Hale Street Tavern
If you're craving ocean fresh seafood, ice cold drinks, and some real North Shore charm, there's one spot in Beverly, Massachusetts that delivers it all. Let's check out Hale Street Tavern.
Hale Street is your favorite neighborhood spot, a lively sports bar and a unique craft kitchen all rolled into one. For nearly 20 years, Hale Street has been serving up familiar New England fare and comfort food classics to its loyal customer base.
For the staff here, it's all about the customer, and Amy McKay has been providing excellent service to their patrons for years.
“Hale Street Tavern is like a cozy neighborhood tavern. It's the kind of place that you can come in once, and the next time you come in, you've made a friend, and the next time you come in, you're part of our family.”
“The menu at Hale Street Tavern is pretty diverse. You will never walk out of here hungry, and you usually will walk out of here wondering when you're going to come back.”
“You need to try the burgers. You need to try the wings, load up on some bang bang cauliflower, and then we'll move on to the entrees. Maybe try a little sushi and then have dessert.”
If all those choices are overwhelming you, don't worry—Phantom has got your back.
We recommend starting with the buffalo wings, fried nice and crispy and coated in their spicy buffalo sauce. And if you think you can handle the heat, there's also an atomic option that really turns up the spice, if you dare.
But actually, the signature appetizer at Hale Street Tavern is the Bang Bang Cauliflower.
“Bang Bang Cauliflower is by far one of our most ordered appetizers. It's tempura-fried cauliflower with a bang bang sauce, which is like a creamy, spicy little Asian sauce.”
“When people come here and they bring someone for the first time, they always say, ‘We have to try the bang bang cauliflower.’ It's perfect for sharing and it's definitely our most popular appetizer.”
“An amazing way to eat your cauliflower for sure.”
The most pleasantly surprising part about Hale Street's menu is that they offer an extensive selection of sushi that's all sliced and rolled to order.
The Beverly Farms Roll has spicy tuna, avocado, and cucumber topped with tuna sashimi, tempura flakes, pineapple salsa, and a wasabi aioli.
Or how about them Sox? The Red Sox Roll has spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber topped with even more tuna, spicy mayo, and crunch.
If your appetite is looking for something a little more filling, Hale Street's entrees offer some serious bite.
Just check out the steak sandwich packed with thin-sliced sirloin, garlic confit, arugula, cheddar cheese, and caramelized onions on a ciabatta roll.
Or the half-pound Smokehouse Burger topped with smoked cheddar, caramelized onions, applewood bacon, and a chipotle aioli.
The mac and cheese features spiral noodles coated in a very rich and gooey cheese sauce topped with Ritz cracker crumbs.
And the baked haddock comes from right down the road in Gloucester, classically prepared with a lemon butter sauce.
The Black Angus steak tips are marinated until tender and juicy and grilled with just the right amount of char.
But for a dish that's guaranteed to fill you up, we recommend the short rib.
“The short rib entree. I always tell my customers, this is the dish you're going to eat, you're going to take the rest home, and you're going to wake up the next morning trying to figure out when you're going to eat the rest of it. It is a ‘think about it later’ dish. It's so rich and delicious. It's this beautiful piece of short rib over this risotto that you just can't stop thinking about.”
“It's creamy. It's got vegetables. It is so delicious. And the short rib is just shave-it-off-with-your-fork tender. As soon as you touch it with your fork, it falls to pieces, and you get a little bit of short rib in every bite.”
When you finish your meal at Hale Street, it's time for something sweet. And here they do desserts as well as the entrees.
The key lime pie is sweet and tart and rivals any Florida slice I have ever had.
But the real showstopper is the cookie skillet.
“The cookie skillet at Hale Street Tavern is legendary. It is a warm chocolate chip cookie in a cast iron skillet. It has vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel. It is divine. You will not see a table without one. When they want dessert, that's what they always go for.”
“You have to get the spoons on the table before the skillet cookie hits the table because it's going to be gone in seconds. People are always asking, ‘Should we get two? Should we have gotten two?’ Because it's so, so good.”
“You have to try Hale Street Tavern. I'm telling you, any day of the week there's always something going on here. So definitely come join us. There's always room for one more, and we'd love to have you.”
