Salt

SaltSalt
SaltSalt
Bar, Eatery

109 US Highway 206
Stanhope, New Jersey, 07874-3125
United States

(973) 347-7258 | map
saltgastropub.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.13
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
13
pDev:
9.2%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by phantomwyse:
Photo of phantomwyse
Reviewed by phantomwyse from Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
The old 76ers, which was barely a step above a dive bar.

Inside is light and rustic/modern. This sounds like a contradiction, but that's the best way to describe it.

Selection is admirable, especially for this area. About 60 beers, all of pronounced quality and varying price levels. Bartender was adept and agreeable. Prices were on par. The food looks pretty good, next time I hit up the place I'll give it a whirl. The owners used to own a restaurant in Newton which had eclectic, but very good, food.

This area of NJ can be a little weird. I hope there's enough people who like quality beer, be willing to try good and different beer, and be willing to shell out a few extra dollars in order to sustain this place. It has the best selection around, and I don't want it to fade away. Definitely worth a stop in, across from the Byram Shoprite on Rt. 206.
May 30, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of Jsalz21
Reviewed by Jsalz21 from New Jersey

3.69/5  rDev -10.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 3.25 | selection: 3.5
I stopped here in Summer '16 during an afternoon while on my way to Andover. I just got one drink to kill time, and from everything I saw, the place was alright. I would liked to have been able to get food there but just couldn't, although from how the menu sounds, it sounds quite legit. The overall service struck me as mostly apathetic, which is probably about normal for a bar in Sussex county in the middle of a weekday in summer. Barkeeps didn't really have anything to say about beer and that is fine in my case. I would still go back, if it weren't so far away.
Jan 24, 2017
Photo of rjd722
Reviewed by rjd722 from Maryland

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.75
Went to Salt for the first time about 3 weeks back when I was in the Hackettstown area for work. Nice local beer selection on draft and bottles too. I got a flight, wings, and poutine. The wings were solid and the poutine was maybe the best I've ever had. Can't wait to get back!
Jun 13, 2016
 
Rated: 4.93 by NonicPanic from Pennsylvania

Apr 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Joeybombstyle from New Jersey

Nov 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by JMS1512 from New Jersey

Jun 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Oct 24, 2013
Photo of Neorebel
Reviewed by Neorebel from New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.75
Salt is a gastropub located in Byram NJ, an odd place for an establishment that would seem more at home in New York or Philly. I just visited the place to celebrate my birthday. I like it because first of all, it draws a great crowd of mixed ages. These are craft beer and foodie types coming out of the woodwork - not your average town drunks, frathouse buffoons, valley girls, or loudmouth types... know what I mean? So, the vibe is great - they had a mix of indie rock & classic rock playing softly, audible enough to hear, but fine to have a conversation over. Later there was a live guy singing and playing acoustic guitar to a packed room. Definitely make reservations for a Saturday night. The decor is rustic and homey, with a few contemporary items too. The servers are very polite, knowledgeable, and attentive. They were happy to discuss beer, or that for example the asparagus is from a local farm literally down the road. They easily had 50+ beers to choose from, 10 of them being taps. I had a Great Divide Yeti & Sixpoint Bengali Tiger, and from the top a Left Hand Fade To Black. To eat, I had a scrumptious Curry dusted Ahi Tuna over Jasmine rice and vegetables. For dessert, the peanut butter pie is a must. Ultimately, this place is a true blessing to have up hear in the deep woods of northern NJ. One of the few places around I can really relate to and feel comfortable in when it comes to having not just friendly people, but also good music, food and drink selection.
May 13, 2013
Photo of unbalancedbuds
Reviewed by unbalancedbuds from New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
found my self in salt a few times in spring and summer of '08. you know what this place was really a great find. in the spring and summer i do a decent amount of fishing at my buddies place at lake lenape in andover. but besides lake lenape i do find myself on rt 206 quite frequently either fishing, hiking or exploring.

ive been traveling thru this area since before i could drive and i always remember all the bars in this area being beer and shot joints, with par or less food. so this bar/restaurant to the area is great. the few times i was here i had a good time, the bartender was decently knowledged in beer, and the food was always spot on.

the taps are decent, nothing incredible but outside blue moon and yuengling you may find a true micro or craft beer. but the bottle list here is definately pretty good. this is where i had la merle from north coast for the first time.

the atmosphere is very clean, nice new bar with a rustic style to it. the food was good too.

going to continue to go to this spot while fishing in the neighborhood.
Apr 18, 2009
Photo of apintofknowledge
Reviewed by apintofknowledge from Connecticut

4.45/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
A nice beer list & gourmet comfort food? Sounds like a place that I'd have to check out. From the outside, it's a bit quirky, a ramshackle roadhouse painted blue with a bicycle hanging from the sign. Inside, it's cozy, with a fire going (gas, but still a fireplace), and good live music (and not so loud you can't carry on a conversation).

The beer list is quite nice, especially for this part of Jersey. They break it down by style, and I'd have to say, if I were to pick two to three each of IPA's, Browns, German Wheats, Trappist Ales, etc., their list and my list would be pretty similar. Nothing extremely rare or mind-blowing, but very good solid selections, and good choices for pairing with their tasty food.

I start at the bar, ordering a St. Bernadus Tripel from the list, when the bartender mentions they also have the Prior 8 though its not listed. I go for the Prior 8, and am quite happy with my selection, and while the bartender sings the praises of St. Bernadus brews, and I must agree.

We are seated, and our extremely friendly and helpful waiter guides us through the menu. We start off with a bacon and cheddar pizza off the bar menu... very tasty... and continue onto bangers and mash for me and chicken paprikash for my wife. The waiter seems to approve of our selections, and we couldn't be happier. I order a Celebrator Dopplebock to accompany the garlicy juicy bangers, and believe I've found an excellent pairing.

For dessert, I'm having a real hard time choosing between the Guinness Creme Brulee or the Cobbler with Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout Ice Cream. My wife asks the waiter if I can get the creme brulee with the stout ice cream on the side. He says technically its not allowed, but manages to hook us up. When dessert arrives, I'm truly in heaven. Both were incredible, and we ask if they would sell us a pint of the ice cream to take home. Struck out on that one, but that just means I'll have to come back again.

The food, service, music and atmosphere make Salt a really nice place for an enjoyable and satisfying meal, and everything a notch above to make it special. And a really nice beer list puts it over the top. Wish it were closer to home, but well worth the 30 minute drive.
Feb 20, 2009
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4.18/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Jersey's got a gastro, and my first thought is, you've got to like a place who's website plays "Salt of the Earth" (It's good Keef). Located in Byram, which I'm sure is not Byme, or anywhere close, or anywhere close to close. And as I won't ever see boo in Waterloo again (they dissed the NJ craft beer folks and I hold a grudge), I didn't think I'd be out in the corner Sussex anytime in the near. But then comes that family stint in up and out PA, and you know what, if you run 206 aaall the way back down...

Blinds in nicely with the scape, this unassuming stand alone bright blue painted and stone & brick building with a bicycle dangling from the sign out front. Front entranceway has a window cut for peeps of the dining area, and then a hostess station with an "off duty/ad fixture" from the top of a taxi cab above it. Past there, a shiny "U" shaped wood bar seating a dozen and change. Glassware racks above, and booze & glassware hiding in the dinged copper overlay piece shadowing the bar above, baby track spots on the trim and random sunken spots elsewhere. The barback is a fat tree shelf like mantle with tiered booze to both sides of a center flatscreen (1-0 Yankees over Boston in the 8th), forward a green tile backing, shelved booze below, wood shingle walls around the barback, a board listing the draft selections and various ornamental pieces (guitar, hats, road race placard #'s, framed pics, trumpet, a clock, and some awards & certificates), hanging to both sides. Some pieces on the corner of the bar (statue bust, lamp, lower Manhattan map) near the tight dart zone in the corner.

A few raised marble bar tables ride the stone wall adjacent to the bar, with a cut through to the ding area; a front room roomy with lots of seating, some pub signage, wrought iron gating, stone fireplace at one end with a flatscreen on it's mantle, yellow walls with shape emitting wall mounted lamps, spots above, and spinning fan lighting.

Parked at the bar just after the dinner menu hours kicked in, I ordered the Spicy Shrimp Orecchiette; a little Quisp shaped pasta in a spicy tomato sauce with fresh vegetables. They did a nice job of it. It had carrots, green beans, tomatoes, red onions, and some other thing in there too (They're Brussels sprouts, I've never had them before, and I won't be running out to go buy some anytime soon). A good portion, tasty, and had some nice heat to it. And I was offered fresh ground pepper (hooray!), keep it coming.

And a beer? Yeah, um, 5 taps on a single tower on the bar, not amazingly exciting (Red Hook ESB, Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale, Blue Moon, McSorley's, Yuengling), but a good bottle collection, the list of 50+ selections broken out by style. About ½ of them American micros, regional (Troegs, Victory, Stoudts, DogFishHead, Wachusset, Allagash, Otter Creek), and beyond (Founders, Left Hand, Stone, Bear Republic, Eel River, Sierra Nevada, Skyscraper, North Coast). The other ½ of the list holds a handful of Belgians (Chimay Red, Corsendonk Brown, Leffe Blonde, Hoegaarden, Lindemans), Germans (Ayinger Celebrator & Brau Weisse, Paulaner Hefe, Jever Pils), English (Sam Smith Nut Brown, Oatmeal Stout & Pale Ale, Bass), and a bunch of rotating Retros, by design (Genesee, Colt 45, PBR, Schmidts, Ballantine XXX, Black Label). Tempting, but I'll have the Founders Centennial IPA, please.

Apparently, there's a sign or something suggesting "buy 1, get 1 free bar menu". Some guy came in asking "what the free bar menu he was going to get was" (like he was looking to get the actual menu for keeps, not an item on the bar menu). I checked and then checked again, there's no beer coming out of my nose.

Service was friendly, polite, prompt. Had me a second Centennial, although I could've worked my way through the beer list some. Dinner was very good, I was on the fence as to which of a couple of different entrees it was going to be tonight, so I'll have to revisit. Oh, and they make cupcakes here, everyday.
Sep 21, 2008
Photo of bruddah
Reviewed by bruddah from New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Good food, very hip place for NW Jersey but comfortable to 50somethings like my wife and I. A wide selection of interesting beers and wines. The food was quite good and reasonably priced. There seemed to be a good number of food choices and it didn't seem like the standard pub fare.

I had a Troeg's Hopback Amber Ale, which I took a chance on and was extremely happy with. The service was good natured and accommodating but could use a bit more training.

My other minor complaint is that they call themselves a gastropub, which made my wife think of gastropods. But as one of the other reviewers said, I hope the local area can support the place, because if I'm in the area, I'd definitely try it again.
Jun 30, 2008
Photo of NJbeerman
Reviewed by NJbeerman from New Jersey

3.56/5  rDev -13.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4
Salt just opened and they are heading in the correct direction. They have already put many good products on their beer list and now they are adding draft lines.

After speaking with Jen - the manager - I found out that they are also working on doing regular beer dinners. I mentioned to them the idea of doing either brewery nights,style nights or area nights (west coast, NJ, NY, etc).

I started to list all the beers that they carry but thanks to the website, I do not have to. Check it out.

I definitely recommend it and thankfully, it is on my way home from work :).
May 29, 2008
Salt in Stanhope, NJ
Place rating: 4.13 out of 5 with 13 ratings