salt & sweet - a little slice of europe in melbourne, fl. since it was our birthday, our sister took my twin & me out for lunch at this lovely restaurant. i have been here before for dinner a couple of times but this was my first visit for lunch. lunch is available monday - saturday from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm. although nestled in an ordinary looking strip mall, once inside you almost feel that you could be in europe.salt& sweet serves a variety of traditional polish cuisine and continental dishes.
polish music plays softly in the background. soft coral walls, fans on the ceilings and interesting artwork add to the charming interior. tables are dressed in ivory linen tablecloths with contrasting dark green napkins that co-ordinate with the green underskirts on the tables. long ivory drapes hang gracefully from the windows along with wreaths that help to camouflage the parking lot outside. we sat at a table by the large picture windows. our lovely costumed server brought us luncheon menus to peruse while she took our beverages orders.
the first thing that i noticed about the lunch menu was how reasonably priced it was - under $10. what a terrific value! this price includes either soup or salad and fresh bead and butter. several selections really looked interesting. i finally settled on the outlaw’s potato pancake, $9.95. it was a huge potato pancake smothered with pork goulash and a bit of sour cream. it was very tender and filling. i would order it again. my two sisters ordered the polish sampler plate, $9.95: pierogi, golabki & polish sausage. they thoroughly enjoyed their dish as well. we all chose salad rather than the soup since it was a very hot day. in addition, poultry, veal, beef, pork and seafood as well as polish and a vegetable entrees round out the lunch menu.
we were all quite impressed with the service that we received. the restaurant was not too busy since this was a weekday but there were several occupied tables. the server stopped by to refill our beverage glasses and bread basket and to see if we needed anything. in addition, the chef came out also to check on things in general.
the dinner menu starting at 5 pm is more extensive and more expensive but additionally includes either roasted potato or potato dumpling and vegetables. several appetizers are available. if you are still hungry after you finish your meal, which i doubt, there are three desserts offered. if you have not tried polish food, stop by this restaurant and try it. as far as i know this is the only polish restaurant in the melbourne area and it is a good one. since it is fairly close to the king center for the performing arts, you may want to combine a visit tosalt& sweet with a show performance. the restaurant accepts reservations by phone or by email. i will not wait for another birthday to return here.