Sidelines is a pain to get into as their entrance is unique, but my friends and I are semi-requlars there. Â Service is spotty as there is really no servers there longer than 6 months at a time it seems. Â Wings are great and daily specials are nice. Â Beers on tap always come out cold, but overall its a good neighborhood bar that could do much more if it wanted.
Review Source:Wings are great steak tips good. Service was awful, took 15 minutes just to put in our first drink order. Kitchen had same problem, 1 hour wait for food to come out. It is not really a sports bar if you can't hear the game because the juke box is to loud. If you want to go to a day Red Sox game and get some wings for lunch then this place is good. I will not be going back for diner though.
Review Source:I live right around the corner from this place, and now that I've got my 21 ID I figured I'd start out here for some drinks and a meal before I get to drinking heavily on a Friday night.
So, I sat down with two of my friends. The place was packed. We waited twenty minutes before anyone asked us if we wanted a drink. When that time came, one of my friends was denied alcohol because he had a temporary ID. He had his temporary, and his expired ID, both showing that he was of drinking age, yet the server still told him no. Since all of us couldn't drink, we were weary about even staying in the first place. We decided we would just eat and leave.
Our drinks came a solid ten minutes later, and it was peculiar that we got our beers before my other friend got his water. Ridiculous. When we put our orders in (Buffalo chicken sub and a chicken parm sandwich) we watched her write down all of the right things, but that was not what we got.
She didn't ask me if I wanted another beer even though I was finished with mine. I had to call her over just to get a refill. Another half an hour whizzed by and out came food, but definitely not what we ordered. My sub was just a chicken sub, with crumples of blue cheese and a ton of lettuce. It was essentially a lettuce and blue cheese sub with chicken flavoring added. Not even buffalo chicken. The fries were unsalted and soggy. THey were probably sitting under a heat lamp for quite some time, and there was no ketchup anywhere to be found.
My friend received three chicken fingers on a bun, not a chicken parm sandwich. He also got soggy unsalted fries. When we complained about not getting the right order, the server gave us a pissed off look, and took the plates back. When she returned, my sub had tomatoes on it for no reason (I HATE TOMATOES) and STILL was just a chicken sub with tons of lettuce and crumples of blue cheese. THe chicken parm sandwich was right this time, but she INSISTED that my sub was buffalo chicken...even though I was the one eating it and I know the difference between chicken and buffalo chicken. I had her grab me a cup of buffalo sauce because I could not stand to get dicked around anymore. The server told me, "The cooks are grumpy" as if that's an excuse for messing my order up. She's the one who looks at the food before bringing it up, it is HER fault. Honestly if the "cooks are grumpy" I would fire their asses...what kind of stupid excuse is that? I took the tomatoes off and ate it, and was still hungry when I left.
This place will never get my business again. Thanks for stealing my $25.39!
First things first, yes the wings are amazing! There are tons of sauces to choose from and I like them all. Tuesday nights are packed, it's Wing Night and everybody wants in on the action. Feel free to show up later, that way you don't take my seat at the bar :)
A little hidden drink is the fishbowl, which is phenomenal and affordable (and not on the menu). I know this is a sportsbar and girlie drinks are not what you would think to order, but it's worth it...don't judge me!
I have never had an issue with the service, and the bartenders are always friendly and attentive. They do refuse out of state licenses, but it doesn't affect or bother me.
I have been to this bar a handful of times. Â The wings are AMAZING, the mixed drinks are good but on the more expensive side. Â I only go for the wings and to use the Megatouch.
The first time I walked into the bar, I was almost refused service by the OWNER because I had an out of state license. Â Isn't there a college right down the street, full of students who also potentially have out of state licenses? I've never had a problem at any other bar in the area. Â One of the younger male bartenders is not very aware of people obviously trying to flag him down to close tabs or buy more drinks.
I like the atmosphere of the place, it's not too loud and its awesome to watch Boston sports teams on the huge tvs they have hanging everywhere.
The food here is okay. It's really small so on game nights it gets packed really fast. I've been here a couple of times and there is this one female bartender, a little older, that is super rude! She came and stood in front of us, not even bothering to say hi can I take your order. She takes our drink order and leaves, again without saying a word. Not even "can I get some appetizers put in" or "are you guys ready to order?" We ordered the brownie with ice-cream and I couldn't even get my spoon through the crust that's how hard the brownie was. Over all this is a nice place for college students that are looking for mediocre food and doesn't care about service.
Review Source:Sidelines is OKAY at best. the cheap beer selection isn't really worth the poor service. I understand that we were there during a busy night (bruins game) but we had a table of 12 and spent $160 on food/ alcohol we were ignored and then they CUT US OFF without even telling us! when i walked around the bar to find our waitress she blurted "alcohol was coming out to your table too quickly, i cant serve you for another 25 minutes" then she scooted away...like i said, there was TWELVE people in our party and we were not loud, rowdy idiots we were just hanging out hooting with everyone else when the B's scored. but, that didnt matter to them what so ever. as a bartender myself i understand you have to listen to house rules, but typically a warning or some sort of apologetic explanation is given! our waitress chose to completely forget that we were paying customers and avoided our table all together.
i dont think i'll ever go back to sidelines, unless they start doing a .35 cent clam night! then i wouldn't be able to resist.
I used to go here almost religiously on tuesdays because I was inlove with the honey BBQ chicken wings.... the service is horrible but for .35 cent wings... what more can you ask for?
The owner has a vague rule that you must purchase an alcoholic drink to order the wings. So i always ordered a beer and wings.
I recently went with my cousins and one of them couldnt drink because they only had a MASS ID, which she does not accept... & obviously  he does not walk around with his passport in his back pocket. If he couldnt drink... then he couldnt eat the wings! He wasnt enjoying his night so I offered him one of my wings... unaware that the "rule" for the wings is that EVERYONE in the party needs to have a drink.  Since the "rule" was not well explained.... the bartender charged us for extra drinks without telling us until the bill came....we asked if we could atleast drink the drinks since we're paying for them & she said no. therefore... they'll never see me again.
You can't have the word "Sportsbar" in the name of your establishment if you don't put the sound on the Celtics-Knicks playoff game (especially when it's a nail bitter in the 4th quarter). Especially on a Tuesday night....especially when half the people in the bar are watching the game.
Review Source:All you can eat Pizza night and 35 cent wing night are clutch. The pizza is great and the wings are actually a good size. They are cooked in the sauce not just drizzled in the flavor you ask for. While the bar is a little too collegey- the atmosphere is decent- i don't get the dive bar feeling at all. Â And yes, the right beers are there as well.
Review Source:Food is basic bar eats  but the service is the worst my husband and I went to hang out and watch a football game yesterday. no seats at the bar sat down and waited fifteen minutes not even a drink order and it wasn't that busy 3pm on a Sunday afternoon.  This wasn't the first time we have had bad service here but it is the last time.  Pick another bar in Salem and avoid sidelines.
Review Source:I used to go here every Tuesday for their wing night which, at the time, was pretty good. You really can't go wrong with $.35 wings until they raised their price to $.40 and the quality of the wings has gone down really low. The service there is THE WORST I have ever experienced and this is the main reason why I will never return. It's an extremely small place with about 15 or so tables. Their waitstaff  has some real issues not being able to handle more than 2 tables at a time, which in my opinion, should be a no brainer, especially on a night like wing night. It can take up to 2 hours just to grab one of the tables from the claws of some nasty college kids who have only been waiting minutes. There is no organization or order, the servers just don't care, and the bartenders are the worst of the bunch because all they care about is making money at ANY EXPENSE. This pace used to be great for a night out but now it's filled with lots of young, underage high school kids and families(nothing against them but this place is not appropriate for children). Don't even think about coming here on your birthday because they refused my friend service, on his 21st birthday, because the one bartender was "too busy" to serve us.
Please don't wast your time and do not give them business! Go to Murphy's on Derby Street on Mondays for wing night! They have $.15 wings and $1 drafts! Not to mention it's a lot cleaner, comfier, and less crowded.
Two words: wing night! Go. Seriously. They have 35 cent wings... I'm not usually a huge wing fan, but this place changed my mind.
Otherwise, the food is fantastic. You can't say it isn't until you've had the BLT pizza. Do not ask, just order. The staff are personable, the beer is good and cold and it is always pretty busy and has a good group of regulars.
My friends from Salem dragged us here cause we all wanted something cheap to eat. Â Surprisingly it was pretty good. Â Thursday is 1/2 price appetizers. Â We got the buffalo chicken wings which were hot and crispy along with some regular chicken fingers that were seasoned perfectly. Â We split a large vegetarian pizza that was excellent. Â I felt pretty full even though we shared all of that. Â
It is quick food and service in a building that must have been a former Pizza Hut ( you can tell by the roof). Â It is a typical sports bar with lots of flat screen TVs and Keno to play. Â The Keno may not be part of a typical sports bar, nothing too fancy. Â It was alright considering I have always overlooked it since it is no exactly in a busting area of Salem that gets tourist. Â It was decent and satisfied our hunger.
I wanted to give this place a 4 star rating, but I have experienced times when the beer glasses smelled really bad, to having ok pizza. Generally, we get some fresh tasty beer, as anyone would want, but not all the time. Also, they're pizza had always been pretty good. However, one time it came out as kind of cheap (but not bad cheap, just not up to the standard I was expecting). I think this is the kind of place that doesn't have consistency, but the effort is there, so it's a place where you will most likely get a hit more often than a miss, but don't be surprised if you get a sub par experience. It's been a while since I've been here, so hopefully they have become more consistent with having quality pizza and beer. I do like this place, it's just not a 4 star place...yet.
Review Source:I frequented this place during college because of a few reasons. Â
1. Â It was down the street and around the corner from campus.
2.  30¢ wings on Tuesday nights.
3. Â Super cheap pitchers of Moosehead, PBR, etc.
It's one of those places you just have to "get". Â Their specialty is their wings, and so I really wouldn't bother with much else food-wise. Â Who comes to a sports bar for decadent cuisine anyway? Â The only downside was the last time I went; my ex couldn't get served with his out-of-state license (and he'd drank there previously without a problem). Â Now, I think it's a dumb idea snub your customer this way, especially when you know there are several colleges (Endicott, Salem State, Montserrat) just down the road. Â Most likely, you're gonna get some out-of-state licenses.
Either way, I still like the wings. Â A great place if you need to get out and find a simple bar to watch the game and throw a few back.
My friends and I come to Sidelines usually 4 out of 7 days a week and the bartenders and waitstaff are prob the most friendly people around even though sometimes they come off as mean they are being sarcastic and fun. They have the best wings around the salem area and wing night is always fun. They have so many tv's anything you are looking to watch is usually on. Prices are reasonable and the food is good and they serve later then most other bars. My friends and I love hanging out here and always have a good time.
Review Source:It's a sports bar with some big tables. Â Honestly, what do you expect? Â It's not fine dining, but I've never been offended by the food, and the prices for drinks are pretty damn reasonable, especially compared to some places in Salem.
Depending on what's on the juke, talking can be a little difficult, and, as with most sports bars, you won't hear a friggin' thing on the TVs, but who needs commentary to Boston sports anyways? Â The patrons usually supply it all themselves.
I've never been here when it's way too crowded, so I can't speak to the atmosphere under those circumstances, but I've been on an average Saturday night and the crowd was varied, and numerous enough so that the place seemed full without being oppressive. Â Our expectations were low and it was a good time. Â That's enough for me.
this is not a crappy place and it's not the most amazing place you'll ever go. i always have fun here. i don't know how one could not have fun in a place with glasses shaped like footballs.
the menu is surprisingly huge. it's all the type of food that can't really be screwed up unless you're THAT BAD. the stuffed peppers (as in, the peppers stuffed with cold cheese and prosciutto) are pretty fantastic and i enjoy the wings. you can get pitchers of moosehead for $7 (or at least it was $7 last time i went in. you never know with the mf economy these days).
the service is always pretty decent and it's a great place to come with a group of friends. a lot of people i know seem to never want to go here, but i think it's because it's not immediately in downtown salem, which means people actually have to drive here. i could be wrong, though, and maybe people don't like it because it's not great.
i don't go to sidelines often enough.
This is my local watering hole, so I'm pretty partial to it, but here is a somewhat honest opinion of it.
They just recently wnt through major renovations so it's very spiffy, clean and sleek inside. Â All new plasma HD tvs too. Â It's a great sports atmosphere, if you're into any kind of sports, this is the place to be!
They used to have nightly specials, but some have changed now, as well as the menu which has seen some additions.
Mondays: All u can eat pizza 4.99
Tuesdays: 35 cent wing night (does not include blue cheese/carrots/celery though, that stuff is extra on Tuesday nights, and you can't bring leftovers home so order exactly what you'll eat!)
Wednesdays: Free nacho bar
Thursdays: 1/2 price apps 4-6pm, then 6 free wings with a 16" pizza after that
Food is okay, I wouldn't make it a destination for dinner, but it's great pub food compared to other pubs. Â The wings are very good, lots and lots of meat on them and a variety of sauces to try. Â There are lots of apps that are delicious. Â To name a few: Â pretzel, mac n cheese, gameday garlic bread, potato skins, fresh veggie platter, spicy fries. Â Pizzas are all great, sidelines finest being one of my favorites. Â The steak tips are pretty good there too.
Beer is cold and great and they have a wide variety of offerings. Â They have pitchers of Moosehead only and that's very reasonably priced as well. Â They also have a full bar with lots of exotic mixed drink options (though, if you order one of those in a sports bar you really should be shot)
They have a jukebox which customers will often play (unless there is a major game on, then they turn up volume on the game). Â I'm not an old hoagie, (only sorta) but I often find the music to be a little too loud to be enjoyable. Â They have a few video games and a full service Keno/Lottery station with a scratch ticket machine on the side. Â They also have an ATM Â if you find you need more cash, though they do accept credit cards!
The barstaff is tremendous!! Â Michelle is the BEST! Â But really, all of them are great. Â I haven't really ever sat at a table, so I can't say much for the waitstaff, but I hope it is as good as the bar.
All in all, I would recommend this as a great casual place to watch some sports, have a cold beer, and eat some good food!
I had been told that this place had good wings and pub food. I was pretty disappointed.
The buffalo wings I ordered were overly breaded and of low quality. I also had a Caesar salad with chicken. So, you pay $3.00 more for chicken and all you get are a couple of limp tenderloins. Plus the salad was tiny and not dressed very well.
My companion had the clam chowder that took 10 minutes longer to arrive than all of the other food. It arrived hot but had a very strong flavor of onion. Not very good.
All in all, I'd call this place a skip. Too many other good places to waste time here.
I like this place. Its nothing fancy. Just a typical sports bar that people go to watch the latest sports, get loaded and maybe have some food. At times you can get the Salem State kids or kids home for the summer from whatever school they go to who are trying to pass off fake id's. Whatever. The staff is attentive to checking ID's the few times I have been there.
Good selection of drinks. Food is good enough. Only eaten there two of the five times I have been there........pizza is good enough but not my fave and the burgers are good.
I practically lived at this bar last year. Or rather, I lived behind it. Quite literally. Just next door to the Crosby's plaza, you'll find Sidelines. While I mostly visited it during the summer when it wasn't swarmed with college students, even so, during the school year it wasn't too bad. The wait got a little long, but here is why it's worth it:
It's a sports bar & they have Stoli Vanilla and a jagerator
15 cent wing night
Free pizza night
Free nachos night
Pitchers of Moosehead
While the patrons aren't really my preferred crowd, they're mostly harmless and easily avoided with a game of Golden Tee or Big Buck Hunter. Last I knew they didn't accept out of state ID's, just a heads up, you fake ID'ers and college kiddos.