The glass corner unit at 858 Hamilton St has now been a croissant shop for 14 years, a patisserie for one, and, as of early July, a Korean salt bread bakery.
The new tenant is Salt &, a small Korean cafe built almost entirely around salt bread (also known as Shio Pan), the crispy-bottomed, buttery salt bread that has been quietly taking over Metro Vancouver one neighbourhood at a time.
I stumbled upon it during a late weekday afternoon and stopped by during its soft opening, and downtown needed this one.
The salt bread wave has mostly landed elsewhere so far, with Sio opening in Chinatown and The Seoulful drawing lines in Richmond.
Multiple salt bread specific pop up brands have also seen big interest.
The downtown core has been the gap, and Salt & fills it.
The lineup ran six flavours when were there: original, garlic, blueberry crumbs, corn, basil tomato, and chocolate.
The staff shared that they rotate the flavours very often, with the original salt bread being the one that stays.
A little counter card explains the shop’s whole thesis: premium Canadian flour, organic butter, and what it calls the Butter Cave, the pocket that forms when the butter melts during baking and leaves a rich centre over a crisped base, finished with flaky Maldon salt.
Sadly, most were gone by the time we walked in, but we saw them cranking out fresh ones in the back.
After a few minutes of waiting, we got our hands on a freshly made garlic salt bread.
The garlic gets toasted up before it hits your hands, and it is SO good.
The crust crackles, the middle stays soft and buttery, and the garlic inside was controlled instead of a falcon punch.
We’d recommend this one in a heartbeat.
The blueberry crumbs version goes the other way, a soft loaf under a shaggy crumble lid with flaky salt on top and berries tucked inside.
Not as impactful as the garlic one, but decent.
Drinks stay simple and cheap for the area, from $3.25 brewed coffee and $4.25 americanos up to matcha lattes, plus fresh mango, blueberry, and strawberry milks at $6.
The space itself is minimal and warm, white walls and red accents, with a hand-drawn mouse mascot by the owner chasing salt bread across the walls and the takeout boxes.
One window decal sums up the menu in four words: salt, butter and time.
The soft opening comes with 20% off the menu for now, though the end date isn’t posted.
Salt & joins a busy stretch of new openings across the city, alongside Delysees at Oakridge Park, Betsutenjin in the West End, and the Celeste coffee window in Gastown.
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Address: 858 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC