
I visited the original Saltie Girl in Boston last year, beckoned by the restaurant’s sexy red-head mascot (think pin-up Ariel) and the promise of quality seafood in the city. But all I remember is being sorely disappointed. The millennial pink walls were tired and in dire need of repainting; the prices were eye-watering and the expectation to tip generously hung over me and my emptying bank account like a dark cloud; and worst of all, the food was deeply mediocre.
Never mind, though. I chalked it up to the misfortune of having been had by trendiness. Saltie Girl became but a distant memory – until earlier this year, when I discovered it had opened a branch in Mayfair.