The Old Spot

I really liked this place– it has a British feel and the food was good. If you are going to hit Salem (which is a bit off kilt) then go to this place for food. It will pleasantly surprise you

Moderately priced, and one of the few places open late during the week. Food isn’t bad, and it’s a great place to stop at after the night time ghost tour that departs next door.

We stopped in on a Friday night for a meal. The place itself is nice and we were surrounded by
dates, which was interesting.
Started with a few drinks. They made me a margarita and then another mixed drink. Both were pretty good.
The waitress suggested a number of items. My girlfriend got the Reuben and I got the ribs. Both were solid. The ribs were meaty but less flavorful than I’d like. Sauce was good, but without it on top, just tasted like meat. I switched out the sides for a salad. The salad was good, full of good stuff. However, it was an extra $ 2.79 charge on top of switching out two sides (from other tables, these were plentiful). This was ridiculous. And my waitress didn’t tell me. I wouldn’t have chosen that if I’d known. Despite being pissed about that, I’m still giving them a rating of 4, though I have more than half a mind to go down to 3.
The Reuben was fine, nothing great but good.
We finished up with the brownie sundae. Warm brownie in the middle surrounded by tiny scoops of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It was really good. (I don’t understand why everyone chooses vanilla — I wish restaurants had the guts to make it more interesting, or to carry a second type of ice cream).
Anyway, we’ll quite likely go back.

As a Salem local, this is one of my favorite places to get food. All of my friends and family want to come here when they visit. I think their meats are probably the yummiest in Salem, though I can’t say I’ve been quite everywhere, nor have I had everything on the menu.
Since I like this place a lot, and recommend it, my review is mostly minor criticism.
The establishment is well run, and I believe the business owner is in the kitchen. The only times I’ve had an issue with service was when there were only a few people working, it was quiet, and we seemed to get forgotten about a bit. Usually they are really good, and nice people.
For some, the tables are too low for the bench seats.
This place is a great place for beer, and more recently I’ve been much more satisfied with their choices of IPA’s; really, it’s so much better. I think it would be wise to up the number of IPA’s, personally. To have 3 or 4 at IPA’s at all times, maybe a double or imperial in there, too.
By far my biggest issue with this place is that the beer isn’t always super, super cold, and I’ve had noticeably colder beer other places in Salem. This might sound a little crazy or nitpicky, but I like a really hoppy, really cold IPA.
Now go!

I loved The Old Spot! Maybe because it actually hit the spot. It was cold and snowy when I walked into this dark, inviting place. I loved the casual yet warm atmosphere and the unique look in it’s décor.
I was really in the mood for warm, comfort food and the menu is full of it. I ordered the meat pie which was out of this world. The meat, veggies, potatoes and gravy were perfectly blended and tasted delicious!
My mom ordered the pulled pork and I sampled. Oh boy, the pork was perfectly shredded and tender, and the gooey cheese and pickles were a fantastic accessory to make the flavor pop.
My husband ordered the french fries smothered in beef stew. I’ve never even heard of such a thing but it makes complete sense, and it was so good, I had to have several bites.
Because my mom was with me, I had to refrain from the alcohol but I saw they have quite a nice beer list so to pair any of those with a delicious ale would be about the most perfect meal I can imagine.
We will definitely be back as it’s, not only walkable from our house, but is completely our kind of place.

A nice little nook in the heart of Salem’s «witch commerce» district for a pint and a sandwich, the Old Spot boasts a menu that really reaches for the stars, but came up just a little short in a few places on our visit.
They have a fantastic draft beer menu, including some rare offerings from Notch and other fine breweries. They have a Lambic on draft, which is very rare. I enjoyed my standard fare, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The Anchor Steam tap line tasted a little sour.
The Cuban sandwich was replete with a ton of tender pulled pork, Swiss cheese and diced pickles, but alas, the whole affair was under seasoned: a little bland and a lot greezy.
The veggie burger had a bit of a tang to it, that I didn’t love, but I could see being enjoyable. Also, though, a bit under seasoned.
The playlist was a funky, great blend of trip-​hop and ambient house like DJ Shadow and Nightmares on Wax. The folks working the bar and the floor were friendly, fun and chatty. Very cool place to hang out and play cards, have a beer or two. Hopefully we just hit them on an off-​day — we’ll be back when we’re back in Salem.

Getting «scared» by all the «spooky,» very-​authentic-​and-​not-​touristy-​in-​the-​least attractions of Salem can really work up your appetite!
The scene: Saturday around 9 PM. The entrance is a little awkward, as there’s no hostess there to greet you. We just walk straight into the bar area, which was cramped and super crowded with Salem revelers. We look around to find a hostess so we can get a table in the quieter, side room. There’s no one around. Feeed us! Finally we ask a server who tracks down the hostess and gets us the last available table right away.
The grub: We glimpsed on the chalkboard behind the bar that they had a special drink of Shipyard Pumpkin Ale topped with a Vanilla Stoli or Captain Morgan floater. How did they know that’s exactly what I’ve always dreamed of? We opt for the vanilla alc, and it’s served with a cinnamon-​sugar rim. Alcoholic, liquified pumpkin pie.
The menu consists of pretty standard pub fare: chicken wings, burgers, salads. Nothing was really catching my eye until I saw it. Way down there at the bottom. Pumpkin ravioli! Hey, it’s October, and this pumpkin craze ain’t gonna last forever. So I’m going to OD on it now while I have the chance. The $ 7 half portion of the ravioli is 5 pieces, which isn’t a ton but just right for me. The pumpkin flavor was pronounced and each pasta pillow had a great dough to filling ratio. The sauce was made with brown sugar and cider. And they got it just right. This all would have been overly sweet for me, but they sprinkle bleu cheese crumbles on top, which adds a salty pungency, perfectly balancing out the dish. I think an entrée of the pumpkin ravioli would be too much since it’s so rich and flavorful, so get this as an appetizer. Just do it.
Also sweet potato fries (since apparently we’re trying to order exclusively orange foods tonight). They were thick and crispy and sweet. Lots come in the basket, and we couldn’t finish them. A great accompaniment to the beer!
The verdict: A great spot when you’re all spooked out in Salem. Yummy fall food options so you can properly celebrate the season. Pumpkin ravioli.

Our tour guide from a walking ghost tour suggested a late dinner here, I’m sure in part because it was just across the street from the end of our tour. It was okay.
For a late dinner, I didn’t expect to have a lot of traffic to deal with, but our waitress took FOREVER to do anything.
The food was wonderful. I had a bowl of the chowder along with a salad, and both were very yummy. I think hubby had a sandwich. Nothing to write home about, apparently, but he finished it. We shared a dessert as well while we finished our beers.
I wouldn’t warn people away or anything, but I’d probably try somewhere else next time.