Salem has some AMAZING places to eat - especially when it comes to seafood (obviously!!) Clam chowder, raw oysters, lobster rolls...take me back!! These are the top 10 restaurants I’d visit again and again if I lived in Salem, MA.
In the following post, I cover the best places for breakfast, lunch, happy hour, dinner, and dessert!
Breakfast
The Ugly Mug Diner
This place does not accept reservations so try to get there early. We arrived at around 9:30 am on a Thursday in October and waited maybe 20 minutes. But it was actually perfect because HausWitch (my favorite Salem shop!) is a few stores down, so you can do a little shopping there before your brunch!
>>> For my complete guide on where to shop in Salem, MA, click here. <<<
A fun and quirky diner, The Ugly Mug Diner has a casual atmosphere with their menu written on the wall old-school style. (Don’t worry - they have menus too!) The interior is playful - light fixtures are made of cooking utensils, two skeletons are dining in the window, and there are giant crocheted bacon and eggs decorating the walls.
Aside from seasonal drinks like pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider mimosas, you have plenty of drink choices ranging from coffees, teas, and specialty sodas to adult beverages, beer cocktails, and mimosas.
I tried The Streaming Nancy - their play on an Aztec Chocolate. It’s a Mocha Latte with cinnamon, cayenne and ancho spice blend, and it was SO GOOD! I paired it with a classic eggs benedict, which was delightful. My sister ordered the Loxiluxe Sammich - a deluxe egg sandwich with smoked salmon, caramelized onions and cream cheese. OMG amazing!
Red’s Sandwich Shop
Photo courtesy of Red’s Kitchen + Tavern.
True to its name, Red’s Sandwich Shop is located in the red-painted historic London Coffee House (1698) building in Downtown Salem.
Red’s Sandwich Shop has been serving sandwiches and hearty American breakfasts in a casual, country setting for the past 50 years. Get high quality food for reasonable prices here.
Lunch
Finz Seafood & Grill
They have an impressive raw bar with local oysters, clams, lobster and king crab with house made cocktail and mignotte sauces, in addition to a sushi bar.
We had lunch here, starting with some raw oysters and a goat cheese appetizer, and ending with a bowl of clam chowder soup - everything was SO good. It’s advisable to get reservations here, especially in October.
You can sit outside on the waterfront patio or indoors - we chose to be indoors because it was a little chilly and overcast that day. This is a great spot for a wine lunch or a romantic dinner.
Mercy Tavern
We actually went here for dinner and it was a great spot for cocktails. I’m not sure if it’s always like this or if it was just themed that night, but they were playing 80s songs and playing 80s movies the entire time we were there, which I found to be really fun and enjoyable!
Mercy Tavern actually has strong maritime ties. Formerly known as Pig’s Eye, Mercy Tavern is said to be home to pirate ghosts. In the early 1800s, the Tavern became a busy brothel on Derby Street, frequented by sailors and locals alike. It grew a bad reputation for kidnapping - sea captains would have crew members kidnap healthy, young men that frequented the Tavern and force them to serve onboard the ships. Visitors have reported sightings of ghostly sailors appearing in the bar area. Staff members have also noted hearing disembodied voices after closing. (We did not have any haunted experiences.)
The menu consists of mostly typical American bar food, specifically New England comfort food. We tried the special - pumpkin ravioli - because how could you not?! Mercy's Famous Pumpkin Ravioli was made with brown butter, sage, Luxardo cherry drizzle, and fried leeks. Need I say more?
Happy Hour
The Tavern (Hawthorne Hotel)
Established in 1925, Hawthorne Hotel is a historic hotel in a great central location in downtown Salem, MA. It’s also supposedly haunted too! Guests have reported moving furniture, unexplained noises, and sightings of a ghostly woman. Room 325 is supposed to be the most haunted room in the hotel and Room 612 as well as the 6th floor in general have had reports of a ghostly woman walking the halls.
>>> For my complete guide on where to stay in Salem, Massachusetts, click here. <<<
In October, non-guests are not allowed in the lobby or the dining area unless you have a reservation. To make sure that we could experience the hotel, I booked cocktail reservations at the Tavern on our first evening. I loved their fun list of spooky cocktails including: Sanderson Sisters Spritzer, The Witches Brew, and Harvest Moon. It was also the perfect setting for our first night - with a cozy wood-burning fireplace, oak-paneled walls, and wingback chairs.
The Roof (Hotel Salem)
The Roof in Hotel Salem is not to be missed. It’s Salem’s only open-air rooftop bar and restaurant. Serving mostly fast casual cuisine like nachos, tacos, and rice bowls, its slogan is “Strong Drink. Simple Food”. We had nachos - they were nothing special, but in all honesty, we came for the views and the cocktails.
Hotel Salem sits on Essex Street, one of the most popular, bustling pedestrian streets in downtown Salem. Though you cannot see straight down onto the street from the rooftop bar, you do get a lovely view of the tops of colonial buildings as well as a peek at the Salem Harbor. We visited on an unusually hot day so it was nice to catch the breeze from the rooftop while cooling off with a cold drink. This is a seasonal bar so reservations are recommended.
Dinner
Ledger Restaurant & Bar
Ledger was one of my favorite restaurants I visited in all of Salem. If you only go to one more expensive place in Salem on your trip, I’d recommend this one. Trust me - it’s worth it.
Ledger features a dark, moody interior with an impressive modern light fixture in the center of their full-size bar. The restaurant boasts that it’s a progressive New England concept, serving traditional 19th-century dishes, cocktails, and techniques that have been elevated with 21st-century resources.
We ordered a delicious wine that the sommelier eloquently described to us before pouring. We had to try the popovers, which is a fond memory that my sister and I share with our late grandmother. The popovers came with beef drippings and roasted garlic honey butter. While this may sound odd, it was divine! For the entrée, I had the Mushroom Campanelle and my sister tried the Curried Cauliflower. Chef’s kiss! For dessert, we couldn’t resist ordering the spicy-watermelon-mint sorbet (and making it a moscato bubble float!) The entire dining experience at Ledger was luxurious, sexy, and delicious. 10/10 recommend!
Turner’s Seafood (Lyceum Hall)
Much of Lyceum Hall is still preserved in this restaurant, featuring beautiful high tin ceilings, brick walls, oak floors, and large pane glass windows. The building itself was a place of import in Salem history...it’s also supposed to be haunted!
Introduced to New England in the early 1800s, lyceum halls were considered lecture halls. It was a place for debates, musical entertainment, oral readings and more. Salem’s Lyceum Hall was the place where Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated the long-distance phone call.
Salem’s Lyceum Hall was built over the orchard owned by Bridget Bishop. Although Bridget Bishop was not the first to be accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials, she was the first to be executed in 1692. Many people believe Bridget still haunts the Hall - it has been featured on several paranormal shows including Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures.
Turner’s Seafood serves New England seafood classics including Oysters Rockefella, Lobster Pie, Newfoundland Finnan Haddie, and Turner’s Jonah Crab Cakes. The raw oyster bar here was incredibly tasty - quite possibly the best oysters I’ve ever tried! We sat at the raw bar and watched the oysters get shucked. The service was also super fast here. Great food, great atmosphere.
Dessert
Ye Olde Pepper Companie
It was started by George Burkinshaw at the turn of the 20th century. At that time the “Salem Gibralter” (white and delicate candy, flavored with lemon or peppermint) and “Black Jacks” (stick candy made from black-strap molasses) were popular candy choices - both of which are flagship candies today. Celebrating 4 generations of candy makers, Ye Olde Pepper Companie also offers chocolates, fudge, and old fashioned candy.
We were hoping to get some of the gibraltar candy, which my sister and I remember from our youth, but unfortunately they had just sold out. This candy originated in America in 1806 when the Spencer family received local donations after being shipwrecked in Salem. One of the donations was a barrel of sugar. Mrs. Spencer took this barrel and created her first lemon and peppermint flavored hard candy. It retailed for a silver penny apiece or four pence, half penny for seven. A 1947 cookbook states that the gibraltar is made from sugar, water, vinegar, and either vanilla, peppermint or cloves for flavoring; it’s boiled until hard then pulled like taffy, and becomes "soft and creamy" in several days.
Goodnight Fatty
Goodnight Fatty is a late-night cookie shop serving gourmet cookies paired with soft serve ice cream and milk. It’s only open on the weekends and every weekend there’s a new line of three epic cookie options.
As expected, there was a line to get in the door, but it was worth the brief wait. On the night we visited, the evening menu featured the Kit Kat Fatty, the Snickers Fatty, and the Midnight Milky Way Fatty in honor of the Halloween season. We got a Kit Kat and a Snicker Fatty and they were to die for!
Well...have I made you hungry yet? What would you add to this list of “best places to eat in Salem, MA”? I’d love to know! Drop them in the comments below.
author bio
Known as The Jet Set Blonde, Brittany Ryan inspires others to add more adventure to their childfree travel experiences. Brittany has visited 23 countries (and counting!) Connect with her to get access to detailed childfree travel itineraries, travel guides for weekend getaways, and updates on adult-only hotels, resorts, cruises, and other travel amenities.
