Victoria Station & Vic’s Boathouse

My family and I have been coming to Salem for over 10 years, and Victoria Station was our go-​to place for a good meal. However, I stress «was» because over the past couple years it’s been a huge process to even get in to eat any time during the month of October. I understand that that is the busy season, but they should prepare ahead of time for big rushes and lots of patrons.
One year they say they don’t take reservations, last year they said there were no seats because of a zombie ball that was happening literally 4 hours after we tried to put our names in, and we could clearly see empty tables from the outside. This year they apparently take reservations but there’s no wait list in case you don’t make reservations. Every year it’s a different story, and it’s pretty annoying.
The food itself is so-​so. It was better years ago, but it’s nothing to write home about now. Whenever we have been able to eat there the service has also been mediocre. The moral of this story is that there are better places to get good food and service around Salem.

Salad bars are hard to find, so they get three stars mostly for that. I’ve had varied experiences here and their inconsistencies are disappointing, given the price they charge for a meal. The service is alright, the location is great and the food is decent. I think you can get better seafood at Finz or the Shanty though, and I can’t speak much for their «turf» food since I normally only have the seafood and the salad bar. They seem to accommodate large groups fairly well, but this is really more of a tourist destination than one for someone more food-​oriented. If it wasn’t on the wharf, I imagine it would be similar to any other place where old people congregate for early bird specials.

We had a 9:00 pm reservation and when they left a message to confirm, it sounded like they didn’t want us to come. We should have taken the hint as they were closing up and we sat in the bar. The salad bar was so-​so as were the crab cakes. I enjoyed my haddock tacos but the real issue was my wife’s «filet mignon». It was almost definitely not a filet and if it was, it was the worst we’ve ever seen. It was fatty and not very tender. We asked after the meal if it was the filet we were served and were assured it was so it was not a mistake in the order. Not worth a visit.

Disappointed with the food and most definitely the service. Half way through our meal we realized everyone else around us got bread to start and we never did, our waitress also never came back to see how our food was or to refill our drinks. I had the prime rib and I thought it was average, nothing special honestly. My husband had the pistachio crusted salmon and said it was ok but something tasted off about it. I guess you pay for the view.

Pros: Terrific location, great views.
Cons: Food time, front of house, kitchen.
In brief, came this past weekend around noon and put our name in for a table of 3, told a wait of 10 – 15 mins. Stood by the water and saw 3 fourtops completely open for about 30 mins. Finally said something to the hostesses and we got sat.
Wait staff was great but you could tell a slow kitchen was hurting them. Food took well over 30 mins and it was sandwiches. Former server here being critical, theres no reason sandwiches shouldve took over 30 mins in a quasi busy place. Our plans were pretty much squashed due to this regretful pitstop.
Burger ordered medium, came out medium well/​slightly well done. I can overcook meat at home fellas. Fish sandwiches with my party were great apparently tho.
It’s October in Salem, you’d think they’d be firing on all cylinders. Oh well.

Great food, great prices, great atmosphere, great view, and our server Hannah was nothing short of top notch. Would most certainly reccomend this establishment to anyone of my friends or family!

The wife and I decided to give this place a shot last night to grab something to eat before the Haunted Happenings parade began at 6:30pm. So we made reservations using IpenTable and we arrived right at 5pm for our reservation. Once seated at our table we ordered our drinks I just got a coke and then ordered are food at around 5:08. Now this place was really dead for a Thursday at 5pm quitting time. So we were waiting for our food which was just an order of Chix Fingers and a Salad. at about 5:30pm I asked the waiter if the food was coming since it was taking for ever. Then at about 5:38 the food arrived cold and seemed like it was sitting forever. I normally never have a problem with this place.

I didn’t eat here so I can only comment on the outdoor bar section and the beer list. The view at Victoria Station & Vic’s Boathouse is great, and the beer selection was pretty decent. I was a little irritated, however, that the Fisher Island Lemonade I ordered was listed as a beer (something like an imperial lager) with an abv of 9%. It turns out it’s actually a whiskey /​vodka /​lemonade blended drink, with which I was fairly disappointed. Despite the libation letdown, I will definitely come back and order something else.

Nice views of the waterfront. Or server, Darren, was attentive and helpful. Caesar salad was good. Try the maple bacon wrapped scallops! They were excellent.

Had swordfish for dinner. Extremely good. Also had baked potato skins, and scallop appetizers. Skins are a little greasy, but pretty good overall, and the scallops were good too.
The chocolate mousse desert was excellent, and my only complaint was that the tea spoon they gave me was not able to reach all the way down to the bottom of the glass, so I had to use a straw to pull out the last few bits!

Terrible service. Rude people. Bar was not full and see empty table on the patio. Party of 5 wanted drinks first to unwind and then food later. Table reserved, yet we waited around and nobody took it. Okay, back to the hostess. «Oh, you can sit anywhere, open table.» Really? We found a nice corner table. And waited. And waited. Spotted three different servers look in our direction. Yes, that’s right people, we have been sitting here for 10 mins and there is nothing in front of us. No menus, nothing. The rude person who told us we couldn’t sit outside totally ignored us. So what did we do? We got up, left and spent our $ 240 somewhere else and we will surely tell every single person we know coming to Salem to not go here.

Really, Victoria Station? I just counted at least 20 COMPLETELY cleaned and empty tables in your establishment. Yet, you quoted us an hour and a half wait. So, either you need hosts that can count a little better OR you need additional waitstaff. Either way, you REALLY need to up your game.

A lovely place to visit for lunch or dinner in Salem. We stopped in for lunch and sat outside and enjoyed a view of the small harbor. The staff were friendly and the food was terrific. I had the Fish n Chips and the haddock was perfect. Seems like this is the place to go day or night when visiting or staying in Salem.

Unilocaleeeeeers, try the lobster mac n cheese. Also the scallops yuuuum. I had the haddock sandwich «I miss fresh haddock» awesome. All in all fantastic lunch and the cold beer made it a full thumbs up. Kayla our server was the best. Will be back … Maybe in a couple hours.

Never been more disappointed in the service at a restaurant than here. After finishing a scavenger hunt around town, our final destination was this restaurant. Our organizers came in ahead of time and explained what we were doing and we would be bringing in tons of business for them. As soon as we get in our waitress came over and declared right off the bat she would not split the check. Stunned, as we hadn’t even been greeted yet, we weighed our options. Given that we were starving and tired, we decided to order food and get our drinks from the bar. Many of our participants moonlight as servers and thought it was crazy that this waitress decided to miss all that money on drinks because she did not want to be bothered to split a check. We should have taken that as our cue to leave, because the rest of the night was horrible.
We were all gathered in the corner of the bar, talking and having a good time, when our waitress came over and told us to take our drinks off one of the tables because it was reserved. Then she told us that she needed our table in half an hour because there were «other customers». We decided we had had enough and promptly moved to Tavern in the Square, where they appreciate your business. It wasn’t even just this one waitress, because another man was helping her and he was extremely rude as well. Never, ever again will I even consider going back. It’s a shame because the location is great but the service is deplorable.

Just finished dinner and was not impressed by it. Food was mediocre at best, service was pretty bad. One appetizer dish was not brought out as ordered,. The other was completely forgotten about. When I asked about it, got some excuse that it was given to another customer and it would be right out. It finally came to the table, just as dinner arrived.
Drink order was not right either.
Don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon.

This place has been here for years, I believe close if not over 30. That being said there must be something good about it that keep them in this prime real estate.
It’s not out of this world amazing, it’s your typical waterfront restaurant menu: Fish and Chips, chicken wings, steak tips, ect, however they execute it well, and at a nice price.
We went there with a table of six on a very busy night, crowded you might say. Our waitress was very informative and attentive as well not mixing up any orders. She didn’t seamed stressed out at all while almost every table was full, mind you they seat A LOT of people.
Drinks were good and not too weak. They came with a nice glass you get to take home as well! I personally got baked stuffed haddock, which was a huge portion of fish and fried as well, especially for the price. The scallops in the seafood breadcrumbs were a little over cooked but this was easily forgiven with all of the other great aspects of this place.

I am writing this on Vic’s Boathouse
As we entered in at the the host/​hostess stand there was no one there. So we figured they were seating another party. A time has past so I moved around and started to look around and saw wait staff in the Vic’s Boathouse sitting down and they saw us and they didnt do anything. So, then I moved back to the host/​hostess stand and waited about another 4 more minutes. Then I moved around again and the same wait staff who saw me from the Vic’s Boathouse saw me again now decides get off the stool and now come to us and tells us oh are you here for lunch? I told her yes and her reply to us was on the Hostess was sent home. So, then ask do you want to go into the dinning room or the bar… we picked the bar
As we sat in the bar we both got the burger which took forever to get now I could understand if it was jammed packed but the place might have had 10 people btwn the entire restaurant… the burger was nothing special about it.
But what was really bad about the whole experience which should of picked up on right from the beginning when I entered from being totally ignored from the waitstaff that knew that the hostess that was sent home… is this… this waiter comes on over to what I take is the local wait staff hang out spot in the bar section and goes ‘you will never believe this I bring this party over into the dinning room and ask them — where would they like to sit over by the window or in the middle? and it took them 5 minutes for these idiots to make up there mind… it like come on people really make up your mind its not that hard’…wow seriously this is how you treat people??? The people who are going to be paying for your salary and tip…
This is why I am giving this place 2 stars and not planning to return EVER…

Love this place! The hotel I work for had our holiday party at Vic’s Boathouse this past Monday. It was a phenomenal event from start to finish. The food was delicious, starting with the appetizers consistently passed throughout the start of the evening. The buffet was delicious and we could not have been happier with the fully stocked salad bar.
The service was excellent! They even went so far as to find us extra chairs, when some friends & I wanted to combine seating arrangements. They could not have been more gracious.
This is a great spot to rent out for a large party! The set up was wonderful. It was great having nice, cozy areas to talk/​grab a drink, dance, and eat. I can’t wait to come back again!

My dad and I got lunch at Vic’s Boathouse after walking around Salem and checking out the Witch Museum. On a Monday mid-​afternoon, there was no wait for a table for two, and we were seated outside in the shade looking over a peaceful harbor. They have a great view of the coast, next to a cute cluster of old buildings.
Service wasn’t too bad, we got our order in quick, just had a problem getting service after our orders were taken and food delivered. We both ordered a hamburger, cooked medium, served with fries, and we each got a cup of their clam chowder soup. I thought the clam chowder was delicious! Different that what I’ve had before on the west coast, not as creamy and potatoey texture as I’ve had before, but smooth, and filled with large chunks of clams. The burger on the other hand, could be better. It was ordered medium, but came out really well done, no hint of pinkness anywhere in the patty, which made it lack flavor. Fries were okay, but the highlight of the meal was still the soup.
Checking in gets you 10% off the bill! However, make sure you tell your server and show them the Unilocal app, cause my server didn’t even know about it, and wasn’t sure if they offered it.