Hale Street — Restaurant in Beverly

The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, though a little too close to neighboring tables. Honestly, the food left much to be desired. We went on a Saturday evening, so it was busy. We ordered the calamari appetizer ($11) without the peppers, and while tender it was very greasy, slightly too dark, and way under seasoned. I wouldn't order it again. My dining partner had the pulled pork, which while "good, not special," had excessive barbecue sauce poured over the top of it. I had the fish tacos ($17 for two) which sounded delightful on the menu, but in fact were dominated by a hot sauce. The promised flavors of avacados, cilantro, and a creamy sauce were hard to find, as was the haddock. The fish portion on each was the size of a golfball. The pickled cabbage tasted like absolutely nothing. The accompanying white rice and black beans was dry, dry, dry, and tasteless. What a disappointment.

The other major standout was the absence of the waitress after the food was delivered (not by her). Never once did she come by to see if everything was ok or to see if we needed anything. Not once. She came to give us our check.

I wanted to like this place because it's cozy and a nice ride to get there, but I'll...

Came here with appetites and excited to try a new place. Sat at the bar and waited at least 10 minutes before one of the bartenders took our drink order. The other bartender was walking around the bar picking up empty glasses and chatting with people. The first bartender finally made our drinks and we got them 10 minutes after we ordered them. We ordered the dumplings appetizer which tasted okay. Not bad but not great. We wanted to order food but couldn't get anyone to come over to us. We asked the guy who brought our food if we could order and he said "I can't take your order, I'm just a food runner" so then we asked the female bartender (who was working very hard and super busy). She said "yes, but I'll have to come back". We waited another 10 minutes and she never came back. The male bartender opened a bottle of wine while watching Wheel of Fortune, then he picked up a few more empty glasses off the bar and then walked over and chatted with some folks in the corner. We finally got his attention long enough to get the check. Went and had dinner somewhere else. Abigail, thank you for your response. My bf said he will never go back to Hale Street but I'd be willing to try...

New favorite restaurant-- in the world.

Stopped in Saturday night with another couple and a baby. They first served me an Old Fashioned in the proper glass (hate it when they serve them in snifters which is wrong) with the whiskey of my choice, then I encountered the oysters. The bluepoints were the best oysters I've ever had lifetime-- just incredible-- do NOT filth them up with sauce or horse radish or anything, they are perfect all by themselves. Perfect 10. The wellfleets were a 9/10. $2.75 per oyster reasonable given the quality. (I paid $3 in Pennsylvania recently, for 8/10 oysters).

Wife's steak was fork-cut, she loved it. Menu is fantastic, I had many things I wanted to order, but I had to have the sushi. Like any sushi restaurant these days, far too much fried stuff in their signature rolls, but at least they had a decent selection of all-fresh rolls. The California rolls used real crab-- a must.

I don't remember the service, so it must've been great. I DO remember the waiter being very accomodative on my bourbon request (Old Grandad).

I wish I lived near this restaurant, it'd be once a month for me...