Salut Bar Americain

5032 France Ave S
Edina, MN 55410
952-929-2764
http://www.salutbaramericain.com/

Category: French

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: 9
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Excellent. A diverse French-inspired menu adapted to the American clientele served in a bistro style setting.

Salut is located in the 50th and France neighborhood in Edina. It’s a unique addition to the Minneapolis-St. Paul culinary scene because it serves food inspired by the French, yet dishes and flavors most Americans would be able to relate to. The ambience is that of an urban Bistro (it could easily pass off as an upscale American diner) with a combination of dark wood flooring and bright red leather seating. The décor is accented by the black and white checkered table cloths. There aren’t many big tables in this restaurant (we sat on a big round one that accommodated 10) so if you are going in a big group, you might have trouble finding seating. The restaurant does have quite a few outdoor tables and it’s a nice place to people watch in the summer.

Both of us have eaten here a few times (but ironically never together). This last time, Nick had lunch here with several coworkers and this gave him the opportunity to sample several items from the menu. The lunch menu has lots of options including steaks, salads, sandwiches, and fish. We had a sampling of Oysters from the oyster bar, all of which were excellent and very fresh. We highly recommend both the Burger Bar Americain and “Ze” French Onion Soup Burger, both of which were cooked to perfection and offered a good balance of flavors. The special Crab Cake Salad was also very good as was the Croque Monsieur which would have been better with a little less cheese. We’d recommend staying away from the Tortellini Primavera – although the sauce was nice, the Tortellini itself was hard, flavorless, and frankly tasted “store-bought.”

The demi-baguette was super; it tasted very fresh and had a nice crunchy exterior with a soft chewy interior. The servings are rather large and you are given a very healthy serving of Frites with many of the entrees. And although the Frites are very good (flavored well and a crisp texture), they are too thin to be considered true Frites. The accompanied Bernaise sauce lacks any distinct flavor and distracts from the splendor of the Frites.

The service was very good and everything recommended by our server was delicious. Overall, this restaurant offers great French fare at reasonable prices and is definitely worth experiencing.

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