I've been to several McMenamin's locations. I've never been disappointed in the food. The only time I've had less than good service was not at either Salem location. Each meal is prepared to order here. If you want lightning fast turn-around time, may I suggest the golden arches.
Today I got right in and requested and got a window seat. Like most  McMenamins, it takes advantage of the existing charm of the venue. In this case it's an old Victorian (and according to legend, haunted) domicile. I like the captain's chairs which are the most comfortable of the non-cushioned designs. I have several in my home.
Julie, my proficient, pretty and helpful server, conveyed my instructions to the kitchen and they were followed well. (An occurrence which, most places, is iffy at best.) I ordered a Classic Reuben ($9.95); Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut and Russian Dressing on very good quality grilled Rye Bread. Many, if not most, places use Thousand Island Dressing. I'm fine with this practice, but Russian is traditional and correct. The hand-cut, skins-on Russet Fries at Thompson Brewery have always been about as good as Fries get. Today's were no exception. Julie provided Malt Vinegar, a much appreciated courtesy. They use Portland Ketchup Company Ketchup which is premium stuff, but a bit sweeter than I prefer. Always a pet peeve with me is Corned Beef sliced with the Meat's grain rather than across it. This minor complaint shall be forgiven today, as it was sliced so thinly that it did not pull out of the Sandwich.
Good Reuben Sandwiches are one of my many weaknesses. The one I had today certainly qualifies. I'm putting Thompson Brewery on my "Reubens, Reubens, who's got the Reubens" list.
After a pretty awesome (albeit dry-ish) wedding, a group of us decided to get our drink on at the local McMenamin's in Salem. We were able to get a room to ourselves on a Saturday night, which was pretty impressive. Sadly, it was all pretty much downhill from then on.
Tater tots and chicken fingers = good, as expected for any fried foods
Pumpkin ale = bad, so so bad
Service = ugly (30 minutes wait times between ordering/getting drinks/getting food/getting our check, really?)
I'm glad my company was good, it definitely compensated for the miserable experience of waiting for anything at this place. Stay away unless you're desperate and have a lot of time on your hand.
This is one of those places that isn't great but you keep coming back and you aren't sure why. Â The food is the standard McMennamin's menu that you can get at all their pubs. Â The cook seems to make things a bit greasier here than the PDX ones. Â I like their beer and the Ruby is my favorite. Â I think it is kind of a cool, old house and the outdoor seating is nice in the summer. Â My book club has met here several times because the service is so slow that we never feel rushed to get out of there while we sit and chat. Â
I wouldn't go here if you need to get in and out quickly but if you just want to sit and hang out with some friends over a beer and potato skins, I'd recommend it.
I am not sure what is up with McMenamins lately. Â The service has become horrible. Â This is not unique to Thompson's. Â I have noticed this at most of the McMenamins that I have been too. Â I have come in, sat down either by myself or with friends and literally have to stand up and ask someone to help us on average 10-15 minutes after we show up.
I Recently visited Thompson's and it was the usual service or lack there of. Â This place is freezing! Â I had a sweater and had to go to my car to get jacket and gloves because it was so freakin cold in there. Â I looked around and everyone else was bundled up too.
I have been a McMenamins fan for nearly 20 years. Â It is very sad to see the service and quality diminish.
I've frequented the two McMenamin's in Salem many, many times. Â Going all the way back to when I had just turned 21 and was home on leave from the military. Â I remember coming to the Thompson's with my parents and ordering my first beer in Oregon. Â I've been a dedicant ever since.
The Thompson Brewery is the more 'family' orientated option. Â With several small rooms with nooks and crannies to shove unruly children into, or at very least, isolate as to not make the rest of the restaurant suffer. Â Noise levels can vary quite a bit I've noticed, but nothing as overpowering as live bands at Boon's.
I will eventually complete my mission to visit each McMenamin's location, it's on my bucket list.
I had my first real beer drinking experience here and came back many more times during my college and post-college days. They make all their own beers (like every pub in the chain) and they are all great. Â The food is quality pub food and atmosphere is totally comfy. It was here that I first started mixing ketchup with hot sauce. Thank you McMenamins.
Review Source:I like this place. I agree with some of the comments about the boring menu and slow service, but I've eaten here maybe 15 times and I've never been so put off that I wouldn't come back. Their burgers are decent and the reuben is very good. The fries are the same as other McMenamin's places (delicious, hand-cut, unique). The beer is worth the trip alone, especially the Terminator Stout. But what I like best about this place is that you can almost always find a secret room and sit by yourself. It's an old mansion that has lots of small rooms and unless it's really busy, at least one of them will be empty. The wait staff always finds me hiding out in there and takes care of me. You can also eat outside or on the patio on nice days, although the location isn't scenic or anything. It's just a fun change of pace. One of my favorite meals in Salem is a reuben, fries and a Terminator. Put ketchup on a small plate and douse it in vinegar and dip your fries in it.
Review Source:Okay, seriously, it is obvious they are grossly understaffed. Â Maybe a wee bit overpriced, and a tad boring in the menu department. Â But come on Yelper's, it's in A HAUNTED HOUSE!
I have forgiven the staff for their slowness, it's not their fault that they aren't allotted more $ to pay for more staff. Â I blame it on the McMenamin Brothers, and especially for their boring menu. Â Weird thing is, Â we just keep coming back. Â Like, a lot. Â We LOVE Julie, our favorite server, with a savant's memory.
I dig the hard cider ($6, ouch), Â the Veggie grill + roast beef, or the ruben with turkey and slaw. Â How can one not love scooby snacks or cajun tots?
A super secret: Â you can pack a lot of people in the back room, it has a door to wrangle the kids, you can turn off football and turn on sponge bob, and the kicker is............ THEY DON'T CARE AT ALL!
I'm a bit of a McMenamins veteran and this place is by far the worst. Â Which is a shame, since I really enjoy the pubs closer to Portland. Â Standard McMenamins menu, but the food quality isn't as good as the other locations. Â Even worse is the service. Â Most of the bartenders and servers seem unhappy to be there. Â The only good thing going for this place is the patio seating, which is nice to enjoy when weather allows. Â If you are in Salem and craving some McMenamins, it's worth a stop, but you'll be disappointed if you are used to the locations up near Portland.
Review Source:The delicious food and drinks are ruined by the worst service....EVER. If it's busy, expect a 30 minute wait for your drinks...and about 1.5 hours to get your food. This restaurant is ridiculously understaffed and inadequate. If you treasure service OR YOUR TIME, at all...don't waste it here.
Review Source:Terminator Stout.
That's pretty much all I need to say about this place.
Every McMennamins automatically becomes one fo my favorites restaurants simply because of this unbelievable beer they make. It is quite simply, the best beer I have ever had in my life. So smooth. No bitterness at all. Chocolaty and dark. God help me.
As for the restaurant, this is one of the more quaint McMennamins around. It's an old house that has been turned into a kind of pub. The food is very good, but not great. It's pub food after all, but it's better than most other bar foods you'll find. I usually get the pastrami sandwich, and it's pretty solid, and goes well with Terminator Stout.
But then again, the beer is so good, I think eating my own shoe would go well with Terminator Stout.
This place is a Class-A DUMP! The food is horrible and the staff is mad at the world.The restaurant was dark and gloomy, similar to the attitude of the employees. I suppose if you are a beanie hat wearing, granola eating, Patagonia shirt wearing, bleeding heart liberal that is also taking Prozac, this may be just the place for you. The food was cold as well. I think someone needs to taking the employees out in the daylight hours so they can get a little life to them.
Review Source:I've actually never experienced worse service. McMenamin's is notorious for being slow, but not getting menus for 15 minutes, not getting our food for another 45 and having to ask for the check an hour after we ate was horrible. The only reason why I stayed is because the weather was incredible outside on their patio.
Review Source:Food is good. Of course.
Service, the one time I went (Saturday night at 6:15pm or so) was ATROCIOUS. They did comp our drinks, to make up for the long wait for the table. That was a nice gesture. But the waiting did not stop there... oh, no. Wow. Â From start to finish, we were there for 2 hours. It only took us about 15 minutes to eat our food and we waited for about 45 minutes or so for our table. So, that left about 1 hour of prep time for the food and the massive amount of time it took for our waitress to take our credit card. I finally had to go find her so she'd take it.
My assessment is they are severely under staffed. Hopefully this review will help reduce the volume of their business thereby reducing their need for staff.
And yep, awful parking.
Not sure why people choose to work in a restaurant when they clearly hate people, but I am starting to think that it may be somewhere in their corporate policy. If you must visit a McMenamin's in the Salem area then this one is the lesser of two evils.
PS. They only earned the second star for not being the boon's location.
Let's start with the best part: The beer is good! They usually have a good selection of beers brewed on-site in addition to the normal ones that all McMenamin's have. The food is also good, but a little on the pricey side. Now with the bad part: The service can be really bad. They seem to have staffing issues (i.e., not enough at times) which often causes the bad service. Over the past 4 or 5 years we've had some the the best and some of the worst service. When it's good, the staff is attentive and friendly, have time to discuss the beers with you and even joke a little. When it's bad, you might wait more than 20 minutes before your beer order is taken...and another 15 before your beer is in front of you. This really is a great place, they just need to iron out the problems with service.
Review Source:This place is cool. Â I have been to Mcmenamin's in Seattle before and had horrible experiences. Â I had two IPAs which were delicious of course and a nice mushroom and swiss burger, you know, ordinary pub food but the burger was really good! Tasty and fries were nice. Â The mustard they serve will put some hair on your chest too. Great prices and good happy hour options. Â For both beers and the meal it came to 15 bucks even. I'd say thats a good deal!
Review Source:Stopped by on the way home from a vacation on the road with 3 tired and hungry kiddos. we were greeted at the door and seated quickly and placed our orders so the kids could start eating. The waitress came back and let us know that there would be a 20-25 min wait due to a large group upstairs and brought drinks and crackers for the kids. She was very helpful the entire visit and very friendly with the kids despite being very busy. One of the best visits to a McMenamin's ever!
Review Source:Two stars because the server sucked. She treated us like garbage.
Never have i been to a restaurant where the server huffs an puffs, rolls her eyes, and acts completely put out when you ask for another beer (she didnt ask, i had to ask).
Not only did we have to ask for everything, but she never brought our check. After staring at our empty plates and beer glasses for 15 minutes, we went downstairs to get the check.
If the place had been busy, i would understand (to some degree) her being behind a bit. But there were two other couples in the entire place (that i saw).
Food was nothing worth writing home about, which is too bad because it is a neat setting. Very cozy and intimate, but the wife and i will never return to this place.
Your experience may be different, my review is based primarily on the service.
I hadn't been to Thompson's in about 6 years, but was in South Salem needing lunch and decided to stop in with a friend. Â Since it was before noon, we went with Bloody Marys to drink. Â I asked the bartender if they made their own mix, which they do. Â I'm kinda picky about Bloody Marys, so I wanted to know. Â Their mix is delish! Â It came in a pounder glass with a nice garnish of two giant green olives-one stuffed with the traditional pimento and the other with garlic. Â It also had a pickled asparagus spear-which to me is always the crowning glory of a good Bloody Mary. Â So, the drink was great. Â On to the food. . .
I ordered the Captain Neon burger, which has Bleu Cheese dressing and bacon on top. Â It was good. Â Pretty tasty. Â My friend had some kinda Philly Cheesesteak with onions and peppers. Â It looked good, but according to her, it needed Cheese Whiz to be authentic. Â Tasty though, per her. Â
Our service was average. Â What really bugged me was the waitress that kept coming into the bar yammering on, loudly, about anything and everything. Â I wanted to tell her to "SHUT IT!", but like my food and drinks without server spit. Â
The people watching was awesome! Â There was this "interesting" woman, who must be a regular, or apparently is not afraid to over-share with and blatantly hit on the bartender. Â You might see her, if you go.
I guess I've been lucky and haven't run into the terrible service and food that the other reviewers have had.
This is about the worst McMenamins I've been to (out of easily 20+) in terms of service and food. Â That's saying a lot - because McMenamins has notoriously bad, slower than slug service and not-so-good food. Â The only reason I give it 2 stars is the building itself and the availability of outdoor seating. Of the 4-5 times I've been there, I've never had a decent meal or service. Â I won't go back - not even for happy hour.
Review Source:The Thompson Ale House is good, but its been better. In recent years, McMenamin's has scaled back their menus and jacked up their prices, and a lot of favorites have disappeared. Most of the non-burger and sandwich entrees are gone, including the delicious High Pasta. Inexplicably, they removed a lot of the obscure pop culture puns from the menu - a slight to punning Oregonians everywhere. I don't want a reuben, dammit! I want a Reuben Kincaid!
Nevertheless, the Thompson Ale House is a reliable place to get simple pub fare. The wait is long - probably too long if you try to bring toddlers - but the food is worth it, even if the beer, eh... isn't. If it's warm enough, the outdoor seating area is preferable to the house itself. Ask them about the epileptic squirrel.
I used to think it was only the McMenamin's in Clackams I used to go to in Clackamas, but alas no, EVERY time I go to one of the McMenamin's places I get the slowest service ever. Â Which is fine if you aren't that hungry (read: you can wait 45 minutes to eat) and if you are wanting to just sit and talk for a long time. Â The only reason I keep making the mistake of going back is I really like the food.
Review Source:Great Charm! Â Good Food! Â Amazing Time!
Brewery from what once was the most elegant Civil War Veteran's home. Â There is enough history and memorabilia in the house to keep conversations going with friends or strangers and like any brewery theres enough on tap or on the shelf to keep you focused... or unfocused...
Menu is great! Â Happy Hour prices can not be beat!! Â Definitely worth the time...
footnote: Â South Liberty is the old wagon that ran between Salem and Eugene... I will have to investigate it some more and see if there is still an existing route...
Yes, this is my second review of a McMenamin's Pub (see other Salem McMenamin's review for a general history of these pubs)--but this one is just as good and offers Fish & Chips (which the other Salem location does not, making this a sometimes more popular pick amongst my friends). Â This pub is in an old house so you can seat yourself in any one of a number of different rooms.
Aside from the sit-down seating thorughout the house, there is a small bar area to the right of the front door which is always filled with locals. Â There is also a great outdoor seating at picnic tables for those sunnier days in Salem. Â Good food, great beer, great location for a group of friends.
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