14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Salt Hotel & Pub sweats the details
Review and photos by
THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
SALT HOTEL & PUB
MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM
Rating:
FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA
147 Howerton Ave.
Ilwaco, Washington 98624
360-642-7258
Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday,
Tuesday and Thursday; noon
to 9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 9
p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday
Price: $$ – most entrées in the
teens
Service: Casual and fun
Vegetarian / Vegan Options:
Worthwhile but limited
Drinks: Full bar
A
stroll through the Port of
Ilwaco is transportive.
Cross from solid ground to
the bobbing docks and you might
as well be in an alternate dimen-
sion. Gaze upon the resting boats,
marvel at the wonder and mystery
of life at sea. It is at once romantic
and foreboding.
The view from Salt Hotel &
Pub’s second-floor perch is pretty
good, too.
The pub, which opened late last
year, marked the final phase of
renovation to the two-story hotel.
Built in 1972, it was purchased and
given a makeover in 2015 by Laila
Brown and Jules Orr. (Into the
hotel’s lobby they merged an exist-
ing business, Skookum Surf Co.)
With hip amenities and design, Salt
Hotel & Pub brings a modernity
heretofore absent from the port’s
rough-hewn entrenchment.
This crossroads is amiable.
Food and atmosphere that strike
delightful balances between hearty
and refined, forward and unpreten-
tious, certainly greases the wheels
of locals and tourists alike. One
night while dining at the bar I met
both a professional tuna fisherman
and a TV documentarian from
Portland. One was celebrating the
end of a grueling season. The other
was on assignment, filming such
back-breaking labor.
Munching on a plate of deep-
fried oysters and sipping a North
Jetty IPA, the fisherman was
celebrating a return to solid ground
after a full month at sea. Over the
summer, he and two boat mates
— the captain and his dog — had
reeled in some 50 to 60 tons of
albacore. All-too-familiar with the
tuna that sloshed around in the
60-foot boat’s icy, salty hold, the
fisherman couldn’t have been less
interested in eating any. “Yellow
ABOVE: Clam chowder BELOW: Elk sliders
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
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tail, sure, I’d have that,” he said.
“But, right now, I’d rather eat
sardines than albacore.”
Me, I’m quite happy with the
albacore.
Especially at Salt, where it
comes from daily catches and
processors just a few doors down.
Salt’s tuna has been caught and
processed overnight, at the oldest.
Which is to say it’s quite fresh.
And that local, immediate sourcing
led me to do something I rarely
do: order Fish & Chips ($16). (Salt
also uses albacore in a Blackened
Fish Taco appetizer and a Smoked
Tuna Melt.)
A trio of tennis-ball-sized
hunks, the fish steaks — and,
with such thickness, “steaks” is
a fair descriptor — were cleanly
beer-battered, light and crunchy.
The tuna was juicy, clean and ten-
der, pure and essential. And while
I often scoff at restaurants calling
the fish in their fish-and-chips “su-
shi-grade,” at Salt, where it’s not
overcooked, the label wouldn’t be
a stretch. (Though, to be sure: Salt
doesn’t use such nomenclature.)
Oh, the fries are spot on, too —
hand-cut, crispy and full of body.
Another dish I hardly ever order
is clam chowder. Like fish-and-
chips, chowder on the coast is of-
ten dumbed down, more begrudg-
ing tourist service than thoughtful
inspiration.
Salt’s chowder is another story,
one that has as much in common
with steamer clams or bisque as
with what we normally think of as
chowder.
Splitting the difference between
a meal-worthy bowl and an appe-
tizer-cup, Salt’s Clam Chowder
($12) is cooked to order. Rather
than thick mush, it’s a simple mar-
riage of pure, quality ingredients.
Willapa Bay steam clams (com-
plete with shell) stir with softened
hunks of red potatoes, celery,
supple bacon and corn in a sweet,
heavy cream sauce that’s flecked
with rosemary. Rich, oceanic and
earthy, it’s whole food cooking
that’s marvelously satisfying.
Like salty, savory, sea-kissed
donut holes, I also enjoyed the Jerk
Spiced Clam Fritters ($9), though
they could’ve leaned further into
the jerk seasoning. I appreciated
the perky, house-made rémoulade.
(The tartar with the fish-and-chips
was house-made too, and livelier
for it.)
Salt isn’t all seafood; there are
red meats and a penchant for pork
belly. (It’s also worth noting: the
veggies, particularly the greens,
are admirably fresh). The burgers
looked stout and solid. One comes
crowned with both pork belly and
onion rings.
But on the specials board I
noticed Elk Sliders ($15) and
couldn’t say no. The flavorful,
peppery patties were well-cooked
and well-seasoned, then wrapped
in salty, prosciutto and coated with
a smear of sharp, dry goat cheese.
Altogether, a wonderful mash-up
of lean and luscious.
Indeed, there was hardly a
misstep in my trips to Salt. Down
to the toasting and buttering of
the bread, they sweat the details.
Elevated and comforting, the menu
is enticing all the way through.
In my trips, this made settling on
what to order almost agonizing.
The best approach may be to bring
friends and share. In deciding, try
to find out what’s abundant. Is it
the height of albacore season? Or
are the Dungeness crabbers in full
swing?
Whatever you end up with,
though, take a moment before or
after to wander the docks. You may
come across the boat that caught
your dinner. CW