New England's Ubiquitous Pub-Like Chain - Ninety Nine Restaurant
Written: Nov 30 '04 (Updated Nov 30 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quality, Value-Priced, Good Service, Well-rounded menu
Cons: Desserts are pretty lame, not much ambiance
The Bottom Line: The food is generally quite good, the prices are very reasonable and for me, the service has always been fine
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| jps246's Full Review: Ninety Nine Restaurant and Pub |
The Ninety Nine could best be classified as New England's ubiquitous basic steak chain restaurant. Growing up in New York, I never ran into a Ninety Nine until I started visiting my partner in Massachusetts. When I lived in Maine, one opened in Augusta while I was working there and now that I live in Massachusetts, I realize just how much territory the Ninety Nine has covered - and nowadays they even have locations in New York.
No one goes to the Ninety Nine for fine food, but it is a good basic restaurant that gives you the same quality experience throughout all of New England (and New York). Basically, if you go to a 99, whether it be in Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Maine, you're going to find the same menus, the same basic quality, and the same service aspects (heck, you'll even get the same interior decorating).
I like to think of it as a comfort restaurant. Say you're on the road traveling and you want to grab a meal but you want to be sure it's something that everyone in your party will enjoy. Well, with a Ninety Nine located in most major areas, it's likely that you can find it and it's likely that everyone with you will find something that they'll like.
Menu Basics
The Ninety Nine has a fairly extensive menu that begins with a whole collection of appetizers including my favorite the boneless buffalo wings, along with potato skins, nachos, shrimp and several other offerings. They also offer a sampler platter that has all of their appetizers (minus shrimp, quesadillas and onion rings) for groups who can't decide on a single appetizer. The appetizers are generally more than big enough for a group of two and generally big enough for a group of four (the exception might be the buffalo wings - which you might want to consider two orders for a bigger group). The prices on the various appetizers range from about $6 to $9.
There's the basic selection of salads including a garden salad, a Caesar salad and several entree salads with chicken, steak or shrimp on them. If you're more in a soup meal, the Ninety Nine has clam chowder (my friends tell me it's good - I've never had it), french onion soup, along with a soup of the day.
The main menu is fairly evenly split between beef, chicken and seafood dishes. My favorite dish used to be the london broil - but a recent menu change dropped that dish. Nowadays I really enjoy the sirloin steak or an order of turkey tips with chipotle sauce on them.
The prime rib that is served is decent (but nothing to write home about) and the sirloin tips are an acquired taste - they seem to be marinated in a sauce that's unlike what most other places marinate their tips in. For me, I've just never really liked the taste - so I stick to the regular steaks or head into the poultry. The BBQ ribs on the menu are tasty (if not very, very messy).
They have several different poultry dishes including BBQ chicken, grilled chicken and the very tasty turkey tips. Even though I'm not a fish fan, I've been told that the fish and chips is quite good and they do offer several other basic seafood dishes should you not want a steak.
All of the main entrees on the menu are served with your choice of potato (baked, mashed, or french fries - or rice pilaf) and your choice of vegetable. The prices range from about $10 for the chicken dishes to around $15 for some of the steak dishes.
There are also pasta dishes including a pasta, broccoli and chicken alfredo platter that is quite good. The pasta dishes are served with garlic bread, but no vegetable.
Portion size on all the entrees is quite large and most people don't end up finishing their meal (well, I suppose there's always that guy who cleans his plate, but it isn't me). I almost always end up going home with a doggie bag, especially if we had an appetizer to begin the meal.
If you don't want a full-blown entree, the Ninety Nine offers a large selection of sandwiches, burger and wraps. My boyfriend's favorite in the honey bbq chicken wrap, which includes grilled chicken in a honey bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato, along with french fries. Beyond the wraps, there is a whole collection of different burgers and sandwiches including both chicken sandwiches and fish sandwiches.
The sandwiches all run around $8 or so and include french fries.
The dessert menu is fairly limited and covers the basics you would expect to find at most other chain restaurants (apple pie, ice cream sundaes, cheesecake). You really don't go to the Ninety Nine for dessert and honestly out of all of my visits, I think I have had dessert maybe twice. Usually you are too full anyway after your meal.
There is a kids menu available for children.
Ambiance...
Well, to be honest, there really isn't any - well maybe "pubbish and fun" if you had to come up with something.
Ninety Nines are decorated in an 'old pub' style that includes various old time signs and replicas throughout the restaurant. It's interesting to look at the first time, but beyond that you probably won't even notice the decorations. All of the Ninety Nines follow this same general theme, no matter which restaurant location you are visiting.
Service
This is one of the few chain restaurants where I get consistently good service. Maybe I've lucked out with the locations around where I live, but even when I have been traveling, I haven't ever had a bad experience at a Ninety Nine when it comes to service.
Yeah, we might have gotten mayo when we didn't ask for it or something else minor like that, but the staff has always been quick to solve the problem and they are always attentive to the table. The waiter/waitress almost always brings out soda refills as you empty your glass and before you even ask for a refill.
They also do a good job timing meals, with plenty of time for appetizers and/or salads before the main course. I've never had a cold main entree brought out, though I have had fries that were cold, but quickly (and) gladly replaced with fresh ones.
Secrets
If you don't get a bowl of popcorn when you sit down, ask for it. The Ninety Nine offers free unlimited popcorn with your meal. For those of you who don't like popcorn, there's also crackers and cheese that is available instead (the cheese and crackers are only at some locations).
Anything else?
The Ninety Nine often runs specials throughout the year depending on the season. So expect to see some variability in the menu.
In addition to sit-down service, most locations have a full-service bar where you can order drinks and/or meals.
There are Ninety Nines located throughout all of New England and there are also now locations open in New York.
Thoughts
I would never confuse the Ninety Nine with fine dining, but I always enjoy a trip here. The food is generally quite good, the prices are very reasonable and for me, the service has always been fine.
Whether we are looking for a place to eat after work, or we are traveling in New England looking to eat somewhere - I have never been let-down by a meal at the Ninety Nine.
Don't go expecting the world and you should enjoy yourself! And don't forget to get the boneless buffalo wings while you're there!
Recommended:
Yes
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