Salem Street Pub — Restaurant in Apex

I've been to Salem Street quite a few times. As a server and the daughter of a restaurant owner, I typically have a good amount of patience when it comes to eating out. Although the quality is normally great, when I came at 4 in the afternoon (not a very busy time for a sit down restaurant) I was highly dissatisfied. I was on a date and seated by the manager in a mostly empty restaurant uncomfortably close to a large table. He said a server would be by shortly, and when I said 'thank you,' he ignored me and walked away to help another server clean another table. These were two employees cleaning a table in a pub at 4 in the afternoon before we were seen. After a moment, another server came by to check on the table next to us, pre-bussed it, and walked away. Yet another server began cleaning yet another table, before anyone came to so much as ask us what we wanted to drink. We had been sitting there for about five minutes in a mostly empty restaurant before getting up to leave, and were not even spoken to on our way out the door.

The service is normally great, so the only reason I can think of for this blatant disregard for my table is the fact that I'm seventeen and most servers don't think we will tip or order alcohol to bump up the bill. I leave 20-35% when I eat out because I believe in making a server's day with a big tip. This...

We used to love coming here—this was our go-to spot every week, largely because of the wonderful, consistent staff and reliable service. Sadly, after COVID, new management took over, and things haven’t been the same since. Most of the original team is gone, the restaurant is now closed two days a week, several menu favorites have disappeared, and prices have gone up. While we understand modest price increases are happening everywhere, the decline in service is what has truly changed our experience.

In May 2025, we decided to give it another try, hoping things had improved. Unfortunately, we left feeling disappointed and a bit frustrated. Our son ordered a kids’ cheeseburger meal—no cheese, just pickles—and received two very small, thin pickle slices. When we got the bill, we noticed the meal was 50 cents more than the price listed on the menu. Our server, Miranda, said the extra charge was for the pickles. She made no effort to apologize for not mentioning the upcharge beforehand, nor did she offer to adjust the bill. Her attitude throughout was curt and unfriendly—something both my husband and I picked up on.

This visit was our last attempt to reconnect with a restaurant we once loved, but unfortunately, the experience confirmed that it’s no longer the place...

Overall: 3/5; Service: 3/5; Food: 3/5 Not likely to return

Entered with high hopes, walked out with them dashed. Hostess was friendly, as was the waitress (as far as I could tell in our limited interaction). She dropped off our food, and we did not see her again for 20 mins. No refills, no checking in, nothing. I’m not sure whether we were her only table inside or what - every other table around us was serviced numerous times by its respective waitress (and/or management) during that gap.

The food itself was just OK. The Greek salad was somewhat lackluster, though the dressing is pretty solid. The chicken was seasoned well but dry. The Chicken Ranch Wrap was, well, mostly ranch. I don’t recall having a wrap that didn’t at least have lettuce and tomato (which would have helped soak up the two or three servings worth of ranch), but that’s on me for not reading the menu carefully. The best item on our ticket was the grilled cheese. No complaints there, but that’s not exactly a ringing culinary endorsement.

Based on other reviews, it sounds like ownership recently changed. It’s certainly not what I feel it was hyped to be, and at least a couple of menu items I was interested in trying...