Saltwater Harborside Dining

We got there for our open table reservation and were told they don’t take reservations. We were eventually seated and ordered drinks. Drinks took a long time to arrive because the bartender was “busy”. He was busy because he was acting as host and not bartender. Hamburger and fish tacos were inedible. Thumbs down all around.

We were lucky to have a water view during sunset! We started with calamari and it was the best we ever had. It was very light, not a bit of grease and a large portion. Generally don't eat fried food but so good we were picking at the crumbs. We had fish sandwiches, both were wonderful. Our service was also great. All in all a lovely dinner.

Came here off season for dinner. It was quiet and cozy. The dinner was delicious and the service wonderful. Can’t wait to come back here next year again for dinner.

The Executive Chef came around to every table and was very hospitable. Buffet was a pretty good value. We will be back!

The service was slow and inconsistent. We tried the special...a steak, breaded in corn chips, topped with a lobster tail. Steak was tasteless, lobster tasted as is it had been frozen. We waited a long time for the meal and no bread or snacks were offered. Overall, disappointing.

We arrived for our 6:45 PM reservation to find out that there was a private party in the dining room. No one greeted us; we had to wait to ask the bartender. We were told we could sit in the bar area but was not encouraged to do so. I realize the reservation was made through Open table but I expect that the restaurant would make potential patrons aware of the situation. I would not recommend nor would I consider going here again; there are plenty of restaurants in Newport where you can be treated appropriately.

Pretty hotel restaurant with fun nautical touches. Lots of comfortable seating and pretty good views. The service was excellent, but the food was average.

Lovely spot with a water view; pretty good selection for Restaurant week lunch

Excellent food! We came for brunch and had the Lobster Benedict (highly recommend). Right on the water, great service, couldn't have asked for more!

Despite what Open Table suggests, this establishment does not accept reservations.

Went to Salt water for breakfast. The tree huger steel cut oats and the hearty breakfast flatbread was amazing.

This should have been so much better! Our party of four was there early on a Sunday night and we were the only diners there. The drinks were just fine, but our "Tableside Experience" was just awful. We ordered the Fish and Chips and the Array of the Bay. Each "Experience" was meant to serve two people, yet only enough of the the "homemade special sauces " were brought to the table to serve one, maybe. When the food arrived, it was tipped out of a cute metal bucket onto a wooden chopping board, it should have been the "experience " I suppose. But instead, the food ended up spilled all over the table and the server had to dig out the remainder with his bare hands and pile it on top of what was now just an unappealing mess of food. The cod was almost burnt. The lobster cakes were mushy inside and virtually burnt outside. The oysters were basically raw and the batter was oil drenched but uncooked. The shrimp was more like something you'd expect from a mass produced buffet and was overcooked and rubbery. If there were any clam strips we didn't notice them. And the waffle fries, which are touted as a house specialty, were undercooked yet rubbery and looked more like pre-bagged institutional fries than house made. All in all, mostly inedible. When the poor waiter came back to the table after registering our complaints we were told that the cook said he'd prepared everything exactly as the chef, who was apparently absent, had instructed and it was just the way it supposed to be. So we paid the bill and left. And we will never go back! Completely unacceptable.

Went during Restaurant Week with my wife and had a thoroughly enjoyable meal. Compared to the other meals we had during Restaurant Week, this was certainly the largest. The food and service were very good and the portions were generous. The restaurant wasn't very busy which was a shame since it offered excellent value.

The clam chowder was exceptional, as well as our sandwiches. Chef Tom came out to say hello which was a nice touch. Have the bread pudding for dessert, you won't be sorry. Can't wait to go back in the summer.

This was restaurant week in Newport with great choices on the menu and warm welcoming staff. The waterfront restaurant has beautiful views and very nice ambiance and the food choices were creative, fresh and tasty.

The clam chowder was the absolute best I've ever had. Whole clams, bacon, fried onions. Delicious! The oyster BLT was also divine.

The dinner was supposed to be a nice meal out with adults. It was not what I expected. I really thought the restuarant would have been nicer. It felt like a polished diner. The food was decent, but we had to wait over an hour to receive our dinner. The bathrooms were disgusting, I had to tell more than one person how gross it was before anyone did anything to it. The waitress was apologetic for the food delay. I'm not quite sure why it took so long, the restuarant was fairly empty...

The Bar area is really nice, with a fireplace, casual seating, high top tables and stools. It has lovely ambience. But the dining area is plain and sparse; it had less than ten tables. The staff seemed overwhelmed, and service was slow. The clam chowder was beautifully presented, but unevenly heated. Lukewarm with hot spots. My fried clam sandwich was hard to eat, bit deconstructed, had the most tender fried clams I ever had. The fries were good. We had a bottle of wine, which was nice. They need to work on ambience, service and keeping food hot.

It was very quiet good food right by the water good price

Fine not great but fine

My daughter and I ate here and were assured that the food she received was gluten free. We asked multiple times and got reassured again and again. IT WAS NOT GLUTEN FREE!!! My poor daughter was so sick we almost ended up at the hospital. Then when I called to talk to the manager, they left me on hold and didn't answer. The staff needs to be educated about gluten allergies in a big way. We won't go back.

It's ok. Average at best. The view is nice, though. Overall, if you have other choices, take them.

such a disappointment, we had trouble even finding someone to seat us, then our server changed, while he was pleasant, he checked on us as our food was served but did not come back to check after, we did not get water refilled. the host eventually came to check on us, and we did tell him the chorizo and mussels were way overcooked. we ordered the portugese bucket to share, and it was mostly waffle fries. our dinner was also supposed to include slaw and sauces, which we did not get.

Horrible food and service
I would not recommend to a friend

We had excellent service and Oceanside seating at this restaurant. The lunchtime menu choices were highly unusual particularly the two versions of clam chowder. I would highly recommend ,however, the house salad for its unique and fresh ingredients.

Food was overpriced and horribly overlooked. Less than half of the clams and muscles were edible due to overcooking. Avoid this restaurant.

1st time we visited Saltwater the food was great but the service was slow, waited a long time for our order to be taken and for food to come out. This last time we visited the food wasn't great at all and the service was worse. It wasn't very crowded so I am not sure why it was so slow but we almost missed our reservation for a boat ride in Newport due to waiting over a half hour for dinner to be served.

Service and food were excellent. Will definitely return.

Absolutely horrible!!

Not so happy this time around!
First we were told that we didn't have a reservation , but they seated us after I showed the confirmation email from open table.
The food took so long to come and when it finally came it wasn't cooked. We sent it back and they took it off the bill. So we just had a cocktail and a cheese board!
We were very disappointed with the food and the length of time it took for us to get our meals.
In past years we have enjoyed this restaurant , not sure if it's under new management when they changed to the new Saltwater name?? There was also a very large party going on on the hotel property, maybe that had something to do with the slow service and uncooked meal.
Not sure if we will give it another chance.

Our experience was horrible. We were looking so forward to celebrating a birthday and the 4th of July at the restaurant. We asked for a table outside which we got. But as the weather got colder the heat lamps were used inside leaving us shivering. And we were not allowed to move inside. The service was terrible. It took 1 1/2 hours to get our food and at no point during our two hours there did anyone bring bread or refill out water. Our food was delivered cold and the order was wrong. The Lobster bake had no potatoes and tiny ears of poor corn. My son was served tomato soup he could not eat. The waitress said they had run out and the chef had scraped the bottom of the pot. They had run out of chicken breasts so they offered my daughter frozen chicken fingers. The manager knew there was trouble happening for all the tables on the outside and came to ask us about our experience. She apologized and offered to comp our drinks. We thanked her. Then I had to chase the waitress for the check and when I found her she asked if I still wanted the drinks comped?!?!
As we left, the waitress apologized and said that the problems stemmed from the fact that the restaurant was catering a party and the staff and the kitchen were focused on that. A poor excuse for ruling our entire experience. Thinking back I am sorry I paid the bill at all.

Mark Hoebee
MHoebee@papermill.org

Terrible experience. The staff seemed to have no record of our reservation -- said they "tried not to take reservations," whatever that means. Clearly, if they use Open Table, they take reservations. We were eventually seated, and the waterfront location is lovely, but the food is terrible. Everyone, from the host, to the server, to the bartender, was just plain bad. And the live music as so painful to listen to. This poor woman was trying, but she was just terrible. Do NOT recommend.

This restaurant is just 'okay.' We were hoping to get a view of the water, but it was blocked by lots of boats. Also, there was a band playing that evening, and it was SO loud. We had to move tables. Food was okay, nothing to brag about. And, waitress got part of my dinner order wrong, after we talked about it, and she said, "my kind of gal.". Clearly not true. They were very welcoming to our dog, which was nice, and a plus.

This place was recommended to us for fresh fish while we were staying in the area. I started with the house wine, which I swore was watered down. I sent it back and ordered the $14 glass, which sadly was not much better. The waitstaff was average, non-attentive especially for the shadowing that was taking place. I had the tuna, expected it to be flash cooked, but it was literally cold. My daughter had the risotto and was not impressed. It is on the dock, so the water location was nice, but the food and service was not spectacular. Very vibrant and noisy for being only half full on a weeknight.

We had a great time at Saltwater, the menu had some great seafood options, my salmon was delicious!

We went to Saltwater with friends from Boston for Restaurant Week. This was our first time eating there indoors as we had been several times during the summer. Overall not a good experience- we were seated in the lounge where a band was playing so loud we couldn't hear each other talk. The food was not good at all. Especially the blueberry cobbler dessert-runny and cold. We were really disappointed in the whole experience and seeing how we had friends drive from Boston just for dinner we were really embarrassed. Unfortunately this is our last visit to Saltwater.

Overall is was good but not a place I would recommend. There are just too many good places in Newport.

We had made reservations the night before. The day of our reservations we were shopping in one of the local shops and started a conversation with some of the locals. When we told them of our dinner plans, they had commented that the service here was extremely slow and that the food was just ok. We decided to give it a shot anyway. They were right. There were only 3 occupied tables and it took forever to get our food, which was two burgers. The drinks were below average and the burgers were dry. It's such a shame because this is a beautiful location which could have so much potential. We would not go back as there are many other options on the water in Newport, such as The Mooring, which are so much better.

Beautiful marina setting. food was delicious, our server Marissa was friendly & efficient. We hit it off with her right away, afterwards to find out we are both from NY. After dinner we looked at the breakfast menu & made a reservation for the next morning & requested Marissa. We enjoyed both meals. Saturday nite dinner included live music. Very enjoyable place.

Tomato and mozzarella with basil salad had no basil.
Salmon and scallops were excellent.
First Martini was very good
2nd tasted watered down- alot.
Id go back again and tell food and beverage guy ahead of time about what I just wrote.