What a cool spot! The flavors, the service and the atmosphere were all a vibe. The ladies that…read moreserved us let us take some pictures of our group and walked us through some suggestions that were the most popular. I had the chai with oat milk and cinnamon and my girlfriend had a toffee espresso and caramel glazed coffee. I think I will hit this place up tomorrow before leaving town to try another one of their specialty drinks. They also have a little bit of everything else, jewelry, clothing, lotions, lip balm etc. super cute place to meet up with friends and grab something creatively crafted to sip on.

Good service and coffee. I like the way the place is set up to sit and sip and enjoy. This is a…read moreneat place.

Sometimes you stumble upon a place that is just perfect. This simple, cozy, beer house was the best…read moreplace for a date night or a night out with friends. I went here on a first date and I have to say this place was the perfect wingman! Small but perfect beer menu and the cozy, hipster atmosphere was perfect for an intimate conversation. I love that you can get comfortable in the living room or play board games while sitting close on one of the couches. If the weather is nice you can also step outside onto their clean and comfortable patio for a conversation under the stars. A unique, amazing bar that I'd recommend to anyone visiting the Salem area or passing through. One of the coolest places I've ever had the pleasure of visiting and I'd highly recommend to anyone who loves beer and great conversation!

The rudest bartender I've ever encountered in my life genuinely. Asked for a white claw or…read moreequivalent and was told "we don't do that here", despite there being "hard seltzer" on the menu board. Asked for whatever they would recommended and got a cider that was on tap, only for my coworker ask for the same thing 10 min later and receive a can of whatever brand of hard seltzers they carry. So apparently you do do that here.

We were craving bbq and remember the vault having great bbq selection. So we went for a visit. We…read morewere highly disappointed after our meal. 1. There is no menu. They do not do bbq anymore due to lack of demand. Understandable. We were then given the choice of a burger or wings. Nothing else. Then some sides/appetizers options, which were hand written on an order slip. 2. We went at about 6pm our beers were super foamy. The bartender said that the co2 is weird with the first pours of the day. So a bit annoying. 3. We ordered mozzarella sticks and as an appetizer then the burgers. It took 35 mins for us to receive our burgers then the mozzarella sticks came out. The mozzarella sticks were cold inside. 4. The burgers were very basic bbq bacon ranch burgers. They cook personally came out and raved about how he came up with this recipe and was the best in the northwest. It was just bbq sauce mixed with some ranch. He also came out asking what we wanted on it and then proceeded to forget our tomato's.

"Welcome home" vibes, a clean space, and perfectly-priced BBQ make The Vault an instant classic…read more When I initially visited a year back for St Patrick's Day, it'd be very generous to call the experience "a mixed bag". Since then, and on a less busy day, The Vault has cleaned up beautifully. The barman was welcoming and quick on his feet. The sign out front read "BBQ is ready" and, sure enough, when I asked for the run-down, he talked me through the spread. In the end, a 1-meat 1-side plate won out. I requested the brisket (which was great, and generously portioned, though a bit dry to be the best in town) and the street corn (which was incredible, and definitely the best in town). It seems BBQ is becoming a competitive business in Salem! The Vault is keeping up with the best of them, but here's the real kicker: the plate came out to only $15. For meat of that caliber and quantity, not to mention the elotes, that's beyond a steal. If The Vault continues to offer this level of quality in service, food, and drink, any early-days missteps while finding their footing will be drowned out by the good times they roll out. I hope they can keep this momentum and continue to offer exceptional service complementary to great good and drink.

We went to dinner here before a show at the Elsinore Theater next door. Our meal was delicious,…read moreservice by Robert was excellent, beautiful decor, and a gifted pianist. The restaurant has a lovely selection of wines by the glass from all over the world. For example, you rarely see Touriga Nacional from Portugal by the glass in my experience. Next time we're in Salem, I would definitely dine at DaVinci again!

Just spent a week in Salem OR. Of all the restaurants I ate…read morein, this by far was the best. It is an absolute gem. I actually can't believe it is in Salem. The ambience, the food, the service was all first rate.

Beautiful atmosphere and unique drinks! My favorite late night date night…read more On the more pricey side, but delicious! I've always had friendly service. Helpful but not pushy. Will have to visit again soon!

I was traveling for work and was looking for a good coffee/brunch spot to work at for a little bit…read morebetween job sites. This came up on my research and I was completely blown away. The staff is very friendly and helpful. They told me they make their own vanilla syrups and roast their own coffee beans. After some quick back and forth, the worker recommended I try their eggplant shakshuka and their iced shaken cappuccino. Both were phenomenal! I honestly am counting down the days til I get to be back in the area for that shaken cappuccino again! The subtle flavor notes from their roasted beans really shines through and is balanced by the cream they use. The eggplant shakshuka was also great. It wasn't too spicy but it was a lot of flavor with each bite. I was so into the sauce that I almost forgot to save some to eat with the toasted baguette slices that came with the plate! Can't wait to go back to try other stuff!

I meant to write a review after I visited the last time, but I forgot, and we just went out to date…read morenight last night and had a similarly awesome experience. I have no idea why this place doesn't have five stars across-the-board. I am hard to please and I loved everything about it. The environment is chill. It feels like an old house on the inside with old pictures, low lighting and a lot to look at. It's not fine dining but I really liked the decor and the vibe. The service was top-notch. Both times we had Sarah, she was not only attentive and friendly, but also went out of her way to make sure our kids were taken care of, put up with our loud family, and accommodated multiple checks for our large group. She was a rockstar. And the food was great! And reasonably priced too. The first visit we had pizza and salad and the second time we had eggplant park, pasta, and oysters and clams- we loved it all! Portions were large, appearance was good and it tasted delish. I also had the tiramisu and it was yum. We will be going back again for sure.

This review is for the "Lounge" half of Christo's. Yes, there are two separate areas, the "dining…read moreroom", and the "Lounge". Their web site REALLY should make this more obvious. The lounge has three columns of tables directly touching each other, and single seats at the bar. The space is TIGHT, too tight, since wait staff are forced to walk sideways down the columns of tables and between those seated at the bar to see the show (the stage and bar are at opposite ends of the room). When the band takes the stage, staff turn the house lights off, which makes for a literal "dine in the dark" experience (not fun). There are also fog machines, that would be best left turned off (fog isn't needed for jazz music). There's also a green laser ball that shoots laser dots around the room, which (again) seems completely out-of-place for jazz shows. Parking is all street parking, and the neighborhood has a large homeless population. The food was definitely one of the pluses, and the other was the friendliness and efficiency of the staff.

Our trip to Oregon wouldn't have been complete without stopping by one of the region's famous…read morevineyards. For a nonlocal, this proved an overwhelming road to go down trying to decide where to stop, but I must say, I couldn't be happier with our choice in Cristom Vineyards. From the moment we walked in the staff greeted us with the type of welcoming spirit that made us feel like old friends. We got their 5 wine tasting that included a pinot gris, 3 pinot noir's and ending with a chardonnay. Each wine was as beautiful as the view from their outdoor patio looking out to Mount Jefferson. If you're looking for a winery that truly encapsulates what it's like to be in Oregon, look no further.

We are from out of state and this was our second visit to the absolutely stunning Cristom…read moreVineyards. Our first visit was in October 2018. We knew we wanted to return and were thrilled to be able to share our recent experience with family members. The wines are incredible (and we have been Wine Club Members since 2018). Our recent visit was absolutely perfect although the weather didn't cooperate for a picnic at the top of one of the mountains amongst the vineyards. We had a lovely and super informative tasting of at least 6 wines and enjoyed a delicious charcuterie board as well. We had been encouraged to bring a picnic and enjoyed that on the beautiful covered terrace while watching the summer rains. Plan ahead and make sure you visit Cristom Vineyards when you are in the Willamette Valley. Reservations recommended!

Ritter's has an upscale yet casual environment. The menu offers a wide variety of apps, sandwich's…read moreand burgers. The cocktail is list is extensive. The service is good, the restaurant is clean.

My wife has a view Ritter's is overrated; still, I brought her last night for a "pre-theater"…read moredinner date. Because of the time window we had before the show, I called early in the day to see about a reservation. I was told that the restaurant only makes reservations for parties of four or more--okay, that's reasonable. We show up a little before 6 pm in hopes of securing a table. After waiting a few moments to be greeted at the host stand--two employees were having a conversation while we approached, the first question I was asked was "do you have a reservation?". I explained that I'd tried but was told they didn't do that for a party of just two--we were told "oh, that's not what we do". There were three tables near the window, and we were brought to the small, two-top in between two larger tables that could accommodate 3 or 4. I thought about asking for one of the others as it would afford us a bit more room, but decided to just hold my tongue. Again I thought, okay, it's reasonable--they may get other patrons to accommodate. (As it turned out, neither of the other tables got occupied in the whole time we were there.) Our server greeted us about 5 minutes later and brought water to the table and asked if we'd like to see a drink menu. He came back with one about 5 minutes later. I ordered black tea, and my wife ordered a mocktail. The tea came out with honey; before I could ask for milk and Splenda, our server took off. (My wife flagged him over a couple minutes later when he reappeared.) We ordered our meals--a bowl of chicken gnocchi soup and the flatbread platter for my wife. I ordered the butternut squash and goat cheese salad and asked to have chicken added. About 10 minutes later, our server brought my wife's soup--her intention was not to have it an appetizer, but --oh well. The rest of our food arrived via another staff member probably 15 minutes later--not an outlandish amount of time. However after spending a minute looking at my salad (which was very pretty) I realized the chicken breast I'd ordered wasn't included in the salad. Again, our waiter was not to be found so I went over to the host station and asked after it. I was told "sometime the kitchen makes it later"--which seemed a little odd but again, okay--maybe they were searing it and the timing didn't work. About 3 minutes later I was brought a small plate with around 4 oz of sliced chicken on it. It was lovely looking and clearly moist, although the meat was cold--clearly not meant to be hot. We were never offered more water at our table, nor was I offered a refill on the hot water for my $3.50 tea. We realized around 7 that we needed to leave and could not see our server so I again went to the host station and asked if I could just pay the bill. I was told that our server was on the phone with the restaurant manager and they could have him come over in a bit. I repeated my request to simply pay the bill (and not have to wait for our server to be free). Another server came over and accommodated me at a register begins the host station, which was appreciated. Despite relatively mediocre service I tipped a bit over 20 percent--I understand the importance of tips on restaurant staff--il even if I'd prefer that they didn't rely on them for a fair compensation. The quality of our food was decent--but it's unlikely we will be back in the near future together. I know it's a popular meeting place and I may return to socialize with work colleagues--but we will find other places for our next dates.

It is easy to see why La Margarita has earned 4 stars in Yelp. For us, it was 5 stars all the way…read more Of course we had plenty of tortilla chips with an excellently sauced salsa. The house Margarita's were tasty. My wife had the Bean and Cheese Enchilada and I had the Chicken Chimichanga. Both were so good. Melanie was our server and she was quite friendly. The restaurant was quite busy due to the Joss Stone concert at the nearby Elsinore Theatre. We had the same plans as many but came early. Thanks La Margarita for a fun evening, and a perfect prelude to a great concert.

Fajitas are great. Their chicken is very tender and good quality. The bean dip is very much worth…read moreordering. Little spicy. Great to dip the chips in (and everything else too). Plenty of things for gluten and dairy free. And don't get me started on the margaritas. They've got top-shelf tequila for great prices. Such good food, service, and drinks. I don't know why we ever eat anywhere else, honestly. If they allowed dogs in, we would probably be there weekly.

Best Ramen in town, we order takeout and bring it home everytime and it always rocks!read more

Five Stars -- A Must‑Try in Downtown Salem!…read more My wife and I stopped by Akai Ramen yesterday, and this spot absolutely delivered. We ordered the shrimp fried rice, hot gemai tea, cucumbers, fresh salad, and the seafood ramen -- every single dish came out flavorful, balanced, and clearly made with care. The portions were generous, and the prices were surprisingly reasonable for the quality. The service was immaculate from start to finish. Friendly, attentive, and genuinely welcoming -- the kind of hospitality that makes you want to come back before you've even left. The decor is clean and modern with plenty of seating, creating a relaxed atmosphere perfect for a date, a family meal, or a quick bite. Yes, you do have to pay for parking in downtown Salem, but once you're inside, the food, the vibe, and the service make it more than worth it. If you're anywhere near Salem, I highly recommend stopping by. Akai Ramen is doing everything right -- great food, great people, great experience. Five stars all day.