We will be spending a weekend in Salem later this month and wanted to know how the local beer scene is? Any good beer bars and package stores?
Gulu Gulu Café <http://www.gulugulucafe.com/> is an eclectic hippie-bohemian resto/beer bar/music place worth a visit. Also - There's a branch of the BeerWorks brewpub in Salem - stick to the specials (& Contender IPA).
Quality Liquors in Salem. Vinnin Liquors and CBC just over the line in Swampscott. Shubies in Marblehead.
Bit Bar has good beer and arcade games. Naumkeag Ordinary has good beer and food. Sea Level has decent beer and water views. Notch is definitely the #1 destination, though.
I agree with all these suggestions. Notch has great beer and cool vibe. If you're looking for something bigger than session strength then check out Gulu Gulu. Flying Saucer next door has great pizza and usually several beers Gulu isn't carrying. If you want dinner and beers, Naumkeag is a good choice. People tend to knock the Beer Works, but I like it. The potato spring rolls are awesome! For seafood, I suggest the Lobster Shanty. Good food and a half descent beer list.
As someone who only travels to Salem infrequently (I'll definitely be there for NERAX again this fall), these are some great suggestions I didn't know about. I loved Howling Wolf...going to be hard not to go back there again.
In addition to Notch, I definitely recommend heading across the bridge to Gentile Brewing in Beverly. And while you're in Beverly, pop into Bogie's package store; small but great beer selection.
There's also Bentwater brewing just a couple minutes away in Lynn! Sea Level on the wharf in salem usually has a very solid selection of local draft and cans, and they've got great views! This time of year, the weather is going to make all of those types of places PACKED, so go on off hours or make a res. 2 Gulu Gulu, its definitely a very 'artsy' vibe, but most people in there are actually really chill and friendly, and the beer selection is one of the best in town. Awesome pizza nextdoor too!
Howling Wolf is terrific, but always has a wait. Get there early if you can. They recently opened a Flatbread Pizza between Howling Wolf and Notch. I've only been there once and really liked it. Definitely looking forward to NERAX North again this year. Besides being in Salem, the hall they held it in was great. Lots of room so it never felt crowded.
There's a Flatbread near where I work in Bedford, and another in Davis Square where I live, it's good pizza, albeit a bit overpriced. Not my first stop for pizza though in Somerville by a long shot. I think our wait on a Saturday night after NERAX/Notch was only about 30 - 45 minutes. If I recall correctly someone on the forums here, or maybe at the restaurant commented on how rare that was, and that the wait is typically much longer.
Drinking on premises: Notch, Gulu-Gulu, Tavern in the Square (could be worth a look) Package stores: Vinnin Square Liquors
I thought of something last night, but it's non-beer related. If you're looking for breakfast try either Red's Sandwich Shop or the Ugly Mug dinner. The great thing about Salem all these places are within walking distance of each other and close to all the touristy stops.
Thanks for the breakfast tip. We will check them out. Our son is moving to Salem so he will also appreciate it.
all of the above mentioned are great. also, if you want a cool place to eat some noodles and asian street food type stuff the newly opened Kokeshi is awesome and they have a good beer list. its worth a visit just to look at the build out. same goes for the Olde Main St Pub on Essex St and the newly opened former Mercy Tavern which is down by the House of 7 Gables. Lastly, if you want to switch from beer to booze theres a great distillery off of Canal St named Deacon Giles. They have a "speakeasy lab" in the front of their place that offers full cocktails. At the moment they make white rum, spiced rum, and gin. Ian & Jesse are great guys and very accomdating. The beer offerings in the majority of bars in town all offer an above average selection.
