Restaurant veteran David Weng next month will open Salt & Tart in Santa Monica.
The “American Bistro” is situated in a 2,100-square-foot unit in the AO Santa Monica Apartments, at 2200 Colorado Avenue Suite C, and has seating for 90 across its indoor and outdoor space.
Salt & Tart will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, and is slated to open December 2, according to Weng who previously served at COO for Stone Oven and other local restaurant brands.
Weng was also a partner in Bottega Box in Beverly Hills which earlier this year closed so that the owner and chef could focus on the new Santa Monica venture.
Salt & Tart gets its name from the “exotic salts” Weng and his team will use in the restaurant’s dishes and from the “tartness” of the gourmet lemonades and specialty cocktails on the menu.
“The name is meant to entice the palate and intrigue people,” Weng said.
Weng has designed the menu in such a way as to put affordability and speediness at the focus without compromising the quality and while providing a “high-end” experience.
“The cost of living is already so high in Santa Monica, so we wanted to create a restaurant that our patrons could eat at four or five times a week and not break the bank,” Weng said.
For breakfast, Salt & Tart will serve bowls, sandwiches, and burritos, as well as eggs-and-meat combination plates.
There will also be made-in-house pastries like muffins and croissants and a “really good coffee that we can’t market because of Salt & Tart’s proximity to Starbucks.”
For lunch and dinner think “gourmet” soups, salads, sandwiches, flatbreads, burgers, and specifically for later in the day, more entree-style options including fish and chicken dishes.
Gluten-free and vegan options will be available as substitutes for “everything on the menu” including a cauliflower crust for the flatbreads and hummus and quinoa as protein options for the salads.
Starting in December, Salt & Tart will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will eventually operate until 10 p.m. once the liquor license is secured.
Santa Monica is the first of one of five planned locations for Salt & Tart over the next five years, according to Weng.
The next location will open in Brentwood before the end of 2020, replacing a yet-to-be-disclosed restaurant which is currently open for business.
“We want to blow this concept up,” Weng said.
“I have the experience and knowledge to do what it takes.”
