Hardcover Restaurant

I have been dining at the Hardcover Restaurant in Danvers for many years. It has consistently delivered very good food and usually has excellent service. Last weekend, I stopped there again, though it had been many months since my last visit.

It is a large restaurant, though it has a number of different rooms so it seems smaller than it is. My favorite area is to the right of the entryway, a small, intimate room with a fireplace. This is a nice romantic area and highly recommended.

Their menu has not changed much over the years, but it has not really needed to change. It is a steak and seafood restaurant, though with an emphasis on the steak. Prices are reasonable, and cheaper than the typical high-end steakhouses.

All meals come with their all-you-can-eat salad. You go up to one of their several salad bars and make up your own salad. They have plenty of veggies with several different dressings. There is also fresh French baguettes and a huge hunk of cheese. I like their salad bar as I make make a salad with just the veggies I enjoy. Plus the bread is quite tasty, and sometimes is still even hot.

We began our meal with an appetizer of escargot. This was on their specials menu, but then it has been on the specials menu for years. It is also one of my favorite escargot dishes anywhere. You receive six escargot, each covered in a thick layer of melted cheese and in a garlic & butter sauce. Absolutely delicious. And you can dip your bread in the remaining garlic & butter sauce.

For dinner, we got the Sliced Sirloin for Two. This costs about $42 but you get 28 ounces of sliced sirloin, accented with seasoned butter and served on a sizzling hot platter. For that much beef, you are getting a very good deal. Plus, the sirloin has very little excess fat and is tender and flavorful. There is so much meat that you might even need a doggie bag to take home leftovers. I have ordered this dish several times and it has always pleased me. With your meal, you also get a choice of baked potato, rice pilaf or veggies.

We passed on dessert (though I would recommend the fresh fruit parfait). I guess we just had too much beef.

Service was ok, though not up to the usual standards. Generally, the servers are very professional. Our server though was not quite up to par. He was more casual, including making a joke about movies where the killer uses an icicle. I know that such service is not the norm here though. He was not a bad server, just a bit different from the norm.

I do recommend the Hardcover.

Hardcover Restaurant
15 A Newbury St. (Route 1 North
Danvers, MA
Phone: 978-774-1223