In Orlando for a convention, I liked the description I found for Salt Island.
I arrived at 8:35 PM without a reservation and was told there was a 45 minute wait.
So I sat in the bar and at 9:15 PM the hostess showed me to table.
I should have known that it might be a problem as table was in a back hallway, but I was anxious to eat.
I then waited 45 minutes and never had a server come to my table.
I finally left.

Well, where to begin. I guess from the beginning. We were at the Convention Center and asked the concierge service to recommend a seafood restaurant. We were looking for more upscale, something along the lines of Joe's Stone Crab. I had eaten at the Oceanaire before and had a great experience, but Salt Island was so highly recommended that we decided to go there instead. Wrong move. Here is what you will get at Salt Island.

Excellent Valet
Good greeting
Pleasing decor and surroundings
"team" service
Excellent to above average food (depending on dish)
Upselling on appetizers and drinks
Loud atmoshphere
Young, less seasoned servers
Rush to turn tables
Good Sized Portions
Good value for cost

Food was mostly very good. Crab cakes were average at best--in contrast those at the Oceanaire are simply outstanding--mostly crab and a little breading to hold it together. At Salt Island, the opposite, mostly breading. The Stone Crabs are in season and were outstanding Great Pork Chop, very flavorful chicken. Awful onion rings (cold and soggy). Seafood sampler was ok...Scallops good, shrimp good, ahi tuna good, crab cake bad. The house salad was excellent as was the bread.

The service is really what ruined the experience. First of all, their goal seemed to be to get the most $$ out of us in the quickest time possible. Some of our servers seemed to be right out of high school and completely out of their element. They wouldn't know good service if it ran them over. Unwillingness to listen, fast talking with lots of immature speech patterns (like, like, like). A lack of knowledge of the extensive menu, lack of allowing us time to go through the menu. They messed up drinks, side dishes, how food was to be prepared etc... They kept the drinks up which was good and of the 7 different people that worked on our table (I do not like "team" service, you feel like a number when done poorly), a couple of them did well. When we complained of pink meat on a chicken wing, we were told it was a broken blood vessel and "is the rest of the chicken ok?" If it were me, I would have removed the chicken and offered a replacement. A couple of the young girls rolled their eyes at our frustratiion with our complaints (these were not unreasonable complaints and we don't complain just to complain, but won't accept poor food either).

We finally asked to speak to the manager and she did a great job dealing with our unsatisfaction. She offered to take off the onion rings and reduced our bill by $50. We were very thankful and pleased with her efforts to make it right.

Bottom line for Salt Island is that they have a good product and a great facility---the need to slow down, train their servers (young is fine if they can provide excellent service) and make the setting a little more intamate and a little less rushed party. If you like a nice quiet dinner, this is not the place for you. Good for large groups however if you can get acceptable service.

I'd go back to the Oceanaire and wish we had done this instead. Classy professional service, clean crisp look and feel and great food.

Terrible,terrible,terrible. The worst restaurant I have ever been too. Waiter was far too pushy, trying to sell over priced wine, when I asked if they had any Chablis he asked me what that was as he had never heard of it, great wine waiter!. Three of us had steak which when they finally arrived ( after it had been sent back to the kitchen twice because they weren't cooked the way we wanted ) were tough, and also for some reason extremely salty and inedible. we ended up only eating a quarter of our meals, but no one asked if everything was ok, from the moment you enter the restaurant you just feel that they really don't care if you enjoy your meal as long as they get your money. I can't say anything good about this restaurant apart from the fact that it looks good from the outside. Very overpriced considering the bad service and bad food.

We live in Orlando and wanted to try somewhere we'd never been (around early October). We picked Salt Island. The exterior is very inviting, with complimentary valet service provided upon arrival. Although there were multiple servers assigned to our table, the quality of service was below par and insincere. Our beverages were never refilled nor did anyone even offer to do so. Considering we came on a slow night, there was just no excuse. There are plenty of restaurants in Orlando whose price ranges match the quality and delicacy of the food served- this was not one of them. I'm accustomed to paying a bit more for food that is deserving, but this is one of the few times I've walked away from a restaurant truly dissappointed with what I paid in relation to what I ate. Overall, we had a very unhappy experience here. The only one with a great attitude was the valet guy! Skip this place. There are plenty of incredible restaurants in Orlando, this just isn't one of them.