Sammy J's is THE townie breakfast joint in Salem, NH. It's that place that everyone knows everyone, although that shouldn't make a stranger feel out of place. I've been going here for years so it's time to write an review for it! Ambience: How should I describe it? Imagine the movie Grease. The floor is a black-and-white checkered pattern design, the seats are red, the stools on the counter are round, red and metal-ish. It has a very 1960's old school feel to it. Food: Great selection of breakfast assortment. I usually get the two-egg (sunny-side up to dip my bread in), bacon strips, sausage links, baked beans with a side of toast. Grease-spoon style at its best. The coffee here is AMAZING - probably the best non-Starbucks coffee I've had. Service: The waitresses are nice and refills your coffee/water with good rotations. They love to use the word "hun" for everything so get used to it. "What would you like hun?", "Need a refill on the coffee hun?", "All set hun?", "Here's the bill hun!", etc. Price: One meal with a coffee or OJ is under $10. Overall, it's my favorite place to go for breakfast. My only recommendations are to open past noon on weekends and to accept credit cards... maybe it's just me struggling to get up and make it there on time (Maddie's nearby is opened until 2 pm) or the crazy guy who never uses cash unless he needs to (I feel like I'm losing out on potential cash back/points). Everything else just has that perfect townie atmosphere and experience. read more

Friendly from the moment we walked in the door. Their pancakes are amazing lots of fruit options to add. They know how to grill an English muffin unlike a lot of local places in the area and their omelets are delicious. Good value!! read more

Sammy's J's,......Hands down the best breakfast in Salem!!! We have been there many times. The food is always fantastic and the portions are always very large!!! read more

Meh. Nothing to write home about. Omelette with barely melted cheese. Mushrooms from a can. Mediocre at best. Really wanted to like this place but not impressed. read more

Sammy J's is a place where my friends and I often host "Breakfast Club". About 8 or 10 of us all pack into the giant table in the window and do up a Sunday morning post-party right. Last year we even hosted the Xmas $1.00 Yankee Swap here and our waitress joined in. Hard plastic tables and chairs, and some tables covered in good 'ol utilitarian "wipe up the crap that toddler just spilled" vinyl tablecloths don't make for anything pretty, (And it's a little strange that the place moonlights as an ice cream shop) but they do serve some great breakfast. You can view the menu here: http://www.menupix.com/salemnh/restaurants.php?id=710114# Omelets: hearty, and they have several vegetarian options. French toast, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches: they do the standards right. The specials are well worth the price. Their home fries are awesome. Coffee is a little weak for my taste, but bottomless. Staff is usually friendly but I've had a couple of weird moments, but maybe she was just having a bad day. Overall, when I'm back in my old stomping ground, I'm willing to drive the 18 minutes to go here than stay in Haverhill. A more than decent diner. read more

Great spot for breakfast for my family & I, never had a bad meal. Coffee is always fresh & hot, cash only with ATM out back, friendly staff. read more

Sammy J's - Corn Beef & Cheese Omelette, Home Fries and English muffin. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Salem, New Hampshire

Nice diner, with a regular menu, pleasant staff and quality ingredients. Definitely, one for the breakfast list. They share space with an ice-cream shop, which is a bit unusual, but provide great benefits to both, as they each have ample seating when busy. The style of the place is a bit out of sorts with the area, but still fun. The sign on the back doors reads "NO CLEATS", which tells all. This is a local haunt that attracts the locals. If looking for a different sort of local diner experience, this place should go on the list. read more

There are many places to eat a Sunday breakfast after church but this one by far takes the cake. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful and the food is delicious no to mention the portion sizes. This is an A++ in my eyes read more

Yes, yelp they are OPEN Sunday's and it was comfortably busy. Very friendly and attentive wait staff. Portions generous, Clean, etc. The menu, fantastic variety of choices for all cravings. The Eggs Benedict outstanding and they made home fries like they should be; crispy on one side and tender juicy all over. Hungry yet! An upbeat, great food location to start your day! You will be satisfied. You'd never know about this gem (parking out front limited so deceiving if it's a happening place...more out back). Enjoy! read more

If you want a home cooked breakfast but don't feel like cooking this is the place!! My wife and I always have our favorite server Emily she's the sweetest!! Always quick hot and delicious read more

I the sausage biscuit and gravy, I'm allergic I eggs so I asked if I could substitute something in place of the eggs, the waitress said, we don't do substitutes, They won't substitute anything, but they will still charge you for something you didn't eat. read more

Great service and great staff. Food is good and portion and price work !! I will be making this my weekend spot !!!

We travel from Boston to New Hampshire often and wanted to try something new, so glad we did. The waitstaff was very friendly. The place was clean. Our food came quickly. Out of all the breakfast places we've eaten at in the Salem area, this was the best. I think we found our new go-to breakfast place. read more

I used to love this place. I hadn't been in awhile because there are more breakfast options to try in the area. Went back today. . Waitress was unfriendly, toast was barely toasted and it had some bright yellow fake butter slapped on it, eggs were under cooked, potatoes were cold. If the waitress was nicer I would have talked to her about it, but I will just learn my lesson and not go back. It's a shame because I used to enjoy it there. read more

Sammy J's - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Salem, New Hampshire

OMG. Totally DISGUSTING.. Went today and they gave my food to someone else.. No biggie.. Stuff happens.. The person started eating it.. When the mistake was discovered they sent the food back into the kitchen for a re-make. Well... What they did was re-make what the person had eaten and sent it back out to me. So.. They replaced anything he had taken a bite out of but not the entire meal.. That's lazy, careless and disgusting.. I will not return there.. The waitress was embarrassed when she realized what the kitchen had done.. I can only imagine, if they thought this was appropriate, what else goes unseen.. read more

Cheap, fast and delicious. It's the quintessential American breakfast joint attached to a large ice cream stand. It can get really busy and they have two entrances which both have lines at them. They serve a variety of breakfast meals which are all quite large and you definitely get your money's worth. There were only a couple of drawbacks. First, the parking lot is a total mess. It's behind the building with a one car lane getting to it and get's filled up quickly. The second thing I noticed was the disgusting bathroom. It didn;t look like it had been cleaned in months, which did not at all jive with the rest of the restaurant which was spotless. My last issue was that it's cash only. It's not a big deal, but they have a crappy ATM in the location which works 50% of the time. read more

Just got back from eating here with my mother and my baby after craving a good breakfast for the last 2 weeks. When we walked in we were yelled at to sit on the other side - only the other side didn't have any open tables so she (regretfully) allowed us to sit at the booths despite it being 11 and time for them to close that side of the restaurant. I ordered the big boy which comes with 2 eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, home fries and pancakes or french toast for $8.50. I added blueberries to my pancakes and substituted my ham for extra bacon. My mom got one egg, beans and toast with a coffee. When my food came I swear I had maybe HALF of a scrambled egg, all teeny tiny scraps of what appeared to be leftover from someone else's order and I had the normal order of bacon- 3 small slices - no extra and no ham. The sausage was ity bitty and the home fries were seasoned well but mushy. Sounds like a lot of food right? $22 later, I nearly finished my meal and I'm still hungry - and I'm not a big girl. I won't be going back because the quality of their food is equal to dennys or ihop so you might as well just drive another minute down the road and get a good portion for less money. Also, I was really craving eggs and they gypped me. I want my egg! read more

We come here very frequently on the weekends for breakfast. It's nothing fancy, but honestly it has everything you could want at a diner. The wait is always short, the staff is very attentive/friendly, and portion sizes are generous for the price. We have never been disappointed with a meal there! read more

I'm appalled at the quality of the ingredients served to me. The coffee was watered down, the toast had weird tasting "butter"...obviously not real...cheese inside my omelet was greasy and cheap. The worst excuse for hollandaise sauce I've ever seen. I can't believe the waitress even gave it to me. I will never come back...there are 1,000 other places I'd rather eat at. GROSS doesn't even fully describe this place. stay away!!!!! read more

Sammy J's - What is this???? I would never serve this!!!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Salem, New Hampshire

Walked in to place a pick up order and was surprised to over hear the management staff speaking in a demeaning tone to staff. It was so disturbing I changed my mind and went to another establishment in the area. The language was unacceptable and it was evident that the person speaking didn't realize he could be overheard. This type of establishment staff young adults and this is not the way to speak to employees with little experience. Would not recommend and I will not reattempt. read more

This was the second time I'v been here and the the first time I went here it was awesome. The second time me and my friend we're looking for somewhere to go get breakfast so we decided to go to Sammy J's. The service was very nice and funny, even though it was busy in there the service was still quick. The food was ok, both of my friends got omelet's and I got pancakes. The pancakes were not the best I've had they were very heavy and they were covered in butter, after about 1 pancake I didn't feel good and I was still starving. My friends said the omelets were ok and also not the best but i don't know if I would recommend this restraint or not :| read more

Giving 3 stars because of the food and price, definitely not the service. This used to be my go-to breakfast place, but sadly not anymore. Food was delicious as usual, but the service is getting worse. Visited on 8/23 around 10am, place was not busy at all, we seated ourselves, and waited 10 minutes before our waitress acknowledged us. We ordered our coffee and milks,and our food, which did come out quickly and was delicious. Service was subpar, waitress never asked if we wanted refills our drinks, never asked if we needed anything, and was not at friendly. Overheard her telling another customer how many different places she worked at... and wasn't surprised, because she was not a good waitress at all. Sorry Sammy J's... will not be back. read more

I don't post often but had to today. The only reason I gave these guys 2 stars was because they delivered the food hot. Eggs were undercooked, waffle was flat and the strawberries were frozen. Coffee was watered down and we only were refilled once. Never going again. Ever... my in-laws love this place, but they only get an English muffin. Go figure. read more

Wonderful breakfast. Stopped here in our way to airport to go home Loved the ambience and had a a great opportunity to listen to the people's accents! It was great read more

The food is good but the wait staff...if all of them combined made a single brain...I'd be very surprised...sometimes you just can't fix stupid read more

Decided to go here rather than Maddie's. The breakfast was OK. The scrambled eggs done right, home fries, sausage and toast good, blueberry pancakes adequate. This was fine all we wanted was a basic breakfast. What we did not want was a loud waitress who's voice rocked the building. She was nice but not overly attentive. The noise level in the smaller side room was high enough......I would not sit back there again. Please tone down the bellowing voice it's breakfast people want quiet. read more

Great atmosphere, super friendly staff. Portions are huge, food is tasty. Did I mention portions were huge? The place puts IHOP to shame with huge pancakes. Atmosphere: WWII posters, plus some other old timey posters to decorate the walls. read more

Waitresses we very nice, but the food was horrible. Pancakes were grainy, homefries not fully cooked and waffle was soggy. But the coffee was good. Tried it, didn't like it, won't be back. read more

I recently left a bad review for Sammy J's based on our experience with a waitress and since we had a few pleasant experiences prior ,we wanted to come back sooner than later. We ate at Sammy J"s again this past saturday,to see what our experience would be compared to our past visits. For starters we were happy to see the waitress we had written the prior complaint about was not there. My wife and I agreed that her not being ther made our whole experience much better. Sammy J was busy and the wait time for our food was a little more than our previous visits,,but we enjoyed the service today and people around us seemed happier too. We will be back some time in the future Thank you Jack read more

The only thing preventing this wonderful, clean, and roomy place from 5 stars in my opinion, is that they don't have homemade corned beef hash. My husband and I have been here a few times, staff is always friendly and food is always great. Quick service, although we usually go during the week, so it is slower. One of our top places to go, If they had homemade CBH we wouldn't go anywhere else! read more

I went here for the first time last weekend as the wait at my usual place Maddie's was at 50 minutes. We sat down within a couple of minutes but after that the service was a little bit lacking. The food was good once we got it but I think we waited close to 30 minutes to get our food. Next time I will just be waiting the 50 minutes. read more

Chose this place over the usual choice because it was closer to somewhere we had to be in Salem and seemed to have great reviews. Waiting to get a table was probably the shortest wait we experienced here. It didn't seem to be overwhelmingly busy, but we waited a good 10 minutes before someone even came over to bring coffee. A lady eventually came over with a couple mugs and poured one, then said she'd be right back with a spoon. Never ended up getting that spoon, nor did anyone else get a drink. The longest 5 minutes ever followed that, when she finally came back to ask if we were ready (of course, we've been sitting here with menus closed and an empty table for 20 minutes now). Got to order a water and a juice, and our meals. Another 5 minutes passed, still no water or juice. Looking around the room we were seated in, it seemed as though we weren't the only table having this problem. Managed to snag the waitress and ask for our drinks that were still missing and she said yup they'll be right out, to which she followed up with actually ordering them at the bar behind us and having someone else bring to the table. Got our food about 45 minutes after being seated, it was okay, nothing to write home about. After being finished, took another 10 minutes for someone to clear the table and eventually bring us our check. Thankfully had cash on me since they don't take cards and we were able to get out of there quickly and make it to our next stop of the day. All in all, I'd choose my favorite place in Pelham over Sammy J's even if it wasn't on the way to where my day had been planned. The waitress seemed to be way more interested in chatting up her friends and making sure they were taken care of over anyone else in the restaurant. read more

Very good waffles, good coffee, assorted muffins and pastry are good, and home made oatmeal. very nice wait staff. read more

I had the breakfast sandwich. The bacon was crispy and english muffin was fresh. We also had the corned beef hash and eggs also well prepared. The staff was super friendly. Great place for breakfast definitely will come again. read more

+: we're giving this place 5 stars because it is a good quality, fair priced, many optioned mom and pop's breakfast joint! Food tastes great, Service is friendly, food comes out relatively fast and it's not as greasy as most diners....portions are huge and specials are always wide variety! Jaime (the waitress) very sweet!!! Maddies: which is up the street is overpriced and hyped up with too long of a wait and overcrowded, small portions and expensive!!!! Eat at sammy j's instead!!!! -: parking lot is weird ...there's more spaces in the back! read more

Food went down hill. Our server was nice but 20 minutes is to long for breakfast especially when it's not busy.

Sammy J's fits the bill when you're looking for good old fashioned diner food. They serve up a great breakfast, greasy spoon style, although they do offer 'healthy' choices as well. The waitstaff is friendly and attentive enough that I am never left wanting for anything. The atmosphere is bland on the non-diner side but like I said, the food is good, service works for me so I can overlook the lack of ambience and warmth. read more

Sammy J's offers the full Sunday breakfast experience. We were seated immediately and quickly poured a delicious cup of coffee. The decor was classic diner and everything was clean and tidy. I ordered blueberry pancakes and the boyfriend ordered the big boy breakfast. Our orders were delicious. Also, the waitresses were happy to make substitutions so we could create our perfect Sunday breakfast. I would highly recommend Sammy J's and I will find some excuse to visit Salem again soon and sneak in another visit to Sammy J's!! read more

Nothing to really brag about, first of all there wasn't anything special about their food, no wow factor. Second my wife found a hair in her eggs and home fries, ugh. will not return. Our search continues for a great breakfast joint. read more

Went there today for lunch. Friendly atmosphere and waitresses. The food is great. I had a tuna melt that was to die for. The only thing I found kind of funny was they show "hand cut fries" on the menu. When I asked for them the waitress said, we don't have them, you have to call ahead of time to see if we are going to have them at lunch. WHAT? Everyone has told me their hand cut fries are just wonderful and they don't have them every day? The owner needs to the his act together and change that. When you have an item in a restaurant that supposedly is that good, you need to have them all the time. Never mind this "call ahead" junk. I'll have to remember this if I ever go there again for lunch. Maybe my next time I will have to try breakfast. Hope I don't have to order the eggs ahead of time. LOL read more