Ninety Nine (99) Restaurant- Deptford, NJ
Will 99 get 86′d?
Ninety Nine Restaurants (99)
Deptford, NJ
Menu: 99 Website
Get Directions
Meal: Lunch / 1pm / Weekday
Price: $35 (Does not include tip)
In the world of casual dining, there is a lot of competition. TGIFridays and Applebee’s dominate this space nationally, but 99, based in the New England region, is building a small army of stores on the east coast. The Deptford location appears to be the first in New Jersey. That’s terrific, because lord knows we really needed another place to eat around here. =)
As a new building, everything looks rather clean and attractive. It’s a bit more understated than TGIFridays and Applebee’s on the outside, and far less busy on the inside. We’ve tried a couple of times for weekend dinners, but the place is absolutely mobbed and wait times were out of control. My friend had a day off work and we decided to try what was a comparably vacant 99 for lunch.
The best way I can think of to describe the interior is modern with subtle western influences (hence the horseshoe in the company logo). I like the multi-tier design and it’s fun to walk up and down little steps just for the hell of it. Everything looked sparkling clean, but we’d expect that from a restaurant that is only a year or so old. The bathrooms were almost fully touchless (you still have to open the door) - with motion-sensored soap, water, and towel dispensers. We didn’t get a chance to check out the other half of the store, but we were directed to very spacious wooden booths with minimal, but comfortable padding. There are several LCD TVs speckled throughout that should be visible to most everyone.
My buddy started with a grapefruit margarita. It came in a very large glass with a skewer of fresh fruit on top, and received good reviews. I passed on any alcohol, but was eager to order the soft fish tacos that instantly ‘caught’ my attention. Across the table, it would be a full rack of barbecue ribs. Since we both knew I was paying, I guess he decided to splurge. How nice of him. We both thought the waitress was super nice and very attentive, and ended up giving her a generous tip. Service times were good, but given the relative emptiness of the restaurant I hoped they’d be even snappier. It took well over an hour to finish everything up, which may not be a good choice if you’re on a tight lunch schedule.
Our entrees came and everything looked very good, especially the ribs. They were described as a little on the lukewarm side, but had terrific flavor and very tender. They were served with coleslaw (which I ate), fries, and a biscuit. The french fries, for me, were way too overseasoned (salt and pepper) and really overpowered what were otherwise well-cooked and and well-cut fries. I have to note that my friend completely disagrees with me on this one, but if you’re just going to season them with salt and pepper, why not leave it up to the customer? The cole slaw was okay, but will easily be forgotten. The biscuit was stated to be ‘tasty as hell’. Touché.
My fish tacos were very good, but disappointedly small. They included a 1.5 inch small breaded fish stick sitting on top of some lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole in a soft tortilla. The ends of the tortilla weren’t filled out (everything was kind of just jammed in the center) which made me wish they had just stuffed it with some more fillers. It was hard to really critique the fish because you don’t get a lot of it, and each one had the feel of a McDonald’s snack wrap or Quizno’s sammie. Moe’s used to have fish tacos for a while, and I’d love to find out if they gave you a bit more to eat. The included sour cream was a nice option for occasional dipping.
The pricing seemed on par with their competitors, and you’ll probably find the same swath of burgers, chicken dishes, salads, and desserts across the board. While not especially unique or innovative in terms of their menu or atmosphere, I thought they presented a quality effort. Since we really have no experience with their consistency or service other than one waitress and two meals, we’ll consider this an upgrade candidate based on user feedback.
Pros:
- Clean, new building
- Spacious seating
- (Our) waitress was fantastic
- Good food
Cons:
- Weekend crowds overwhelm seating
- Too fancy with some portion sizes
- Super congested location (across from Deptford Mall)
Average Score: 3.7 Chews
Subjective Review: A strong competitor to Fridays and Applebee’s
Have you been to 99 Restaurant? If so, please add your rating!
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Your Score:
(8 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
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Comments
Gumpo Gumpo’s Mini-Review:
When the 99 first replaced the Ground Round, I quickly went in to see if they could satisfy the craving for a top notch, low-cost meal. Had i wrote this comment a few months ago, i would probably be trashing 99 for inconsistency in both service and food preparation, but recently 99 has really matured.
I havn’t had much from their menu. In all honesty, the only thing i have ordered from them so far has been their sirloin, because i love steak - but a lot of people i have gone with have ordered everything from chicken to crab cakes. With only one exception quite some time ago, everyone has spoken highly of the food from the 99.
Now the steaks i get from the 99 certainly are not the best i have ever had, but considering they are half the cost of a steakhouse, i can certainly live with that, because all in all, its a very well cooked steak. Now I’m not a fan of steak sauce, but for those who are, the 99 has one of the best house steak sauces i have ever tasted. (Rather than leaving A1 on the table, they leave 99 Sauce there)
For the price, and convenience for those of you in Deptford, the 99 is certainly a great spot to eat. It replaced the Ground Round about as well as anyone could expect, with a broad menu of well cooked items and modest prices.
Missy While the food @ 99 was satisfactory enough, the service was among the worst I’ve ever encountered. We had a party of 2 @ 7PM and the restaurant was empty. It took over 15 minutes to get refills on our drinks. The best part of the meal was the biscuit! There are way too many types of these joints to settle for bad service.
TheOneAndOnlySam I was rather dissatisfied with the service here. I went once with my best friend, and we found our waiter to be rather inattentive. We only got our drinks refilled once, and that was because we called the waiter over from across the room. The waiter didn’t really check on us at all. He also rushed us, which I despise. Then, when we were paying, she put cash in and I used my card. The waiter took the cash as a tip, and put the whole total on my card. I was incensed. We had to send another waiter to find him to get him to change the amount, because I was NOT going to be ripped off like that. He wasn’t even that cute.
I read your review. Thanks for visiting us in Deptford.