Anchor Pub & Grille Beverly

Anchor Pub & Grille in Beverly is open on its regular schedule with both indoor and outdoor seating. Breakfast is served until 11 on weekdays and to 12 on weekends. Lunch doesn't start until breakfast is done. This could be as late as after one on weekends.

When Covid-19 hit, they quickly made several changes. They promptly created an outdoor patio that was really well thought out and looked great. The patio has recently been redone into a permanent seating area that looks even better. When indoor seating resumed, the pool tables were moved out to create more indoor seating. The bar area was enclosed, and properly distanced seating was implemented.

I have been going here since the pinned Haddock on the Specials menu was $9.95. I must admit that this was a long time ago. It's now up to a whopping $12.95! Never tried it! Prices tend not to increase here apart from covering Covid-19 expenses. Also pinned on the specials board are the fresh lobsters and the fried clams. I have had expensive fried clam plates that were smaller than their clam roll. The daily specials are posted on FB almost every day.

The baked seafood pie is appearing regularly on Thursdays and Fridays. Crabcakes and shrimp cocktails are regulars as well. Sunday's special is a roast leg of lamb with two sides for $12.95. How can you beat that? Three slices of lamb with an excellent gravy —Extra gravy on the side, please— that I normally order with a baked potato and rice. Baked potato for lunch and rice for the leftovers at dinner. I will probably not include a picture since there is no way to make this dish look appealing.

They now accept Credit Cards, but a surcharge is added to your bill. This is not mentioned anywhere and is a bit of a surprise. It's also illegal in Mass.

The Scallop Plate ($18.95) from the specials menu is a great choice with super fresh scallops perfectly cooked if you are looking for something special. The fries are previously frozen but cooked as well as they could be. The tartar sauce is very fresh and tasty, and of course, homemade. Don't want fries and slaw? The menu is not written in stone, and making substitutions are no big deal. When asking for changes, the answer is always No Problem.

I decided to splurge on an Extra Extra Dry Tanquery Martini during the Christmas Holidays, straight up with a twist. When the bill arrived, I got a reverse sticker shock! $6.50 for a premium Dry Martini is unheard of. I asked what the most expensive gin was and how much a Martini would be? Hendricks, and it would be a whopping $8.50. Most of the waitresses/bartenders seem to be unclear on what a twist is. I have gotten everything from a squeezed vedge dropped into the martini to a vedge floating in it. Pictured here is their best attempt so far. I started to order the martini with one olive, but that backfired when I got a handful in the leftover glass. Now it's with nothing.

Here is the aforementioned Haddock ($12.95) with two sides that I finally got around to order. You have a choice of having it baked, broiled or fried. French fries and baked potato? French fries for lunch and baked potato with the leftovers for dinner. I was going with broiled, but the waitress somehow talked me into the baked version that comes with bread crumbs on top. The fish was perfectly cooked and still moist and flaky.

In the background, you can see one crabcake —$6 for two, recently increased from $5— that is excellent, especially for the price. I have completely failed in finding out what they are made from. They come with their excellent house-made tartar sauce.

Another special that I really like is the various pork chops. This is the extra thick Char-grilled Frenched Pork Chop ($11.95). For the longest time, they called this a French Cut pork chop. There is no such thing as a french cut pork chop. French cut should only be used with green beans and women's underwear. I asked if the chef would cook it pink if asked? Of course! The pork chop comes out pink and juicy. Look at those grill marks! The slaw is a bit bland, so I normally ask for some mustard to mix in, which helps a lot.

Here is the Thursday and Friday longtime resident on the specials menu, and it's the Baked Seafood Pie ($13.95) with two sides. Big shrimps, lobster and bay scallops on top of a white fish fillet. Everything is cooked well but could do with more seasoning. Their rice pilaff is cooked really well and surprisingly enjoyable.

Work on the new stone patio continues with a bar being added. This is hopefully my last picture with a mask on the table.

Fried Clams Plate ($24.95) is another daily staple on the specials menu. The clams were cooked perfectly and were tender and juicy, but the amount seemed closer to what I got on a clam roll serving on a previous visit. The fries were on the well-done side.

On today's visit, the pool tables are back in the lounge. I did enjoy sitting at a high top in there for my lunches.

I must admit that I have never looked at their regular menu, so when someone posted about their Lobster Mac & Cheese ($21.95) on social media, I was surprised since I had no idea. I also saw a post about their baked shrimp, which might be next.

This was an excellent Lobster M&C that was creamy and had perfectly cooked pasta. It needed a tad more salt, but the Corona salt bottle was useless. I later spied some saltshakers at the waitress station. There was a ton of lobster in there, including large pieces of tail meat, but truthfully, I would be happy with just the Mac &Cheese for $7.50. It was at least one full lobster in there.🦞

When a restaurant sees that you are ordering a pasta dish, they go KA-CHING! The most profitable dish in a restaurant. 💰

Cup of Clam Chowder ($3.50). I thought they only had the soup that's announced on their daily specials board, but it turns out that the clam chowder is on the regular menu. The chowder was loaded with potatoes and grit-free tender clams. It was also seasoned really well and didn't even need extra salt. How thick is it? Well, you can stand a spoon in the chowder.

Another permanent fixture on the specials menu is the Lobster Rolls ($22.95) with French Fries. I got hand-cut FF today! My waitress said that happens if they run out of their regular fries. I would pay extra for these. This is the regular lobster roll with mayo (absent) and lettuce (minimal amount). The lobster meat is fresh, and there must have been close to a full lobster in the roll. I do like mayo in my roll but survived without it. If you get FF, ask your waitress for a real salt shaker.

Address: 20 Cabot St, Beverly, MA 01915 Phone: (978) 921-0504

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

-- Robin Jones Gunn