Sage's Fusion Kitchen — Restaurant in Salem

I ordered a bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel along with a iced coffee with cream and sugar. The 1st warning sign should have been that the guy at the window taking orders was not with at all. He seemed high and mumbly. He had to ask me like 3x to repeat the order. He also appeared grungy and his long hair wasn't even tied up or anything. His whole demeanor came across as someone who is not servsafe certified a d probably not the most hygienic. There was another group of 5 before me and they also were not happy. So I got my coffee and went back to the gazebo where I was setting up for my daughters 3rd birthday party..I spent about 10 minutes doing more setup and went back to get my sandwich. I walked up and the cook was at the window. So I said I'm here for my sandwich and he had no idea what I was talking about so he went and got the other guy who proceeded to come to the window and start to take my order again. I was like dude I ordered like 20 mins ago. So you didn't even put the order in? You took my money and then just dazed and confused off? So the cook guy said he'd have my sandwich in like 5 mins. Finally, someone with a clue. Wrong again. It took like another 15 mins to get my sandwich. So we're talking 30+ minutes just for an ice coffee and breakfast sandwich. On top of that, I didn't even get to eat the sandwich because by the ti.e it was ready my daughters party had started and the food for the party was there. The coffee wasn't even that good. So my recommendation, don't go here, at least not for breakfast. It was a disaster and I basically paid like $15 for nothing...

Wanted to try this place for a while after seeing them on Salem Food Digest (which I now think must have been a paid ad), but all the other bad reviews put me off. Finally gave it a try after seeing most of the negatives were for the veggie pho. Turns out I should’ve listened to y’all. The fried chicken sandwich was one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten. Take the thinnest slice of chicken imaginable (I’m not 100 percent convinced there was even chicken in it), deep-fry it (maybe twice?) until it’s burnt to a crisp, throw a weird blend of Italian hots and a slaw that tastes like window cleaner, and top with some weird egglike substance resembling cheese, and oh that’ll be $15. I barely ate half of it (I stuck with it hoping I’d make my way to the part with actual chicken in it) and my stomach is still paying the price. Service was also extremely awkward, I had to wait 5 minutes to order as someone (the owner maybe?) stood at the front of the counter chatting with the cashier as if he was ordering, and then the guy tried to upcharge me for tots until I caught it. I find the Lowe chop suey sandwich absolutely disgusting (not sorry), but I’d eat 100 of them before I spent another...

I really wanted to like this place as the staff was friendly… but I had the weirdest experience at this restaurant tosay. I placed an order for brisket, cole slaw, and two lemonades. Total came out to $25. Weird, but not going to fight them on high prices because inflation is happening. Right after I ordered, I had to ask for a ticket with my number and then asked the person inside “how long”…. I was told it would be 40 minutes. Sort of shocked, wish they had told me that before I ordered, but ok, still trying to give them a chance. Finally got my food and that is when I got legitimately upset…. I got 7 pieces of inedible brisket. The meat was so tough that I couldn’t chew it. And the side of coleslaw was approximately 3 tablespoons of food. I just honestly feel bad for this restaurant… not sure what they are trying to do/sell… but it’s not working. And it’s too bad because among all the fried food and pizza, I’d love to have a place with something different to eat at the Willows. However, I won’t be going back. Hopefully they stop serving so many food options and just stick to doing 1-3 menu items well...