Archive Coffee & Bar — Restaurant in Salem

0 STARS... Save your money and go somewhere else!

If I could leave a 0 star review I would. We ate here before Covid and had cocktails, which were good. The food was good, not great but good enough that we would return again. Tonight we went there I ordered a lemon drop (which I've ordered before) and a long Island ice tea for drinks and the cheeseburger and phó tacos. Our drinks were tiny and both made incorrectly and were barely drinkable. My lemon drop was made with so much triple sec that I could barely drink it....I doubt they put vodka in it. My husband's long Island was clearly not made with a shot of each alcohol and did not taste like a long Island ice tea. The drinks were tiny, but yet we paid the same price for full sized drinks in an upscale bar/restaurant.

The tacos, my husband literally took one bite and couldn't stomach anymore. He had a side of Caesar salad which was so over salted that he couldn't eat more than two bites and made him cough because of the salt. My cheeseburger was severely overcooked and while it had seasoning, it left it weird after taste in my mouth....I only took one bite and couldn't eat anymore.

The service was subpar, when I asked for a modification during ordering the server said to me "I don't know if we can....." and left it at that, never offered to go ask or put it on the order and see if the kitchen could accommodate. When he came by to ask how the food was and my husband asked for the check, he simply said "okay" but even after looking at our uneaten food didn't ask what was wrong. Nor did they ask or really seem to care when we got up and husband told them what was wrong. While they credited our food when we got up to pay, the service was overall dismal, the food was horrible and the drinks were better suited for the gutter.

Save your money, don't go here! We ended up at better restaurant where the staff actually seem to care and the food was 1000...

A community congregating point. Love it. Staff is always nice. Their bartender (a cross between the "My Name is Earl" lead and Ron Swanson) is fantastic. Food could be a tad on the more interesting side - and I mean this with nothing but success in mind; the avocado toast - grill the bread and/or offer a multi grain variant (also make the bread smaller than what it currently is);, offer a lovely continental breakfast with a great croissant that crumbles like it just came out of the oven (the products are out there - and its also an item you can dunk in your cappuccino foam); offer a leek and Gruyere quiche; instead of boring hummus - introduce people to babaganoosh!!! Make your butter for your steak and frites a class A "cafe de Paris" butter, you'll thank me later. Offer fantastic loose leaf tea's with an emphasis on the presentation (pyrex tea pot, tea sieve, various sugar option, candle to keep the tea hot and an appropriate pastry to accompany the tea. And you are so close to so many wonderful wineries in the Willamette Valley AVA's, offer a rotating sample of some of the wineries that come off of the local hillside - Bethel Heights, Willamette Valley Vineyard, Bryn Mawr, Van Duzer, Bjornson, Lingua Franca, etc. They are in your backyard. Oh, and summer/local berries are here. What better way to enjoy than a late night "sabayon" poured over some fresh berries and enjoyed with a digestive from your bar? Or better, a lemon-tiramisu with a chilled limoncello to reward yourself. I wish you so much success and hope some of these suggestions help you to increase the traffic and business you and your team so desire and can do. Much continued success. Salem needs a great place...

update: Second time I went, bummer city... me and my partner got two different matcha drinks, mine was not very well blended and tasted like a milkshake until I got to the bottom, then it was a bitter chunky situation. My partner got a flavored matcha, and the flavoring was so overpowering and bitter! It was barely a latte! Next the food, I got the Caesar salad again, not as flavorful as last time, but pretty good :) simple Caesar. My partner was adventurous and got the ahi bowl, sadly it was a mistake. It was around 19 bucks, and it was served in a very shallow bowl, a very small amount tuna, and mostly rice. We expected more because of the price, and it was a big let down. We might come back, but it'll probably take us a while. Everyone was super nice though!

When I came here I was skeptical, fancy drinks? Yummy meals? Small menu? Luckily, my skepticism was met with an incredible meal. Me and my partner went, I got the caesar salad and peppermint matcha, he got a chicken sandwich and the bees knees. We happened to split the meals. It was so scrumptious! Definitely the best matcha I've had in Salem. The caesar was comforting, refreshing, and went so well with the Matcha! Ordering was easy, lots of tables, styles of tables, and outlets for anyone to use. And lastly, the decor was stylish and dark. Big recommend for a good meal and...