Salut Kitchen Bar

I did not expect this at a wine bar, but the cocktails were excellent! I sampled the lavender lemon fizz with Bombay sapphire gin, Death in the Afternoon, and Dark and Stormy. Death in the Afternoon is one of my favorites and rather unusual, but they also serve absinthe by the glass ($5), which is a lovely surprise. We met friends for dinner; I had a panini with brie, apples, arugula, prosciutto and honey butter and Greek fries (shoestring fries with lemon balsamic dressing and feta). It's similar to another pricey favorite, the Citizen Public House gastro-pub, but much more reasonable and relaxed. There was a family at the next table toasting s'mores! They repurpose wine and liquor bottles for decor, and there's a big outdoor patio with lights and tables. Our server was attentive and helpful with suggestions, and had no problems handling our table's separate checks. I will definitely be heading back for happy hour (all cocktails $5).

We had dinner here tonight with friends and were not disappointed in our food or with the service.  Since we bought the groupon, the two person deal included two craft drinks, two entrees (any of the burgers or entrees under $17) and one dessert to share.  Our friends had their own groupon, so it was nice to sample several different drinks and entrees.  

The drinks we sampled included the cucumber mule, the lavender and lemon fizz, the peach fuzz fizz, and the prohibition manhattan.  The lavender and lemon fizz was definitely the lightest of all the drinks; the manhattan was the strongest.  My husband liked the manhattan but couldn't finish his peach fuzz.  Our friend and I were a fan of the lavender and lemon fizz (i particularly enjoyed how similar it is to real lavendar lemonade) but she especially liked the cucumber mule because it came in a copper mug that made it just that more authentic in taste.  Overall the drinks seemed well made with quality spirits.

We really liked the glasses and our waiter told us most of the restaurant's decor and furniture was made of reclaimed products.  All of our glasses were made from old alcohol bottles, which I really liked.  The atmosphere was intimate, the lighting was low, and the music was chill.  I fell like the booth we were in was a little tight and cramped - I would ask for a table next time.

Our friends order an appetizer while we waited for our entrees: the prosciutto bruschetta was good but our friends felt the drizzled honey was a little overpowering.  Personally I liked the little sweetness to balance out the salty prosciutto and tart granny smith apples.  I barely tasted the blue cheese smear and didn't even notice the almond - both which are pluses for me because I'm not a fan of blue cheese.

Our entrees came out and we were pretty happy with our individual choices.  My husband ordered the Italian panini with the greek fries - not sure what special spices they put in the fries, but those were very addicting.  Next time I'm ordering a plate of those for myself - no sharing!  The panini was very good - just the right amount of saltiness.

On the recommendation of our waiter I had the piquillo ravioli with chicken. I think it was a very good choice - it wasn't too spicy and the ravioli is stuffed with herbs, roasted corn, and parmesan.  The sauce was made of the piquillo peppers, wild mushrooms, and toasted pine nuts - similar to a chunky, roasted pepper sauce.  They placed grilled chicken on top of the ravioli, but I think I would consider it a win even without extra protein.  It came with two crostini that I thoroughly enjoyed sopping up the sauce with.

Our friends had the pistachio encrusted salmon and the grilled chicken panini - according to them they both enjoyed their dishes.  The salmon came on a bed of lemony orzo and brocolini - I enjoyed orzo but felt the brocolini was a little bland and lacked flavor.  

We all finished with two orders of the s'mores - thoroughly entertaining as we caught our marshmallows on fire!  S'mores are a little too sweet for me, but it's campy fun (see what I did there)?

All in all a good time.  Our waiter was even nice enough to give us a free appetizer coupon on the way out - yay!  We look forward to stopping by soon!

Salut Rocks they have 1 dollar bottle of wine for happy hour! I had the Italian Panini it was so good and we also shared the Smores dessert OMG so wonderful! I would eat here again in a heart beat.  The atmosphere is comfortable and crowd is a friendly one.  Tempe has a little gem with this place!