Salt Yard: Atlanta, GA, USA
I got to eat here with two of my closest foodie friends one weekend, and it was quite the adventure. Salt Yard is located just off 25th Street in Midtown Atlanta and boasts small shareable plates for the table. While not your typical Spanish tapas, it does have quite a number of intriguing things to try on their menu. That night, we ordered and shared the following things:
- bacon wrapped dates
- brussels sprouts
- ceviche tacos
- deviled eggs
- marinara flatbread
- seared scallops
- house sliders
- mac – n – cheese side (to the pork roast)
- seared octopus
- mushrooms on toast
As we have such an extensive “tasting”, this is going to be a very concise review on the foods we got to try.
Bacon Wrapped Dates
PROS
- shareable between two or three max, very small quantity
- good flavor
CONS
- nothing to write home about
- sauce is unnecessary: the bacon and the dates have plenty of flavor. Truth be told, it could use some sort of cheese. Perhaps that is the standard, but unless you’re going to change the flavor in a very distinctive way, the sauce is unnecessary. Some parts of the bacon was actually slightly soggy from it, mild but still a little less crispy than it could have been.
Brussels Sprouts
PROS
- fantastic quantity although I have to say, if you’re going to only give a half-cup of brussels sprouts, you need to re-evaluate your sprouts and your menu.
- nicely roasted: none of that nasty burnt or undercooked sprout flavor
CONS
- too much sauce in certain sections made the crispy brussels sprouts soggy
Ceviche Tacos
PROS
- fantastic crunch to the taco, and it’s fried!
- great flavor in the ceviche
- fish was very fresh
CONS
- some of that cream was a little too thick and took away from the fish as well as the fried taco
Deviled Eggs
PROS
- shareable
- very smooth egg yolk and good piping (presentation is key)
- good flavor, not overwhelming with spices
CONS
- none, a good ol’ standard deviled egg appetizer. Nothing new or amazing per se, but still satisfying and filling.
Marinara Flatbread
PROS
- large quantity so filling, if you like eating overpriced imitation pizza
CONS
- literally pizza toast you could make at home.
- Not flatbread, served on what I believe is a standard Italian bread slice with marinara sauce and mozarella. You could get all these ingredients at your local Kroger grocery stores and make it for less than what we paid for.
Seared Scallops
PROS
- very nice sear to the scallops, not overly burnt and not undercooked
- the farro was very well cooked, not too hard where it was still crunchy but not overly soft where it was mushy like rice
- the sauce in which it was cooked in was very tasty, creamy but not not too heavy.
CONS
- only two scallops makes this very hard to share with more than just 2 people eating.
House Sliders
PROS
- definitely shareable, three sliders but large quantity on each slider where you can definitely split one if you had to
- good flavor in the sauce
- burger was very tender and not dry or overcooked
- great combination with the cheese
- Buns were lightly toasted, not burnt. We guessed that they were bought from Holeman and Finch, an infamous burger establishment here in Atlanta.
CONS
- probably the only dish that really has no cons.
Mac N’ Cheese
PROS
- came in a very small cast iron skillet: I like this because it keeps the mac hotter before it can cool and the cheese can congeal
- crispy topping (this is so key)
CONS
- could have a stronger cheese combination
- not cheesy enough: this is different than the comment above because this is basically saying that there is not enough cheese in the sauce or rather, an insufficient cheese sauce. The comment above is in relation to the flavor of the cheese used.
Seared Octopus
PROS
- very well done: the octopus was tender but still had a nice slightly burnt sear on the outside of it
- the fried garbanzo beans gave an extra bit of texture and crunch.
- the sauce was minimal but yet flavorful, slightly sweet to offset the earthiness of the garbanzo beans and hummus.
Mushrooms on Toast
PROS
- good flavor to the cream sauce
- good quantity: they were really generous with each plate
CONS
- another make-at-home dish with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup and wheat bread slices.
Whew! Finally done! I have to admit, I was a bit surprised that I wasn’t blown away by their dishes. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this place and yet, it wasn’t quite the spectacular dining experience that I had anticipated. All in all, here’s a quick summary:
- bacon wrapped dates: ***.75 (3.75 stars)
- brussels sprouts: ***.5 (3.5 stars)
- ceviche tacos: ***.85 (3.85 stars)
- deviled eggs: ***.5 (3.5 stars)
- marinara flatbread: **.85 (2.85 stars)
- seared scallops: ***.65 (3.65 stars)
- house sliders: ***.85 (3.85 stars)
- mac – n – cheese side (to the pork roast): ***.35 (3.35 stars)
- seared octopus: ***.75 (3.75 stars)
- mushrooms on toast: **.85 (2.85 stars)
You can find them at the address below. I would definitely recommend making reservations. The lighting is pretty good for food photography if it’s earlier in the evening. The inside is very well decorated with a modern-barn/farm like setting.
1820 Peachtree St NW, Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone:(404) 382-8088
It’s always worth a gander to try a restaurant even if someone (like myself) doesn’t like it. People have different tastes and while we like to say some food critics are amazingly better at it than others, truth be told, we all like too many different things to say what is really amazing and what isn’t. One example of this would be my liking of Taiwanese stinky tofu and durian, two foods that would drive people to the opposite side of the room given their smell. That being said, are you trust my judgment on food now? HAHA just kidding. But in all seriousness, check a place out even if I feel that the food is subpar, and let me know what you think! Thanks for being such awesome readers, I appreciate your visit. Until next time…
R/g
Rammiegirl 2.0 