I had been to Sea Salt Eatery in Minneapolis as part of a work function last summer and really enjoyed what I had but heard a few complaints from those around me on that visit. With my positive experience in mind and the excellent reviews of so many others I knew I had to get back there soon to try it again. The weathermen were calling for temperatures in the mid 60s in early April and with my sister-in-law in town visiting I wondered if taking a half day and meeting up with Josh wouldn’t be the best time to try it again–for real.
Knowing that Sea Salt can create quite a bit of attention on warm days at the peak times we decided to heat to Minnehaha Park after the lunch rush to grab a great bite to eat and enjoy the warm weather with some frisbee in the grass. We arrived at around 1:45 and placed our orders at 2:00 but still had to wait a good bit to get our food as there were plenty of other tables munching on some tasty seafood sourced from Coastal.
I had been watching the specials all week but didn’t see anything that particularly interested me there. While their online menu is nice, it was much better to actually walk up to the counter and observe the chalk board menu. While this particular type of menu isn’t typically our style it is absolutely necessary for a restaurant that is not only counter style but also serving some of the best fish you’re going to find in Minnesota. I looked over the specials and the regular menu items and settled on the crawfish po’ boy. After a short chat with the woman behind the counter and the different regional pronunciations of “crawfish” I also ordered my wife’s crabcake basket, a pitcher of Surly Bender, and an order of incredibly inexpensive pickled herring. This was no cheap date as it racked up a $41 tab of which I tacked on another $5 for tip coming up just over $46. My sister-in-law was up next ordering a shrimp po’ boy and seafood gumbo and Josh grabbed another crabcake basket. We all sat down and waited for our food to arrive at the table. Again, as I stated above, this was a fairly long wait and while the place was busy I wouldn’t call it anywhere near “packed,” so if you’re looking to eat quickly you might want to go somewhere else.
Eventually our food arrived and man was it ever huge. On my previous visit I received some of the biggest shrimp, pieces of herring, and definitely the largest soft shell crab sandwich I’d ever seen but figured it was just luck. Nope, our portions were absolutely huge and my sandwich required much squishing and even had to be cut in half to get it to a manageable size. The herring (for only $2.95) came in two cups that never seemed to end, and the crabcakes were enormous. Awesome.
My crawfish po’ boy was quite tasty. I added some Old Bay Seasoning (they have a wide assortment of hot sauces and Old Bay available!) and a couple of different hot sauces on different parts of the sandwich. Everything about the sandwich was fantastic. My sole complaint was their ho hum coleslaw but again I’m really picky when it comes to my slaw. Instead of just eating it plain I threw it on the sandwich and just added to the girth. As I mentioned the herring was nearly endless but man was it ever tasty. This isn’t your mediocre pickled herring out of a jar, nope, this is some meaty and tasty stuff. Both Josh and my wife enjoyed their crabcakes. Josh mentioned that it wasn’t as good as his favorite ever but it was definitely good. My wife said that it was by far the best she’s ever had in Minnesota. While I didn’t try either they certainly looked yummy and my wife mentioned that it’s generally the sauce that does it for her and whatever was on this one was up to her standards.
After eating my wife and her sister both got some of the ice cream available. After many people suggested the salty caramel that’s what they ordered. The small orders (two tiny scoops) rang up another $6 on the order. While the ice cream was apparently very good, $3 for two little scoops is a bit much for me but being someone who doesn’t much care for ice cream unless it’s soft serve (and preferably Carvel) you probably should pay no attention to me.
Overall an amazing lunch and one I can’t wait to do again. I am writing this nearly 7 hours later and still full! Have you ever been to Sea Salt in Minneapolis’ Minneahaha Park? If so what did you think? What did you have and what do you recommend? Whatever you have to say about Sea Salt Eatery go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say!
Address:
Sea Salt Eatery
4825 Minnehaha Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55417-2373
Phone:
(612) 721-8990
Hours:
Open April 2nd – October 31st, 2010
7 days a week: 11 AM – 8 PM
See all the pictures from Sea Salt Eatery on Flickr here.
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April 12th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Sea Salt Eatery: Minneapolis, MN (http://tinyurl.com/y8kluhm)
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
April 12th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Living within walking distance from Sea Salt is quite dangerous as we go there more often than we probably should. But I just love it there.
Yes the wait can be long, so if you can’t handle it, don’t go. I get so sick of people complaining about the wait. It’s not that bad.
Tip #1. Walk up to the ice cream counter and order a beer for while you wait in line or order your food. Makes the line a lot more enjoyable.
Tip #2. After ordering your food go for a quick walk around the falls. The food will take a half hour or more, so may as well enjoy the park instead of just waiting at a table, staring at the trees. It’s so great to have an excellent place like Sea Salt, hidden away in a great park in a great neighborhood of South Minneapolis.
I get the Catfish Po-Boy (ask for it grilled) nearly every time we go and am always happy. I’ve only had the herring when it comes with the oil pan, but I’ll have to start ordering that has a side. So good.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:40 am
My wife and I were there Friday night. It was after dinner and the grill was closed, but we grabbed some ice cream and definitely want to return for the food. The ice cream was good, but WAY overpriced. I don’t mind paying $3 for 1 scoop, but I’m used to 1 scoop being a whole lot bigger than the sorry excuse for a scoop that we both received. On top of that, my wife had a really long hair in her ice cream and had to go back for a new scoop (I would have expected them to throw a couple of extra scoops in for her trouble the second time around but they didn’t).
So, I absolutely would not return for their ice cream (and I’m a huge ice cream fan), but the place has a cool atmosphere and the staff is friendly.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:43 am
The Ice Cream is from Sebastian Joe’s, which is decent ice cream, but not my favorite, and not worth $3 for a small scoup. I’m just glad it’s not Dairy Queen or some other boring ice cream, though if you want to spend less on a treat, the DQ is just across the street.
April 12th, 2010 at 9:04 am
I enjoyed the blackened catfish po’boy, but I thought it was overpriced (I’m not much of a seafood person anyway). The trick I’ve heard is to wait until just after it rains and clears up to go there. Useful for the local set but not much good for those hauling up from the 952.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Bill, glad to hear you had a great meal. Wife, kids and I were up there on Saturday (gorgeous day) at about 1 p.m. No wait in line, food came out within minutes. Same deal last Thursday afternoon at about 5 p.m. Generally, I tend to get there just before or after the “prime times”, typically at 11:30 for lunch, and almost never have to wait for anything. I recommend hitting them just after the “prime” hours if you’re concerned about a wait (heaven forbid I have to sit and relax in a beautiful park).
For what it is, Sea Salt is one of my favorite places to eat in MSP.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Sea Salt Eatery: Minneapolis, MN. I can’t wait to EAT here! Read @garciasn review and blog post!! http://bit.ly/cdnYE7
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
April 12th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Moe, I wasn’t complaining as I knew about it, just mentioning for those who may stumble across the place unprepared.
MSPD, as you can see from the review above we were there after the peak times.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you of complaining about it, I was just preparing for the comments I knew were coming :)
Actually, I was surprised you didn’t complain as much about it. Are you getting soft in parenthood?!!
April 12th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Moe, no, I just knew how it worked there and was fine with it. I was a little surprised that we still ran into the wait even at 2 PM but I had a nice chat with a dude selling some homemade cookies (that post will be up later this week) and then a nice glass of Bender to pass the time.
April 12th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
As you know from my previous posts, I have always been a fan.
on Saturday night we took 6 friends to NE Mpls to go to Anchor Fish and Chips… we got there at 6:25 and were place on a waiting list for 2 hours. I immediately commented that my other idea for the evening was Sea Salt. (as the esteemed Bill notes, no doubt Saturday night was mobbed there as well due to the weather and the recent opening)….
we moved down to Erte which is half a block away, which had a happy hour till 7pm …. ($2 pints of artisan craft beers? can you say a good deal?)
we ended up sitting down at Anchor at 7:45 so the wait wasnt the entire 2 hours. As usual the cod was fresh, the chips tasty, and the portions massive. Not to mention with Irish owners they pour a damned good and fresh Guinness….
Sea Salt next on our list but as noted, at an irregular hour to avoid the mobs.
April 12th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
in case my post was not clear, I mean I am a big fan of Sea Salt and have been there before… just planning to take a crew of friends there…
on the related topic of seafood… i also had dinner last week at McCormick and Schmicks in Edina (in the Westin). This was my second time there and for the second time I was less than impressed. I had a blackened catfish which was very so-so…. wife and friend had a salmon entree that looked like it had sat under a heat lamp for a while. My friend had a cheeseburger that looked very good (actually they have one of the best deals in town at happy hour …2.95 for a cheesburger and fries from 4pm to 6pm) . They invited us there…. i used to live in Portland Oregon and saw this chain start up as an offshoot of Jake’s Restaurant in Portland… its not up to the original standards anymore. Pity.
April 12th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
I just had a crawfish poboy at a restaurant in the French Quarter in New Orleans and I know that the one you ate was better. True I was at a touristy restaurant, but it should have been awesome. Only the bread was awesome, unlike what is pictured above.
I love Sea Salt. I’m thinking the next cold/raining night I’ll have to head down there. Perfect food for a crappy night and no wait.
April 12th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
I am also a Sea Salt lover. I’ve seen some inconsistency in the food in the past, but, in general, the food is usually great and the experience excellent. You can definitely get by with a much cheaper tab then Bill as that Bender pitcher added a lot to the cost.
April 13th, 2010 at 4:34 am
[...] Roehl loves the big portions at Sea Salt, Mecca sings the praises of Floyd’s, local food writing is well represented at Le Cordon Bleu [...]
April 13th, 2010 at 7:31 am
[...] our visit to Sea Salt in Minneapolis, I noticed a dude sitting in the middle of the restaurant with a pile of [...]
April 13th, 2010 at 11:47 am
I went last Friday around 4:30 and there was absolutely no wait and the food came out in less than 30 minutes. By the time we left at around 6, there were only about 30 people in line. Weird. One of these days, I’m going to get something other than their crawfish po’ boy, but it’s so damn good. The clam fries are also an incredibly good deal for the price. My friend and I got an order to share last year and we couldn’t even eat half of it…it was that huge.
April 13th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
I grew up in the neighborhood and I think the area that is the restaurant used to be the Minnehaha Falls gift shop. We’ll have to head up there some weekend after the rush to give it a try.
April 14th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
My wife and I have eaten at Sea Salt multiple last summer. There is no better place in this area to grab some good eats on a warm summer evening. I agree, the line to order your food can be quite long at times. I would recommend one person grabs a place in the line while the others order some great local beers that they have on tap. My wife and I have had many items on the menu and have never been disappointed. I look forward to heading back there this season!
April 15th, 2010 at 7:42 am
[...] should be a fairly nice weekend, and the Sea Salt Eatery (nom nom) is open for the summer, so here’s a review from Lazy Lightning to inspire you a [...]
April 15th, 2010 at 11:38 am
I absolutely love Sea Salt, which happens to be run by two friends of mine that are former long-time Coastal Seafoods employees, so they know their seafood. My only complaint would be the lack of non-fried offerings. Though I completely understand frying is faster when you have that many people to feed.
I definitely recommend Moe’s tip of buying a beer before waiting in the food line. When they first opened, they offered beers while you waited since the line was out the door. That was great customer service.
April 15th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
At my son’s request, we celebrated his 12th birthday at Sea Salt this past Sunday. We were able to introduce several family members to Sea Salt. They are looking forward to returning. Everyone raved about their food choices. I highly recommend the fish tacos. The cilantro and fresh “pico-de-gallo” paired with real corn tortillas and grilled fish are delightful. Our family is hoping to get back many times this summer.
December 23rd, 2010 at 10:57 am
[...] Corner Table 2. Fogo de Chao 3. Sea Salt Eatery (seasonal) 3. World Street Kitchen (seasonal) 5. Hmong Village 5. Runyon’s 5. Destiny Cafe 8. [...]
November 1st, 2011 at 11:07 am
Last Friday (10/28/11) you had a walleye that was out of this world and the squash was wonderful. I don’t usually like squash, but this was exceptional and were willing to buy it by the gallon. Would you give out your recipe for the squash?
I have made it a point to bring my out of town guests to your place (about 10 visits this past season). The food is always fresh and good. I can’t wait until April when you open for the 2012 season.
November 1st, 2011 at 1:03 pm
D. Anderson. Maybe you should direct your comments to Sea Salt.
Seriously, how hard is it to realize that you are not at the restaurant’s website?
November 1st, 2011 at 5:11 pm
D. Anderson e-mails me privately:
There should be an Internet license. Seriously.
November 1st, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Moron.
November 1st, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Moron… in an alternate universe.
November 1st, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Hmmm. So now you’re representing companies in your website? I KNEW IT. You’re providing an outlet for morons.
November 1st, 2011 at 5:40 pm
A thought: instead of typing roughly 80 words on a site wholly unconnected to the restaurant, including a question you desire to have answered, why not pick up the telephone, dial 7-10 digits and leave message with your phone number? I think it would increase the odds exponentially of receiving a relevant response.
November 1st, 2011 at 5:58 pm
At last, I have found the website I have searched for in vain for a very long time. I once ate at a restaurant that had sea salt on their tables and normally I don’t like salt (even sea salt) but this was exceptional salt. How do you make it so salty? How do you get it through those little holes into the bottle? Would you share this information with me in case I want more salt (particularly of the ‘sea’ variety) on any food in the future?
November 1st, 2011 at 7:14 pm
I have removed a comment for violation of the AUP.
November 1st, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Here is what I want to know, since this site IS after all the portal to the answers for random quests for knowledge: Does the little light in the fridge stay on when I close the door? Call me back and let me know.
I breathlessly await your reply.
November 1st, 2011 at 9:25 pm
1977:
Dear People Magazine,
You are the most beautiful woman in the world. When you and Donnie sing about being a little bit country and that devil music little bit rock and roll, well it just makes me tingle. I love your hair and your brothers are hunky.
Also People Magazine. I am so glad you finally got rid of that mean Ike Turner. You can sing Proud Mary at my cross stitch camp every week, People.
All my love (call me!)
D Anderson
November 2nd, 2011 at 8:34 am
All salt comes from the sea.
November 2nd, 2011 at 8:40 am
Chad, only if you count The Great Salt Lake in Utah as a sea – which it may be technically…)
November 2nd, 2011 at 9:01 am
I get my salt from the Great Salt Flats, usually after I am done driving my rocket car.
November 2nd, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I only steal my information from Alton Brown, who indicated there is no salt without Sea.