Venti’s Cafe + Basement Bar

Salem, United States

3.7

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 503-399-8733
Website:
www.ventiscafe.com
Address:
325 Court St NE, Salem, OR, 97301
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.3 miTrade & Church
0.6 miCommercial & D
0.6 miSummer & Union
Categories:
QR code
Download QR Image Download vCard

Map

Streetview

Activate map

Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Hipster
Noise Level
Average
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes
Has Pool Table
No

Today

Today 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Salem) 21:36 Thursday, 28 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 8:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Venti’s Café is an energetic establishment in the heart of downtown Salem at 325 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97 301. We pride ourselves on good, clean food, an inviting yet edgy atmosphere, and a commitment to unique flavor, attitude and culture.

We moved from our original location (in the Reed Opera House) in summer of 2008. Our downtown Salem location is bigger and allows for a full kitchen and a full basement bar. We like to say we «crossed the road.»

While we serve lots of meatless options, chicken teriyaki is the core of our offerings — the original rice bowl at the Reed Opera House was served w/​skewered chicken. By café owner Dino Venti’s account, he has prepped 50 tons of chicken. In honor of that feat we redesigned our logo to pay homage to the chicken. The rooster logo is a nod to the glorious cock, an animal loved for its power, boldness and beauty.

Venti’s strives to carry unique microbrews and ciders. At our downtown location, we have four taps upstairs and six taps downstairs and the selection changes as soon as a keg blows. The local beer-​drinking crowd is enthusiastic and often gets to help select the next keg. We opt for Oregon and NW brews but occasionally throw something different out there. You can follow our Twitter feed for daily updates.

Beer flows all day and the basement bar opens at 4pm Monday thru Friday, and at noon on Saturday and Sunday. We have a warm, lively, fabulous atmosphere. Come check it out. It is the place to be.

History

Established in 1996.

Venti’s Café is an energetic establishment in the heart of downtown Salem at 325 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97 301. We pride ourselves on good, clean food, an inviting yet edgy atmosphere, and a commitment to unique flavor, attitude and culture.

We moved from our original location (in the Reed Opera House) in summer of 2008. Our downtown Salem location is bigger and allows for a full kitchen and a full basement bar. We like to say we «crossed the road.»

While we serve lots of meatless options, chicken teriyaki is the core of our offerings — the original rice bowl at the Reed Opera House was served w/​skewered chicken. By café owner Dino Venti’s account, he has prepped 50 tons of chicken. In honor of that feat we redesigned our logo to pay homage to the chicken. The rooster logo is a nod to the glorious cock, an animal loved for its power, boldness and beauty.

Venti’s strives to carry unique microbrews and ciders.

Meet the Business Owner

Dino V.

Business Owner

For fun, Dino’s an avid, passionate mountain biker. He belongs to the Salem Area Trail Alliance (SATA, salem​trails​.org) and organization committed to building sustainable trails in Salem, and the Black Rock Mountain Bike Association (BRMBA​.org) which is dedicated to building, riding and respecting mountain biking trails and their environment. He’s determined to spread the good word of mountain biking far and wide.

To Dino, mountain biking is a lifestyle that he’s promoting as part of a Salem recreational balance which contributes to are branding of Salem. One that connects the Salem areas «greenways» with bike and walking trails that everyone can enjoy year round.

Related places

You might also consider:
510
ft
The Coin Jam
439 Ct St
760
ft
Cokie’s Landing
157 Commercial St SE
790
ft
Capital Taproom
150 High St NE
1
mi
Mix bistro and bar
1391 Broadway St NE
1
mi
DaVinci Ristorante
180 High St SE
1
mi
McMenamins Boon’s Treasury
888 Liberty St. NE

Nearby

Near this location:
30
ft
Great Harvest Bread Company
339 Court St NE
40
ft
Court Street Dairy Lunch
347 Ct St NE
50
ft
Pacific Martial Arts Academy
345 Court St NE
60
ft
Raley Kimberly Goring Attorney At Law
317 Court St NE
60
ft
Heinzelman Dana C
317 Court St NE Ste 203
70
ft
Dave Wilson Designer Goldsmith
216 Commercial St NE

20 reviews of Venti’s Cafe + Basement Bar

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Eagle Point, OR
This bar has a great late-​night vibe. We were amazed to find a place late at night that had great beer on tap and créme brûlée! The best surprise though was their sweet potato fries with drizzled honey and toasted coconut. I look forward to going again and sampling other dishes.
If I have friends who have been here and not told me about it, they are no friends. Try the the créme brûlé paired with the coffee stout. I think you’ll love it too!
Place rating: 5
South San Francisco, CA
Super delicious, extremely hard to choose what I wanted from the superb menu! Whole family was happy. I went for the Moroccan chicken wrap with spicy tots, so satisfying and fresh and crisp.
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
Can’t beat this place. Amazing food, nice staff and delicious drinks from the bar.
Place rating: 2
Sublimity, OR
I’ve been eating here for 3 years. It used to be great food and decent portions. The past few times I’ve eaten there, the food has been sup-​par and the portions have been significantly less. The attention to detail has been lost.
Place rating: 4
Salem, OR
Was pleasantly surprised by Venti’s. It might not be my new usual hangout but I think it’d do well for a casual night out. Didn’t try out the basement bar this time around but I do like the atmosphere of the place. As a lot of other people have pointed out, the prices are pretty expensive and I dunno if the price is exactly justified. But the food’s not bad. Had the Moroccan chicken salad. For the most part, liked it. Chicken was just a little under seasoned but not enough to stop me from finishing off the whole plate. Servings were somewhat generous and filling. Service was on point and the guy who served me up was a pretty cool guy. Gave me a beer recommendation as well. I did come around happy hour but didn’t take advantage of it– so it gives me another reason to come back. If you need a place good for meeting people and something with reasonably healthy options, I’d definitely recommend at least giving this a shot at some point. (And I don’t even remember the name of the beer I ordered but it was good stuff).
Place rating: 2
Eugene, OR
Perhaps it’s because we’re spoiled by some REALLY good restaurants in Eugene, but we feel strongly that this is not the place to visit if you’re craving a really good meal or a strong pour.
$ 16 for sliced steak on rice w a side of hummus that looked like refried beans. They were generous with the rice, but it was just plain and flavorless. It filled the void, I suppose. This entrée should really have been $ 10⁄12 tops, but we were hungry, so we forked through most of it.
Where I’m really having a hard time is with the chicken wings. $ 10 for 6 wings. 6 really small wings. Really really small wings. Out of the 6 wings, 5 were the little tips. 1 baby leg. Maybe they were actually quail wings… lol. Did I mention $ 10? Wish I’d remembered to take a picture of them. We loooovvvvee wings and we order them all the time. These? NEVER again. I was watching our waiter/​bartender for some kind of embarrassment because he should have been. Even Buffalo Wild Wings charges less for wings than this place and BWW throws down a mean wing. So, we don’t mind paying when we’re actually getting something.
The $ 8 slice of dark choc torte w raspberry sauce was devoured by my hubby. So, that’s a plus.
I had a happy hour Bloody Mary– it was tasty, not strong and then a huckleberry something-​or-​other. Hubby had 2 vodka redbulls. We both «upgraded» to Montepulowa (sp).
Our bill was over $ 70. The only consolation was that my hubby liked it downstairs and our bartender (Mike) was really nice.
If you want some kick-​ass food and a heavy-​handed hand crafted libation, make the trip to Eugene and drop into Café 440.
If you want a rice bowl w tons of flavor and twice the meat, head over to Maya Maya– where we stopped in on our way up to PD a couple days ago and grabbed some take out. (Order the mixed grill plate (or whatever it’s called. Delicious and money well spent there).
Oh, we landed here at Venti’s during happy hour and it was one of the lamest offering (of 4, I think) items. Tater tots may be the only bonus, but I still think they were $ 7. $ 7 for happy hour tater tots? Wow.
I feel sorry for you, Salem. Why do you accept this drivel? We rarely complain and this is another example of how we use our voice… with our wallet. Our dinner in Portland last night was almost $ 300 and we will definitely go back to that establishment again and recommend it. Here? No way. If our bill had been $ 40, we still would have been disappointed.
Place rating: 5
Hillsboro, OR
Oh my gosh. This place is so delicious.
Their menu is extensive, and everything looks great. I had the Fish Tacos, and they were so tasty. I also tasted my husband’s Moroccan Chicken which was great as well. I wish I had gotten the flour tacos as the corn ones were oven toasted which made them a little bit tough to eat, but the flavor was still on point.
I didn’t love the look of the downstairs bar area as it was dark and a little closed in, but it looked like they had live music events and it might be a cool place to hang out for evening-​type activities. We ate in the dining area upstairs.
Order at the counter, they give you a number, and then they bring you your food. When you’re done, the employees bus your table for you. Overall, it had a very casual dining feel. A little on the expensive side for a casual meal, but they used high quality ingredients.
If I were to come again, I would love to try their Spicy Mac and Cheese — it sounded super good.
Place rating: 4
McMinnville, OR
Went there for lunch for the first time. Got the chicken Teriyaki wrap. Not bad. Loved the music they were playing. Very friendly staff. I would recommend. Next time I’ll try the bar.
Place rating: 5
Las Vegas, NV
I never got a chance to review this place so even though it’s late I thought I would. Earlier this year my family & I lived in Portland & we made a short day visit to Salem. We got hungry for lunch & ate here since it was the coolest looking place on the street. We did not regret it. I ordered a black bean burger & my parents ordered a Thai peanut dish. We don’t eat out much anymore because it’s hard to find a place with good vegetarian food but this place really hit the spot. The burger was great, very big, so for a small gal like me it was more then enough food. I even tried the Thai dish which was very delicious & a better choice if you’re going for a healthier dish. It’s a chill, casual spot & the food was excellent. The people working were also very nice, very smiley & helpful. After our one stop there my mother would not stop talking about the Thai dish & kept wishing Venti’s was closer to home. If I am ever in Salem again I would definitely love to stop by this place again.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
This place has an upstairs dining area where you go up to order the food or you can go downstairs to the bar area to get full service at your table. It is more a bar atmosphere than a restaurant. I ordered the veggie dish which came with brown rice and vegetables. I asked the waiter if the veggies came raw and he said yes but they were delivered to the table steamed? That would be my only complain. My friend had wings as an appetizer and said they were one of the top wings he’s tried anywhere. They have good happy hour if you’re in a drinking mood.
Place rating: 1
Salem, OR
Although we love to support local restaurants, Venti’s is not one that my husband and I can recommend. While we like the atmosphere, the food is too expensive for what it is. Case in point: tonight we spent $ 32.75 on two menu items: a honey pork and vegetable bowl for my husband, and the chèvre salad with added chicken for me. No drinks.
Yup, this was probably the most expensive, though far from the tastiest, salad I’ve ever ordered at $ 17.75. A pile of lettuce, some veggies and sautéed apples, some goat cheese, and some grilled chicken. Other salads on the menu that include chicken cost $ 12, so I can only assume that the goat cheese accounts for the extra $ 5.75, although the other salads have feta, which seems comparable. I have no problem splurging on a meal if it’s worth it. This wasn’t. For $ 18, I’ll take the seared duck at Table 508, thank you.
Now for my husbands dinner – essentially a $ 15 teriyaki rice bowl no different than the $ 8 version at Love Love Teriyaki, except for the trendy square shaped plate and some Art Deco sprouts as garnish.
Salem offers plenty of other local options with good food, prices that make sense, and great atmosphere.
Place rating: 5
Gresham, OR
Best place ever! The sweet potato fries and fish tacos are fabulous. Staff was awesome.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
Sweet potato fries! If you like sweet potato fries this place has ‘em and it has some dried coconut on it as well. I also ordered the fish tacos for dinner last night, and it was quite a large portion. It was a nice evening so we sat outside, and there are a few tables outside. There’s a lot of options of food, and my friend can’t have gluten, and she was still able to find some foods that she can eat. Overall, not a bad place to grab a bite to eat as well as a beverage to drink. Lots of beers on tap to choose from.
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
Food was super fresh tasting. I got Thai peanut veggies over the rice and felt I got something really healthy but really delish! My boyfriend got the Cajun tofu quesadilla. I tried a bite and thought it was one of the best quesadillas I’ve had. My boyfriend gave it a 9⁄10. He did wish they had sour cream available but it was amazing none the less. We will come here again.
I tried the other Ventis location once and didn’t like the food nearly as much… and my boyfriend felt the same. Not sure what makes this location better!
Place rating: 2
Salem, OR
Ive been to both Ventis locations, and while the Commercial St. location really doesnt stand out enough for a good or bad review, this one does.
I love the food here. Love it. While a dollar or two pricier than the items should be, they still are delicious. They have a thousand different really good dressings for their salads it seems too.
Beer is hit and miss. There is a type of beer for everybody here depending on if you like IPAs or Porters or Lagers, etc… but nothing you would recognize. Can’t a guy just get a Coors Light on draft if they wanted? Or am I only allowed to get some weird cascadian ale brewed off the tits of some wandering goats from the santiam pass?
Their main problem here is consistency in serving. They keep hiring a plethora of knucklehead hipsters who would rather scowl at you in their emo pants while picking at their pierced nostrils than throw you a smile and make you feel welcome. Even downstairs, there seems to be a over abundance of pretentiousness here that keeps you from asking a friendly bartender for a mixed drink. Instead, you feel like if you ask for something, they’ll HAVE to go help THAT person.
I’ve been coming here off and on for a few years. I still eat the food, but would rather get it to go. The person in charge of hiring needs better training on the types of personalities of people to better staff a genuinely friendlier diner.
Place rating: 4
Surfside, CA
Really good fresh and tasty food with unlimited healthy options. Gets crowded but it’s a sign of doing it right! Been coming here for years and they’re constantly bringing new options to the plate. Won’t Disappoint!
Place rating: 2
Salem, OR
Came here excited for the happy hour, leaving unimpressed. Cool basement bar, great music, cool location, but service gets Minus 2 stars, funny thing is I applied here a few months ago and did not get the job, let me tell you I would be 10 times better than this apathetic bartender who is either stoned or depressed, or both.
Happy hour is: only option is one drink called the Rosemary vanilla lemonade. sounds gross. $ 6 instead of $ 8.
(Sarcastic ‘wow’)
& I DID NOT come here to eat but they have $ 6. Bbq pizza, Hawaiian sliders, burger and Bree, and bbq tots.
Will never come back until they get a more diverse selection for ‘happy hour’. Not very happy right now
Overall, Upsetting.
Place rating: 5
Eagle Creek, OR
My 5 stars are for the basement bar, not the upstairs restuarant. I actually am not too partial to the food and I think it is overpriced for the quality and quantity.
The bar downstairs is small and intimate. Limited seating. Great beer selection. They also have a full bar and a great seasonal cocktail menu. Bartenders are always great too.
Place rating: 2
Beaverton, OR
We came about 9 PM so the upstairs was about to close but we’re told the downstairs bar was open.
The wait for service was very lengthy. There were two bartenders for the entire bar which wasn’t that big. They didn’t seem very rushed by the looks of it. We waited for quite a while before I decided to grab menus from the other tables. We finally got our orders in. The food came out at a decent clip surprisingly. My burger and spicy tots were quite good but my girlfriend salad was lack luster. The salad wasn’t even dressed so she ended up pouring her pico de galo sauce on it.
All in all the service was not quite there. It would be understandable if they were busting their ass running too and fro but there weren’t too many people and they didn’t seem to put a lot of energy into making sure the customers were taken care of in a timely manner. The table next to us actually left while we were there and the only thing on their table was two glasses of water. No bueno.
Place rating: 3
Salem, OR
When I want a tasty, creative cocktail I often turn to Ventis on Court St. for the cure.
Four of us stopped by Saturday evening for a quick cocktail to end our evening. It was around 1030p.
Unfortunately, the bar was out of several key ingredients which go into making multiple cocktails on their menu, including Hibiscus and Mint. Of course we were able to order a cocktail that tasted delicious. It was just disappointing to find, on a Saturday evening, someone didn’t order enough product for the bar. I don’t think we were the first of the evening to be disappointed.
Hopefully, lesson learned.