Salt Cellar Restaurant

Recommends

emandjordiesmom

Joined 6 years ago

Overpriced but okay. I was really excited to visit this restaurant after researching the internet and reading the reviews. Guess I should have read all of them. My boyfriend and I like to dine at different romantic Valley restaurants. The waitress was very pleasant and we didn't have to wait long for our food but...my stuffed lobster was overcooked, tuff and stuffed with way too many Ritz cracker crumbs...YUCK! I will never order the stuffed lobster again. I should have gone with my original decision to order the crab cakes. Maybe next time. Oh yeah, the room we sat in was very romantic but the temperature was 20 degrees below. Take a jacket. P.S. I'm NEVER cold!

Recommends

azfoodie25

Joined 6 years ago

100% best seafood in AZ, hands-down.. I'd like to start by saying that my husband and I are frequent diners at The Salt Cellar for a reason. The ambience is one-of-a-kind because the entire restaurant is underground. It feels very secluded and dark, which makes for a quiet, romantic evening. The service is top-notch and and we love that our crab legs and lobster are cracked and split by our server tableside. Our favorites to order are the King Crab legs, Dungeness crab, and the stuffed lobster. We've never ordered anything but seafood because it's too good not to get! Don't worry, anything that you choose on the menu will be top-notch so don't hesitate to be adventurous! Happy eating!

Recommends

nozhonii

Joined 6 years ago

happy hour in the bar is the best way to enjoy the salt cellar. The menu is pricey, so the best time to go is happy hour and the service in the bar is great. The bartenders are friendly and quick. My favorite dish is the shrimp san remo as an appetizer it is so good order this with the bread. When you go there on a hot day a bucket of steamers and the two dollar beers are the best way to beat the heat....yum! :)

Doesn't Recommend

onerad

Joined 6 years ago

lobster was tuff. I had been at the Salt Cellar 2 years ago and recently went again. I had lobster both times. Both lobsters were tuff. For the price, it is not worth it. The setting is very interesting and the service was okay. My partner had the swordfish, which was very good. Just don't have high expectatons for the high- priced lobster

Recommends

dracheotes

Joined 6 years ago

Great Seafood, Good Service. I have been to this restaraunt approximately 4 times and have never been disappointed. We are from Cape Cod, and we know our seafood. Yes, it is a bit pricey, however, it is true seafood, not "farm raised" as much of the "seafood" in Arizona is. Yes, the staff may be a little slow, or maybe even a bit rude, but the Pros outweigh the Cons for sure.

Recommends

brojar

Joined 6 years ago

Rude!. The hostess was indeed rude. I suggest a reservation. A couple showed up on a Sat night without one and was practically tossed on their ear. The food was good but severly over priced. The tables were too close together. It was an experience, but not the greatest.

Recommends

reweiver

Joined 6 years ago

great food, rude staff!. I could not agree more with the comments about the staff. The hostess is rude and unwelcoming. The wait staff is not much better. But the food is great, and I'll keep going back!

Recommends

kngkrh

Joined 6 years ago

Fabulous Atmosphere!. My fiance and I absolutley love this restaruant and frequent it often. Although there is one complaint I see over and over again and I have to agree: RUDE WAITSTAFF!

My fiance and I are both 24 years old, and as young as we are, we make more than anyone we know our age and most middle aged adults, I only mention this because of the following comments I'm about to post that was made by our thirty-something year old waitress. Here's how the night went:

My fiance and I started off with cocktails, he ordered a Bud Light and I wanted a Grey Goose and soda, she let me know the price of the Grey Goose and asked if I was sure I wanted the top shelf vodka. I thought nothing of this and simply said "yes". When we ordered our meal, my fiance ordered the King crab...she reminded him of the price which I found to be a little odd. Then, I ordered the Lobster, in which she gave me a funny look and asked me "are you aware of the price of the Lobster?" At this point I'm begining to get offended that she kept reminding us how much everything cost, but being raised with MANNERS I told her that the price was just fine. Now, then end of the meal comes, and she has already seen my ID when we ordered drinks. Our check was around $140 becuase we had a few cocktails, an appetizer and our meals. When I gave her my debit card, she asked for my ID again, which is fine, but then she said, "Wow! You're really young, I bet it took you a while to save up to come to this place, should I bring you some boxes?" My jaw dropped to the floor. I didn't know what to say I was so shocked. My Fiance is the laid-back-who-cares type but I was seriously offended. I was so mad that I only left her a twenty dollar tip. That was about four months ago and we have reservations to go tonight. I hope we don't have the same server. I have one thing to say to that waitress; You're a waitress. Keep your mouth shut, bring me my order correctly, make sure my drink stays full, and I'll tip you so you can pay your rent!

Doesn't Recommend

mattuba

Joined 7 years ago

Overrated Joke!. I realize that this place is an "Institution" in Scottsdale, but give me a break. I don't know if we were there on an off night, but our party of 4 (with reservations) was seated in a dark corner of a dark room. Our server disappeared on a regular basis, and I actually had to ask a hostess to find our server for us. Now for the food. My wife ordered the Scallops. They were so over cooked, she had to use her knife to cut them! SCALLOPS PEOPLE! It's a seafood basic! Don't over cook the scallops! The rest of us had the lobster. It was dry and flavorless. We had to ask for refills several times. I really do not understand why this place keeps winning awards. Who's voting?? Not me, and I will NEVER return!

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Classic seafood served in a subterranean setting.. In Short
The aptly named Salt Cellar is a maze of underground rooms, each dimly lit, wood-trimmed and filled with enough nautical paraphernalia to convince diners they're below deck on an old ship. Loyalists go for fresh seafood that includes house specialties and daily fresh catches listed on a oversized blackboard. A tank near the entrance holds one- to three-pound lobsters.