Looking from the bar through into the main dining room
What do we need to know about Saltie Girl?
Probably the first thing should be that this is an American import, by way of Boston. Saltie Girl is the brainchild of chef Kathy Sidell. In bringing it to a UK audience, she's teamed up with Varun Talreja - the restaurateur behind Meraki in Fitzrovia and chef Richard Turner (Hawksmoor) has helped with the menu
What kind of food is it?
In Boston, the restaurant made a name for itself by serving up New England's largest tinned seafood collection. Here in London the menu is subtly different, so you'll find more in the way of oysters, along with meat and vegetarian dishes here, but sadly no chowder.
Where is it?
You'll find it on North Audley Street right next door to another seafood spot, the Mayfair Chippy. But while next door is much more of a cod & chips place, this is decidedly more Mayfair in its menu and design.
There's a decent sized terrace outside which should prove popular on warmer days.
Where's a good place to meet for a drink first?
Given how packed this street was on the Saturday night we tipped up, you might want to skip one street east and pop into the Barley Mow on Duke Street. Another good idea is the basement wine bar at Mercato Mayfair just two doors away.
Where should we sit?
That depends on how much a part of the action you want to be. You could perch with your seafood tower up at the bar at the front, or pick a stool at the kitchen counter right at the back if you like to see what's going on. Alternatively, you could, like Salma Hayek did the day before we tipped up, and pick a table further into the restaurant where it's a little quieter.
Get a view of the action from the kitchen counter seats.
Drinks to start?
Absolutely. Now we'll be honest, we had high hopes from the photo of the Saltie - their own take on the martini topped with the most Instaworthy addition of three halved olives filled with caviar. Sadly this didn't translate into reality, as all the olives tipped into their content into the drink just as it was picked up. That said the clear favourite drink going out of the bar was this:
The Grapefruit (£13) - made with vodka, Aperol, elderflower and lemon.
What's on the menu?
In addition to a mini oysters and raw bar menu, the main menu is pretty huge - split into sections with seafood towers, small and large plates, a fried section, toasts, sandwiches, smoked fish and of course the tinned menu. Here's what we had to give you a flavour:
Salmon with pistachio, avocado oil, jalapeno and cucumber (£15) - the pistachio added a little something extra to a fine crudo dish.
Scallop with lime, avocado and caviar (£19) - it may not show in our photo here, but this was covered with layers of sliced raw scallop
Langoustine scampi with tartare sauce (£20) - we're very much loving that London is experiencing something of a scampi renaissance right now.
New England lobster roll with crisps (market price) - there's an option to have this served hot or cold. We went for hot with the roll fried in butter and liberally stuffed with lobster. This is not an eat-with-your-hands job unless they offered a bib.
Room for dessert?
Desserts range from heavier options like Sticky toffee pudding through to a cheese plate served with corn financiers. But we'd perused Instagram before - we knew what we wanted...
The Amalfi lemon and meringue tart (£10), scattered with shards of almond praline and filled with almond frangipane. Perfectly sized for two to share and delicious as well as easy on the eye.
What about wine?
We were hoping to try one of their own label Saltie Girl roses from Provence, but they don't seem to be on the London list yet. That said, our bottle of Minuty (£56) went perfectly well with our dishes. There's a short list of options by the glass and prices are Mayfair punchy with entry-level being a bottle of Falanghina at £45. There's also a Reserve section of the list with the opportunity to order a bottle of the 2012 Pol Roger Winston Churchill for £1056 if you're going on someone else's expenses.
Overall thoughts:
Just yards from Oxford Street, this is a pretty much perfect shopping pitstop whether you want to go light with a glass of Champagne and some crudo or recover with one of their generously stuffed lobster rolls. It's a beautifully designed dining room and should do very well here on this side of the Atlantic.
More about Saltie Girl
Where is it? 15 North Audley Street, London W1K 6WW
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @saltiegirl.london
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Saltie Girl. Prices are correct at the time of publication.
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