Joanna L.
Yelp
Searched for a good brunch spot up north via Google search, and came across several Reddit comments recommending Johnston's Saltbox - so, we had to give it a try. The menu is rotating and a limited selection, but pretty adventurous and carefully crafted. There is street parking nearby, or slanted parking spots if available. We came around 11am, so we luckily got a parking spot right across from the restaurant. Despite it being pretty early on a Saturday and the restaurant just being open for an hour, it was pretty bustling. The inside was majority full with the exception of one or two tables empty, and we opted to sit outside. To be honest, it was pretty windy this day, so I was a little cold, but they have blankets you can use.
We ordered the coffee butter scones to start off. The scones were fresh, crunchy on the edges, but still soft on the inside. The butter was coffee flavored and complimented the buttery scones well. My friend, who is an avid coffee lover, tipped her hat and sent compliments to the chef for the delicious coffee butter. We didn't try the coffee, but if the butter is that good, we can't wait to try the coffee drinks ;)
For the entrees, we decided to split since we had a hard time narrowing down one dish per person (and we don't like to double order). We opted for the fried chicken and French toast + the beef hash. Let's get started with the chicken and toast. The chicken wasn't fried with a crispy bread crumb like we had expected, but still very tender. There was a butternut squash puree, which added some uniqueness to the dish, and some extra flavor. I was skeptical at first, but it grew on me very quickly. A single bite of bananas, toast, chicken, and butternut squash was splendid.
Now, on to the real rockstar of the day - the beef hash. Talk about flavors coming together and melting in your mouth. We absolutely LOVED the Hollandaise sauce. I didn't think they could have more tender meat than the chicken, but the beef was even better. Paired with the potatoes, asparagus, and two poached eggs, the beef was delicious. Pro tip - dip the scones from earlier in the egg yolk / Hollandaise sauce for a salty kick!
Overall, lovely experience here and friendly service - my friend's napkin flew away and two different people rushed to help her. The servings were enough to fill us right up, so no complaints about the serving sizes. Pricing was fair - especially for the quality - and we definitely want to come back for the menu this season. As we're looking at it right now, we're reminiscing on the good meal we had - can't wait to try the pork belly breakfast sandwich and sweet heat fried chicken sandwich!