The Salt Marsh Winery

17 New Driftway

Scituate, MA 02066

We had been dying to try the new Salt Marsh Winery in Scituate since it opened 3 months ago and finally had that special occasion to try it out on my birthday. We have been fans of Chef Doug Rodrigues’ other restaurant, Osteria Vivo, for years, so when he decided to open up at the site of the old River Shed, we were all in, especially since Pete Bernstein from Osteria Vivo, whom we have known since his childhood, was named Chef de Cuisine at Salt Marsh. Chef’s Doug and Pete, you didn’t disappoint!!

We could not believe the transformation of the interior from the rustic River Shed into the now chic modern but comfortable Salt Marsh Winery. From the welcoming sign outside to the long hallway entrance, you know you are about to experience something special. The walls are white with blue shiplap to keep the space bright. Rustic remnants of the old restaurant with the wooden ceiling beams remain, but anchor the decor into a cozy feel. The bar still stands as the central point in the restaurant with tables set apart from the bar area. There is also outdoor seating in a comfortable patio area.

Our waitress, Katia, was fantastic and made sure we had everything we needed. She explained that all the cocktails are made with their own syrups and mixers so any of the listed cocktails could be made into a mocktail (perfect for me!!). Jim started with the Paper Plane, a cocktail made with 4 Roses Bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and lemon. He said it tasted as good as it looked. I started with the South of Bitter cocktail that was deliciously different. It was fruity and coconutty (is that a word?).

The menu at Salt Marsh Winery is amusing as we found some old school dishes that you don’t typically see on a current restaurant menu like tuna casserole and smothered salisbury steak, next to more modern dishes like lemon-glazed hake and lobster and oxtail stroganoff.

We decided to try the Oysters Casino along with the Szechuan Lobster Bisque – so good! The two oysters were large and the bread topping was flavorful. Our daughter has been raving about the lobster bisque since she came last month so we had to give it a go. It is definitely not your typical lobster bisque. It was a spicy, almost clear broth that once mixed with the creme in the center became a creamy bowl of deliciousness that was filled with lots of tender pieces of lobster. We told Katia that we were going to share the bisque and she brought it out in two separate bowls which was so nice of her to do.

Jim decided to try the Cedar Oil Poached Salmon, and it came out looking and tasting fantastic with layers of flavor from the salmon, ginger-scallion glaze, the bitterness from the broccoli rabe and the puree beneath the salmon.

I ordered the chicken pot pie that came out looking amazing. It was served with an almost deconstructed appearance with the chicken and gravy inside the pie crust, topped with the corn, carrots and butternut squash on top.

We were full to our brims but decided to order dessert anyway to go with Jim’s tasty old fashioned. We decided on the chocolate chip cookie fritters because I couldn’t figure out what they were. Five fritters came to the order, slightly bigger than and tasting like gourmet donut holes. They were gently tossed in sugar, drizzled with a little chocolate and sprinkled with crumble. Though they were delicious we could only each eat one. I thought an addition of a small scoop or ice cream to this dessert would be fantastic.

The bill was brought to the table stuck inside a book like a bookmark. Katia went on to tell us that Chef Doug’s grandfather wrote the book which is the namesake for the restaurant. Apparently his grandfather wrote a number of books based in Scituate where he resided.

We loved the vibe, the staff, the cocktails (and mocktails) and the menu. Chef Pete came out to say hello and we wished him good luck on this endeavor. From the looks of it, he won’t be needing any luck to make The Salt Marsh Winery a success!!

Until next time!

Patti and Jim