Not Your Average Joe’s

I had an absolutely terrible experience at this restaurant with my family. Minor thing… needed to ask for water twice. My husband ordered an IPA, however he was given a German style alt. When he brought that to the waitresses attention she said it was an IPA. In the meantime, we were eating the bread and dipping oil and noticed a hair in the oil and mentioned it to the waitress. The manager came over and said it was a shirt fiber not a hair. My husband asked him if the beer he ordered was an IPA and he said yes, it was from a local brewery and it was doing very good. My husband proceeded to look it up on his phone and confirmed it was a German style alt and mentioned it to the waitress who could have cared less. Our food too very long to arrive and I asked the waitress how much longer it would be. She said she could go check… Ummm, great idea! Then there seemed to be a hair in my son’s chicken tenders! We didn’t say anything about that because at that point we just wanted out! We wanted to take the remainder of our food home (not the chicken tenders) and the waitress brought over containers so we could package it up ourselves! My husband asked why we needed to do this since we don’t work here and the waitress responded that since there was a hair in our food that she thought we would prefer to package it up ourselves! Okay, so she was confirming it was a hair and not a shirt fiber! They never took anything off the bill and the manager never came back. Needless to say we won’t be going there again!

This place is located in an oversized strip mall. Not bad, just not what I expected from the Unilocal reviews. Décor is fun; I would call it hipster pub/​retro diner. The menu is diverse and the prices in line with the entrée sizes.
I ordered the chicken enchiladas with a Goodhouse side salad. The salad was probably tasty but drenched in dressing, so it seemed to be all creamy balsamic, all the time. My bad, I forgot to ask if the dressing came on the side. I liked the flavors of the enchiladas and enjoyed the extra hit of vegetables. The chicken seemed to be a little overdone and more chunky than shredded. I was psyched to see a heavy-​duty paper takeaway container instead of a Styrofoam one when the waitress asked if I wanted my leftovers packed up.
My husband was impressed by the presentation of the meatloaf dinner, however, he found the meatloaf itself lacking in the flavors and spices that one thinks of when they think of meatloaf. he equated it to a stuffed hamburger sandwiched with delicious mashed potatoes and fried onion rings.
Overall, if I lived in the area, I would definitely go to NYAJ again. The service was good and the menu looks promising.

Once I got up and pointed out to the hostess that we were forgotten, things got much better. The manager was very apologetic and was sincerely sorry for the mistake. As usual the food was good so all is forgiven.

Second time is a charm! So I had been reached out by Jimmie who was very encouraging a second time would be a whole lot better. To my surprise, it was very wonderful. I had stopped by on a whim for lunch around 2 today (06÷01÷16). My greeter was welcoming and had offered an indoor or outdoor seating which I decided a table by the window as plenty. My server, forgot the name!, was helpful and waited on me with good timing I between. Now onto the most important, the food. I was very careful on the selection avoiding any that had the word, «lemon» on its ingredient list. I chose the sirloin tips that came with grilled asparagus and mash potatoes with the meat cooked at medium for additional flavoring. It was absolute spot on, the meat tender and delicious as well as the greens cooked just right not too watery or soggy. I enjoyed my dine at the average joes and now will be a returning guest with a new menu favorite. :)

I was stunned at how good the food was here. The deviled eggs, the wedgie salad, the chimichurri flank steak, outstanding!

Service was slow, waitress inattentive. My chicken panko BLT was burnt with ONE small piece of bacon on the sandwich. Manager came over to let us know it was being removed from our check. We appreciated that gesture however when he didn’t apologize and said ‘everyone makes mistakes and now I’ll step away from your table so you can enjoy your meal” I was stunned. He was arrogant. Will be sure to contact the general manager.

I’ve been coming to the NYAJ Methuen, MA location for 10 years and have never been disappointed. After a long hiatus, my fiancé I decided to spend my $ 15 birthday coupon here for a late lunch on a Tuesday afternoon May 10, 2016.
Happy Hour is in the lounge/​bar from 3 – 6 and the appetizers are half price. Of course they start by bringing their addictive bread (focaccia bread) and garlic/​parmesan/​red pepper flake oil dip. SO good. Try not to go for seconds or else you’ll be so full! We started with the caribbean buffalo tenders. They have been a favorite of mine since I started going to NYAJ and luckily they had the same great taste. Consistency is a huge key factor in a restaurant and I’m happy to see that NYAJ is still consistent even10 years later.
Our server was Brianna and she was very prompt, friendly and professional. She had a nice little pop around 3 pm and had lots of tables outsides all at once, while we were at a high top inside. The manager on duty ran our appetizers, one of our refills and entrées, which shows the great teamwork within the establishment. He was very friendly and interacted with us each time around. Brianna was still around to get us what we needed and checked back to make sure each course was to our liking. Great service all around!
For our main dishes we each had our own personal pizza. I did a «3-​way create your own» with bacon, onion and artichokes. My fiancé indulged in the salami pizza and added sausage. Each pie is hand tossed daily and cooked at 700° in a stone hearth oven that you can see from your table. The personal pizzas are huge and can’t even imagine what their large is like. I MAY have been able to finish the pizza without the appetizer and bread, but it would still be a challenge.
Although we didn’t have any drinks aside from water and soda, NYAJ is always creating new and fun drinks — both alcoholic and non-​alcoholic. Their creations are always on point and use the freshest fruit/​ingredients.
NYAJ is also VERY accommodating with ANY dietary needs and/​or food allergies. Basically you can modify every dish to your exact liking. Every time we’ve had an allergy in my party we have seen the servers tell the manager who then tells the head chef and everyone in the kitchen, including prep cooks. No one goes without knowing about the allergy and/​or dietary modification, which shows how much the customers wellbeing is taken into consideration. Great job!

My experience here was positively hideous. I haven’t been here in a few years. I can’t tell if the quality has gone down or my pallete is more refined, but either way the food was unacceptable. My $ 13 pizza was tiny, lukewarm, soggy, flavorless, and tasted like someone dumped all of the juice from the jar of banana peppers onto it. Everything I ate tasted like vinegar for the next hour. The burger and sandwich my mom and sister ordered were also bland. The dip for the bread was very salty. Also, we had to stand around for several minutes before we were even acknowledged. I had to go to the bar and find someone to seat us. It took over half an hour for our food to the table despite the place being almost empty. I noticed at least two tables that were seated after us being served before us. The food was just awful, especially at the price they’re asking. I’ve had a better equivalent meal for $ 30 at the TGI across the plaza, and the check was $ 50 before everything we couldn’t bear to eat was taken off. This place’s only saving grace is how readily the staff removed unacceptable food from our bill.

Went in and was told it would be a 15 – 20 min wait. Understandable on a Friday night around supper time. However, after everyone else waiting was sat we were put in a high top table that had been open the whole time we were waiting, in the corner behind the hostess stand. After sitting for 10 mins and no one even checking in or saying hello we left.
Not sure if or when we will go back.
Went back after a bad experience and had an enjoyable meal (never had bad food here) and much much better service. We went on a busy Friday with a group of friends and enjoyed ourselves.
We were sat after a short wait and attended to right away. Will be going back again.

Not impressed with the food at all, definitely below average. I got the «Cranberry-​teriyaki Chicken With Sweet Potato Cannellonis», but the chicken was so hard that I was not sure if I was getting the bone or was it meat in my mouth and was not even warm. First time there and was definitely not impressed.

I came in around 4 pm Est just before the Saturday night dinner crowd and started off with an amazingly fresh and yummy Waldorf salad. The smoked mozzerella, candied pecans and creamy sherry salad dressing were excellent. Then I ordered the butternut squash sage with balsamic reduction flatbread and it was a fantastic blend of the squash (roasted in squares) and the mix of pesto, mozzerella, artichokes that worked so well together. Also for someone who loves iced tea, thier iced tea was fabulous and even better with the rasberry added (tasted like rasberries and not artificial chemicals). My waitress Liz was attentive, smilled and refilled my iced tea without saying a word. She said she had just started with NYAJ’s a few weeks ago, but you would never know, she was so professional. I will be back again for sure. ;)

Very happy with my second visit. Got my hot soup and it was delicious!!! My salad was nice and cold and crunchy fresh! My service was good– always with a smile and just want to point out that Joes has the best customer service that I’ve seen. They really go out of there way to make your experience a 5 star!
Oh– music is fabulous– great atmosphere! My new go to spot!

A nice place to have lunch. This was my first time at the establishment. The venue was modern and clean. They have a wonderful bread and oil combination. A few local beers on tap, which is always appreciated. The pizza was good. Seemed to be pricey at $ 45 for two people to have lunch. Would definitely go back.

The ahi tuna had a rubbery skin on it. The floor was slippery to and from bathroom. Waitress blamed bartender for her poor service. Said she was puting drinks on the other end of bar. Took 15 minutes everytime we got a drink (5 people) had to hear about her back problems for 20 minutes. Bad experience! At the end the kitchen caught fire and all we could smell was burning plastic!

Came with family on my visit home, I live in New York City. As so, my standards have been high returning to small town settings like Methuen in terms of service and such. The host was warm and welcoming, I believe her name was Rebecca. We were hesitant about the menu, she reassured us of certain menu items and made great suggestions. Our server, Judy, was attentive and delightful. We like to have a slow coursed meal, she was very accommodating about that and was eager to express the different tastes of the drink and dinner menu. Also shoutout to the bartender (whose name I did not get).

The Loop is only five minutes away from my home and I’ve tried all the restaurants in the Loop but never NYAJ. It just never happened until last night. My party and I had a reservation for a birthday dinner. We were greeted by a wonderful team and served by a knowledgeable and friendly waitress. It was a Saturday night — so it was extremely busy but our waitress was on point the entire night — refilling our drinks without us asking, clearing our table when needed and constantly checking up on us.
Their menu is awesome — there’s a wide variety of dishes to choose from. The portions and presentation is perfect. Our dishes came out at the same time which is impressive because usually with a large party, it rarely happens! I decided on the sirloin tips which came with mashed potatoes and green beans — it was delicious. I tried my cousin’s breaded chicken and that was juicy and flavorful. I know the bread and dipping oil is a favorite here but we actually thought the bread was too thick and chewy. The oil was tasty but we prefer a lighter, crispier bread. We had the Peanut Butter Thing for dessert and it mouthwatering!
I’m only giving NYAJ four stars because it’s hard to give a thorough review with only one visit. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to try. Their service hands down deserves five stars. We really enjoyed our experience but I really want to visit again soon so I can try their appetizers and a more unique entrée.

Great place for great food. The Mona Lisa Salad is incredible. Chicken encrusted pieces, fried to perfection over a nice mix of greens, and strawberries make this dish filling and refreshing. The service is quick and friendly and the prices are in a very affordable range.
Though a little crowded and noisy at times it is a nice place to take your family or group.

This NYAJ location is similar to all the others I’ve been to. The food is always decent and the prices are always lower than what you’d expect to pay. This location was super busy around dinner time with the movie theater right next door so be sure to make a reservation in advance (nice and easy to make reservations on their website).
They have a gluten free menu and gluten free bread available, which is a nice treat for my Celiac wife. The drinks are always made well and the prices are reasonable at $ 8 instead of $ 15 at a steakhouse. The entrees always sound better on the menu than they look/​taste, but I didn’t leave disappointed. I had the seasonal pork chop with some awesome apple chutney and some overly sticky candied brussels sprouts. Wife had the gluten free quesadilla and loved every bite. We usually skip dessert, but the gluten free carrot cake was too good to pass up — highly recommended.

I stopped going here a long time ago, the menu was ho-​hum & never changed.
Stopped in recently and was pleasantly surprised. It looks like they opened up the bar area and re-​did the menu from my last visit (several years ago). Our waitress was very attentive & pleasant. The place was full and was clean & inviting. The prices were competitive. The menu looked to have something for everyone.
I had a the chicken mona lisa and the veggie egg rolls as an app. They did a good job. Nice to see a corporate restaurant that has stepped it up.
I’ll be going back!

I’ve been a fan of Not Your Average Joe’s for a long time. I usually go to the one in Westborough, MA when I lived in MA. And I always walked out happy and satisfied with my meal. Now my buddies and I are doing our annual Christmas lunch here at Joe’s in Methuen location. The first time, I ordered Jambalaya and it didn’t blew me away. Everything just felt kind of dried. Even the bread for the table. It just didn’t leave me with a memorable note like all other times when I visited Joe’s in Westborough. Nonetheless, we made our way to Joe’s again yesterday for our second annual lunch. Again. everything was 3.5 stars good, but not as good as it used to be. which was 4.
I ordered rosemary skewered scallops. Scallops were pan seared just a tad too well done, but they had good flavor. Succotash of couscous, spinach, butternut squash, and bacon was good the first few bites. Then my palette felt overwhelmed with orange-​chipotle chili glaze. There was just a lot of sweetness which I’m not a fan of sweets, especially for lunch. I wish there were more of spinach mixed in succotash, that might break up some of the sweetness a bit. I also think the dish was a bit pricey for lunch and for the size of scallops that I got. And when I checked up online for the menu, it seemed like they gave us dinner menu instead of lunch? Perhaps there’s no lunch menu on the weekends? Aaanyway… I also tried meatloaf a few bites, it was good. I like a hint of bbq sauce and the meat was juicy. My hubby was pretty happy with his entrée.
I would still come back to Joe’s. I like that they change menu often and offer us with creative foods. And another thing that I LOVE about Joe’s is that they don’t give you foam boxes for your left over, but paper material boxes instead. I will always support an establishment that’s helping preserving our environment.