We have reviewed Salts before (BMH Review of Salts Restaurant). We we went for the 5 course chef’s tasting ($85) with the wine pairing ($40) for my companion’s birthday. We left satiated, satisfied and happy.

The fare at Salts is French influenced contemporary American cuisine. They combine traditional and new exciting culinary techniques in a beautifully presented plate. Salts works closely with farmers and fisherman. They have their own organic farm is located in Canterbury, New Hampshire. Every time we have come to Salts, we love the small dining room and intimate, warm, romantic atmosphere. This restaurant is among one of the few where you can literally have the table for the evening and shut down the restaurant, which is exactly what we did.

The service at Salts can be a bit slow at times depending on the number of other diners, but they are very knowledgeable about the food and wines.

Heirloom beet salad with fresh local goat cheese

I am very fond of a good beet, particularly golden beets, and these did not disappoint. The tangy fresh goat cheese paired nicely with the ripe sweetness of the slightly crunchy tender beets.

Roasted Halibut- Heirloom Potato Gnocchi, Pickled Beets, Truffle “Caviar,” Dill Emulsion

The halibut was perfectly prepared. A nice crust on one side, then quickly flipped to kiss the hot pan on the other, then plated. The pillowy gnocchi underneath ended up getting ignored by me after a few bites because the fish was the star of this plate.Free Range Chicken Ballotine- Petite Garden Carrots, Baby Zucchini, White Asaparagus, Grapefruit, Darjeeling Tea

This was a lovely plate. The pretty zucchini slices on top of the chicken made it almost look like fish scales at first glance. The chicken itself was meaty, tender and well seasoned. The baby vegetables were tender on this inside but not overcooked so that they still had snap.

Four types of salt were left to sprinkle on the bread and butter or to enhance any of the dishes we were eating.

Painted Hills Beef Ribeye- Salts Farm sunchokes, Horseradish Gremolata, Bone Marrow Custard, Potato

The beef in this dish was amazing- meaty, tender, and perfectly salted. If they served this dish in larger portions, I’d happily volunteer to buy it. I hadn’t tried sunchokes before, so this was a nice introduction.

Pannacotta with sorbet

I didn’t try my dining companion’s dessert because I feel pannacotta is something I can make at home. But rest assured that he found it delectable and if he could, would have licked the plate clean.

Best dessert of the evening- Honey almond financier with housemade sorbet in a grapefruit soup

This dessert was a honey kissed sweet soup symphony on a plate. The citrus confit and sorbet went well with the honey almond financier, which sopped up the grapefruit soup.

Mignardises- Yuzu Marshmallow, Passion Fruit gelee, Shortbread

All 3 mignardises were delicious. The tang from the lemony yuzu contrasted against the sugary vanilla marshmallow. The gelee tasted intensely of passion fruit and the shortbread was buttery crisp heaven.

There are many lovely appetizers, entrees and desserts to be tasted at Salts and we will be back with 4 people to reserve the duck for two.