How do you mess up fries? Truffle fries at that, go somewhere else. Cute environment service was fast but food is mid at best

We sat around Friday wondering where we should go for dinner, as a spontaneous date night! We knew that this spot was good before they had a face lift, so we decided to try the newly opened Dire Wolf. As you walk in the huge bar is clearly the show stopper of the space, it wraps all the way around and is stunning. We sat at a high top off to the side of the bar. To start, the service was great! Fast and responsive and simple. They waitstaff knew what they were doing and had great recommendations. I was not a fan of the smoked old fashioned. Usually when I order a smoked drink they bring it out still smoking, I am not sure if was even smoked. For me personally, there was too much cinnamon flavor in the drink. I switched to a beer shortly after. The Brussels sprouts were so good. I think it was the best thing we ate all night! The burger was good, a classic burger with a mustard aioli that was very tasty. The hot chicken sandwich was not spicy at all, I wish it had a little more of a kick. Besides that the sandwich was really good! Chicken was cooked perfectly. I thought this was a good restaurant with good food! Really nothing earth shattering about this spot, but a good place for a casual dinner. read more

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Service was amazing and really impressive. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful. However the food was absolutely disgusting. The only thing we were able to enjoy was the Cali roll. The clam chowder tasted like cigarettes, and the ravioli was lumpy and too salty. Steak wasn't good either. Not worth it at all. They replaced the food we didn't enjoy really quickly, which was also nice. read more

This place is really nice for a sit down meal!! Our server was very nice and checked in on us often, food was also very good!! I got the fork and knife burger and it was really good, I just recommend asking if they can add lettuce or something to cut the massive amount of meat a bit. Otherwise it was a really great place to eat after walking around Salem (and going to the really cool Real Pirates museum by the waterfront) read more

First time in.... Had been here many times when it was Opus and loved it. We liked the decor and the look of the restaurant.. nice job. We ordered the jalapeño scallion hush puppies to start. The sauce drizzled over the top was very good. The taste of the hush puppy it's self, was very bland. We also had the Mac n cheese with pulled pork. It need more seasoning... was also bland. The pork was dry and lacked flavor. It filled an empty stomach. I had the strawberry salad and added grilled salmon. The salad was pretty good but has way too many onions... the salmon was perfect! If we come back, and most likely we will... we will try some thing different. read more

Dire Wolf Tavern - Hush puppies - Sushi Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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Wonderful service! Drinks were great and the atmosphere was chill(ish) even in peak sEason.

Neat ambiance. Service was good. Food though is overpriced for the quality. Nothing I would go out of my way for again if we come back this way. read more

The food, the service, the location. Absolutely wonderful on all friends. The jalapeño margarita is a must.

Very nice dinner with a cool atmosphere. Interesting selection of sushi and more classic American entrees. Service was kind and responsive. Definitely a good spot to grab a bite while walking around downtown Salem! read more

Thought we would give this place a try. It was ok. We started with wings they were a little over cooked and the asian sauce wasn't really sticking to them. My husband ordered the brisket melt sandwich which seemed like it was missing something, either more seasoning or an au jus to dip. He said It was good but dry and lacked flavor. I had the salmon which was good, but the fingerling potatoes were a little salty for my taste. My sangria was very delish. Our server was nice but wasn't that attentive. I was able to use free item on my app but don't think my visit was applied to the app for this visit. I would like to try some of the others in this serenitee group, but for this place been there done that. read more

Dire Wolf Tavern - Brisket Melt - Sushi Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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New Serenitee group restaurant, same location as the former Opus. I've been to most.of this groups restaurants. Never had a bad meal. Great location on Washington St In downtown Salem. Menu is well put together, something for everyone. I love Sushi so I went for that & the wings app. Gf got pulled pork sandwich & a salad. Some triple chocolate truffle thing for dessert. Everything was great. Food came out quickly. Gf got the wrong salad but Breanna our server quickly fixed it and admitted her mistake. Another win for Serenetee Restaurant Group. read more

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Great food, attentive service, what else can you ask for?! All of the local restaurants by these owners are really good, but I was impressed to branch out from my usual "go to's" closer to home (Calas, Hale Street, and Minglewood taverns). read more

Bartender was inattentive and double charged my bill to my friend's tab. Got attitude when trying to explain the situation and a very simple misunderstanding that could have been easily resolved was needlessly put a sour note on the night. Bar was not busy, fewer than 10 people all told so it was not a volume issue, just someone who didn't care enough to pay attention. This place has gone downhill hard since the days of Opus. read more

The staff are great, and I love that the place seems to be entirely wheelchair accessible, but there's no reason why an appetizer should be $15. I probably won't be going back SOLELY due to the prices. read more

Amazing food and drinks. Super recommend!!!! Beautiful environment and great service. read more

Dire Wolf Tavern - Sushi Fuji - Sushi Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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Value isn't there. Ordered the Dates Stuffed with Feta and wrapped in bacon for $15 got three dates. So that's $5 a date with a 1/3 slice of bacon. So three dates, 2T feta and 1 slice of bacon $15. Kinda tasteless Good place to have a beer and an order of French Fries read more

Went here for the first time expecting some quality comfort food, since it looked good on Instagram. Unfortunately, we were met with the opposite :( We ordered the pork belly fried rice (with added lobster) and the grilled cheese (with added pork belly.) Fried rice had barely any pork and any pieces there were were so small and dry. Grilled cheese was bland and the pork belly added had no salt. Fries came as a side, but even those were soft and not crispy or salty enough. The other unfortunate thing was getting a glass with a piece of food stuck on one side and someone's lipstick still stained on the other. Overpriced and somehow given dirty dishes when it was mostly empty too. Not even a word from the front of the house as we left. We won't be going back. Shame to think we missed the chance to eat at Opus :/ read more

I was super excited to try out this bar. It was my first time in Salem and I liked the name, dug the ambiance, and thought the drinks looked good online. I asked 3 of my friends to accompany me for cocktails/mocktails after we had dinner at a nearby pizza place on November 2nd (a little after 7pm). The restaurant was somewhat busy, but not crazy (considering the time we went and that it was Halloween week). We all walked in and were met with an unfriendly hostess (whatever, not the worst) and proceeded to the bar where there happened to be 4 available seats right next to each other. My friends started to get situated at the bar and set their belongings down, including pizza boxes containing our leftovers from the dinner we just had, when they were immediately scolded by the bartender. She rudely told them they couldn't bring food to the bar. While we had no intention of eating our leftovers at the bar (or any food for that matter as we came in just for drinks), we were traveling and had nowhere to store them while we walked around Salem. My friend asked if we could place our food containers on the table behind us and the bartender responded with a curt, "Probably." We really should have walked out at this point as we should have known things likely would not get better. And they didn't. A different female bartender, who was somewhat more "pleasant" than the first, came up and took our drink orders (but at this point our barometer for "nice" was low). She ended up having an exchange with my friend over his non-alcoholic drink order that ended in her acting like she just walked into the restaurant for the first time and was asked to help bartend despite never having done so before. Anyway, we ordered our drinks and eventually got them, and believe it or not, they were actually pretty tasty! Probably the only good thing about our visit. We finished our drinks and sat at the bar for a while while the bartenders proceeded to ignore us. We even watched the first one come our direction multiple times only to stop, each time, right before reaching us. Then at some point she proceeded to ignore us a different way, by crossing in front of us swiftly and without making eye contact, as if to purposely avoid interacting with us. She couldn't ignore us forever though, as we had to eventually pay for our drinks. When that time came we flagged her down and asked for individual receipts (which would have equaled 3 total, as two in our party were a couple), and despite not even having received an initial bill at this point, she proceeded to erupt into a fit of hostility over our request. She proceeded to tell us in the most unnecessary and rudest tone that she could not split our bills because the "system" doesn't allow for that and she would need to get a manager and that would take a while. My friend tried telling her how that made no sense (if we walked in as individuals getting a drink at the bar, could we not pay individually for our orders?). Anyway, she stormed off angrily while we sat there in confusion and disbelief. When she eventually returned we said we'd just take the combined bill and figure it out, just to get the hell out of there. Conclusion: This bartender hated our existence from the beginning. We did nothing but appear, requesting drinks. At a bar. From a person who serves drinks. Presumably for money. Which she did not get any extra of because she was so damn mean. For no reason. And we're normally a very nice bunch who tip well when we're treated even just standardly on the human decency scale. Needless to say, we shan't be back. Dire Wolf is in need of some dire customer service reform. read more

I wanted to leave a glowing review after my husband and I tried our cocktails but this dining experience turned into a nightmare. We had one night in the city of Salem so we booked a tour for 8pm and were seated downstairs at 5:50. You stand in a line to order drinks and dinner at the bar and then return to your table. I downloaded the restaurant app to get a free appetizer, and once I got to the front of the line ordered two cocktails, a free appetizer and two entrees. It was a relatively busy Sunday evening so we weren't expecting food super quickly, but my husband finished his drink and ordered a second one before we had the appetizer. The server came by with meals two separate times and both times they were not what we ordered. Finally we got our appetizer and meals at the same time - Edamame, (choice of salted or togarashi spiced) Pumpkin and Squash Ravioli, and Baked Gloucester Haddock. We asked for togarahi spiced edamame and it was sea salted and cold - but it was free so I ignored it and moved on to the meal. The fish was barely room-temperature and the potatoes were actually cold. The ravioli was also cold and the sauce was congealed and not edible. It was 7pm and we were worried about making our tour but this food was not as expected. My husband explained this to the bartender who apologized and said they would remake and expedite our order and it shouldn't be more than 15 minutes (just the fish and ravioli). Our new food came out at 7:30 and I was shocked that it was cold - again. The plate was not even warm to the touch, so I'm not sure how the server didn't notice this. I went back to the bartender who apologized again and said she would have a manager come over. While we were waiting for him we ate a bit of each even though it was cold because we were very hungry as we ate breakfast at 7am and missed lunch while traveling. The manager came over 15 minutes later and asked what happened. I explained that we got cold food not once but twice. This was his response - I nearly fell out of my chair. "Here's the thing. You consumed part of the food without giving us the opportunity to make it right, so I can't do anything for you." I thought he was confused so I reiterated that they already served us cold food once, and by 7:30 we had been there an hour and forty minutes and were going to miss our tour. He again said "you did not give us a chance to make it again and choose to consume part of it." I could go into how ridiculous this was but I'm sure that's obvious. He brought us our bill - over $100 with three drinks and two entrees and not even an offer to comp a single thing. Remaking something once we were frustrated with but totally understood and weren't even upset at that point because many factors can contribute to a mix-up and that's how the customer service industry works. The major turnoff to this whole experience was the way the manager handled it. Empathy and kindness go a long way. He wasn't willing to work with us at all - it was like he walked over to the table knowing exactly what he was going to say before even listening. Saying that we "should have given them the opportunity make it right" after almost TWO HOURS and TWO failed attempts is ridiculous. I will never recommend or visit this establishment unless it was under different management. read more

We went here on a freezing day in february and place was pretty empty. Had two gluten-free-peeps and the menu had sooo many choices and even a separate fryer. The yucca fries were a fav and the beet salad with salmon was bomb. Mac n cheese was ok and truffle fries were ok. Fried pickles and calamari were good. We had a great time. The downstairs is interesting and worth checking out another day. Would recommend. Not cheap but nothing in Salem is read more

I went twice this past year, once in August and another mid-October, right at the peak season. Both times were wonderful, great food and nice bartenders. very cool insight and true to the salem vibe without being tacky read more

Recommend from friends and social posts. Thought it would be great addition to a bachelorette bar crawl. The bride was super excited to go. As soon as we entered the building, we found an open table and were immediately confronted by a worker to move out of the way because of a working door they needed access to. No problem. So we proceeded to another open table. The same worker stopped us even before we made it to the table that we couldn't be there either because there wasn't enough space and frankly we were "too big a party to even be down there" We had not even made it to the table yet and there were parties in the restaurant that were bigger than our party. If we had had the literal second it would've taken to settle into the table we would not have been "in the way". But after experiencing the rude worker we immediately left. I can definitely understand safety of workers, but we quite literally were confronted before we even had a chance to all make it to a table. If this is how they act in the off season I wouldn't bother stepping into this establishment during peak times. Definitely put a damper on our night and left a bad taste in our mouth for something we were really excited for. read more

Came in here tonight 10/14 for a drink at the bar at 8:00pm. It wasn't too crowded and it was emptying out. We weren't greeted by any of the bartenders except the bus boy at the bar who brought us some water. He was the one who actually prompted the bartender. We had a red head bartender who was going to "help" us out. We had a couple questions about the drinks and she really wasn't much help or didn't give any recommendations until we asked. She seemed annoyed. The drink she recommended that wasn't "too sweet", actually turned out to taste so sweet and like pure pineapple juice. My spouse decided to order the drink she initially intended to order (which had Thai tea in it and turned out to be delicious). However for that drink we had to flag down a different bartender who was wearing a little devil ear headband. She was very nice and made a good drink. It was clear the red head was supposed to be taking care of us because we heard the other bartender letting her know she was making our drink. I finished my drink and had an empty glass and after an hour there not once did I get asked if I wanted another by any of the bartenders... if someone would have asked I probably would have ordered that Thai tea drink! The vibes were cute here but the service was just not it. We had to ask devil horned girl for our check, she was very nice but it's clear that they take care of their sections, if that. Red head bartender was honestly so terrible. We came in wanting to enjoy a little cap on our anniversary. I will say the hosts were very nice and gave it 2 starts for them and the devil horned bartender who was nice when we asked for her help. read more

Delicious dinner at Dire Wolf (formally Opus). Service was friendly and quick on a Saturday night. We had the Shaggy Dog roll but devoured it before getting a pic. Would recommend next time you are in Salem. read more

Dire Wolf Tavern - Aperol Spritz - Sushi Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

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Delicious vegan green curry and well balanced tequila cocktail. Very friendly staff. Would definitely recommend this great new spot! read more

Dire Wolf Tavern - Green curry with tofu (vegan) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

Came here for the first time after they rebranded the restaurant, we liked the food when it was Opus. They seated us quickly and the staff were very attentive. Ordered spinach dip, beef empanadas, Brussel sprouts, pork fried rice and butcher's pie, we took a few bites of everything and decided we can no longer eat it. They were all bad, we just paid and left. Maybe we ordered the wrong things? But everything we ordered was below mediocre. We couldn't bring ourselves to take another bite. I had high hope for this place and our bill was over $100. If you wanna come here, come for the drinks and some fun with friends but we won't be coming back. read more

We came here during the great snowstorm of 2024. From the time we walked in Cassandra- the bartender gave us top-notch service. I had the Shepard's Pie (their version has smoked brisket). It WAS AMAZING! My husband has the dripping Chicken sandwich. He LOVED it! Since it was a slow day, Cassandra gave us a tour downstairs to their other bar. Its a great space that feels like an old school speak easy. They call it Hallowed Ground. We will definitely be back for some great bourbon drinks and some live music. The full menu is also available downstairs. read more

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Not as good as before the change. The service was basic at best. Our drink orders took forever and no one was in there! they just talked to friends at the bar. The food was basic, smaller portions and over priced. Beers were cold. We would be happy to come back for beers and a cocktail but will not be dinning again... read more

Not your typical sushi roll experience. But, don't assume anything! The sushi was excellent - and I've been to some of the best sushi restaurants in the region. Give Dire Wolf Tavern a try! read more

Just got oysters and drinks. Nice outdoor space. Drinks were fine. Oysters were served with cocktail sauce that tasted like ketchup, and some sour of sweet sesame duck sauce concoction that had no business next to oysters. Oysters were a little gritty. Mea Culpa for ordering oysters at an unknown entity, but still, those sauces are criminal. Service was solid. Food left us leaving to get meals somewhere else. read more

We loved this place. The sushi rolls were so creative and fresh. I recommend Dire Wolf. I left feeling very satisfied.

Had an issue with another restaurant with a similar name & I wrote a bad review about this restaurant and their general manager reached out to me directly and made me figure out which restaurant was the actual restaurant that treated a disabled person myself in a very disrespectful manner! read more

We were in town on vacation and stopped in for lunch. My wife got a free appetizer for signing up through the app. She got nachos and added pork. They were AMAZING. Unbelievably generous portion. I had the wolf burger and it was thick, juicy and delicious. It came with a huge side of hand cut fries. I also had the True North IPA and it was a winner. Service was excellent. She was very busy but stopped by at just the right times and we wanted for nothing. I highly recommend this place. Has a nice, relaxing atmosphere, plenty of space and reasonably priced. read more

Oye vey- don't bother! Dry chicken wings, empanadas that are fried to blandness- even when I thought I was safe with a standard Cosmopolitan, No Go. My compatriot said " lower your expectations". I don't ask for much, but even this was not worth the trip. Billed as "comfort food" their lackluster food was feeble. read more

Not much different from what Opus was like. Was not impressed with the food. I got the brisket and though it was good meat, it was not served with bbq sauce which seemed odd to me. Hush puppies were dry and not great and the meal was disappointing for this southern girl. So ingredients were quality but the execution wasn't great. I'd try something else from there next time because I want to like it but for what they're charging I expected more. read more

I have beef with the Yelp reviews for this restaurant. I was almost discouraged not to eat here but I'm glad we gave this place a chance. We had the dire wolf burger, baked haddock, mac n cheese, and the chili for an app. Everything was well seasoned and delicious. We came with our two little ones and were taken care of great. Everyone was super friendly and attentive. read more

Didn't eat here but had a few drinks and service was excellent. We all noticed and loved what was on the walls/ambiance. Went downstairs and was surprised at the spectacular space downstairs. It was a really cool space. read more

This review is for the bar downstairs, Hallowed Ground. We are locals and had been the the precious restaurant and bar many times. We went in through the main entrance and were "greeted" by an exiting employee that abruptly said, "kitchen's closed!" This didn't deter us at 10pm on a Friday as we just wanted to do one drink. We headed straight downstairs and were told again upon sitting at the bar, "the kitchen is closed." We must have looked hungry lol... After assuring the staff we just wanted a drink, we were given a menu that was a bit hard to read, like it was a copy of a copy on a machine that was running out of ink.. All and all our drinks were decent, and service was quick. The underground bar had a nice vibe, and is much smaller than it used to be (or seemed so?). Good place for a fancy cocktail, but I think I may choose a more welcoming place next time... read more

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this restaurant! The food and drinks were spectacular and the waitresses we had, Kayla, went above and beyond. The general manager was also amazing! We had someone with a food allergy and he ensured that there was no cross contamination and personally brought out the food to assure us that it was safe! Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great time with wonder staff and food. read more

Dire Wolf Tavern - Beef brisket, salt & vinegar crusted baked haddock, and the butchers pie entrees - Sushi Bars Near Me - Salem, Massachusetts

I have been coming to Dire Wolf since before when it was Opus. I cannot say enough about the great atmosphere, but even more so about the food, drinks, and most of all the staff. I have held two private events in Hallowed Ground and I can say there is no better place. The event pricing was more than reasonable and staff went above and beyond to accommodate me and ensure the event went perfectly. Fridays are peak hours for any restaurant but Dire Wolf let me schedule my event on a Friday from 6-9 with no extra charge (other places were charging extra just because it was a Friday). Staff went out of their to make specialty drinks for my event, and provided quality food and a great welcoming atmosphere. I highly encourage booking your next event at Hallowed Ground, you won't get better pricing or service, not to mention the best drinks around. Thanks to Megan, Shawn, and the rest of the staff for making my event memorable. read more