Leslie’s Retreat Reviewed
Written by Mr. Salem on May 7th, 2008 1 Comment
Leslie’s Retreat
96 North Street
978.744.9495
There is plenty of competition for breakfast in Salem, we went to Leslie’s Retreat so you don’t have to.
The first thing you notice about Leslie’s is that you just walked into a piece of history. Named after the famed Redcoat retreat of Colonel Alexander Leslie this rustic dining establishment looks like could be a tavern / pub from the late 1700′s with classy 1960′s accent pieces like the the Strohs beer lights. The dark woods, tin lamps, historical paintings, and portraits all lend to the colonial feel.
It was a slow Sunday when we checked out Leslie’s, we went in the back door which leads to a long dimly lit bar. The elderly bartendress who appeared to be a “lifer” pleasantly greeted us and told us to sit anywhere we liked. No sooner had we slid into a booth than our server presented us with menus, specials and took our drink order; OJ, coffee and a chocolate milk. Turn around time was quick and we were impressed with the pint size OJ until we tasted it and realized it was straight out of the freezer from concentrate just add Salem tap water OJ. Coffee was weak and luke warm. Chocolate milk was the easy winner here.
Our order of blueberry pancakes and the Double Barrel breakfast special (2 bacon, 2 sausages, 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, home fries and 2 toast) was taken promptly and delivered in no time. Unfortunately the pancakes were tough to cut through and slightly crunchy. The sausage and bacon were super greasy. The home fries were strangely similar to those you get in your grocers freezer with a helping of super greasy. Standout of the meal was the rye toast, which isn’t saying that much.
Our waitress started out strong but had a lackluster finish. After receiving our meal we were not attended to again until we had both finished our meals. Only after we had asked for the check were we offered another cup of coffee, and even then it was a different server who made the offer.
Prices were inline with the portion sizes with most breakfast items coming in under $5 and specials just a few dollars more.
Atmosphere: C
Portions: B
Service: C
Food: C-
Price: C
Overall: C
One Response to “Leslie’s Retreat Reviewed”
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Thanks for saving me the trip to Leslie’s. Sounds like the breakfast cook should beat the same kind of retreat as the erstwhile Colonel did. How hard can it be to make fresh homefries?