Very underrated place! This is located in the Willamette Heritage Center, which also houses a museum and shops. The atmosphere is so cozy! The lighting is great and the place just feels warm and welcoming. We went in on a weekday about 11:30 and were seated immediately, although the place did slowly fill up. I ordered the Purple Majesty Tea, which was fantastic! I could have drank it all day! They serve the tea in oversized cups and bring you your own tea pot, so you can keep filling your teacup up. For my meal I chose the Calypso, which was healthy and tasty, just what I wanted. My coworkers tried the Sweet & Savory Burrito and the Farmer's Wife, which they also really enjoyed. If I come back to Salem, I'll definitely be stopping here! read more

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My Mom and I stopped by for lunch today. We ordered food and coffee, and got coffee. Then waited and waited and waited for about 40+ minutes. I realized people who had been seated after us were already eating their meals. So I got the servers attention and asked about the eta for our food? The server apologized and told us our food order had been lost between the cook shift changes. I am wondering how long we would have been waiting without food if I wouldn't have asked. We got free coffee and were given the offer to order again because our order was completely gone. But since we had been there for 50 minutes and I was late to get back to work. I didn't have time to wait, I will not be going back to this or the downtown location. read more

Super cute decor, plenty of parking and the staff was super friendly. They have vegetarian and gluten free options. I ordered the calypso and it was super yummy. They have plenty of tea options and will refill your cup with hot water. read more

Taproot - The Old Mill Cafe - The Calypso - Cafes Near Me - Salem, Oregon

It was a warm day and we ate outside by the stream. Service and food were spot on. No complaints. The tator tots and chicken burger are a must. read more

Great free parking area Excellent food and service I've been several times and never disappointed read more

Taproot - The Old Mill Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Beautiful presentation and yum. Relaxing atmosphere, quiet with light jazz in the background. If we lived in the area, we'd be regulars. read more

Taproot - The Old Mill Cafe - Strawberry Dream salad - Cafes Near Me - Salem, Oregon

The servers were so sweet and friendly. The hot cocoa was well portioned and tasted delightful. The chicken strips and fries were hot and fresh. The portions were large. The vegan chili was tasty, warm and hit the spot. What a quaint little place, filled with charm and the owner was there helping out and working hard. We hadn't been there before (always meant to!) and going during magic and the mill was a great forst experience, can't wait to go back. And the Bad Santa (adult's only hot chocolate) was large, a good value and warmed my bones right up on the chilly November evening. read more

Love the atmosphere of this place (reason for 2 stars), but the service needs work, and while most of the food is great, today, my food was a huge disappointment. I almost never write reviews, but this was bad and others in the party agreed. Most people in our group got what they paid for, and it was hearty. I got the (3) Taproot Tacos which are described as having "arugula, onion, cilantro, and molé" and cost $12. When they arrived, there was about 1-2oz. of chicken (approx. 5-7 little cubes) on each, literally a couple leaves of arugula, a small dash of molé, and no cilantro or onion. The only side was a 1/2 full, small cup of salsa. When I asked for more molé, the onion that should come with it, and some extra tomato to make a heartier breakfast, they did provide it. However, when the check came, they charged me $2 for a total of $14. This was per the "chef" according to the waitress. This ended up being (2) decent tacos after I added fried brussels sprouts and potatoes from others in the group. So, $7 per taco. Ouch. Plus, we have been going here once a month, every month, for at least a year and they suddenly want a reservation. I understand they want to staff appropriately, but we never know if it will be 4 people or 10. So, our group has decided to look elsewhere after the experience today. Love Tap Root in general, just not going back to this location. Good luck! read more

We had the most delicious breakfast. I had the Great Start Hash. It was perfection. He had the Salem Slam. Both were incredible. We are regulars at the downtown location but the food is often overcooked or just average. This was what you wish the food to be but never is. The ambiance was lovely. The decor was colorful and warm. The service was spot-on. We couldn't have asked for a better Sunday brunch. I wish I had brought my phone to take pictures. The food was as visually appealing as it was delicious. read more

So much of a review is based on your server. I'll try to split this into two parts. We sat outside on the deck. It was a warm sunny day, and we had a nice table with an umbrella. Atmosphere was very nice. Three of us were eating. My wife and I both ordered the Farmer's Wife for breakfast, and so did my daughter, but were confused by what we were getting. The menu didn't say whether or not it was a scramble, or if the eggs were separate from the rest. The server told us that, yes, it was a scramble. Because of that, my daughter changed her order to something else (The Classic). When our food arrived, the eggs were separate from the rest, and my daughter was wishing she'd known because it was made the way she would have wanted it. The cook was missing some ingredients for the Farmer's Daughter and had to substitute other veggies for the bell peppers. The food was good. Very tasty! Now, for the not-so-good. Our server was probably the worst I've ever seen. She did not smile or seem like she was happy to be working. Maybe she had a bad day (or night before) or was going through rough times. I don't know, but her heart was not into work. Not once did she ask if we wanted coffee or anything else to drink. We had water. I stopped her when she was walking by and asked for a soft drink, but it never arrived. Even taking care of the check at the end was painful. My credit card sat on the bill, on the table, for more than 20 minutes before she picked it up. That's when she realized she'd never brought me the soft drink I'd ordered. If I could split the review in two, I'd give the food and atmosphere probably 4 stars. The server earned a 1-star. read more

This was our first visit here. We arrived at 1 pm on a Sunday. It was busy but we were seated right away. The waitress brought menus and asked drinks. Water was brought and we told her we needed a minute to order. She came back very quickly and asked if we were ready and again we asked for a little more time. 45 minutes later she never showed up to take our order. We finally left. We were sad that we didn't get to try the food. I will go back again because it is a great spot. But I will make sure we do not have that same waitress again. I'm sad we didn't catch her name. read more

We enjoyed a delicious brunch served by Jennie, who was amazing! The outdoor seating area was quite lovely and stayed nice and cool, despite the high temperature yesterday. An unfriendly manager kept me from giving 5 stars. read more

I can't find a way to add a "tip" instead of a review, maybe because there's only one review so far? I'll just give a mediocre rating so it doesn't affect them too much. HOURS ONLINE and on their website are WRONG!!! They really need to update them. Showed up last night, Friday, at 4:45pm. Closed. It's so irritating to come in off the freeway and find a place is closed when Google, Yelp, maps, and their own website state otherwise. read more

Apparently management doesn't care if the staff are put between a rock and a hard place. Bloody Mary ingredients are clearly presented on the menu and sound great. The staff does their best job however management doesn't provide the full ingredients listed!! Wow really poor management. Food choices also are compromised by a lack of supply or planning? The ambience is nice and the staff friendly read more

Best place I've eaten at in Salem me and my husband stopped here for brunch and we really enjoyed it ! The staff is friendly and it was such a cute spot read more

Taproot - The Old Mill Cafe - Best place I've eaten at in Salem - Cafes Near Me - Salem, Oregon

The reviews here were mixed, but I'm glad i gave this place the chance! Wonderful patio seating. The ambiance is amazing in the old mill area. Our server Nic was AMAZING to the point where i will miss them lol! The restaurant is very sustainable, vegan and vegetarian friendly, and has a wide range of breakfast and brunch options. On top of the service being great, the food was fast, accurate, and delicious. Glad i got to eat here! read more

Let me preface this by saying I WANT taproot to be my favorite spot in Salem. I love the location/atmosphere at the old mill. They have a decent menu and great cooks. The food is good, the location is one of the best, but they have a serious staff problem. At the end of the review I have some advice for management who I hope monitors these reviews. My wife and I have gone to this location probably a half a dozen times now, and every time there is a problem, either servers didn't show up(our first visit) we had a server on his first day and missed some things (understandable, forgivable) or in the case today, the server clearly had an attitude and didn't want to be there. She didn't write anything down, messed up both of our orders, didn't apologize - just blamed others for her mistakes, wasn't friendly, and after the hostess told us to sit anywhere she became visibly upset at our choice of sitting at the one table outside with shade (it was wide open and not being reserved). When the food came, both my wife's and my orders were wrong, my wife's was missing things, which were eventually brought once I was done eating, and my entree was just a completely different entree than what I had asked for. I ended up just accepting it because it looked pretty good, and I didn't want to wait another half hour for the correct one to be made (it was good, kudos to the cooks). The hostess seemed really nice and genuine, I wish she had waited on us instead. I understand sometimes people have a bad day, but your entire attitude and demeanor doesn't change with that. I understand the server isn't the entirety of the restaurant, and the food and atmosphere are great, but at the end of the day, they have the biggest impact on the experience of the customer. My advice to Taproot management/ownership: get better servers, I know the restaurant industry in Salem is in a bit of a crisis right now, but the amount of restaurants closing their doors should be freeing up local talent. Find some qualified servers that do a good (not even great, but good) job, and put about 3-5k into the outdoor seating area. People go here for the atmosphere, which is one of a kind, lean into it, put out some nice tables with umbrellas, or build a patio cover or something that complements the scenery that shades your clients. If you need to, add a couple dollars to each of your menu items to pay for it. My wife and I, despite the hard time we've had coming here, will continue to come back, and if we see an improvement this review will be edited, I would love to turn this into a 5 star review, I just can't right now because I can only bank on there being service issues, which is a real bummer. read more

It's just the right space and room for parties to come and enjoy food and drink. You thrive on the artistic decorations of historic heritages, as well as the most modern Nixon and Chairman Mao meeting that has sparked the two most powerful nations' relationships! Maygen's Gin & Tonic is original spaniard drink that you don't want to miss. Alex's Eggs is perfect!! read more

Service yes, food is huge miss at this location. The the mill location has such potential and seemed sooo promising but the hours make zero sense. Why no nachos at this location !? Also , menu is continuously out of items. 4x trying this location and I'm probably done. Word travels fast and sadly I'm not the only one disappointed. Really hope this location figures themselves out read more

Great food, great beer/drinks and amazing service Has an awesome patio area and will definitely be our new neighborhood spot.

We have been trying every restaurant in Salem for quite some time now, we found this one quite a surprise! Way better than we anticipated. We ordered the Eggs Benedict and the Sweet and Savory Burrito and both were excellent! Service was just as impressive and our waitress must have come in from another planet as she was not the typical Salem server that we've experienced. She was friendly, fast and efficient! The setting itself is unique and special as it's in the Heritage Woolen Mill complex. I recommend this for and beautiful afternoon out! Be aware that their hours are limited! read more

Excellent service, food not so much. Had to wait for food but waiter told us in advance and we were fine to visit outside while waiting. I ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and sourdough toast. Eggs were inedible - cold, flat as a tortilla and rubbery, toast was barely buttered and bacon was actually quite good. Will not be eating here again. read more