Salem Diner

Tale of an SSU Student: First things first — I hesitated giving this place 1 star because their corned beef hash is freaking great. However, there are many other things that are… not so great.
When I toured the school, the tour guides kind of hinted that the dining hall food was pretty sad. The dining halls are catered by Chartwells, a despicable capitalist food supplier of countless schools, colleges, and businesses. Chartwells has a reputation around campus as being nearly equivalent to trash. So, anyway, getting to the point — The Salem Diner’s biggest problem is that it was bought not too long ago by none other than… Chartwells.
We’ve all tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Some days, it’s possible but some days, it really isn’t. I will now list just some of the problems my friends and I have encountered.
–They are out of things so often, it is basically a joke. One time, my friends and I went when it should have been opened and it was closed cause they were out of eggs and burger meat. That’s right. A DINER out of eggs and burger meat. I have witnessed them be out of bananas multiple times, out of roast beef, out of bread, out of hash, and more.
–The fryer is currently broken so no French fries.
–Our orders have been messed up multiple times.
–We once waited a half an hour to have our orders taken. And only had them taken after repeatedly asking them to take our order even though we were sitting right in front of them, in the middle of the restaurant. I never would have thought that wait staff could forget about you when you were right in front of their faces in a place with around 7 tables.
–My friend once ordered a chicken club and it was a piece of grilled chicken slapped on a half-​stale bulkie roll. Another friend once ordered a tuna melt (that was cold and drippy) and felt sick afterwards.
So, there’s that. Salem Diner, I’m sorry you have been overtaken by the tyrant that is Chartwells because I have heard that you used to be a real gem.

let me share this experience. I was working in the area so I looked up breakfast places on google, found this place. show up a little before 6 the place is closed, we check the sign it says they open at 6am. the cook watches us wait in the cold at 5:58, we seen a worker walk in a door so we also entered. we received a dirty look and the cook states (well I guess its almost 6am) really?. so we order and I got eggs and sausage, plenty of food and tasted good. my friend ordered eggs and ham, he said could not eat the ham, he thought it was bad. we both started to feel ill later that morning. not going back. noticed home fries warming up on the grill with foil over them, maybe left overs and could have been why we didn’t feel good.

I am a fan of old diners and The Salem Diner is unique. Service was good, cooks were great and manager very friendly. I would give a 5 but a 4 its good. There is room for improvement, I found out that the diner is operated by the food service at Salem State University, the manager operating the diner needs help he looks very tired and by the info from one of the waitresses he works 6 days a week and some times during the night shift he needs help, my point of view. The food was great served in a timely fashion (remember people its a diner not a fast food place, please be patient) and you’ll be surprised, great menu for a diner and very traditional. Good job, my family and I will be back.

Been here twice, first time was great ! Food was good and staff was friendly, second time there was an older. Guy cooking who was screaming at the employees and swearing through my entire meal. Food was sub par and the service was slow, I sat next to my food on the counter for about 5 minutes before it was delivered to me. On top of the rude cook who ruined my experience, he ordered the staff to close the doors a half hour before the diner actually closed. I watched a family walk up to the door and try to come for breakfast and the doors were locked, yet the sign said they were still open for another half an hour.
I’ve worked in the restaurant business my entire life and never once was a customer rejected, even if it was after hours if the food was still available then we were to serve the guest. I’m quite disappointed in the staff and the way they are running this little diner.

Great food! Love the place! Service was delightful, polite and happy… Chef even came out to check up on tables… First time here… WON’T Be our last!

I was super excited to come here and theN we walked in.
There was no greeting so we just took a seat and to top it off the waitress pretty much threw us the menu and STILL NO GOOD MORNING or hello! I felt like I was at DICKS restaurant. Needless to say we left within 5 minutes. A 45 minute drive for this kind of customer service. NO THANKS!

The Salem Diner is a great place to eat. My family recently ate there for the first time and we loved it! The food was absolutley amazing, the corned beef hash was my husbands favorite, and the choclolate chip pancakes were amazing for my son. As soon as we walked in, we were seated and immediatley had our drinks. The service was fast, we had our food within ten minutres of being seated. The staff were extremely nice, and the diner was neat and clean. There is no doubt that we will be back at the S. D very soon!

I was more excited about visiting this place than I should have been. I got the French toast, and while delicious, it just didn’t sit right. The prices were reasonable and the service was okay.

Mediocre food with little flavor and little salt. I was standing waiting for over 10 minutes, a bunch of tables all waiving their bills to pay and leave, waiters chatting not doing much. One waiter couldn’t get it right at the register, went back and fourth to a table 4 times. There’s plenty of better diners, and students from the college only come to this place because it’s cheap and walkable distance from the dorms. If you can walk, drive, or pay an extra dollar anywhere else, avoid this place!

I eat at this restaurant all of the time. The food is nothing special. It is just your average diner food. I would recommend not going at night during the week. It is very crowded. Also at night the menu is very limited to accommodate for the huge amounts of customers. The manager is very friendly and easy to talk to. The restaurant overall is pretty good. Just don’t expect to be blown away

Actually, 3 ½ stars. Improvement continues. Trying hard to please. Ordered their Thursday lunch special, chicken pot pie. Came hot and bland. Needed salt and pepper. For my taste anyway. Noticed they offered loaded fries. Yummy. Will try next time. Oh yes, one more visit at least. Manager is friendly and looking to please. Keep improving! One final thought. The place is spotless and smells clean. Kudos for that

Just went in for my second attempt since Salem State bought the Diner. I didn’t last 3 minutes. First I was ignored by the waitress who seemed upset about something. Second, the Manager was yelling at the cook across the diner and the waitress. I just walked out. The last time I went I felt the food was very cafeteria like. Didn’t get a chance to give it a second opinion. Used to be a great place. Salem State step your game up!

I was a customer before the university bought the diner and I am a customer now that they have re-​opened. Several times a week over the summer, at least weekly now.
Only 4 stars because the corporate image shows that it’s no longer a mom and pop joint — but that’s where the new equipment and professionalized staff sure makes a difference so no complaints from me. Simply put, the place is spotless, and the food actually tastes clean, consistent in quality and flavor and without the standard grease hangover diners can be known for.
I just read a very negative review left by someone else and can say that I have no experience like those described under the current ownership. I’m just gonna say, if they scare you away, the all the less seating competition for me – and I’ll be there trying to imagine how someone could move an egg on a hot griddle with their bare hands.
Breakfast all day, try the corned beef hash and I bet you get a visit from the kitchen manager and an offer for the recipe — it’s that good. Best chicken ceasar salad at the college and the Rueben is my other favorite.
Pepsi, not Coke and a very friendly place to eat.

I’m VERY surprised the board of health hasn’t shut this place down yet. Upon arrival, the place looked outdated, dirty and grimy. Still… I decided to give it a chance. One of the waitresses was constantly yelling at one of the cooks attending to the food. Not trying to judge a book by the cover but when you handling food and you smell like cigarettes, it crosses to a whole other level. I looked around the room to see if I was the only one that felt disturbed by this place. My sister decided to bring me here (in her defense, it used to be good) so I gave it a try and didn’t want to run out the door the second I got in.
We were rushed to order our food and I chose whatever would be the easiest to cook so I could nibble and leave. Again this one waitress kept barking orders and demands to the cook over our shoulder… again…I still ignored! We saw our ticket slide across the table to the cook with ciggy hands as he proceeded to prepare our meal. One Egg & Cheese Sandwich on an English Muffin with a side home fries. (How could you mess that up, right?) Well lets start by saying that the contraption they call a stove looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the very day they opened the place. The home fries were piled up in the upper left corner of the stove, directly side by side next to a bowl they chuck egg shells into. The egg yokes from the bowl were dripping down on the potatoes with little bits of egg shells in it… How delectable!
He dumped a handful of butter onto the stove and began to crack an egg on top of it. A few seconds on the stove and while he thought no one was looking – decided to slide the egg with his BARE, dirty cigarette fingers across the top of the stove to make room for someone else pancakes (NO GLOVES). My sister caught the same thing, as we made eye contact and decided to Jet out of there as fast as we could. We told the waitress we had to cancel our order, and proceeded to run out the door in disgust. She than yells across the room that we have to cancel our order, the chef complains that he’s already started… Aand by this time we’re out the door.
I just cant believe we were the only ones to witness this. if that type of stuff is going on out in the open at their breakfast bar, in broad daylight, i wouldn’t want to see what goes on behind closed doors or in the back kitchen for the matter. This place is an absolute shame!!! The owners shouldn’t be operating a food establishment PERIOD.
If you like eating trash than thumbs up to you, this place will be perfect.

Haven’t been here in years. Glad i came back! Coffee was good not the usual brown water version, it had flavor. 3 egg omelet was a belly stretcher came with toast and home fries. Prices reasonable and clean restroom!

Great food, amazing staff! I eat breakfast there almost every morning. The food is prepared exactly the way I order it. This is not a typical greasy spoon diner. The food is fresh ingredients and very clean. The 50s motif has great charm and the people watching is awesome. Recognize that your food is prepped to order so soak up the ambiance and relax. I love diners and this tops the list. A must for breakfast when in Salem!

The chef was absolutely friendly. He talked about how he worked at fenway and it’s crazy there. He also told me that he’s well known for his Omelets so I gave it a shot! Can’t say I’m disappointed because it was pretty good! The only thing I didn’t like was the chocolate milk. It tasted overdued?

I used to enjoy the Salem Diner. But it was a different time. I decided to go back after a long absence last week, and boy was I shocked.
Some other recent reviews have alluded to the fact that the Salem Diner was sold to Salem State, which just happens to be across the street. I cannot say for certain this is true. But if one looks at the evidence, the hypothesis seems to be supported.
When I walked into the diner, I was overpowered by a sort of general «old man» smell. I thought they might have repainted, and that was what I was smelling. But I looked around and realized this place probably looked pretty close to the way it did in the 40’s, so that couldn’t possibly be the case.
I briefly considered leaving, because the smell was almost too much to bear. I wondered if the (few) other patrons could smell it too, and were just too polite to mention it. But then the waitress came over to get my order, and I elected not to leave. Instead, I ordered the eggs benedict and a hot tea…
Immediately I was overcome with regret. The smell of the place hanging in my nostrils, as if I was in a badly run nursing home. But still I stayed. I had ordered, and I had to honor my commitment to this place. I glanced over at the ketchup bottle. «Hunt’s» it read. That says it all. A restaurant that serves Hunt’s ketchup instead of Heinz is all done giving a shit. The evidence that this place had been sold off was mounting…
I received my food, It looked decent enough. The potatoes were all cut to uniform size, small cubes, as if prepared in a factory. «No human cuts potatoes like this» I thought to myself. I squeezed a blotch of Hunt’s inferior ketchup onto the plate and began eating, and I ate until the food was gone. The eggs benedict part was decent. Nothing special, and I’m pretty sure I’ve had better literally EVERY other time I’ve had it. The potatoes weren’t anything special at all. I would say the best part of this meal was the hot tea I ordered to drink.
If I had to describe the food at the Salem Diner, I would liken it to the Hunt’s ketchup I was forced to use with my home fries… It’s incredibly mediocre, and shows apathy on the part of the ownership. Because that is the case, I have no trouble at all believing this establishment is now under the control of a state college.
Never come here. The restaurant itself smells terrible, and the food isn’t anything special either. Go to Red’s instead.

This place used to be great. It closed last July when the owners sold to Salem State.
When it reopened, it advertised the same recipes, same friendly service, etc. NOT
The service was terrible. The food was worse. The home fries were like little bricks. What little corned beef hash was put on the plate tasted awful. The grease left on the plate was really gross.
Drive on by.

This place was amazing but I guess salem state decided to buy it and then use the cheapest stuff possible while keeping almost the same menu. It is probably one of the worst breakfast I have ever had. My steak bomb omelette tasted like fish, the waitresses ignored us the whole time we were there and it all was just so cheap and bad that I’ll never go back thank you salem state for proving even when you have a chance to acquire something great you mess it up. Also for how cheap the ingredients were it was way too expensive.