Digest this mini-review in 60 seconds
Venue
A hybrid bar/eaterie on a quaint cobbled street just minutes from the centre of Macclesfield. Salt Bar featured in a TV Show called The Restaurant Man in which restaurateur Russell Norman helped owner Debbie Quinn lunch her Scandinavian dining ‘concept’ on the unsuspecting people of Macclesfield. Around 18 months later the venue is keeping true to its Swedish ethos in both the selection of dishes and its decor.
Menu
The Scandinavian theme runs through a menu that kicks off with starters such as beetroot carpaccio, £6 and smoked mackerel pot, £6 but we opted for a delicious sharing plate of a Salt Bar Smörgåsbord, £14. This includes knäckebröd crispbread with an assortment of toppings including prawn skagen, meatballs, cheese, beetroot salad, sliced meat, served with pickled vegetables and sweet mustard £14. We asked for meat and vegetables etc to be served separately but they came together which niggled a bit. We had a so-so mojito £6.95 and a nice glass of prosecco £4.95 and tried glasses of local beer, £3.95 with main courses of Biff à la Lindström beef, caper and beetroot burger, served with an onion sauce, pickled vegetables and fries £12 and Olles chickpea, spinach and parmesan style cheese veggie balls with tomato sauce and fries £10. Portions are generous so we did something we never usually do and opted to SHARE a pudding, a Swedish apple pie with vanilla Sauce £5, which is utterly mooreish.
Decor and ambience
A compact dining room is white and duck egg blue paintwork, blonde wood and quirky decorative pieces like stylised moose heads, Scandi knits and images of huskies on the walls. There are stools at the front of an open kitchen that also serves as the bar and diners can choose from a seat framed by the handsome high window, on comfortable bench seating alongside one wall or tables for two.
Service
Friendly, but it would have been good to have found out about the set menu before we discovered it ourselves (after making our order) posted on the wall in the loo and was anyone listening when we asked for meat and vegetarian to be served separately? Er. No.
Cost
Lunch with one dessert and drinks came to £60.80 for two people.
Salt Bar, 23C Church St, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 6LB 01625 432221
