I went to try Choate Bridge Pub in Ipswich with a couple of friends last week. I hadn't been for a…read morefew years. It's just as great as it always was. The food was great, fresh, and hot. Even the coleslaw and tartar sauce were made with care. The servers hustle like crazy. They treat you like good friends. Some diners may have frowned on service. Those girls never stopped, and they smiled and laughed. (Who doesn't need that these days?) It's sea scallop season, so even those scallops are expensive I had to do it. The scallop dinner w/fries and onion strings was a bit over $35, but there were 14 huge, right off the boat succulent scallops. The burgers also looked great. Get on over there.

After 10 years away from my hometown of Ipswich nothing seems to change. Choate Bridge was a great…read moreplace after work to have a cocktail talk with friends and have great service. I was told by everyone for the Best Fried Clams go to the Choate Bridge Pub and they were right. The portions of clams was overwhelming sweet clams with a roll, butter and a salad for a great price worth the money. This is a local restaurant that's doesn't need notoriety from the past. A simple place to eat good quality food, the staff very friendly along with a great atmosphere. So I recommend Choate Bridge Pub find a place to park and enjoy. I took a to go box because of so many Clams,

Here's the blueprint for an awesome day:…read more 1.) Get to Sweetheart Inn in Methuen out on the patio around 5pm 2.) Grab drinks, and nachos & pretzel bites as appetizers 3.) Grab another round with some delicious entrees and listen to some good music Huge recommend, everything was awesome!

We had a lovely lunch here. The building is set back from the road and the restaurant entrance is…read morebehind building. A good size parking area near the entrance has two handicap spots by the ramp. A host/ess will seat you. Booths around the edges and tables in the middle. There is a cozy bar area plus a large event room with a fireplace. Restrooms are gender specific singles by the entrance. Full menu, appetizer to dessert, full bar, mocktails and soft drinks. We both chose entrees. Burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads also available. I chose a side Caeser salad for a five dollar upcharge as one if my two sides. The greens were fresh and the dressing pleasant. My companion chose the french onion soup as a starter and enjoyed it very much. Served in a crock with lots of melted cheese over the top. For entrees we chose chicken parm and baked haddock. The portion sizes were generous with half the chicken parm being brought home. The haddock was flakey with a nice crumb topping and lemon on the side. The butternut squash side (my choice) was tasty, although there was a bit too much black pepper there for me. Our waitress was very capable and friendly. The atmosphere is casual and cozy.

We regularly meet friends here…read more The food is four stars. Same for the ambiance. We've always had great service.

I guess I should have done more research. Wanted to try their 1/2 off lobster roll but that doesn't…read morestart till after Memorial Day. I didn't want to be rude and walk out so I decided on the two combo fish and calamari that came with two side. When they food came out everything looked good. The calamari was hard and chewy, they must have fried it twice. Had to dip it sauce to make it edible. The fish did not taste fresh. There was a weird smell almost ammonia like. Texture of the fish was off. The place is really nice and the staff were really friendly and attentive. The food was just a miss for me. Now I'm not sure if I want to drive over an hour to try the lobster roll.

We contacted Salvatore's regarding a bereavement meal. I spoke with Marci about our needs. She…read morereserved the 'Caesar' room based on the number of guests we expected and emailed several meal options they offer for private events. Once we had chosen a meal package, we spoke again on the phone where she asked for some additional information (such as how many 'littles' would be part of the event) and forwarded a contract to me via email to sign. On the day of the event, there seemed to be a bit of a misunderstanding with staff on duty about the timing of our event. Our contract stated 4:30 but when people began to arrive the doors were still locked, the bar was not yet set and the coffee service not yet out. By the time we arrived from the funeral home about 5pm they had most of these things addressed. In the meantime, guests were able to purchase drinks at the restaurant bar. The room was set with seven tables of eight seats. Each table had a white cloth, silk floral center piece, flatware, cloth napkin and water glass. The room itself has high ceilings and large windows overlooking the river. A buffet station was set up at one end of the room near the bar. The staff did a wonderful job serving the buffet. Bread, butter and salad were self serve while entrée options were served by staff. Once everyone had received their food a staff member came around to each table to be sure everyone was happy with their meal. He very much wanted to be sure everyone was satisfied. The hot food remained available throughout the event and take away containers were left nearby for those who wished to take home any left overs once an appropriate amount of time had passed. Cannoli, cookies and brownies were laid out near the coffee urns (regular and decaf, along with hot water and tea bags) for dessert. About thirty minutes before departure, take away containers were left on this table too. We paid the bartender the agreed upon amount for our event before departing. All of the staff were very helpful, considerate and kind. All of our guests were very happy with both the accommodations and the meal, as were we. Salvatore's is located in a renovated mill building with shared parking. A ramp leads up to their door for wheelchair access. Gendered restrooms are located off a hallway between the entrance and the event room. The temperature inside was quite pleasant, neither cold nor hot.

This was our 2nd recent visit to Salvatore's. We were in the area last week and decided to visit…read moresince we hadn't been to Salvatore's in several years. My wife had the Steak Tips and I enjoyed the Braised Short Rib, and both meals were so good that we made up our minds to share this great place with friends. We did just that last night. Donna had Steak Tips again and this time I had the Steak Tip Salad. Our friends had a Salmon Salad and Veal Saltimbocca. I heartily recommend sitting outside around sunset to enjoy the brilliant sky with your meal. And oh, the drinks were great, and my only disappointment is that they don't use large ice cubes for the Old Fashioned. I ordered mine with ice on the side but enjoyed it straight up. Our server was very attentive and made some excellent recommendations.

Justin is a great server he went above and beyond, food is good. and great outside seating.read more

I had a great experience here while visiting my in-laws in the Boston area (we live in South…read moreCarolina). I ordered the roasted haddock and it was the ultimate comfort dish; soft & flakey fish served with perfectly mashed, mashed potatoes and vegetables. I highly enjoyed it and licked my plate clean! I would definitely come back here if I'm in the area again and would absolutely recommend checking this place out :)

Absolutely a great location on the Harbor & food was good…read more The waitress, I'm sorry I forgot her name was very accommodating. Stuffies were great, Shrimp cocktail returned it was overcooked, oyster were good, niçoise salad they subbed green beans instead of carbs. The place is big & seems to be always busy. Go There enjoy the scenery sit topside or down below. Those with mobility issues there is an elevator to 2nd floor.

To be clear - Michael's Harborside Restaurant & Bar has a Lobster Shack attached to it. It is the…read morelatter that we ate at because it allowed dogs on the patio - the only option for eating on site - as opposed to the actual restaurant & bar that affords both indoor and outdoor dining (sans dogs). I ordered a fried clam basket and they were absolutely DELICIOUS! What The Lobster Shack served up in flavor made up for the lack of service. (It's literally a window outdoors that you walk up to and place / receive your order.) We will definitely go back for a casual outdoor meal that allowed for our dog to be present. The gals at the window were friendly and eager enough to please.

After going whale watching right out of the Merrimack River in the morning, my friend and I wanted…read moreto eat lunch nearby. I had done some research and apparently Brine is a favorite, so we went there. We stayed in the lot we were at and paid $2/hr to park through the passport parking app. It was a beautiful day for outdoor seating, but since the only tables left were directly in the sun, we stayed inside but because they had to windows open, the breeze was still flowing through. We started with the small power tower (cause duh, we're at an oyster bar!) which was supposed to come with 6 oysters, 4 littleneck clams, 2 jumbo cocktail shrimp, and a half order of crudo. Since we both aren't a fan of raw clams, we begged politely to have it swapped for something else and the compromise was 2 oysters. There were 4 options for oysters (Chatham-Chatham, MA, Crowes Pasture-Duxbury, MA, Norumbega-Damariscotta, ME, and Rose and Garnet-Falmouth, MA) so we ended up with 2 of each. As an appetizer, we had the octopus skewer (roasted garlic and zuchinni yogurt, crispy potato, pearl onion, pepperoncini, herbs) and for entrees, we ordered the halibut (jasmine rice, ginger coconut broth, charred asparagus, cilantro chimichurri) and scallop + garganelli (corn, black pepper, brown butter, tarragon breadcrumbs). The oysters tasted fresh with the Norumbega being our favorite. They could've done a little better with shucking them since we did find hard little pieces of stuff in some of them. The sauces they came with were all incredible; the green one tasted like an avocado cilantro and the cocktail sauce was the best I've ever had. The shrimp were massive, juicy, and tender with a snap to them. I didn't like the crudo much since it was in a ponzu sauce so far too much umami for me where it took away from the fresh fish flavor. I would've liked a half order of the halibut instead. The octopus was a little bland; I think they were relying on the sauce to provide all the flavor. It was cooked well, but I wish it was more tasty. I loved the crispy potatoes on top of the sauce as well as the pepperoncini. The halibut was well cooked and the crispy finish to the top was incredible. The broth reminded me of a lighter (in flavor) and less viscous Thai coconut curry. The asparagus was overcooked or maybe not as fresh - I wish it were still bright green and crisp. The scallop and garganelli was amazing. The sauce was thick, savory, and I loved the big pieces of crushed black pepper as well as the sweet corn. The pasta shape was new to me but it did well to capture the sauce. The scallops were cooked perfectly and it came with a good amount. Their bathrooms are very spacious and clean. Our server did a great job; she helped us make some decisions, was patient with last minute changes, and smiled the whole time.

Came here after roaming around Newburyport. It was completely empty when we arrived at 12:30pm on a…read moreSaturday. We were actually afraid it wouldn't be good. They ended up filling up a little bit after we arrived. It was cute how the menu lists out all team members including servers. That's a sweet touch and I guess easy to do when they're changing menus every few weeks. We liked how fresh and clean everything tasted. Seafood portions were big too. We ordered: small power tower, dozen oysters (3 of each on their menu), 2 composed oysters, octopus skewer, mussels, lobster salad, crab bisque, lobster pasta, and baked Alaska We started off with the small power tower. We couldn't choose the oysters or ceviche but it came out being 3 Dixon Point, 3 Norumbega, and tuna crudo. The ceviche portion seemed a bit small even after knowing that it's half a portion of a regular order. My family enjoyed the oysters so much that we ended up ordering a dozen more, 3 of each available at the time. It was fun to try out the different flavor profiles across the various oysters. We also inquired about the composed oysters which changes even more regularly than their menu. Each time it's some sort of tart flavor and a fruity flavor. When we went, they added grape and some sort of vinegar to it. We didn't expect that combination and it turned out quite refreshing. Octopus skewer might be the least favorite of the table. The texture was a bit soft, more mushy than tender chewy. Mussels were also something my family liked. I only ate a few pieces because I had a muddy one in the beginning. Lobster salad was a crowd favorite given the large pieces of lobster and avocado. Using bibb lettuce made it less wet and watery which adds to the creaminess. Lobster pasta felt duplicative when we already got lobster salad but I still really wanted to order it for some creamy savoriness and carbs. It hit the spot for sure. Unfortunately there were a few pieces of lobster that weren't as fresh and couldn't eat. We told them about it and didn't request for anything but they ended up comping the dish. We last minute added the crab bisque after enjoying all the other items so much. I didn't like the smokey flavor so didn't have too much. At the end we were so satisfied that we wanted to try out the desserts too. We were debating between the baked Alaska and the tofu cheesecake. We ended up getting the baked Alaska because it seems more unique. It's not the type where you get a whole ice cream mountain covered in meringue that they'll bake, torch, or pour alcohol lit on fire. I think it's more like a deconstructed baked Alaska - disappointing but still looked nice and tasted good. The meringue was whipped very nicely, thick fluffy texture. The torch on it was just right too, providing sufficient char in appearance and flavor. The black sesame praline on top was surprising as an element and its nice toasty smokey addition to the dish. The splash of yuzu (or passionfruit?) sauce at the bottom was sufficient for the cake pieces and not sweet meringue (I know it probably still has a lot).

The Spot is one of our favorite local places to eat and hang with friends. Been coming for many…read moreyears and the main reason is Drew. He is an excellent server. He is very attentive and always remembers us and our drink orders. He does his job well but more than that, he's fun to talk to. No matter how busy it gets in there, and it can get pretty busy on a Friday night, he makes sure to keep checking on his tables. In addition to Drew, the food is always consistently good, especially the sushi. Great all around place.

Allison was excellent. Very patient and answered all my questions about the menu. It was very busy…read moreand she had a lot of tables but her service was first rate. Food was delish!