You can still get great food here and have an amazing experience. But it's not automatic anymore. Families have come here as a special treat/event for over 40 years. Tonight went with some friends after work on a Saturday late like 9pm. Sat at a table in the bar area. The ambience and decor is very welcoming, very soothing. Waitress was attentive and in rhythm with our needs. Drinks were basic and easy. Beer and wine. House Chardonnay was palatable. One friend got a vodka martini with olives and seemed pleased. Prime Rib can be tricky. I tried. Got a smaller version and ordered it medium. I order various steaks different ways, based on the cut and the location. Everything from rare to well done. The prime rib came out raw and basically Un edible. I hate to and rarely send things back but I asked to have it cooked more. It came back really quickly and still raw. I told the waitress I would take it home and cook it or I would like an entirely different steak. I settled on a top sirloin and asked that it be well done. I figured they would scorch it, but it came out well done not overcooked and it was excellent. Glad I stayed with it. I had eaten my baked potato with butter prior and that held me over and was great. I also ordered a bowl of clam chowder as an appetizer which was also very good but on the cool side, not very hot. Surprisingly had the same experience with sister restaurant in Beverly "The Depot" where the clam chowder was well done but cool not hot. Great Prime Rib that day! This is not an inexpensive restaurant, so I want it to be epic every time. It is still nostalgic. Will try again in the not too far off future and hope to upgrade review to 5 stars.... read more

Beef Wellington was good, the salad bar was excellent. The service and atmosphere were great. Our waitress was very attentive, pleasant and accommodating. read more

Since 1975 this gem has never disappointed. Had dinner last night with a group of friends to take advantage of their summer special three-course price fixe menu. Once again, it hit the mark. We all got the sirloin steak which was perfectly charred on the outside, cooked perfectly in the inside, and melted like butter in our mouths. The salad bar is always a hit and dessert as well. They had hand sanitizers at the entrance and by the salad bar which was a plus. Service was attentive but not intrusive and our water glasses were never empty. A wonderful dinner all around. read more

My first time to the Hardcover and I was impressed beyond words. Sadly, I understand that it's closing on May 1st, but if you love old-school steakhouses and can get there in the next few days, GO! Even the salad bar was outstanding - and includes loaves of their own phenomenal Italian bread that you slice yourself. (I could have made my whole meal just at the salad bar.) My steak was perfection, as was the calamari appetizer. Three servers took care of us and they were amazing, too. Again, go NOW if you can - it's not cheap but so worth every penny! read more

Sadly disappointed with size and presentation of fried calamari appetizer. The calamari was tasty but it was a very small portion for $18 and the banana peppers were just put on the side. Sad that expectations were too high but these days just accept WE they give you. Not ev lemon which I think should be a standard item. read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

All I can say is WOW. I haven't been to the hardcover since I was a kid, yet being pregnant I heard about their private function space and my family and I decided to give them a shot to host my baby shower. The day couldn't of been more perfect. Emily, the event manager was amazing to work with. I had a smaller shower with about 25 people and the room she selected was absolutely perfect for the event. The food was amazing, the breakfast/brunch buffet was a HIT. There was more then enough food to go around. The scones were delicious as well as the chicken salad sandwiches. The way they set the food up was exactly what we wanted and envisioned. Gary one of the servers was really great and attentive to our party. A true gem! My family really liked how they could come in and decorate the room an hour before the event started, a nice touch. We will definitely be considering them for any future events we may hold as we had such a great time. We will also be in for dinner and after my babies born a drink at the bar - ha. Thank you to the staff at the hardcover and Emily for taking good care of us! Support local! Bravo! read more

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Food was delicious! Service spotty, salad bar boring but fresh. Decor needs updating, think it's the same from 1985. Hubby and I went for anniversary, both started with the French Onion soup, and it was so good! Not salty like so many other places. I had the beef Wellington, cooked perfectly at med-rare and delicious. Hubby had tenderloin medallions and baked stuffed shrimp combo - very good, but would recommend getting the filet instead of sliced medallions. Cocktails were awesome, too. read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - Beef Wellington and French Onion Soup- awesome! - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

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4 stars for food and customer service. We had to wait almost an hour to be seated despite having reservation (for a group of 10) so I was starving by the time we sat down. But this is where the salad bar and bread/cheese area saved me. I will never complain about unlimited bread and cheese! The appetizers were good, especially the fried calamari. For entrees we mainly ordered steak and all of them were well seasoned and cooked to order, expect one which was ordered rare but cooked to medium - and they happily replaced it. The side dishes of rice were cold and very hard, and they also replaced these, no questions asked. However next time I would get the side of baked potato rather than rice, because it was definitely more flavorful. Very satisfied with customer service, and although the food had a few minor issues, service definitely made up for it. read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - prime top sirloin - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

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Really amazing atmosphere. The food was really good but I asked for my steak medium well and it definitely came more on the medium/rare side but it was really yummy. The dessert is also really good. But the salad bar is the best part! read more

We were greeted and seated immediately, host was friendly and was sanitizing menu as we arrived, which was nice to see. My wife and I came hear hoping to enjoy at least some conversation, the main dining room was so loud it made that pretty much impossible. Would be better if there was some type of separation instead of just one big open dinning room. We ordered drinks and I ran to the restroom, which at least for the men's room is really cramped. Drinks were there by the time I got back and our order was taken promptly. My order ended up being the 8oz Filet Mignon with a baked potato, it came with the salad bar, which was very fresh and flavorful, best part of the dinner. The waitress returned 15 minutes or so later with our meals and all I heard was a stern "excuse me" which likely came off a lot more harsh due to the volume in the dining room. The Filet Mignon was either cheap or not really the Filet, it had some fat in it and wasn't as tender as I expect from a Filet, Top Sirloin perhaps? However, the cut was both seasoned perfectly and cooked to a perfect, as requested, medium rare. The bake potato was average. (Better than the bland rice) The waitress checked on us once but didn't think it was odd that so much food went untouched, we declined boxes, should have been another hint. We didn't once see an identifiable manager in the dining room, perhaps she was afraid to ask because of no support anyway? Overall "Disappointed in Danvers". COVID: The check stays at the table the entire time, which is nice. Again, the menus were being wiped down upon entry, which was great. No masks on anybody, which I thought was current state mandate. And I suppose bussing the table after the main course was a way to keep things clean, but it just left us with a wet table and wet arms. read more

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Before turning in the night we wanted to have quiet dinner. Well the roaring sound out this place was not it! Google review said this would be a quieter and slower time to come being closer to 8pm, that however was false! Lol but we lucked out and was actually seated right away in the dining room. There was two hosts answering phones and seating guests. Made eye contact and greeted us right away. I ordered the baked scallops 8oz with rice pilaf. The dish the scallops were served in was so hot, when I accidentally touched it when moving my plate left a red mark on my finger. Scallops were over cooked and had hardly any flavor. Rice was bland. No flavor what so ever. The peppers in it completely raw. The meal was a complete disappointment considering the price. Waitress has to aggressively yell at you to be heard. No masks policy and tables are not socially distanced. Nice to see that your ticket stays at the table with you in a cubby under the table. I only ate a few scallops and only one fork full of the rice. Waitress never asked if everything was okay or even curious on why I hadn't finished my meal and declined a box. After removing our plates, came back and bussed the table while we were waiting for our check. Left the table completely soaked. The waitstaff never stopped moving! Not rude at all. Please do not come here if you are socially challenged with high anxiety and or can't be in loud crowds. read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - Baked scallops with rice pilaf - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

Ate here tonight. Waitress tried to overcharge for a beer my husband never had. She insisted. The manager Denise was a real DB. Extremely rude and commmited fraud. Our friend ended up paying for it just to shut her up. Glad they are closing. Gone completely downhill. read more

This is one of the oldest restaurants on Route 1 it was always great. Still is. No matter what you get it was always cooked perfect. Steak or you can get steak and scallops or steak and shrimp or any kind of seafood. Then they had a bar menu steak tips and other things the vegetables will always fresh and they had a real great salad bar one of the best I've ever had. I always got full from what they gave me their drinks were very reasonable but I was always so full that I couldn't even get dessert. But they did have some good desserts. Their bar area had some TVs if I wanted to catch a game and have good dinner I could do that. Now I heard they are closing their doors. Costco bought the land unfortunately. Hardcover will be missed read more

Lived in Danvers for years; but never got around to trying this place until a couple months ago. We've been 4 times since! The atmosphere is very retro which is my favorite thing about this place. My husband loves the steak. Wouldn't bring my little kids here. read more

We had our parents 50th Anniversary dinner there tonight. Andy was amazing from the start. Very accommodating and patient. The waitress assigned to us was amazing. I wish I had remembered her name. Everyone loved the food. I'd definitely have another gathering here again. read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - a table set for a meal - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

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No stars Enjoy the recycled cheese and crackers are a no way. This place could use a manager. Amazing that with the unsanitary condition the roof leaking above the bar . Outdated unsanitary lavatories. I see how they require patrons to be carried out from being over served. This place is an embarrassment. If your a patron Don't eat the crackers and stay away from that salad bar . They really use it daily. Very unhappy with this place and lack of management. read more

Ruined my cake and my birthday destruction of my property non-apologetic about anything acted like he felt bad the manager and then was not at all when I left read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - , they destroyed my cake after I asked him not to take it away from me and then I wanted to cut it myself - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

Horrible service at the bar. If you feel like waiting 10 minutes or longer to make eye contact with the bartender to then ignore you, this place is for you! Food is mediocre at best. Prices are more than fair read more

I recently ate at this restaurant as part of a private event, a baby shower. The food was pretty good and I was happy with the parking lot, there are lots of spaces available. The restaurant itself is clean and quite spacious inside. The wait staff was very friendly. I was also happy with the cleanliness of the bathroom and the premises in general. The reason I have deducted a star is due to a lack of gluten-free options, one of them being gluten free dinner rolls/bread. Other than that, I enjoyed my experience and I would recommend this restaurant. read more

There were six of us. Food and service were excellent. Steaks were perfectly cooked. Salad bar was well stocked and fresh. I gave it four stars because i asked them if I could have my check separately. They told me they don't do that on Saturday. ????. That was a stupid answer. Instead of six people, if we had come in separately and sat two at a table, they would have had to bill me separately. Never been to a place that wouldn't give me a separate bill. Nevertheless, I would recommend this place, and I would also recommend that you make reservations, especially on the weekends. The wait can be very long. read more

Went for dinner last night and ordered the Beef Wellington appertizer The meat had no taste and seemed to be several days old. Then half way through my meal I noticed several couples all duces looking at the floor and I can't make this up a rat about 8 inches ran across the floor and found a wall then ran out of the small dining area into the larger part of the restaurant where the bar is. At first it seemed comical but after I thought about it I had to stop eating. The waiter saw it too and told the manger who went into hiding away from this dining area... Too bad its a long week end. Danvers Board of health will be getting a call form me first thing Tuesday morning January 2nd read more

What a great restaurant!!! Our family hosted a dinner at The Hardcover after our dad's memorial service on the first Saturday in August. All 15 of us who enjoyed the dinner that night agree that The Hardcover is top notch!! The steaks and seafood were absolutely delicious and the salad bar was fantastic. Our server did a wonderful job, too. Excellent, attentive, friendly service. We even had our own area on the second floor that was private that enabled us to converse with ease during a busy time at the restaurant. They really made this special event just perfect. We'll definitely return!! Highly recommend!!! Many thanks to the management and staff. We appreciate you! read more

Good size portions, old style atmosphere but still a great spot to stop in have a drink and get some comfort food.

Once again never a bad meal. Went to the Hardcover with my wife for a post-birthday dinner. Salad items were fresh and they keep it well stocked. We both got Prime Rib. It came out fast and the way each of us ordered it came out how we liked it. The staff was kind and did not rush us. They did check in on us but not overly which was good. Noise level even though busy was nice in comparison to other times. The only personal issue I had was I got grilled asparagus some pieces were over charred also the rice pilaf had onions in it which I did not like but that is just a personal preference but it was not worth saying anything as they probably pre-make it. read more

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This is kind of an old-school style restaurant with a feeling that not much has changed over many years. But it got lots of charm, has a nice atmosphere and a large seating area at the bar. I joined some friends for a last minute holiday get together here. There were 10 of us and no reservation was possible at the last minute for a group that size, but we were able to cobble together some tables in the bar area and ordered apps and some sandwiches for dinner. The food was pretty good and we ordered from the Cafe menu. The nachos were a bit soggy but generous. The potato skins (not my favorite app) were pretty basic. The Hardcover Chicken sandwich was tasty if uninspired. The ladies complained that the bathroom was freezing. On the plus side the beer choices were very good and reasonably priced and the service was excellent- friendly, responsive and prompt. 3- 3.5 stars seems about right. read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

Went for my birthday. Have not been here in over 12 years. Food was still just as good. Sat near the fire place so it was a nice ambiance. My Prime rib was perfect as was the Beef Wellington. Creme Brûlée for desert. Great Birthday dinner read more

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our go-to restaurant for medium priced dinner! no need to spend exorbitant amounts of money at high end steak houses! hardcover has consistently delivered for well over 40 years! the best salad bar on the north shore! we never get a bad meal! read more

Some friends who are regulars brought us here for our last night in NH. It looks like a fairly standard steakhouse restaurant, and it's worth dressing up for this as it does try to be classy. There's a maitre'd to greet you when you arrive, and a full bar to whet your thirst while you wait, although we avoided that as we couldn't actually get near the bar for the crowd of young ladies sat around it drinking their way through the cocktail menu. I'm told that the steaks are very good, but since we don't eat meat we both plumped for fishy options. For starters, I had the crab cakes, which were served plainly on a bit of lettuce with some aoli dip. I thought these were very tasty, and you could tell there was a lot of crab meat in them by the way they fell apart when you cut into them. Herself had the clam chowder (chow-DA!!) - she's a bit addicted to that at the moment. It seemed to disappear very rapidly, from which I concluded that it was OK, There's a help-yourself salad bar for between-course appetisers; it's not the best salad bar I've seen but is perfectly fine given that it's just an appetiser and not the main event. For mains, we both went for the swordfish in ginger scallion sauce with mixed vegetables. Absolute perfection is the only way to describe it - succulent and juicy, it almost dissolved on the tongue. The vegetables too were perfectly cooked -firm and crunchy, just the way I like them. I was too stuffed to manage dessert but I did have a wee espresso coffee, which to my surprise (this being 'Merica) was actually very good! Excellent restaurant, excellent food, excellent service. Top marks, read more

The Hardcover Restaurant - Ginger scallions swordfish - nomnomnom. - Steakhouses Near Me - Danvers, Massachusetts

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The food is always delicious. The salad bar is amazing , always so fresh . The service is fast and everyone is so pleasant.

My husband and I sat in the bar area for our dinner (our choice). We were greeted immediately with a smile and Hello. We ordered the scallops wrapped in bacon for an appetizer which we shared. They were delicious. I just had a burger and fries and my husband had the chicken Caesar salad. The room was nice and lit nicely for dinner. I also had the lemon drop martini which was excellent. My burger came out just the way I like it and my husband enjoyed his salad. Overall a very pleasant experience. read more

Great restaurant for dinner or drinks ! Bar is excellent for either before or after ! We celebrated a close friend's 40th Anniversary Friday with 2 other couple's. Fabulous time from food to Drinks. No complaints! read more

My family and I went here and it was awesome. It was a relatively quiet night. Food was good but the service and drinks were the real big dick winners. The martinis were so f******* good and the waiters / waitresses were awesome. Friendly, knowledgable, and outgoing! Would definitely return. A nice date spot as well! read more

Amid the COVID19 pandemic, we were looking for a place to order from. We decided to try the Hardcover, and were we ever pleased. The staff was extremely friendly, and helpful, and the food was absolutely delicious. In fact we're anxiously anticipating we can dine in and enjoy a cocktail there at the bar. The menu is extensive and can't wait to try everything read more

Food barely edible. Wouldn't go again. Service was ok. Salad bar ok. Other than that the food was horrible.

You would think that a restaurant that's been in business this long would know how train their staff, but they don't or they don't care. Food runner was so pissed and it showed, the waitress refused to pick up the slack for the food runner, so they left our dirty dishes on the table even after they served the food. The steak had no flavor and when the mouse ran across the floor we were not surprised. and to top it off the outdated salad bar with romaine lettuces was as boring as it gets. apparently they cater to the same guests they had when they opened 40 years ago. read more

Went there Saturday night for my niece's birthday (no she didn't get a half price entree because she forgot her ID!) after a 10 year absence. Salad bar was just ok. The piping hot salad plates made the difference. Asked for an Aperol Spritz and the waiter had never heard of it. Appetizers were ice cold and shrimp cocktail was like rubber. Main courses prime ribs, ribeye, and salmon were ice cold as well. Service was just okay, not even close to what it once was. I should also mention that one of our party was a person of color that did not go unnoticed by the surrounding clientele. I have traveled extensively over the years and never experienced this type of reaction. What a disgrace. The Hardcover is long past it's heyday. 300 dollars would have been well spent at The Capitol Grille ,Abe and Louis, Flemings, Eastern Standard etc and without judgement. So much for nostalgia. read more

The service of this restaurant is excellent. The meat was cooked perfectly. It is quiet and comfortable. Even though they were busy they were very attentive. You do not feel pressure to finish your meal. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone including couples, kids or big groups. read more

Went on a Saturday night and sat at a table in lounge area. The baked haddock came out cold and under cooked so the server replaced it with another one. My burger came out well done, no pink at all instead of medium like I asked for it, but I ate it anyways. Tonight, sat in lounge again, same server. My burger was gray, had a weird texture and tasted funny, so I sent it back and did not replace. My husbands tenderloin tips were dried out and cold and not edible. Our server was vert nice on both occasions, and its not her fault. We gave her a generous tip both nights, but I'm sure some people with not tip her or tip her less. The management here should really take a look at who they have cooking and the quality and bad food leaving the kitchen because what they are sending out of the kitchen could cause people to get very sick. And, again, the server is the one who needs to deal with it and it is unfair to them. read more

Had our Christmas party here and it was fantastic! Service and food were fantastic and we are so glad that the salad bar is so well supplied. Everything from the appetizers to the desserts were very tasty and the drinks were fantastic ! This was the second year we had our party there and we will definitely be back!!! read more

Ate here a few years ago, didn't love it. Decided to come back last weekend and it was much better. I got the baked stuffed shrimp. The stuffing was good and flavorful. I got a side of rice pilaf which had veggies in it which was a nice touch. My partner enjoyed his rack of lamb. My favorite part is always the salad bar with bread and cheese. Pretty good wine selection and we decided to split a bottle of Montepulciano. Would come back soon! read more