Saltwater – Detroit – MGM Grand
The MGM Detroit has many restaurants. Being seafood fans, we went to Saltwater. I also wanted to go there since Michael Mina owns the place. Some of his restaurants have held Michelin stars in the past, so, there were some high expectations going in.
The decor was nice. The theme of water was very predominant. Water ripples, drips etc…
Let me start by saying the dinner rolls are the best bread offering of any restaurant ever. The key secret according to the waitress, is LOTS of butter. It felt like cornbread rolls or something. Very good.
We started with the Beer Battered Prawns with Mustard Slaw and Old Bay Aioli ($15). This wasn’t that good. The shrimp was not crispy. It tasted like fried shrimp. Bland. The mustard slaw was rendered inedible by the obscene amount of salt in it. Let me just say, I was already disappointed. I asked for more bread.
Mike had the Saltwater “Louie” Salad with Lobster ($14). This was simple fresh and good. The presentation was nice with the lobster as the star.
Sam had the Michigan Fish and Chips ($18). He said it was ok. Not the super crust that was expected.
I had the grilled Scottish Salmon with ratatouille, olive oil crushed potato, & za’atar ($21). The best part of the dish was the zaatar. The olive oil mashed potatoes were too oily for a heavier fish like salmon. The salmon was normal. Nothing mind blowing. It was good. Good, but not great. I was also still hungry, so, I asked for more bread. Again.
The food was ok. I don’t think I’ll be back. Not even for the gimmicky lobster pot pie the waitress kept raving about. Then Mike orders it, and she comes back and says sorry, we are out. I saw another table get it and it basically gets plated at the table.
On to the waitress. She was terrible. Very unprofessional. I’m not going to go into details.
I’ve eaten at neighboring Wolfgang Puck’s which is AH-mazing. I’ve been back there again and again, but I will not be back to Saltwater. There is something wrong when the best thing you had all night is the bread. The food was ok, nothing special, and the service was mediocre. If you had a better experience please share below, or just take my word for it and eat next door at Wolfgang’s.
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 1:18 pm)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Virginia , Mira. Mira said: Review of Saltwater, a Michael Mina establishment. http://fb.me/vmDum1Pk [...]
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 3:33 pm)
The salmon and zatar sounds interesting.
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 3:34 pm)
Enjoied your pictures as usual Mira!
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 10:34 am)
Your right. The design was nice. The rest, meh.
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 11:47 pm)
thankya
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 11:48 pm)
it was interesting
(On Feb 8th, 2011 at 9:26 pm)
[...] Hotel in Detroit. I’ve reviewed one of the others, Saltwater, a Michael Mina establishment, here. During the various visits I have snapped photos of the dishes and deserts, so here we [...]