Restaurants in Salem

Slow food is the opposite of fast food in more ways than just the speed at which it comes out of the kitchen. In fact, it’s the great care given to chopping each fresh ingredient and cooking it as soon as it’s ordered that rewards guests deep in pre-dinner conversation with meticulously prepared meals. Now under new management, the chefs at Buono Panini craft their menu of fresh Italian comfort fare with gourmet touches amid the dining room’s muted light, ivory linens, and cheery colors. Diners may savor the likes of pesto-laced shrimp risotto and veal saltimbocca or crunch through a signature panini during lunch. Whether dropping in for a sit-down dinner or a private party, meals here make for outings that leave bellies full and dinner napkins worthy of bronzing for the memories.

Latin and American cultures collide at Tango Grill Cafe. Each cuisine's comfort foods receive their share of space on the seasonally rotating menu, although the Mexican, Caribbean, and South American influences tend to appear most predominantly. Flaky empanadas can emerge from the kitchen along with adobo-rubbed sirloin steak or pan-seared crab cakes with lemon aioli. However, the chefs also forge eclectically inspired dishes such as philly spring rolls with shaved beef, peppers, and cheese, and irish eggs benedict with corned-beef hash.

Although gentle Latin music serenades guests most evenings, karaoke aficionados stop by on Tuesday nights for a chance to sing their favorite song or give a lecture on the proper way to fold a fitted sheet.

Caffé Il Cipresso's chefs construct traditional, Old World Italian cuisine with a modern twist, tapping into an arsenal of top-quality ingredients such as fresh haddock, tender veal, and gorgonzola cheese. A smattering of sauces such as pesto and alfredo flood freshly made linguine, penne, and fettuccine noodles. Chicken and fresh seafood, including salmon and shrimp, sizzle in 100% olive oil and artfully complement the eatery's wine list, which flaunts crisp whites, full-bodied reds, and dessert varietals that sparkle like holographic diamonds. The dining room spotlights crimson booths and full-wall murals depicting idyllic countrysides, and the downstairs lounge fuels merrymaking with a full bar. Caffé Il Cipresso also furnishes large events with catering options, including pans of homemade pasta and entrees that serve up to 24 people.

Ornate lanterns bask the dining room of India Palace Restaurant in a warm glow, illuminating the classical Indian portraits and dark wood pillars surrounding the tables. Among these authentic confines, friendly staff help guests choose the right dishes from a vibrant menu of fine Indian cuisine. Manning a clay oven fired by charcoal, chefs bake ground-lamb seekh kebabs, swordfish tikka, and marinated tandoori chicken. A selection of 18 vegetarian specialties sates the hunger of plant hunters, whereas a variety of curries gives all diners the ability to roar cartoon flames. Indulgent beverages, such as an Indian chai latte or a mango milk shake, can be paired with any dish to sweeten palates.

Feng Shui embraces the culinary traditions of both China and Japan while updating its menu seasonally, garnering praise from the Boston Business Journal and New England Cable News for its extensive selection. Stir-fried orders of chicken, beef, and seafood arrive laden with ginger or signature sauces, and sushi chefs roll maki with traditional tuna and salmon or such innovative combinations as strawberry and wasabi aioli. At some locations, the dining rooms include tabletop hibachi-style grills where chefs, like Shakespeare as a toddler, put on food-based shows, flipping, dicing, and sizzling Angus-certified beef in cholesterol-free rice-bran oils that are rich in vitamin E.

Visions of the Italian coastline flood in through faux archways painted on the walls at Scola’s Restaurant. While waiting for the main meal, guests can nibble on shrimp scampi and eggplant rollotini or settle a bitter arm-wrestling dispute once and for all. The chefs' classic Italian dishes include chicken cacciatore and shrimp piccata. There’s an ample seafood selection, too—steamed lobster, stuffed haddock, and broiled scallops—as well as a few American dishes, including a barbecue steak-tip dinner. Guests can also order up sandwiches such as a fried clam roll or meatball sandwich.

In addition stocking to an international assortment of wine and beer, the bartenders mix up martinis that range from classic cosmopolitans to the Starbucks martini, which combines Starbucks coffee liqueur and Stoli vanilla vodka within a chocolate-rimmed glass.