Masonry Grill — Restaurant in Salem

Four diners who did not appreciate their meals. Ordered: Beef ribs/Mac and cheese; Meatball sandwich/fries; Beef tacos/fries Yakisoba noodles; APPETIZER: Nachos

On the plus side: It was nice to see a locally owned restaurant doing well with vibrant patrons, 100% full tables, including the bar area. The noise level was moderately loud making conversation difficult at times, however, it appeared the guests, mostly 20-30 year olds were unbothered. Much laughter was evident around the establishment among couples as well as large groups. Coming from the last two years it was nice to witness people out and enjoying themselves. The portions of food were good and served at reasonable prices.

On the disappointing side: Mostly each of our particular dishes that we ordered. The smoked ribs had hard gristle that could not be chewed and had to be removed from most bites. The BBQ sauce amount covering the ribs was too much for the amount of ribs served. Mac and cheese a with the sauce a bit on the thin side, however, it was tasty enough, but lacking the oven baked flavor/texture of homemade.

Meatball Sandwich was judged okay but lacked a robust Italian flavor.

Beef tacos were overly sauced and lacked some flavor and were quite mild and in need of more latin spices accompanied by very mild salsa.

Yakisoba noodles W/ chicken were overly salty either from the dressing or heavy handed salt shaker in the kitchen. Most of the salad was left uneaten.

A large hot portion of beef nachos was served, however, it was lacking in flavor, quite dry, lacking enough salsa to spice it up. Many of the chips in the pile/metal tin were not covered with any cheese or sauces. When we asked for more salsa, we were charged an additional $2 for two VERY small sampling size cups (about

We love seeing downtown Salem being further developed and the presence of creative restaurants. The Masonry Grill is a new addition to the Salem landscape and when you drive by you can't help but want to explore what used to be the old spaghetti factory. Nothing of the vestiges of that ancient restaurant exist as the space has been completely remodeled in a very positive direction . The facade, the outdoor seating, the fire pit, and the whole look of the building has been improbed significantly.

We went on a double date last night celebrating friends anniversary and overall had enjoyable time together. The space is nice, the services good, but the major downside of the evening was that the food and drinks were okay, I mean just okay.

Two of us in the party had the Brick Chicken which is a wonderful concept of how the chicken is prepared but about 50% of the entre was overcooked and was too tough. There were moments or bites where the chicken was perfectly tender on the inside and those were delightful.

We also had a bean burger which came with a fresh appearance and a delicious bun, however, the saltiness was overpowering. My spouse couldn't finish it and left about 1/2 of it uneaten.

Our table also had the ribs and our experience would be same as the chicken - it had moments of delight - but overall was overcooked and like the chicken there wasn't enough meat for what you're paying for.

I ordered an Old Fashioned to start the evening but it fell flat. Presentation was great, but the orange, bitters, and sweetness of an OF we're not properly balanced against the whiskey. The wine had a slight vinegar aroma suggesting it may have been open for a bit long. The Long Island Tea good!

The service staff was very good and attentive, the environment and the ambiance feels nicely elevated, the food presentation is well done, and the space is really clean.

Would I go there again and try something else? Yes I would. Something about this entrepreneurial restaurant suggests to me they can and hopefully will improve the...

My wife and I recently Masonry Grill during a weekday at happy hour. The building and interior design of the location are beautiful. It was pretty quiet inside, with few people there, which didn't seem entirely unusual for a weekday. Our server was very nice and had us seated soon enough. She also made sure to check on us frequently.

So, good score on service and atmosphere.

Where they lost us was the quality of the food. We ordered chicken strips and sliders. The strips looked hand made in house, but they had no flavor of their own and were served with ranch and ketchup that was likely more for the fries since the slider came with the same. Now, they weren't greasy or oily and were perfectly done, but they were poorly seasoned and bland.

The sliders were alright, but only the sauce had much flavor. Trying the patty on its own, it was bland. So the sauce is likely expected to carry the weight there. It could really use a pickle, as it begged for more acidity and flavor in general.

Fries came with both dishes. Regular with the slider, but you choose with the strips. We chose battered, which were pretty good. The regular were the standard par-boiled freezer fries, which are still good and what you would expect.

Overall, it wasn't terrible, but we expected better quality in the food for sure. Especially given that they weren't busy and have a higher price tag.

We might try them again in the future, but with so many local places to check out, it's difficult to be enthusiastic about returning to one with a very lackluster...