Pink Salt Restaurant And Wine Bar

Went with a group of 10 for lunch. Had beet salad which was very good. Others in the party seemed happy with their orders.
Very friendly and efficient server!
Decor, especially in bar area was a nice mix - colorful, tasteful.

I'll be honest. I enjoyed my experience at Pink Salt until I got my bill. Great staff, great ambiance, amazing service, the restaurant definitely has a classy family vibe.

They have $1 wing Wednesdays, so I started with wings and a house drink from the bar. For my entree, I ordered the curry goat leg, listed as "market price." The food looked lovely as it arrived. The taste was good, a nice combination of flavors. However the goat leg plate was pretty small - it didn't come with much meat at all and it was a little lacking in flavor. I cleaned my plate and definitely could have eaten more, but decided I was done for the evening.

I got my check and saw that the curry goat leg plate was $40. My total bill was $65 - for an entree, dollar wings, and a drink. Lesson learned on "market price," but there's just no way I could feel good about paying $65 for the fare I was served.

I'll definitely come back for the ambiance if nothing else, but I can't lie, the expensive tiny plate left a bad taste in my mouth.

This is a cozy Caribbean inspired restaurant did not miss a beat!.. I enjoy the entire experience we had reservations as soon as we walked it we were greeted by Chef Richard and shown to our table. When you enter there's a small waiting area by the full bar, The further you go back the more intimate the setting gets. The waitress Meghan suggested we try the the Jamaica Mama & Rum Punch. We received complimentary bowls of soup.It was very filling but We started with the collard green dip, Jerk peel & eat shrimp ( Has a kick) and the snapper didn't disappoint!

Oxtails galore!! We had oxtail everything & I wasn't disappointed. The food was amazing - from the appetizer oxtail fries, to the oxtail fried rice (special), and oxtail stew!
I wish my party ordered different items so I could have tasted other dishes but we were all on the same oxtail vibe lol.
The only reason they don't get 5 stars is because the drinks weren't that strong, their white rice has green peas in it (yuck), and they didn't have any music playing - some Caribbean music or R&B/jazz would've set the tone.

Fantastic experience here. We had chick pea soup for a starter, and the ox tail. One of the most flavorful, well rounded dishes I've had in a long time.

The place is decorated well, great artwork. Lighting was perfect.

The staff was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu. This was a great first impression. We will be back for more.

Welp.
I was pleasantly impressed by the ambiance of this black owned restaurant. I love the decor and the live saxophone player was a great touch.
Since I've been in Jacksonville, my dining experience hasn't been so great. While the presentation of the food is great, it all seemed to lack flavor. I'm beginning to think there must be a shortage of seasoning salt!
The shrimp appetizer was ok - the shrimp was the only thing seasoned well.
The collard greens dip was good, but was more like a soup and tasted better alone than with the chips.
The cabbage wasn't cooked enough, and definitely needed some salt.
The oxtail stew was way overpriced, and was really more like a beef stew. It didn't have the right flavor of Jamaican style oxtail stew, which is what my palate expected.
I'd go back for the ambience and a drink.

The reviews were so good! What changed? Because right now I'm impressed with the food yet irritated at the same time. Irritated because of how long the wait is. Frustrated because they can't handle the volume of customers. Disappointed because they could really have a great thing going for them. They have the potential to be such a beloved, favorite local restaurant in town. Awesome menu. Great location. This place is truly a nice restaurant, love the vibe. The food is SPECTACULAR. Those oxtails are some of the best oxtails in Jacksonville, hands down. Food alone? Easily FIVE STARS.

But this is an honest and heartfelt review...How do I put this? Pink Salt gave me mixed feelings. And I hate writing not-so-good reviews for restaurants that have such a high potential. When we ordered drinks it took 20 minutes to get 2 alcoholic beverages. Ordered at 7:20 pm.. didn't get the oxtails till 8:30 pm. Appetizers were funny...Wings came out at 7:51pm but the French fries came after the entree at 9:18 pm. The people sitting at the table behind ours, one person NEVER GOT HIS FOOD. Lol what?! We were chatting it up with the table next to us because we shared the same pain. I mean 2 hours later and no food? You've gotta be kidding me! He walked out! Everyone around us is looking around like they've been waiting forever and it just ruins the atmosphere. I'm fortunate enough to have been distracted by great conversation with friends but this was not ok.

Well enough with the sad stories. Here's some helpful info.
Menu doesn't show a price for some items. It depends on market price. January 2023, we paid $40 for that oxtail stew. Party of four but they add gratuity automatically so PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CHECK.

If I return I need to know when to come cuz Friday night ain't it.

San marco is a nice vibe, and so is Pink salt Caribbean restaurant. The ambiance is quaint, and the food is delicious. I was here for a coworker get-together. The Jerk chicken and peas and rice were delish. However, one of my coworkers had the shrimp and grits that were watery. I enjoyed the lemon drop, which was oh so good. I will be back to enjoy the off beat charm of the pink salt. They even have a back room for special occasion. Caribbean is the word and spicy and hot is the food. Why go to Jamaica when you can come to San marco for the a taste of good island cuisine!!

Very slow service, only 2 servers and 1 cook, and the oxtail was very tough - it should have been cooked slower and much longer. Decent ambiance but i do not know why the fanfare - maybe this was an off (weekday) night

Made my reservation through Yelp and unfortunately Pink Salt was to have their Yelp system turned off so my reservation was not sent over. Luckily they were not too busy and I was still able to be seated either at the bar or on the patio.

The soup of the day was a Seafood and rice soup and they do bring you out a sample of it on the house. The soup had great flavor but was a little salty.

I got the collard green dip as an app and the flavor was amazing again on the salty side but the tostones were cooked to perfection.

The devil in the pink dress cocktail was so good! Sweet and spicy and strong just how I like!

For my entree i ordered the coconut curry shrimp and it came with Jasmine Rice. The rice was cooked to perfection and the curry had great flavor but once again was masked by the saltiness!

In all the experience is great, the food was cooked great and the customer service is amazing. Everything is cooked to order so the wait times are a bit long.