I had a great experience here. The service was fast, friendly, and genuinely welcoming. The food…read morecame out quickly and tasted fantastic -- fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. I'll definitely be coming back.

Food: Everything was delicious. Coffee was really good. Quick and hot…read more Service: Very nice and attentive despite it being super busy. Ambiance: Cute decor. Love the mugs. Inclusive diner. Will definitely be returning. Just keep in mind we arrived 30-40 mins before opening and waited outside. It does get busy and there's a long line but we went in October so it might be different during another time that isn't peak for Salem.

I was looking forward to trying this restaurant for breakfast. The ambience is very nice and it has…read morethat New England quaintness that I like. However, the food was somewhat disappointing. The coffee wasn't that hot and the toast was somewhat burnt. The sweet potato hash could've been cooked a little more and would've benefited from some seasoning or onion. Service was somewhat poor. My waitress never came back to ask if I needed anything or if I wanted a refill on my coffee even though she did so for the table next to me. Apparently she abandoned me and the hostess later brought me the check. I find this rude. Not a good place for a solo dining experience.

Always excellent food here may I recommend the bowl of oatmeal it has clumpy raisins in it. That's…read moreabsolutely delicious. A little hint on your toast. Ask for the orange butter very very good. There's nothing on the menu that I haven't tried and didn't like, but it will have to say their coffee is spectacular. Very good service very pleasant people.

I just had a wonderful lunch today at the very charming Red's Sandwich Shop. I had a "Luv You Lox"…read morebagel sandwich. It was yummy! love that Red's serves breakfast and lunch all day long. They will even "custom order" your order if you like. Charming, cozy, service was super fast and friendly. Prices are very reasonable. The decor was eclectic and fun. The menu is always changing, which I like. The clientele comes from all over the world, which is no surprise. Great place to grab a meal if you are in Salem, MA.

Excellent Breakfast Spot! Food and service! There is plenty on the menu for everyone plus…read morespecials. The restaurant is much bigger than it looks on the outside! It's packed with people which says a lot about it on a weekday morning! Locals and tourists (like us!). We were seated right away, offered menus abd our server came back quickly to take our drink orders. I waa pleasantly surprised to see a nice selection of teas on the menu, only in New England. I ordered Ear Grey and it was perfectly seeped! Both my husband and I ordered the Farmer Don. Comes with Eggs, Protein (I ordered sausages and hubby had bacon), home fries and French Toast. I upgraded my French Toast to cinnamon and it was so good! Delicious and perfectly prepared food! Our excellent server was McKenzie! Thanks for a great breakfast!

loved! this was my first stop in Salem & it did not disappoint! My waitress was incredible - I wish…read moreI remembered her name to give a shout out but she was wearing a black bandana, had 2 braids & tattoos! The food was great - I had a GF egg & mushroom breakfast sandwich. the mushrooms were marinated and to die for! I also had a nutty professor latte which was 10/10! Overall, cute, cozy place & great experience!

Gulu-Gulu is a solid, casual stop if you're in Salem and need something quick and affordable…read more Gulu-Gulu Cafe has a laid-back, artsy vibe, but overall the atmosphere and food both fall pretty average, nothing bad, just nothing that really stands out. One plus is that they do have some gluten-free options, which is always appreciated, so it's definitely doable if you have a gluten allergy. Overall, it's a convenient lunch spot if you're nearby, affordable, easy but not necessarily a must-visit.

100/10 this place is always a must visit when I'm back in Massachusetts. From the coffee to the…read morecustomer service and the food-- EVERYTHING is delicious and wonderful!

a&j king artisan bakers is great for any sandwiches, bread or pastry cravings. it's very small,…read morethere was absolutely no seating available, so i had to take it to go. i came in 10 minutes to close (which is early, 3pm) and ordered a delicious cold turkey sandwich on fresh sourdough. it was on the menu including bacon, which i requested without, but i feel they should take off the upcharge for bacon if you're not getting it, especially because there's not a lot of turkey meat. the turkey sandwich with bacon is $3 more than the other sandwiches, probably because of the bacon. they have a huge case of fresh, delicious pastries and breads, what "p- bread" WISHES they could be. the sandwich was delicious though, i'll definitely be back for more. they also wrap their pickles thoroughly, it will take some time to unwrap them. turkey sandwich 9.5/10 ambiance: 4/5 (very small, no seats) food: 4.7/5 drinks: n/a service: 4/5 a&j king artisan bakers: 4.2/5

The Salem retreat is a very nice restaurant. They have outside seating as well in the summertime…read moreparking is around the back and there's plenty of it. Also, their breakfast is a well stacked their pancakes waffles French toast is excellent. Also, you could have a drink there. the coffee is pretty good. Also the wait it's nice polite and kind.

First things first I had no idea how to get to the parking lot in the back. If you don't go in…read morethrough the back you will awkwardly be standing at the front of the building waiting for someone to notice you because the hostess stand is in the back of the restaurant. Not very tourist friendly because we're all trying to figure out where we're going and looking at GPS and not even noticing that in dark letters on the sign it says there's a parking in the back that you don't notice until you've already found parking on a side street. Just a bit frustrating but not much to be done about it. I got a hot chocolate and it was fine, just a standard diner-like hot chocolate. Then the burrito came and although it was supposed to have cheese and chorizo in it, all I tasted was beans and pico de gallo. Barely tasted the eggs. It was HUGE also and the beans are filling so I couldn't finish it but I was just disappointed in the lack of balance in the flavors. I will say the apple cinnamon waffles were fantastic. The crumble on the top was my favorite part. I would just get that next time. I tried my mom's eggs benedict and did not like the hollandaise so I'm glad I didn't get that, I think the waffles might be their specialty.

What a cool and tasty coffee shop…read more We had the Ham and Cheese and Bacon Pastry. Both were delicious. We also enjoyed the Chai Latte and Carmel Macchiato. Both were delicious and flavorful. The service was prompt and quick. No complaints! The ambiance is what you would guess for Salem, MA.

Friendly customer service, nice and cool seating area that's pretty spacious. They have a clean…read morebathroom with a passcode. The food was great, we ended up there 2 days in a row. Kids had a strawberry mango smoothie that was recommended--I'm that annoying customer that asks what's popular or what they like. They also tried an Apple turnover I think? And a chocolate muffin. The next day I tried the ham and cheese crepe, which was a change up for me, I've only had sweet crapes--this one was nice and savory. My son got the Nutella waffle, it was huge and messy. My daughter got the turkey sandwich, that was delish, it came with chips.

I had my wedding here in May, so this will be a long but all encompassing review of all different…read moreaspects of the Hawthorne. When I was looking for venues, I wanted all inclusive and one location. I spoke with Christine Madigan via email and then over the phone. She assured me that the Hawthorne did weddings well. We booked, signed contracts, set up a room block and everything. The room block: 3/5 stars I originally worked with Beth who set everything up for me and then was transferred to Rob as positions changed. I initially had 15 rooms in my block which we filled pretty quickly, but I saved one for my husbands grandmother so she could stay onsite. She called to book a room and was told there were no rooms. There were rooms so I called and spoke with Rob because she was pretty upset. He assured me we had rooms and for grandma to call him directly. Evidently the folks at the front desk didn't understand how the room block was intended to work. This happened over and over and over again. I really wish they would have set it up so my guests could book online because I heard from nearly half of my guests that either they couldn't get the days we were promised or the room type they wanted. I even had 3 couples stay at another hotel because of this so Hawthorne lost out on money because they couldn't get their booking system organized. One of my couples ended up in a room with a TWIN BED for 2 people. How is that even possible? Meanwhile I had a single person in a room with 2 queen beds and 2 bathrooms? Like I get accommodating people's requests, but a little critical thinking and communication would have gone a long way for comfort here. I doubt those people will come back to this hotel for this reason, which is sad because its such a lovely place. The menu tasting: 5/5 stars We were invited to a tasting of hors d'oeuvres, dinner selections, wine, cocktails and wedding cake. It was amazing to be able to sample items we wanted to serve without doing so blindly. Their food is phenomenal so we were excited to be able to share this with our guests. Wedding planning: 5/5 stars I received packets of information before booking Hawthorne as my venue, so I was aware of the pricing up front. I was even able to create a quote using their pricing sheet so nothing was a surprise. Christine was available to answer all of my questions throughout the process. As we got closer, she gave us homework to complete so we were ready for our big day. We created a signature mocktail, filled out place cards, went over our timeline, dropped off welcome bags, etc. Everything leading up to our wedding day (outside of booking guest rooms) was super smooth and easy. Pretty much everything was provided by the venue. I only had to book a photographer, content creator, photo booth, DJ and HMU on my own. The rest was handled for me which really made things so much smoother. We ended up well under budget, too! Wedding day: 3.5/5 stars If I could go back, I would hire a dedicated day of coordinator who worked specifically for me and not the venue. Christine was great, and did her job well, but she wasn't dedicated to me the entirety of the evening. And she and my mom were butting heads over things we were promised and not delivered. My mom did my wedding florals. We asked in advance if we could have refrigerator space and a private room to set up in. We were told we could have both, and on the day of, there was magically no fridge space, access to water, or a secure room to work in. It was extremely frustrating to be promised things and then not have those promises fulfilled. We were able to pivot and adapt, but that added so much stress to me on a day where I should not have added stress. The room she was working in was also being used as storage for a wedding the following weekend. The hotel has tons of space so I'm not sure why it had to be there but it seemed at that point it was a battle of wills more than anything. My photo booth company arrived right at the time we were about to start our ceremony, which was planned in advance, but the way the rooms were set up he ended up being in the lobby. This turned out to be really fun for wedding guests and random hotel guests to watch, but it was a bit awkward at first. Some of the items we brought for our reception were not brought down and we had to track people down to retrieve those. There was a room upstairs that was dedicated for us to hide away in and eat our appetizers, but I wanted to be with my guests and the appetizers never made it to me and my husband so I was told they were good but I didn't get to try them all. Dinner was absolutely amazing. However, I heard SO MANY complaints afterward about our bartender. I guess he was rude, and terrible at making drinks and when people tried to go to the other bar they got turned away. Overall I had the best day ever and would do it over again with a few tweaks :)

My boyfriend and I recently stayed at the Hawthorne Hotel for a short staycation. We live nearby…read moreand chose the hotel specifically for its history, haunted reputation, and because the price point included what we were told would be complimentary breakfast. The room itself was nice and comfortable, and we were surprised (in a good way) to find that it was a double room. In terms of the "haunted" experience, we did hear some tapping noises coming from the closet shortly after settling in. It was definitely spooky, and my boyfriend barely slept, hoping it would happen again--but it didn't. Still, it added to the atmosphere we were looking for. Unfortunately, the experience took a turn the next morning. When we went down for breakfast, we were informed that we needed a voucher or token that we were never given. I went back to the room to call the front desk for clarification and was told that breakfast was only included if you were given a "certificate," which was never explained at booking. My boyfriend then went to speak to the front desk himself, since he made the reservation (even though I was present when it was booked). He was told that no one ever told him breakfast was included, and the interaction felt accusatory--as though he was being accused of lying. This was uncomfortable and disappointing, especially since we booked the stay based on that information. Adding to that discomfort, as we exited the elevator to head to breakfast, we could hear two front desk staff members chatting enthusiastically. When they noticed us, the conversation abruptly stopped, and they stared as we walked by. It created an awkward and unwelcoming feeling. One was a gentleman with longer hair, and the other was a woman with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. The manager was also involved in the conversation with my boyfriend. I do want to highlight the positives: The server at Nathaniel's was extremely kind and pleasant, and another woman working in the restaurant was also warm and helpful. The room itself was nice, and the restaurant service was genuinely the best part of our stay. That said, due to the front desk and management experience, this is not a hotel we would choose to stay at again--neither for the haunted experience nor for the treatment we received. Salem has many hotel options, and while we wanted this stay to be something special, it fell short. We were hoping to leave a glowing review, but aside from the room and restaurant staff, the overall experience left us disappointed.

Absolutely nails that warm, welcoming morning vibe with food that feels made with real care--fresh,…read moresatisfying, and consistently delicious. You can tell there's pride in every detail, and the owner is genuinely one of the most amazing parts of the experience. Super kind, hands-on, and clearly passionate about what they're building.

Oh. Mah. Gawrsh. I don't even know how we ended up here. I think our uber dropped us off at the…read morecorner and we just sort of stumbled in but holy moly am I glad we did! The place is tiny but it was p a c k e d. We sat at the only 2 chairs at the bar and were quickly greeted with menus and drink requests. Everyone around us had fat plates full of food that looked amazing so we just ordered with our hearts. I had the 2 egg breakfast with sausage, scrambled eggs, and pumpkin pie pancakes. Hubs had the Why Choose with apple pie pancakes. Mary was our server and she was absolutely amazing. The whole kitchen crew was having fun with each other as well as those of us still in the restaurant. This is hands down THE BEST diner food I have ever had. Truly delicious. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but please make a point to stop in here during your Salem visit. You will be happy you did!

i'm surprised this place didn't come up when i was looking for places to eat, we were walking by…read moreand the food looked great so we decided to go in. we'll definitely be back, the food and the service were amazing.

If you're navigating the beautiful chaos of "tourist trap central" while in Salem, MA, do yourself…read morea favor and skip the overhyped, crowded "Ugly Mug Diner" down the street. Fountain Place Restaurant is just a few blocks away and had zero line. It's definitely got the "tourist trap price" as we walked away spending a little over $100 for a breakfast for three after tax and tip--but honestly, for the quality, the location and speed of service, it felt worth the splurge. The food was well-seasoned and not super greasy (which is usually the typical "diner food" struggle). We went all in on a spread: the Big Breakfast with a pancake, a savory crepe, the hash grilled cheese, a blueberry muffin, and a side slice of French toast. Everything was so good that our group of three actually finished it all! Skip the french toast and go for the pancake. This spot has that classic, cozy vibe without the "greasy spoon" after-feel. If you want a delicious, reliable meal away from the massive lines, this is your spot!