SaltAir Seafood Kitchen

This restaurant was disappointing. The menu was so confusing we could barely visit among the 6 of us as it was as if we were studying for a test. It is written in a hard to read font and the items are «all over the place». Would have been much easier to have it listed by appetizers, entrees and sides. I ordered what I thought was an entrée and the waiter told me it was an appetizer. I was so worn out from using a flashlight to read the menu I said «fine». The sides are billed as serving 2 — 3 people. That would be true if each person only wanted a tablespoon of spinach. One of the men with us found the whole menu so confusing he ordered beef something he never does as he prefers seafood. The only bright spot was our server Mike who was delightful. We eat out quite a bit but this one is off our list for good.

When you walk in to a place like this, you would expect the highest standards in dining. Although, our server was very polite and pleasant, we had to wave down someone to get drink orders. Then we waited a while again to get our dinner order taken. This was probably because servers were running the food and drinks instead of tending to their customers. Mind you, the restaurant was full of staff that could have helped but didn’t. The restaurant front house seemed very inefficient. The food saved the night. All dishes came out quickly. Oysters were fresh and delicious. Our favorite was the pulpo, which was cooked perfectly.

We started out with oysters and they were fresh, meaty, and succulent. Top with squeeze of fresh lemon and hot sauce YUM!
The caviar is delicious but when they brought it out, they didn’t even bother to open it for us.
Paired oysters and caviar with Pol Roger Sir Winston.
Service is excruciating slow and inattentive — they don’t notice anything. We had to serve ourselves champagne when the glasses sat empty forever. When they cleared the plates and utensils then bring out the next dish and failed to notice we needed new utensils.
Iceberg salad is okay. Lobster bisque is disappointing and the pieces of lobster on top were tempura fried so it got mealy on top of the soup.
The pulpo is tender and delicate. The whole roasted fish is light, simply seasoned, and you can taste the freshness. Same with the whole steamed lobster. Paired the entrées with a nice Louis Latour.
Overall, the foods are good but service just really ruined the meal for us. For those that went here and got a great server, please share the person name!

I visited SaltAir based on a recommendation from a local. I am from Baltimore so I take pride in finding the best seafood each city has to offer. The vibe was upscale casual on the border of fine dining. It has a great vibe.
The bar served trendy cocktails from $ 12 – 14. The food was solid. I started with a few apps. The gulf shrimp was a standout. They were huge and meaty. The tuna tartare was above average.
For an entrée I had the salmon with tabouleh. It was delicious and I would recommend.
Overall I would come back. Cons: a bit pricey, service at the bar was a little slow for drinks but the bartenders were really nice. (Food came out quick)

Went for dinner on a Saturday night. Excellent service and romantic atmosphere. Everything we got from the cocktails to our entrees tasted great. Our favorite dishes were the calamari (best I’ve had) and red snapper filet with rice pilaf. The vegetables a la carte were also very good. Will be back!

Fabulous place, and great atmosphere. I had the lobster bisque to start. A touch too salty but was good. I also ordered the snapper and grilled asparagus which was cooked to perfection. While I was waiting for a seat, we were at the bar and got a bottle of wine. Only unfortunate part was when I got the tab the bartender spilled over my glass of wine by accident but other than that a place you have to check out. Friend and attentive staff as well.

I gave this restaurant the benefit of the doubt after a visit there a few weeks ago. I ordered the lobster bisque and King crab legs. The bisque was great. The crab legs… well, the first one was good but not as sweet and yummy as I expected. The second piece was so-​so and the third piece tasted like low tide. It was like they mixed some fresh pieces with some quite old pieces. They brought out some new pieces but the damage was done. It’s hard to taste good crab after bad.
Last night we again visited the restaurant. My husband ordered Texas grouper and was please with it. I ordered the Sea Bass. If you’ve ever had Sea Bass you’ll know how easy it flakes and the yummy buttery flavor it has. I received mine and the edge flaked off with a disappointing flavor. As I cut into it with the fork I found I couldn’t. I tried my butter knife and when I started sawing at the fish I knew it was bad. Looked like a frozen piece that hadn’t been defrosted entirely and cooked only half way. I sent it back and ate spinach.
NEVER AGAIN will I go here. Houston has too many good restaurants to waste time with a bad one. YUK.

Newest spot in town so we came in to see what the hype is all about! We booked a reservation a few days in advance since we knew it would be slammed. We were right!
Walk to wall crowd and the vibe was lively. We came in about 20 min. before our reservation and grabbed a drink at the bar. The bar is very large and open so even though it was crowded we didn’t feel like packed sardines.
The hostess was very friendly and we were seated promptly at our reservation time.
Our server Duane was great! He gave us excellent recommendations and a heavy pour on our wine!
Food was very fresh and delicious! We shared a few plates. The seafood salad with yellowfin tuna and poached shrimp was a pretty big hit, scallop ceviche in a coconut sauce, and the mediterranean octopus carpaccio were all tasty. All these dishes were on the lighter side. So if your hungry definitely go for an entrée.
Overall it’s a vibrant spot to see the who’s who, have some nice seafood, and a few cocktails. Enjoy!

We ordered the Seafood Tower. Large portions and fresh seafood, but the sauces lacked flavor in a big way. They also had a strange sauce on the Scallop Ceviche that we did not care for. We were not super impressed by this place. We found it to be okay. The PB &J dessert was great though. We didn’t like it enough to return as a new spot. Oh well, checked it off the list!

We went there for my partner’s birthday. Nearly everyone, no everyone, was confused by the menu. I don’t love this trend toward making menus into imagism poems. I prefer actual descriptive words that are categorized in a way that convey an actual theme.
Between our party of 7, some of the drinks were ok. Some were not. None were memorable.
I have no idea why I paid $ 7 for an avocado sliced onto a plate, or why the waiter recommended that I pay $ 7 for an avocado sliced onto a plate.
The redfish was good. No complaints on the actual entrée. My partner had the lobster, again very good. Nothing particularly imaginative or exciting, just protein cooked on a plate.
Desert was regrettable. The chocolate something tasted like it was just scooped out of a grocery store container.
I did not enjoy the scene or the experience.

First time here, food was awesome and the drinks were even better! Our waiter Nick literally knew every single item on the menu and helped us pick a great dinner. Personally I’m not a huge seafood person so I had the filet but my wife and our friends raved about how amazing the oysters and the red snapper tastes as well as the lobster bisque! We will definitely be coming back in the near future.

Last week I joined some friends for dinner at SaltAir Seafood Kitchen, a new (ish) restaurant in Houston’s Upper Kirby neighborhood.
First off, the restaurant has cocktail onions. If you know me at all, you know one of my life’s quests is to locate restaurants/​bars in Houston that have these garnishes. I was able to enjoy a stiff and sensational pre-​dinner vodka martini with onions!
When ordering her martini, my one friend asked if they had blue cheese-​stuffed olives. Our super friendly and engaging server informed her that yes they did, and they were freshly stuffed at the restaurant every morning. We became irrationally (okay, rationally.) excited about this, and he offered to bring us some of these awesome, salty, blue cheese-​stuffed olives to nibble on.
Our server explained that the food on the menu is primarily meant to be shared. So share we did! To start, we ordered the scallop ceviche with shrimp chips, the vegetable tempura, and ½ a dozen oysters. Since I’m a vegetarian, and since ingesting mollusks might literally actually kill me, I only tried the tempura during this round. Lightly battered and fried haricot verts, zucchini, asparagus, cauliflower, eggplant, and sea beans were served with a side of sweet and salty ponzu. The dish was light, pleasant, and bursting with flavor from the wide variety of vegetables included within. Loved it!
We then ordered the restaurant’s iceburg salad, and asked for the bacon to come on the side. I am definitely into iceburg salads, and I was definitely into this one. A huge hunk of iceburg lettuce was topped with robust blue cheese, crisp green onions, fresh avocado, and a light, yet creamy, green goddess dressing. The pleasantly tart dressing really stepped this salad’s game up a notch, and it received high marks from all of us!
Our server gave a glowing review of the carrots, so we took his word for it and ordered them. I’m not generally a major fan of cooked carrots, but I’m telling you, if cooked carrots always tasted like this, I certainly would be! The sweet, buttery (though I’m not even sure if butter was present), roasted carrots were topped with harissa, yogurt, and pistachios, which I believe were candied. Sweet, silky, smooth, and full of delightful textures, this was my favorite dish from the restaurant!
My 2^nd favorite dish of the evening– the radishes– were absolutely lovely. Thinly sliced, crisp, raw radishes were included in the dish, which added a nice amount of texture, but the roasted radishes were what made this dish so incredible. Roasted in butter and sea salt, and topped with a radish top pesto, this unique dish was earthy, yet delicate. The flavor of the cooked radishes themselves was softened from the roasting process, and the pesto was a wonderful, flavorful addition to the dish.
Though not quite as innovative as the previous items, the zucchini was also great. Charred and grilled, tender zucchini was topped with a crunchy, herby, squash blossom gremolata. This dish was also very well received by the group.
Come to think of it, every dish was well-​received by our group of Houston food lovers! Like the potatoes: Small, whole, soft potatoes were doused in lemon and various herbs. They were plump, hearty, and thoroughly enjoyable! Other various non-​vegetarian items were ordered, and seriously, we all loved everything we ate. So of course we had to order 4 desserts.
The restaurants’ desserts that graced us with their presence were the lemon ice (angel food cake, white chocolate cream, lemon thyme meringue shards, lemon sorbet, limoncello snow), the milk chocolate mousse (mousse, chantilly, chocolate curls), the butterschotch pot de crème (butterscotch custard, chantilly, dulce de leche), and the peanut butter jelly. All 4 were great and completely different from one another, but my personal favorite was the peanut butter jelly.
On the plate was a slice of «cake» consisting of a peanut butter chocolate brownie (ugh, amazing) and vanilla cheesecake. It was drizzled with dulce de leche, a grape gel, and toasted peanut «crunch». The cake was creamy and had a wonderful contrast of flavor between the rich peanut butter chocolate brownie and the lightly sweet vanilla cheesecake. The grape gel provided a fun punch of fruitiness. What I found to be the real joy of this dish though, was the toasted rice and peanut crunch, which were these teeny, airy, peanut buttery, crunchy balls sprinkled on top. They added a delightful pop of flavor and texture!
If you’re looking for a fancy night out at a restaurant that serves beautifully crafted and unique food, look no further than SaltAir. The elegant interior is open, airy, and dimly lit, and the service is friendly, knowledgeable, and inviting. Even as a vegetarian, I still had plenty of food options, all of which were sensational. While it’s certainly not an inexpensive night out, it is sure to be a memorable one. SaltAir Seafood Kitchen is a wonderful addition to the Houston restaurant scene!

Sat at the bar. Full menu service. Avocado and scallop ceviche were our favorites. Very creative dishes. Missing a star due to limited menu choices and the tapas were somewhat heavy.

I’m surprised the overall review is not at least 4 stars! On top of the food being top quality and unique, the service was great. Our waiter was extremely knowledgeable and was enthusiastic about the whole menu – he sold us on all his recommendations.
First of all – WINE! SaltAir is known for their reasonably priced bottles of wine, as opposed to their price per glass. I can say this is true, as we ordered 3 bottles for our group of 6. The wine was a great cabernet (my favorite kind of of wine) – it was the Cliff Lede 2012 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, highly recommend. I’ll be on the lookout for this bottle to purchase personally!
Second, appetizers and sides:
— Cauliflower steak– Our absolute favorite and a mouthwatering appetizer/​side. The combination of caperberries and brown butter on top of the ‘steak’ is what made this stand out from your typical cauliflower side. I recommend sharing with one other at the most, because it was that addicting!
— French Onion Dip– No way any restaurant can get this classic dip wrong… We asked for extra chips because there was so much dip leftover. Recommend for group of 3 or more to share. Also, the potato chips were handmade so kudos to that!
— Avocado– Who would have thought avocado without a carb could taste so good? We got ours with crab and it is definitely a re-​order for my next visit.
— Tuna tartare– I don’t care much for tuna tartares usually, but this was very fresh. I would recommend if you’re into tartares.
Entrée:
— Redfish ½ shell– Our waiter definitely put this dish on a pedestal when he said he thought this one is better than Reef’s, so I had to order. Do not be fooled by the «half» because it is enough to share between two. The fish was very fresh, but I think I will order the Branzini next visit. I tried a friend’s Branzini and it was so full of flavor!
Dessert:
— Cheesecake– I honestly don’t recall the kind of cheesecake it was, but it was a good ending to a great dinner.

My partner and I came here to celebrate a special occasion and it quickly shot near the top of my list of favorite restaurants in Houston.
The food will speak for itself and the ambiance was nothing short of upscale. We ordered a the hamachi, calamari and a mix of a dozen oysters to start. All was incredibly delicious. My partner ordered the grouper for his main course and I ordered the shellfish tower for my main course. No complaints here. It was nothing short of amazing. We shared the butterscotch mousse too finish off the evening. I would highly recommend it.
Why the 4 stars and not 5? Even though our server was enthusiastic and amicable, we still felt a tad bit neglected. I don’t consider myself the entitled hoity toity diner, but it took a while for him to take our order. Also, when ordering a variety of oysters, one would expect the server to guide us through the different kinds and not simply walk away expecting us to know the difference. How else could we determine which kind we liked best for future reference? I had to ask him twice to come around and point out the different oysters for my information since my shellfish tower included oysters as well.

Salt Air has a very classy vibe about it, and has food on that level too. My family and I ended up walking into Salt Air on a whim, so we were very underdressed, yet our waiter Omar was nonetheless very cordial to us. He helped us decipher the very confusing menu. In fact everything that Omar recommended was spot on, and I will definitely be coming back.
We ordered scallop ceviche, pei mussels, Alaskan crab legs, potatoes, and broiled lobster. The ceviche had a tangy flavor with a nice spicy kick. It went very well with the crackers and was my favorite of the two appetizers. The other appetizer, the mussels, had a delicious tomato and wine flavor that was almost as good as the ceviche. The crab legs were perfectly decadent, and they were not overly salty. The Yukon potatoes were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, but yet still plump full of flavor. I’d definitely recommend the potatoes as a side. Finally, the lobster was beautifully cooked with a generous amount of butter with each bite. Plus, it came with a delicious salad.
I was thoroughly impressed by Salt Air. It’s a bit on the pricier side, but well worth it. My only complaint is that it’s on the louder side.
Final scores:
Food ⁵⁄₅
Service ⁵⁄₅
Ambience ⁴⁄₅

Great dinner at SaltAir! While the menu is extensive and a little hard to read, I really appreciated the variety and amount of options that you don’t always find in a seafood restaurant. Even beyond the seafood, there were great creative options for the sides and desserts. A few of the items we tried:
Scallop ceviche — Just delicious, with a wonderful coconut accent. This dish may have been my favorite one of the night.
Redfish on the half shell — It was huge, perfectly cooked and delish. I would definitely recommend.
Pulpo octopus — Probably not my favorite dish of the night. While it wasn’t bad, I wasn’t a huge fan.
Hamachi crudo — Very good, with a nice apple accent. Between this item and the ceviche, I liked the ceviche better, but the crudo was still great.
Roasted carrots — Delicious, with a nice drizzle of yogurt.
Key lime «pie» — It’s like a deconstructed key lime pie with the graham cracker crumble, lime-​y custard and toasted meringue, in addition to key lime cake. Very good and creative!
Service was nice as well, and the restaurant itself is decorated beautifully. Just be warned that a hefty price tag goes with this upscale experience.

I was really excited to see this place opening up! I love seafood, I love this area of town, and I have always loved Ibiza (which is in the group that owns SaltAir), so I had really high hopes. We secured a reservation a few weeks after they opened. We were seated right away, and within 20 minutes or so, the entire place was full. It was a very fun and lively atmosphere! I really liked that.
Our server came and greeted us pretty quickly. We had drinks very fast which is great, since they were really busy. The menu was really enticing! A lot of ceviche’s to choose from, several seafood dishes, and they really put some effort into their vegetable and side selections.
I just have one word for my entire meal from start to finish: underwhelmed. It was just lacking! The quality was there, presentation was there, service was spectacular, but it was just not exciting in flavor at all. Everything needed salt. Seafood really isn’t that difficult to season, so this really was shocking to me. Don’t get me wrong, the food was not bad whatsoever. For the price, I would rather hit Peska or go back to Ibiza. I would like to try it again, but with many other options it will probably be awhile.
Service, ambiance, crowd, décor, menu selection, drinks, all 4 stars+. Food, just didnt hit the mark for me.

We had an amazing double date here. Our waitress, who dang it, I don’t remember her name, was wonderful. I remember she was from Brooklyn but didn’t have the heavy accent. She really guided us and helped us decided on how much to order. We went big and started with the seafood tower. Oh my goodness, it was amazing. It had not only crab, lobster, oysters, and shrimp, but also 3 different raw dishes with some delicious flavors. There were some scallops with kafir lime that I remember being my favorite.
We then shared some softshell crab, roasted carrots, and avocados. Everything was delicious. I don’t have one bad thing to say about the spot. The atmosphere was modern, stylish, and high energy. The staff was all super friendly. I had no pretentious attitude from anyone, which can sometimes be a turn off at a «hot spot» like this is currently.

SaltAir is a nice addition to the neighborhood, and hopefully will stay around in the space occupied. It is by the same restaurant group as Ibiza, Brassiere, and a number of other places around Houston. We decided to check it out on opening night, which was Saturday.
The place is decorated completely different than most places, as it is done tastefully with lights of light wood and neutrals. Very minimalist. The dining room is fairly large with a nice sized square bar which would be perfect for a nice happy hour, or get together. They also have a decent sized outdoor patio.
Service from start to finish was very good. My friend and I ordered an assortment of things, which is almost how the menu is designed. There aren’t a lot of large meals to order from, which I really liked. We had an assortment of oysters ($ 38!) calamari (very very good, with some Asian sauce) Bok Choy, and grilled shrimp. Their wine list is also fairly extensive, and they do have a lot of moderately priced options. I did see a lamb option and chicken option. All in all, it was a bit pricey, but the food was very fresh, and everything was excellent. The dessert menu also looked amazing, which I plan to come back and sample. Great option for a business dinner or lunch, girls night out, romantic dinner, special occassion, or happy hour.