so filling. The regular breakfast was also tastey. My only complaint is that I wish they did bottomless mimosas ($11 each). The orange juice was so good and I wish I could’ve drank 5 more. I’ll definately be back!

Excellent food, ice cold beer, wonderful service, interior design straight out of a magazine...even the restroom was flawless! Had I known that 1/2 the patrons would order the special fried chicken dinner...I would have ordered the same thing! Plate after plate of fried chicken was served! Our dishes were still awesome! Looking forward to trying it the next time we visit! Thank you for the experience!

We went to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. This place is awesome. Every dish we ordered was spectacular!

Ate at Brunch. Will return soon for dinner. Will also dine outdoors and bring our puppies.

Love the rustic elegance and the indoor fireplace. Excellent service. Enjoyed an wonderful dinner. Came back for drinks the next night since we were staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort. You will enjoy.

Amazing service! Our server Nick was great. Very professional and great customer service. Food was delicious. I ordered the burger and my partner for the fried chicken. Dessert was awesome. Will go back tomorrow! Highly recommend.

I have eaten at Salt Wood before and always enjoyed it. Though the food was good this time, items seemed somewhat underseasoned.
The oysters are always great but a little pricey - kim chi butter and apple gelee are particularly good.

Great place for a very nice meal!