Salinger’s Bar & Grill

I’ve been going to Salinger’s for a number of years, and it’s definitely my favorite bar in Rochester. The staff is always nice and quick to get you a drink. Whether you want to have a party, meet up with some co-​workers for happy hour, or looking a casual drink, Salinger’s does it all! I like a couple other bars in Rochester, but Salinger’s in my opinion is the best. I mean where else can you get free nuts!

My favorite bar. Anywhere. Great people. Great staff. Pool table. Peanuts. Patio. Shut the front door, folks.

Love this place, great beer selection, always reasonably priced, and a kick ass crew behind the bar. Even when the bar is 5 deep, you’ll never wait long to be served. From the East End facing patio, to the game room there’s something for everyone. Get in, crack some peanuts, and enjoy a tasty drink!

Staple of the East End, this landmark bar has only gotten better over the years. Twice the size and now featuring a patio, it’s an establishment that recognized a need for expansion and did so without taking away from the cozy feel Salingers brings. From the peanuts begging to get cracked to the jukebox always ready to get loose, Salingers allows you to take your coat off and relax from life for a bit. The bartenders are top notch (partial to Denny and Jay) and drink JIM BEAM (hint hint). They say if you drink enough and stare into the big moose’s eyes, a hologram of Tim Conte will appear on the wall riding a Harley. They also have a rule just for Tony D posted on the wall. It’s the little things that set this joint apart. Rumor has it they will be the first Rochester bar to feature a Jameson tap system. Party on Salingers

My favorite bar hands down the bar tenders are great always ready to chat while you wait for people to arrive. The drinks never disappoint and the specials rock. I love the free popcorn and peanuts and the games make for great entertainment !!

This is a bar for dad’s and sons.
I was in town visiting my son who works at the R. I. T and we came here.
The drinks were great, and reasonably priced. As a huge fan of the TV show Cheers, I was hoping we’d see a Norm or Clifford C. Clavin character here, and we did. Boy, we did… They were a hoot, bought me and my son some beers and we ate together.
My son is quite the drinker and these two rogues knew it. The music in the bar, coupled with the tasty beverages led inevitably to baudy conversation about the government, women, TV and sports. Being from Boston, we had a lot of knowledge in these areas, although our hosts were regular patrons of Salinger’s (Sal’s for the Salinger’s savvy set) and were able to give us a run for our money in the debate.
In the end, my son left to visit the Old Toad with a couple Jewish kids he knows from the chat rooms, leaving me to continue to drink away with the locals (regs as we say in Boston) — the night was slightly ruined when I lost my hotel key in the bathroom at the bar and had to spend the night in my son’s dorm but the gang at Computer Science House were welcoming and liked that I brought a bunch of Genny back with me, as well as a couple young ladies from the bar.
5 stars.

I truly en joyed myself at Salinger’s Bar & Grill. I was really impressed with the amount of bar games they had Skee Ball, Big Buck Hunter, bubble hockey, pool darts and so much more. I would definitely come back and I highly recommend Salinger’s Bar & Grill.

I have been here a few times and while it does have an older vibe to it, it is a cool bar. The bartenders are great and they have games like darts, pool and skeeball and popcorn which is a plus! It’s a local bar so it is easy to get to know the staff and they have a great outdoor space! They have a great outdoor area and it’s always a good bar during east Ave fest!

Friendly staff, reasonable prices, great atmosphere… The list goes on. I’m a native Rochesterian and actually only checked this place out a handful of times, each time has been more pleasant than the last. Keep up the good work. Oh and sorry I keep leaving my credit card overnight. I’ll tip my hat to them for not losing the card like other places tend to do. Cheers!

Best bar in Rochester.
Excellent selection of tap and bottled beer. Amazing atmosphere. Prime location. Staff is incredible from the bartenders right down to the door men.

Salingers is a great dive bar that has a good selection of drinks/​beers that are all reasonably priced. They have peanuts that you can eat and throw everything on the floor. They have foosball, darts, skeeball, pool, etc. They have a very small outdoor area (wish it was bigger) and a lot of different spots to sit down (tables, booths, high top tables). The entrance is a bit tricky with the bar being right there so it is often a bit of a pain to fight your way through everyone to get into the back area where you can stand/​sit and commiserate with your friends. Has a very interesting mix of clientele, definitely a spot you can meet some non early 20s people, but you will also have some young people in there as well.

Decent bar with a small outside space to people watch on East Ave. We stopped in for a quick drink before heading over to the Eastman. We’ve been here a couple of times before to watch the NCAA tourney and during Busker-​fest. Nothing special but a good location with reasonable prices.

Solid bar with lots of tvs, comfortable booths, pool table, darts, video games, etc. Great assortment of alcoholic drinks plus free popcorn and peanuts. I don’t know of many bars in Rochester that can say this.
The crowd is really diverse from college Eastman students to people in their mid thirties like me.

Not normally a bar I’d frequent, but now after visiting, I’ll be back when the mood fits. We were there on a Saturday — SU was playing Duke so everyone was rocking their orange tees. We grabbed some brews and headed to the back where there were dart boards (friends played), we watched them, and got sucked into the game. It was nice that they put the volume on so everyone could follow what was happening. After the game, the music went back on. There are seats and tables for sitting back there too along with pool. They even have a vintage cigarette machine — I haven’t seen one of those in a while. Even though I don’t smoke it was still cool to see (FYI takes only exact change).
It’s much larger than I expected so there’s room for people to move beyond the bar, which filled up first. At 8pm it wasn’t too packed, but by 10pm it was semi-​crowded. They have a good tap selection and cheap! I enjoyed a few Lagunitas IPAs. Lots of peanuts and popcorn for munching.

Fun! I probably would not have chosen this place when walking by but not for the suggestion of the friend I was with — glad she did! I liked that this was a diverse crowd establishment (at least the night we went). Solid selection, nice friendly bartender. And the peanuts just sealed the deal!

This is not a bar I would have entered on my own, but I was with a friend who suggested we go in for their beer selection.
And a good beer selection they had. He got a Sam Adams for just $ 2 and I got Lagunita’s IPA for $ 3.50. Quite the steals.
They also have peanuts! I think I was way more excited than anyone else there. I’ve always wanted to eat peanuts somewhere where you can toss the shells on the ground. It is a very pleasing experience. And the peanuts tasted good, too.
We also played a few rounds of skeeball and foosball.
Ditch East & Alexander and come up here for cheap beer and fewer obnoxious drunk people.

Gritty dive bar with good energy and cheap drinks. Fun bar games too — pool, darts, etc. The jukebox was a fun touch and led to some fun dance music. Relatively crowded on a Saturday night with a mixed scene — some recent college grads and some older customers. Bartenders were playing along with rowdy bachelorette parties truth and dares.
There are a couple of TVs, but this isn’t a great place to watch a game.

A good pseudo-​dive bar. It’s meant to be divey with the peanuts and shells you can throw on the floor, the pool table, the jukebox… but really it’s more organized and clever than that. The beer selections frequently include craft choices and they pull a good Guinness.
«Let’s go get a Guinney!»
«Where?»
“I don’t know, somewhere close by… downtown?”
«Uh…Salinger’s?»
“Perfect!“
And so goes the conversation between my husband and myself on a recent evening.
Be forewarned — Salinger’s does get PACKED on the weekends and has its fair share of loud, obnoxious people… particularly those who get their paws on the jukebox and cackle, baring their midriffs and cluelessly pushing the pool balls around the table. Barring them (and you know them, they’re at every dive), it’s a great bar. Plus, there’s Baked and Carved next door.

Salinger’s is one of my favorite stops along my commute to work and I will say that I have enjoyed their sandwiches and the nachos were amusing at best. I recently tried what can only be described as a mega burger. Grilled to my specifications topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and ketchup, this burger was housed in a mammoth bun! Trust me when I say that the burger did not get lost in that bread.
I would recommend the burger to any and all true carnivores out there … enjoy!

I love Salinger’s for what it is, a classy dive like bar. This isn’t your Murphy’s Law, or One type place. It’s a casual, hang out with great people and great drinks. It’s usually not overly crowded and can easily get a drink here.
They recently expanded the place with blowing out the left wall that allowed more tables and places to talk. Part of the reason they expanded is they plan to have an in-​house kitchen that will offer the typical bar food, but will highlighted by their own smoked meats! They also have a few dart boards and a pool table for entertainment.
What I absolutely love at Salinger’s is the large variety of beer and drink specials at ridiculous cheap prices. First they have Moosehead larger. Having grown up in Buffalo, I frequented crossing the northern border and discovering one of Canada’s more unknown treasures. I recommend it, and I’ve never seen it in the US. Secondly they have these great craft beers bottles at $ 2 on a Friday and Saturday nights! I’ve seen no places like it! Try: Moosehead, McSorley’s Black, Seadog blueberry and Purple haze. It’s one of my favorite bars in the entire 585.