Sea Salt Lobster is on Route 1 in Saco.
With many opportunities for outdoor activities squandered by rain this summer, I’ve been taking advantage of warm fall days to finish off the list of things I meant to do before Labor Day.
Frankly, it’s been better that way, with tourists gone and even other locals having moved onto soccer games, apple orchards and other more seasonal activities than, say, mini golf.
If you didn’t make it to Saco’s new and improved Schooner Mini Golf (complete with beer garden) this summer, there’s still one more weekend of fall hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.).
On my way to belatedly check off this summer bucket list item, I passed by Sea Salt Lobster – a restaurant I’d never been to but is a favorite of some friends – and decided that a post-golf seafood lunch would be a very appropriate way to round out my pretend summer afternoon, before going home to watch football, roast a butternut squash and return to reality.
Seafood, apparently, seemed like a good idea to a lot of people on that warm October Sunday; the restaurant on Route 1 was bustling well past 1 p.m., including on an open-air patio and a covered porch.
While a few appetizers, sandwiches and entrees are available for landlubbers, the extensive menu is dominated by seafood. Even the Tex-Mex dishes scattered throughout all feature ocean-dwelling creatures, like the crab quesadilla ($18), shrimp fajitas ($19) and haddock taco salad ($18).
Fried haddock sandwich with fries and coleslaw from Sea Salt Lobster in Saco. Photo by Leslie Bridgers
Fried seafood of every kind, from clam strips to scallops, comes in baskets with fries and coleslaw ($14-$25), and lobster has its own section on the menu, as a traditional dinner with corn and coleslaw and in a selection of rolls with mayo, butter or both (all listed as market price).
My lunch date went traditional for a seafood joint and got a fried haddock sandwich with fries and coleslaw ($18), while I opted for the seafood version of a more generic sandwich, a salmon Caesar salad wrap with house-made seasoned potato chips and slaw ($18).
Caesar salad wrap with Salmon from Sea Salt Lobster. Photo by Leslie Bridgers
The seafood overflowed from both sandwiches and did not disappoint in either preparation. You also can’t go wrong in the choice between fries and chips; both were dense and delicious. The coleslaw, which is listed as “available upon request” with sandwiches, doesn’t look like much in a little plastic tub, but I was glad I made the request – the flavor suited my somewhat finicky taste for the side dish.
Service at the bar was friendly and prompt – the main reason I often default to sitting there – but I regretted not keeping in theme and dining outside when I still could.
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