Thoughts From My Belly

Leading up to the opening of Sal’s Prime there was a lot of positive buzz from the community. Many people were really looking forward to have a new steakhouse in town. Unfortunately, once the doors opened that buzz quickly turned bad. I personally heard a lot of complaints, most of which related to price/value.

Sal’s opened as a “Vegas-style steakhouse” (I call it that due to their prevalency in Las Vegas) where the price on the menu is for the steak, then you have to order and pay for any sides on top of that price. This was a pretty novel concept for a lot of people in Kelowna and it took them by surprise. People were upset with the initial price, but then to ask them for more money for sides drove them crazy,

From what I understand, business dropped off very quickly after Sal’s opening and I’m sure the economic downturn hurt them even more. In the New Year, Sal’s cleaned house. They hired a new GM and head chef, as well as overhauled the menu and changed their price structure. I had never been to Sal’s prior to the change, other than for a couple of drinks once or twice, so unfortunately I can’t compare my experience to what the experience would have been like before the changes.

On walking in. the first thing I noticed was the décor. Sal’s is very tastefully decorated and the designer did a very good job blending light, medium, and darkly stained wood with white and chocolate leather. The contemporary art on the walls and the light fixtures were also very nice choices. The only drawback to the décor that I could find, was that several of the white leather chairs at the table across from us had some stains on them. Nothing permanent, but definitely something that shouldn’t have gone unnoticed and should have been wiped up when the table was cleared.

Our server was very friendly and had a solid knowledge of the items on the menu. She was also quite knowledgeable about the wine list, which to me is a must at any upscale restaurant.

The selection of wines at Sal’s was very good. They had everything from the standards you would expect to find at a good steakhouse, to some more original offerings from small local wineries. I would, however, like to see them add an old-world red wine or two to the list of those available by the glass. I opted for a glass of Misconduct Winery’s “Big Take”, which is their Bordeaux style blend. I really enjoyed it, (a phenomenal deal at $9 a glass) and am glad I ordered it, but typically I order a glass of French or Italian red when I’m having steak. I was a little disappointed not to have that option at Sal’s.

Sal’s does feature a state-of-the-art walk-in wine cooler to keep all of their wine at the optimal temperature. The General Manager Patrick (formerly of Ric’s Grill) gave me the tour. I did notice quite a large number of bottles of the Mission Hill Occulus in the cooler. Patrick explained that they had been ordered by his predecessor and had not sold as had been anticipated. He went on to tell me that he had reduced their price to try and move the stock out and that they were now selling for around $85/bottle. The price tag may seem hefty, but that only about $10 more than they retail for at BC Liquor, so all things considered, quite a good deal if you drink wine in that price range.

I must admit, I don’t know what the old menu looked like at Sal’s, but the new menu had lots of dishes to choose from at what seemed like reasonable prices for an upscale establishment. The selection of salads was particularly surprising. They had several salads that I was very interested in trying, which is surprising since I usually find salads to be the least interesting part of any menu. Not only did Sal’s offer a good selection of steak and seafood, but they also had a variety of other dishes like pasta chicken, and pork. Sal’s also had a $35 three course set menu, which essentially worked out to getting your dessert free with most mains about $25 and most appetizers around $10. I opted for the set menu, selecting French Onion Soup, the Sirloin Steak, and Goat’s cheesecake, while my wife opted for the Organic Mixed Greens ($10) and Butternut Squash Tortellini ($23) off the main menu.

Before we got our appetizers, we were served an amuse bouche to warm up our appetites. It consisted of a crab cake on pea shoots, finished with a chipotle mayo, along with a mini-cup of lobster bisque. The crab cake itself was nice, but not outstanding. However, the addition of the chipotle mayo and more particularly the pea shoots made them pretty memorable. The lobster bisque was simply outstanding. It had just the right balance and managed to be both rich and delicate. The velvety texture was perfect and made this the best bisque I have ever had.

I love French onion soup and the offering at Sal’s was good. It certainly wasn’t the best French onion soup I’ve ever had, but it was most definitely above average. It was a pretty standard take on the soup, but did feature a nice blend of Gruyere and Emmental cheeses.

I wish I had ordered the salad my wife got. The tiny bit she let me try was phenomenal. It featured figs, goat cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and prosciutto crisps with a maple balsamic dressing. This was simple a perfect blend of flavours. It was sweet, savoury, and salty all in one bite. I would highly recommend this salad to everyone. If you get one dish at Sal’s choose this. It might seem crazy to recommend a salad at a steakhouse, but I promise that you will thank me after you try it.

My Sirloin steak was a revelation after the poor offering I had at Ora the weekend before. Not only was this steak cooked to an absolutely perfect medium rare, but it was obviously an incredibly good cut of meat. The marbling was stupendous and gave it a ton of flavour and the melt in your mouth texture that every great steak should have. I definitely liked the creamy mashed potatoes it came with, but as far as I was concerned they were nothing special. My wife disagreed, saying they were some of the best potatoes she’s ever had. I guess you’ll have to judge for yourself. The vegetables, were again nothing special, but were cooked to the perfect balance of softness and crispness, which is my main concern for a vegetable side dish.

My wife’s Butternut Squash Tortellini was also very good. It came in a very light sage browned butter sauce with green beans and Mascarpone and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses. This was another great combination of flavours and toasted pine nuts of top finished this dish very nicely.

For dessert I had goat’s cheesecake, or more accurately split it with my wife who informed our waitress that she didn’t need dessert because she’d have half of mine. If I had been any less full you can bet I would have ordered a second dessert. The texture of the cheesecake was probably its best feature. It was smooth, yet crumbled nicely. The flavour was good too, but I expect cheesecake to be a little richer than this one was. The mixed berry coulis that was spooned on top was a great addition to a solid dessert.

Overall, I was very impressed with Sal’s Prime. I had heard a fair share of bad things about the restaurant before I went in, but I assure you, in my eyes they have turned everything around. Sure there were a few small imperfections, but every restaurant has those. I just hope that Sal’s can get the word out about the changes and people give it a second chance. Unfortunately you never get a second chance to make a first impression and the first impression Kelowna got of Sal’s could end up putting it out of business. Let’s hope that’s not the case.

Total Bill: $106 before tip (2 appetizers, 2 mains, 1 dessert, 2 glasses of wine, 1 martini)

Ambience: 4/5

Taste: 4.5/5

Value: 4/5

Overall 4.5/5