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Salt Wine Bar
Categories: Restaurants Tapas/Small Plates Nightlife Bars Wine Bars Tapas/Small Plates, Wine Bars [Edit]
225 Ossington AveToronto, ON M6J 2Z8
Neighbourhoods: Little Portugal, Ossington Strip, Trinity Bellwoods, Beaconsfield Village
(416) 533-7258
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 6 pm - 11 pm
Fri 6 pm - 1 am
Sat 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Music:
- Background
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
Giuliana B. said: "I'm a big fan of Kamasutra. We've been here on a couple of occasions and have always had a fantastic experience. The food is delicious, and its reasonably priced. My bf is gluten/wheat intolerant so we are always looking fo places…" read more »
30 reviews for Salt Wine Bar
Review Highlights
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"I did really enjoy the beet carpacio and the beef tartare..." In 1 review -
"...in much of the dining room gives the place great ambience." In 3 reviews -
"Some other reviewers mentioned portion sizes but I am not..." In 2 reviews
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30 reviews in English
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Review from Allison D.
Toronto, ON
2/19/2012
Oh, Salt.
This lovely wine and tapas bar has been a staple for me since I first discovered it during Nuit Blanche. I've not yet found a day of the week where it's not quite packed, but have not had to wait more than an hour for a table, and they're often quite happy to take "I'm on my way, please put me on the list!" night-of pseudo-reservations. You can often find a seat at a bar table, or the bar, but there have been times when the wait to get a while-I'm-waiting-to-eat drink has taken longer than the time it takes to prepare my food; most of the time I have only seen one or two folks behind the bar, a tall order for such a packed house. That said, the bar and wait staff have always been pleasant, especially their usual Saturday night bartender; he made sure our drinks were FULL of brandied cherries on my last evening there, and did apologize for sporadic visits to our table.
I love the feel of Salt. As Sam R (one of my recent dining companions at Salt, no less!) references, the place feels very intimate; I've never given second thought to launching into conversation of the kind of topics that are considered more socially acceptable at one's coffee table. The noise level is also perfect for conversation; the music is not so loud one has to raise their voice to throat-hurting levels to be heard, not so quiet that the aforementioned inappropriate chats are heard by those dining behind you. The decor is lovely: preserves and wine bottles in the dining area, mix-and-match chandeliers and pendants, and highly enjoyable quotations written in chalk on the walks that make me giggle and affirm my life choices (ie, "If you don't drink, then all your stories suck and end with 'And then I got home' ").
The food and drink are delicious. No, I would not say orgasmically exceptional, but certainly delicious. Their wines are excellent, and reasonably priced and their menu spans mutiple options for multiple diets; last meal was with a gluten-free friend and a vegetarian. My strongest suggestion, though: save room for the incredible churros with dolche de leche. I shared it with a girlfriend and it was the PERFECT beginning to our evening. -
Review from Courtney B.
Pickering, ON
3/31/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came here last night with a friend after we learned there was an hour wait at Yours Truly. (I notice a similar trend in the other reviews!)
We still had to wait half an hour for a table, but c'est la vie. Our waiter was very efficient and our selections came really quickly (to the point that I remarked that this place must be able to turn over tables like nobody's business).
When we arrived, I immediately thought it would be a great date place. I love the wooden shelving around the room and the wine bottles everywhere. However...on a date I would never want to have to either order five things to feel full or share the small portions!
The food was, however, delicious. In particular the octopus paired with potato, which sounded weird at first, was perfect. The tacos were also a good size, and quite tasty. -
Review from Natalie T.
East York, ON
3/3/2012
3.5 stars
VIBE
I love the look of this place. The perimeter of the whole bar is surrounded by wine bottles so it feels like you're in a wine cellar on the top floor. Lots of chandeliers and dim lighting are bonus points in my books.
It's a bustling, sophisticated atmosphere and lots of dates and young professionals hanging out here.
WE ATE/DRANK
If you love seafood, you're in for a treat. That's their specialty here.
We were waiting for our reservation next door at Yours Truly so we had a glass of wine and the ceviche.
Wine: Alandra - notes of honey, apple and pear clean finish
It's a great wine if you're just starting with an appetizer or getting your night started.
Light and refreshing and not overly sweet. I'd get this again.
The ceviche was a surprise. I'm used to having it in a bowl but it was all laid out on a wooden platter. The presentation was lovely but I wasn't expecting it at all. It also wasn't very filling. That said, the flavours went very well together if you like citrus tastes. I probably wouldn't get it again though.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
Salt is not salty but left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. I'd come back.
Great first date place or place to catch up with a long lost girlfriend.
I agree with Lauren -- it'd have 4/5 star potential if the food was more hearty. -
Review from Sam R.
Toronto, ON
2/6/2012
Recently travelled to Salt with two girlfriends to start our night off right on the Ossington strip. Admittedly, my first pick was Foxley, but with a 2 hour wait at 9 pm, we decided to give Salt a try instead. We called ahead on our way down and on arrival were seated at a cozy table by the bar (thank you wind-stopping velvet curtain). It was packed but the numerous tea lights by the wine bottles that line the walls made it feel intimate. After downing a healthy glass of gin/lemon/lime fizz complete with multiple brandied cherries, we were escorted to our dining table for the main attraction.
We shared goat cheese, calamari, tuna, salad plates and of course frites (some of the best I've had). The plates were small but decorative. The taro chips were a nice addition to the tuna ceviche dish and after splitting a bottle of vino verde, our palates were satisfied. We finished off dinner with the passion fruit creme brulee, which lasted a total of 2.5 minutes of spoon attack.
Overall, our experience was good and the service was great. Props to waitstaff who love food and share their taste gusto with recommendations and authentic opinions of menu fare. The plates were small and pricey, though, so if your stomach is walking you down the street, this may not be the most financially responsible choice.
Yearning for another brandied cherry as I write this. Yum. -
Review from Bloordale M.
Toronto, ON
11/22/2011
I had some food and wine there with my friend last week. It was a special night so we decided to splurge and go trendy. The room was almost empty when I arrived but the maitre d' squished us in a corner behind the cash register and was very curt. The assistant maitre d' looked a little sheepish - I am not sure why. But the evening started with kind of a weird vibe.
We had:
Arugula salad - Tasty. Good for 2.
Seared Scallops - Very nice. Cooked perfectly. A little sweet for me but I can recommend these. But $17 for 4 - OUCH!
Grilled Prawns - Yum! The usual but a very good version. Again, cooked perfectly.
Risotto - Lovely flavour. The rice was sort of long grain and cooked a little al dente. i like the softer version of risotto better. It was okay but I would not order it again.
Rapini -Yummy and quite a healthy portion. You can fill up on rapini at $5 a plate :)
We had some cheese and crackers. The cheese was nice but the portion size made us giggle. And the crackers were icky.
We liked the food but our waiter was OBNOXIOUS! He kept trying to make us order stuff we did not want and schooling us in an intrusive manner. After our bill hit $130, he just brought it over unasked with no offer of dessert, coffee, more liquor... so we paid up, finished our wine at a leisurely pace, and headed north to the Black Skirt where we were given the usual warm welcome and served coffee, delicious dessert and lovely liqueurs.
I am glad I tried it out but doubt I'll go back to Salt.
The Black Skirt OTOH remains an often-visited favourite.
PS - the in house prices are higher than the ones posted on the internet menu. -
Review from Lauren M.
9/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Props to LG for telling it like it is.
Honestly - this place has 4-5 star potential, but the extreme ridiculousness of the portion sizes drops it immediately to a 2. W-T-F?
Tapas are supposed to SHARED plates. The portions here are so tiny that you would possibly need a magnifying glass if you tried cutting some of the food into pieces. The "plates" ranged in price from $8-$15 or so. You would honestly have to order about 10 plates each to feel satisfied. I was a complete joke. We actually had to go and eat cheap Vietnamese food afterward.
I recently ate at Le Bremner in Montreal (Chuck Hughes new place) which also serves up "shared plates". The cost of the dishes there were on par with Salt Wine Bar, yet the portions were 5-6 times larger.
It's sad - because everything else about this place is great. Amazing wine selection, lovely ambiance/decor and extremely attentive waitstaff. Unfortunately it's just extremely overpriced. -
Review from Lilliane G.
Toronto, ON
9/26/2011 4 photos
Two things you should know about this place.
1) the food is delicious
2) the portions are tiny
4 of us decided to try this place out on Friday evening for drinks and nibblies...and we definitely got nibblies. I understand it's a tapas menu, but seriously? If the plates are designed for sharing, I would hope that they would a little bit more food on them.
We ordered the beet carpacio, the beef tartare, prawns, risotto, chorizo sausage plate and the pulled pork crostini. We had assumed, incorrectly, that ordering 2 plates per person would be sufficient. Boy, were we wrong.
I cannot complain too much about the quality of the food, wine or ambiance of the restaurant. Yes, the risotto was a bit underdone in my opinion, the 12 slivers (yes, slivers - not slices) of chorizo were very tasty, but way to small a portion size. I did really enjoy the beet carpacio and the beef tartare, but again...too little of either was served.
I guess if you're going to hit Salt Wine Bar you should be ready to pay for the ambiance, the place is lovely, but at the end of the night, be ready to hit up another restaurant for some cheap eats that won't leave you hungry (that's what we did). -
Review from Tara Z.
9/28/2011
Gorgeous room, friendly staff, intriguing menu, but good goddamn, how little food you get.
What you do get is delicious, but I think we realized we were going to leave hungry when our waiter brought a bread basket to the table that was the size of a fingerbowl. (Filled with four or five wafer-thin crostini and served with a dab of tapenade.)
The ambience is nice and this place would be great just for drinks, but don't expect a full meal here. -
Review from Tee Jay R.
Toronto, ON
1/26/2012
We ordered two glasses of wine, each around $12.00. To our surprise, rather than opening a new bottle (we were the first people in there at 6:00 PM on a week night), the waiter poured us day-old wines. Both -- different bottles, different wines -- were quite sour and not passable as $12.00 a glass wines. We told the waiter. The manager tasted the wine and told us there was nothing wrong with either glass. He said that wine that is kept in the cellar can taste a little "sharp," (as it was opened the day previous, and thus had more than enough time to breathe, this made no sense) but made no apologies for serving day-old wine that had gone off, which we both knew was obviously the culprit. Nor did he offer to open a new bottle. The only things that spare this place a 1-star review are the facts that (1) he was polite, and (2) he took the wine back and didn't charge us, so we just left.
I'm not sure what else to say about a purported "wine bar" where the manager is content to serve off wine, and would prefer to save a few bucks by not opening a new bottle at the beginning of the night but still charge a premium price. I think the thing speaks for itself. -
Review from Flavia A.
Toronto, ON
12/21/2011
The place is cozy and the candles gives a romantic atmosphere.
The strawberry mint Margarita is neat!
Totally recommend if you appreciate quality rather than quantity! -
Review from Jason K.
1/6/2012
- went last night because pizza librietto had a one hour wait for a table, so this was a good spot for passing the time.
- very romantic and cozy feeling spot. beautifully done up.
- wine-wise, decent selection. its better at most other spots.
- can only comment on the Charcuterie plate food-wise... honestly, it was pretty weak, and uninspired. cuz ive been to the black off. -
Review from Lisa A.
Toronto, ON
9/5/2011
A friend and I went for dinner on a Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed the food, wine and ambience.
We started with a bottle of Duoro Tons, which hit the spot for my friend who wanted a lighter red, yet still tasted of stronger berry flavours.
As for the food:
- Cheese plate: although at first glance I was unimpressed with the portion size, when we started eating I was pleasantly surprised with the cheeses and crackers served with it. This cheese plate doesn't compare to that of Black Hoof however, as the accompaniments are tiny and consist mainly of pickled veg.
- Charcuterie plate: Again, I've had plates with more variety so while I enjoyed this dish, I enjoy charcuterie of any and all kinds, therefore it was good but by no means mind blowing.
- Seared Sea Scallops w/sugar snap peas and brown butter vinaigrette - the best dish of the night!! The crispy maple bacon adds a great saltiness to the dish, the scallops are cooked perectly and finished with the vinaigrette that we were scraping onto our dishes to get more of!!
- Carpaccio of Ahi Tuna, mango, chili lime vinaigrette - this was enjoyable, howevere the portion size was smaller than preferred (5 small round thin slices) and I would have preferred a more interesting sauce than your typical chili lime.
- Baguette - Yes, we wanted bread.....fresh delicious, however paired with a tomato marmalade that was far too acidic.
Overall, we really our time here. Just a few small misses on some of the plates....but great ambience, service was good and pretty good value for the money. -
Review from A G.
Toronto, ON
1/20/2012
This place gets one star because the wine is great and the decor is lovely. But as many others have said, the portion sizes are laughable and the staff are rude.
I love eating out, I have no problem spending good money on good food, but Salt has got to come to grips with their price-point. -
Review from Tonja B.
Toronto, ON
6/22/2011
This place missed the mark for me. It's a gorgeous space with a great ambience, however, the service and food need some work.
Take the name of this place seriously. I found the food to be over-seasoned and quite salty.
I ordered the asparagus and oyster mushroom risotto for dinner and what I got was good ol' Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice instead; pretty sure that frozen carrot, peas, and lima bean mix you can buy in the grocery store was thrown into it as well. To top it off, it was incredibly salty. My dining group and I all agreed that it was definitely not risotto. The others were equally unsatisfied with their dinner choice.
Most of the staff seemed friendly, however, there was something that seemed artificial about everyone working here. Our server even questioned my friends dinner option with an "Oh, that's all you're ordering?" Clearly, this could have been phrased more appropriately.
I'm disappointed both thinking and writing about my experience at Salt...
Honourable Mentions:
- Think Spain: a nice array of cow, sheep, and goat's milk cheese, wine, and meat
- Beautiful space for date night -
Review from Susan M.
Toronto, ON
3/5/2011
Checked out Salt last night (March 4)
Great place, so so ambiance and the service was awesome
The Tapas we had were delicious, and the friends I was out with mentioned that the Martini's they had were YUMMY, I just drank some Portuguese Sparkling Water which was ok, nothing really special about it.
The only thing I would definitely do a fixer-upper on is that UGLY BROWN CURTAIN they have near the entrance what the heck is that supposed to be, thank goodness for the nice guy that opened the door for me as we were walking into the same place, I would have definitely tripped........
GET RID OF IT, it's not doing anything for your DECOR -
Review from Mark N.
Toronto, ON
3/21/2012
Had three small but not tiny soft tacos and a beer, $20.38 with tip. My appetite was moderate so that was enough. Given the price, I don't see grounds for complaint about portion size, and the food was excellent. Pull pork, smoked oxtail and duck confit were the main ingredients, all well prepared, with thoughtful accompaniments.
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Review from Brian S.
Toronto, ON
3/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been here about 4 times now, and every time has been great. I like the fact that it takes the local portuguese flavours and modernizes them into tapas dishes. I'm always a sucker for tapas, and cured meats, and they have both. And their portuguese fare is great, from nicely cooked sardines to delicious calamari. The staff is always friendly and I really like the wine list which has a lot of reasonably priced wines - a lot of which you don't find at a lot of other restaurants.
Definitely worth checking out. It's now one of my fave Ossington places. -
Review from Alexandra S.
Toronto, ON
9/26/2011
Salt has an impressive menu that covers many tastes. From Tapas to cheese to antipasti. Some other reviewers mentioned portion sizes but I am not one to stuff myself just enjoy the delicious flavours of each course. Great drinks menu as well. A fine place for a meal or a cocktail. Relaxed atmosphere with warm ambience. Thumbs up!
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Review from Tom G.
Toronto, ON
9/26/2010
The server asked us "How'd you hear about us?" Well let's see, we just passed on a 1.5 hour line-up at Libretto and you're next door. So, we lied :)
First thing about Salt, the storefront doesn't do justice to the interior--can't figure out why. The raw wood and concrete that figures in much of the dining room gives the place great ambience. Somehow reminded us of Jamon in NYC.
Older crowd than Libretto and hence fewer high pitched giggles and screams than you get with the "girls gone wild" crowd that sometimes overwhelms Ossington. Come to the think of it, the staff look older too--so the tone is altogether more relaxed, less frenetic than other Ossington/Queen hot spots.
And, good tapas (it's a tapas place right?). Ham croquettes were stand out memorable. Haven't had decent croquettes since Coca. Beet and goat cheese salad. Yup. Good. Tuna crudo ... hmmm... kinda bland. Nothing wrong with the ingredients, just.. was it mango in there... nothing to bring the tuna flavor out. Duck confit mmm, very duck and very confit. Then two beautiful cheeses for desert (from an enormous selection).
I get the impression you could go in there and simply dine on cheese and wine. Should try that sometime. As it was, we had a very credible Crianza with the meal.
Service was attentive.
Definitely give Salt a try. -
Review from Diane C.
5/2/2011
I've had tapas in Barcelona, Granada and Seville. But never in Toronto.
That changed last weekend.
For my first Toronto tapas joint, this place was go-oooood. Well played!
Loved the ambience, with all the wine bottles lined up on shelves, as if we were in a wine cellar. The place was hopping, but it wasn't out-of-control to the point where we had to shout over the din.
The staff was great - they were courteous, brought things out on time, the works.
For drinks, I had a glass of echeverria (lovely) and a mixed drink (not so great - probably because it had vermouth, which I'm NOW not a fan of).
As for the food ... oh my sweet baby Moses, THE FOOD. Where do I even begin? We ordered so many things off the menu, I honestly can't remember it all. I'm sure we had some charcuterie, and I do recall a small dollop of extra-tasty cheese in there somewhere. But the standouts for me *had* to be the oh-so-sweet pork belly, the salt cod quenelles and the lobster bisque. Honourable mention goes to their oxtail, for the presentation alone.
The dangerous thing about all that good food is the damage it can do to one's wallet. Since it was a friend's birthday, the impulsive glutton-fest came out to $95 per person. Ai yi yiiiii.
But overall, definitely a great place to go, when you want to start a Friday or Saturday night on the town on a slightly classier-than-normal note. -
Review from Tas H.
Toronto, ON
10/11/2011
Heard a lot about it and finally a group of us made reservations for dinner. Personally I think its a beautifully decorated, overpriced and overhyped tapas place. Not really worth the trip when there are such gems round the corner as Black Hoof and Pizza Libretto .
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Review from S S.
Toronto, ON
8/2/2011
Great service, nice (relaxing yet romantic) ambiance (would be good for a semi-dressy first date...or even in semi-casual wear----we came after a round of golf). The beef tenderloin tapas and beet salad were excellent. The charcuterie options were yummy---ESPECIALLY the chorizo. We highly recommend these dishes. The oxtail with blue cheese was a disappointment though. Definitely will return to try the other dishes!
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Review from Anna H.
Toronto, ON
3/24/2011
I will try to concentrate on things that haven't been said yet: They are much quieter than Libretto, and are a tad "nicer". Great Chilean red wine, two really boring white wines. We had charcuterie (7$, great) and a cheese plate (portion for an anorectic dwarf) with blue cheese (I HATE blue cheese, and they don't swap -- so my friend ate it). I think bread was extra, and it was not much. Great olive oil in really tiny bowls (bowl is too large a word for the microscopic amount). Then we had the fried sardines, which are worth it: salty, crisp, delicious, intense, and actually not that ridiculously small. Deserts were good, rich and not too sweet.
The check came a bit larger than I would have thought. Altogether: if you guys want to keep me, give me more food. I am not an anorectic American teenager, I want food in normal amounts. Or lower the prices. There is always Libretto next door, with a full menu at 25$ -- even if it's loud and full -- but no-one can beat their Margarita for 12$. Hey, it's still crisis, and we are young, poor & sexy, -
Review from Jonas B.
Toronto, ON
11/29/2010
Tapas at Salt translates to small portions and decently good food, nothing particularly special though. The wine was subpar. The server had an awkward table manner. The noise level was high, Salt could really use some rugs. Decor was nice. Overall it was just fair. There are better dining options in the area so I doubt we will return. They'll probably succeed without us based on spill over from Pizzeria Libretto.
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Review from Beverly C.
6/30/2011
Best Tapas I've EVER had!!! Every single tapas dish that I had, from the oysters to the assorted meats and cheeses plate, to the absolutely delectable wine and pickled grapes, was above perfect. The mood was warm and casual. The variety and the quality of the Tapas menu was very good. Duck Confit (amazing!), crab croquettes sent my taste buds to a happy place. Great service! I will certainly return here again. One of my favorite simple restaurants in the city.
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Review from Andrew G.
Toronto, ON
2/7/2011
My buddy came in from out of town and we were looking for a neighborhood that represented what is happening lately in TO (I know, it's hard to choose). I asked my contact in the area about his top three recommendations in Ossington Village, and this was one of them. We really had a great time camping out by the bar and drinking in the atmosphere. A refreshing lack of attitude and the chef takes pride in the variety of tapas offerings.
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Review from Joseph W.
Toronto, ON
12/9/2010
Loved Salt, been to the one in Vancouver and this one in Toronto is far better, service was great and the wine was flowing! The prices were very reasonable and affordable!
I will definitely return to get my Salt fix. -
Review from Melinda M.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 11/10/2010 10 Check-ins Here
SALT IS BACK!! They have re-opened and the food is still great!!
Listed in: Ossington Village (Dundas and…, FTRs, 5 star reviews: Food and Drink, MEAT
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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11/1/2010
Unfortunately, thanks to the ridiculous Ossington restrictions, Salt Wine Bar had to close because… Read more »
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Review from Amelia F.
Toronto, ON
3/28/2011
ok - some dishes were amazing others were simply ok. I didn't like how the server announced to our table that we HAD to leave in 2 hours. We had no intention of staying that long we hadn't even had 1 drink
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Review from E H.
Toronto, ON
5/6/2011
If you like tapas-do not go here. this is not tapas, i have lived in Spain and understand the tapas sized portion. the plates are super tiny, the food is okay, and the prices are WAY overpriced.. And, to claim to be a wine bar-most of the wine is from Portugal-Portugal really-I was surprised.....we spent $105 without tip and left hungry... that is not normal. we will not be returning here and are quite sad due to the fact that we were excited to try, finally, tapas in Toronto and this was bad... real bad!!!!
