Dotty and Ray’s — Restaurant in Salem

Unfortunately I have to give this place one star. It is run by new owners since December 2018 who have never owned and operated a restaurant before, and they are Albanians, which is fine but I think they have different food standards and food safety guidelines in their country. On two occasions I watched Florian, the owners brother, drop food on the floor from the grill and pick it up and use it anyway. He saw me see this and just smiled and said it's to go, they will never know! I happen to know for a fact they have much food spoil because of improper food cooling and storage techniques, and when the food is spoiled like the soup, they try to scrape around the visibally bad area and serve the portion they THINK is not spoiled. I asked the brother of the owner, Florian, why, and he said they are to small and can't afford to throw everything away, and nobody is complaining or getting sick, I said YET! I now refuse to eat here anymore, and until changes are made everyone should as well for health safety reasons! The Spanish cook Victor does a great job, and he doesn't practice the same policy as they do, he just does his job, afterall, if the owner won't fix it what can he do? Also, don't be fooled, they freeze all the fish and lobster, you can't claim it's fresh after...

Started coming here pretty frequently, and it was impressive to start with, pretty good food. My girlfriend and I found it the perfect distance to walk. We started off having a really nice waitress, friendly and checked our coffee. The waitress we have consistently gotten the past few times was really pushy on my girlfriend who gets a small breakfast and only eats like half of one of my sausage, to get the special. Full disclosure my girlfriend is pregnant and wants what she wants. Why would she get 3 sausages if she wants one? Yes, my girlfriend takes the tiny juice from me when I get it. I don't drink juice. Can you let us order one special and whatever my girlfriend orders so she can eat whatever random bite she wants of whatever? This waitress has asked her for 3 consecutive visits if she wants the special, and all 3 times she has told her, she doesn't eat that much meat or doesn't want it. Do I have to explain that my pregnant girlfriend doesn't know if she wants the sausage, coffee, or cranberry until she eats it because she's pregnant with nausea? Leave her alone. May I mention that we don't order like that because we are cheap, we tip fairly well every time (over 20%, almost 30%). I'll be taking my girl to April II's on Highland Ave...

Y'all - where do I even begin. Picture it. Sicily 1922... American was on the verge of the flapper days and Salem was alive and well... and there was Dot & Ray's. The cafe of all cafes. Nestled away on a small lil unassuming corner near the train station... life was perfect.

Picture, 2023. Nothing has changed about this place. The staff is loving and overwhelmingly welcoming. The food is outstanding. The coffee is doing its best coffee and reminding you the world is good. The prices are more than fair. Service is fantastic. The ambiance is exactly what one would expect. I have nothing but positive and glowing things to say about Dot & Ray's.

If you in Salem, stop searching the interwebs for your breakfast / brunch / lunch destination. Go find this lil cafe and then shoot me a message later and thank me for the recommendation. This place is hands-down my favorite breakfast spot in the the Atlantic North East... and possibly all of the United States. Their Eggs Benedict (their standard) is for sure in the top three (3) I've had in this lifetime. I don't hand out compliments often much less do I gush... I'm gushing. This one is for the books. Go. Eat. Dine. Enjoy....