Salt

Made possible by a £100,000 crowd-funding campaign, chef Paul Foster’s ambitious but unassuming Michelin star restaurant has straightaway become the leading light in Stratford-upon-Avon’s dining scene. The narrow townhouse contains two intimate, sparsely adorned rooms of bare wood, brick and whitewash, leading to an open kitchen from which similarly simple but immaculately rendered dishes emerge. Veggie ideas have a modern edge, but the real emphasis is on meat, fish and game – as in homemade black pudding with cauliflower purée, roast cod in green sauce with braised beef shin and pickled vegetables or Otterburn Mangalitza pork with salted pear, malted artichoke and sprouting broccoli. Seasonality is a byword, which means that show-stopping desserts such as sea buckthorn mille-feuille with fig, goats’ milk and dulce de leche or Yorkshire rhubarb, buttermilk ice, ginger crisp and sorrel are unlikely to be on the menu for long. Prices are very fair (particularly if you opt for a prix-fixe lunch), while staff are effortlessly warm, zipping through fascinating wine flights with zero pomposity.

Salt in Stratford upon Avon promises guests an exclusive and unique dining experience. Seating just 10 guests, the venue serves up a curated tasting menu that gives diners an intimate immersion into the culinary process. 

At Salt, every detail is thought of and looked after with the warm and inviting atmosphere and tasteful interiors. We would expect nothing less from Chef Paul Foster whose credentials include Head Chef roles at the Mallory Court Hotel and stints at world-famous destinations like The French Laundry in California. At Salt, guests sit around a large kitchen table and watch the chefs prepare the meal in front of them. 

Given Salt’s commitment to using the best possible and freshest ingredients, the menu is subject to frequent changes. However, guests can expect tantalizing and inventive dishes like their stuffed chicken wings with local morels and a chicken fat sauce as well as a saddle of lamb with English asparagus and sauce charcuterie. The sweeter section of the menu features a Guinness cake with Cashel blue cheese and Bramley apples, as well as Yorkshire strawberries with brown butter shortbread and an indulgent chocolate tart with hazelnut and sweet and sour cherry. 

The restaurant often holds events in their characterful grade 2 listed downstairs restaurant with original beams and a brick fireplace. These range from tasting menus with guest chefs to masterclasses and wine evenings. 

Please note that given the nature of the experience and tasting menu, they cannot cater to vegan, dairy, and egg dietary restrictions, however, they do have a vegetarian menu available upon reservation.