Its hard to believe that The Salt Room in Brighton is ten years old this month, writes Nick Mosley. I still recall having a hard-hat tour with owner Raz Helalat where he excitedly explained his vision for the best seafood restaurant on the south coast.
As with any major restaurant launch there were always going to be a few teething problems but they were quickly ironed out by Raz and then head chef Dave Mothersill with The Salt Room rapidly established itself as one of the city’s premium go-to restaurants. Following my most recent visit at the end of January, I can hand-on-heart say that is still very much the case.
Of course, money is a little tight for everyone – and thus for every hospitality business – right now, so I’m very much focussed on hunting out the best value restaurant meals. In some cases that means year-round pocket friendly perennials but in others its fixed priced and pre-theatre dining so it was to The Salt Room’s set menu that my eye was drawn.
Available Monday to Friday from noon through to 6pm, the menu offers a choice of three starters, four mains and three desserts. Priced at £25 for two courses or £29 for three courses, the icing on the cake is that also includes a glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne adding a little luxurious extra treat for what is already a well-priced menu.
It goes without saying that dry sparkling wine pairs remarkably well with seafood: balancing the brininess of shellfish with its minerality and cutting through the richness of fatty fried fish and naturally oily fish with its sharp effervescence. And who doesn’t like a glass of fizz?
To start I ordered the house fish soup, a delightfully deep flavoured bisque that I dare say had seen its share of shellfish. It was the perfect warming dish to accompany a dramatic backdrop of grey clouds being whipped along the seafront.
My dining guest decided on the Scorched Stracciatella with roasted heritage beetroot, radicchio and a sweet, dark drizzle of molasses. This was an incredibly accomplished starter in every way; a feast for the eye and the taste buds. A shredded base of fresh, creamy stracciatella from the heart of a burrata cheese, with layers of well-thought out texture and flavour. It takes a lot to successfully combine richness, acidity, earthiness, sweetness and bitterness but it was all there.
For my main – although I was initially drawn to the Shetland mussels – my attention was diverted to the fish and chips when our server reliably informed me that the batter was gluten free. In fact most dishes on the menu are gluten free by nature and the kitchen brigade will do whatever is possible to adapt non-gluten free dishes if they can.
As a seafood restaurant, you’d expect the fish and chips to be good and – drum roll – they absolutely were. A really crisp, crunchy golden batter enveloped a moist, flaky haddock fillet on top of bed of handmade fries and a considered sprinkling of sea salt. I’m obsessed with fish and chips but usually so disappointed that I avoid them but these were the bees knees; so much so I actually went back the following week for more.
My guest went for the fish burger. Quite literally a whopping bun packed with a chunky fritter of great quality white fish, melted cheese, lettuce and tartare sauce with a side of fries. A truly hearty man-sized main course that my little friend struggled to get her chops around but manage she did. Nothing could be added to make it better.
Unfortunately desserts are often an afterthought on set price menus where a scoop of ice cream is the offering before you’re packed on your way. Absolutely not the case here as we enjoyed a remarkable and truly whimsical twist on a cheesecake, that I hasten to add also features on the a la carte menu. Formed into the shape of a lemon, the soft and refreshingly light cheesecake filling was topped with a smattering of mint and cocooned in a thin coating of white chocolate. It literally zinged in every way.
Now you might think that quality ingredients, accomplished cooking, good service and a welcoming atmosphere are prerequisites for any restaurant, however that unfortunately isn’t always the case and that’s annoying when you’re handing over your hard-earned cash.
The Salt Room aces it on every count and I think that is due to two main factors. Firstly, Raz and his colleagues have honed their business model – listening to feedback and adapting accordingly, building strong supplier relationships to ensure the best seasonal ingredients at the best market prices, being an earlier hospitality technology and social media adopter – and secondly building one of the most impressive and loyal teams from front-of-house and kitchen to back office and management. It really shows in that staff are genuinely passionate about their role, feel supported within the team, are abundantly experienced in the product including how to cook it and know how to delivery that all important customer feel-good factor.
Looking around the room, I’d say most lunchtime guests were enjoying the set price menu and its easy to see why: its a balanced food journey that offers quality and value for money by the bucket. Make a date and raise your glass of Champagne to another successful ten years of The Salt Room.
Nick Mosley
The set menu is available throughout February.
The Salt Room, 106 Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2FU
01273 929 488 | www.saltroom-restaurant.co.uk
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