Cafes / Reviews
Salt – cafe review
Several dozen eggs and a copy of Private Eye. What more could you want from a cafe?
Salt has opened in an unusual building on St George’s Road in Hotwells that was most recently a bakery specialising in chocolate shoes.
Where these shoes and also chocolate handbags used to be made is now the main seating area, with books and children’s toys – a space that in the future will be hosting occasional evening events such as film screenings and acoustic music nights.
is needed now More than ever
The eggs and magazine are near the front door, with a small corridor leading to steps down to the large and airy back room with a door out onto Anchor Road.
Want more? How about a small deli section?
In among here you’ll find some weird and wonderful produce from Redfield’s Gingerbeard’s Preserves (including ketchup made from beer); beans from Extract Coffee Roasters in St Werburgh’s; more preserves from The World Preserved of Montpelier; and in a nod to the past, chocolates from Zara’s Chocolates of Bedminster.
Tortilla and summer slaw was the lunch option on Wednesday, with frittata, soup, salad, tarts and sandwiches promised soon.
For now, it’s the cakes that are the most tempting food option.
Displayed on the counter, these cost from just 80p and on my first visit included chocolate brownies, gluten free almond and raspberry cakes, redcurrant and raspberry cake, and banana and caramel cake.
I enjoyed a well-made flat white as one member of staff was diligently writing the new A-board below the shelves almost groaning under the weight of the deli items.
On a return visit the next day, I chose an excellent slice of lemon and thyme cake with a sprig of thyme on top.
The view out front is a parade of shops, but a gap in the buildings offers a glimpse of the foot of Brandon Hill, the roof of St George primary school peeking out above the foliage.
Living only a few hundred yards away from Salt, I’ve been keenly following its progress since it announced it was opening, peering through the windows on my weekly Tuesday evening trip to Chai Shai for a takeaway tiffin.
After the wait, it certainly lives up to expectations – and not just for those eggs.
Salt, 120 St George’s Road, Hotwells, Bristol, BS1 5UJ
0117 329 2970