Not Your Average Joe’s

The waitress argued with me when I complained that a medium burger shouldn’t be red and bloody in the middle. She told me that was my opinion. HA! I also pointed out to her that she walked by our table 4 times (while i stared her down) before she came to ask how the food was, and that I thought that was pretty bad service. She told me that we can agree to disagree, and «that’s your opinion» to which I responded «well, then that’s your tip.» She snootily remarked «I can do without» while walking away from my table. I was so pissed off, I was shaking. Apparently I am just over-​opinionated lol. The manager did come over and hear me out, apologized, and didn’t charge us for our meal. The one star is for him. I’m certainly not out for a free meal, so although i appreciated the gesture, the damage was already done and my afternoon would have been much more pleasant had I enjoyed my experience and paid the bill. I have eaten at other NYAJ locations and had good experiences, but to let an awful server like her slip through the cracks and onto your payroll says something about your establishment. They should be embarrassed… I really hope she no longer has a job.

As always, great bread — not a question that it is 5 star bread. Service was 4 – 5 stars; it was busy and a Saturday night. The food, underwhelming and WAY over priced.
I tired to order one of their 2 non-​pizza vegetarian options (it’s 2016, diversify a little) and they were out. I was stuck with their special Cannelloni with spinach. Normally it comes with a breast of chicken but for $ 2 less you could get it without the chicken (vegetarian option sort of). It came out with two cannelloni and two bites of spinach. My entire meal was 8 bites.
$ 14.50.
I live in Boston and I get «high-​end» portions. Everyone around me had huge plates — it was embarrassing and I left hungry.
It was almost as if they were running out and needed to squeeze out more portions than they had. Either way, this chain needs to get out of the past and offer better options for vegetarians so that we have options when you run out of your food at 7:15 on a Saturday night.
Never again.

this use to be our fav place for years but the quality of the food and portion size and presintation has gone down, i got the steack tips with no taste 2 days ago and 5 day old dry rice. the service was pleasant and fine. the calamari use to be large and had to get it and now it is little in a bowl and not great. the duplings seemed just microwaved and 5 of them in a bowl. borring

We were seated promptly. Service was great. Waitress and staff were understanding about our 4^th person being late. I had the jambalaya and it was awesome!!! This was my 1^st trip here, and I will be back!

The staff here is very nice, so my review is not a reflection of customer service, but I just am not a fan of the food here. My husband and I have come to this location a few times and the food just hasn’t been good. The bread and side salads are fine, but between my husband and me (between a few visits) we’ve had the veggie burger, spaghetti squash, salmon, lettuce chicken wrap appetizer, and a regular burger, and neither of us are ever happy with anything we order. I don’t expect to go back and feel like there are a lot of other similarly priced restaurants in the area that are much better. Maybe I’m missing something, because I know a lot of people love this place, but I just don’t get it.

My husband and I ate here after a meeting we had in Burlington. I have been to not your average Joes before in another location and really like it. This one in Burlington was very disappointing. Staff seem confused. I had a mix drink that was served in a small short glass. Too small for the price and too much ice. I ordered the clam chowder and it was awful tasted like it was old and burnt! They did take it off the bill. Waitress was not knowledgeable about the menu. food took forever and not too busy. But lots of messy tables around. I had the special of the day which was a lobster roll. I must say it was very tasty! That is why I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. My husband had a burger and it was nothing special .
We will not be returning to this location.

I like NYAJ because it’s a chain restaurant that doesn’t act like a chain restaurant. It has creative dishes, excellent bread and delicious drinks. The staff is professional and friendly, without taking it to TGIs «flair» territory. I would prefer to go here than any other chain restaurant. It’s relaxed, without crazy loud music. Very few kids.

Umm, yea you are… Lazy service, we had to send back appetizers and the waitress grilled us on the specific reasons as to why. She was not happy with us just saying we didn’t like it. She insisted, wanting to know exactly why it was returned. She said the chef wanted to know specifically what was wrong with the appetizer. We were set out on the patio as we requested, but there was no lighting at the table whatsoever. The lights on the tables umbrella were not operable, and the wall sconce light was by our table was not working. We asked for a candle for the table and the waitress never bothered to bring it to us. We ordered cocktails when we first sat down. My wife’s wine was delayed and only serve once we received our food 15 minutes later. The waitress said they had run out of clean wine glasses. So Joe, you are kind of average.

This place is just like the Needham location, just like the name, average. Stopped in here for lunch and the food is just not that great. Not sure what the issue is with this restaurant but I need to really stop eating here. It is not creative and the food is bland, over cooked and nothing special.

Disappointed to see that they allow toddlers at their bar. Just what you want to see at 5:00 after work, a toddler climbing all over the bar.

Never heard of this place before (actually I was thinking it was one of those «Eat At Joes» establishments). Our waiter Rachana was great. Very understanding and accommodating. Totally made our experience better despite the fussy kids.
The food was good but I suppose we were expecting slightly bigger portion sizes. I got the Cobb salad and the Sirloin tips, and chicken fingers from the kids menu. Food wise, I’d say it was better than «a-​okay», but not quite «I’m a fan»…but because the service was great, I’d have to give 4 stars.
If you are starving and want to fill up fast then you may be a little disappointed here. Otherwise it’s a great place to enjoy dinner as long as you aren’t stuck next to my kids.

Amazing food for a good price. Mustard Chicken is superb along with a glass of Malbec and nicely decorated restaurant. Good for any occasion.
Oh and bread and oil is the BEST part!!1

I have to say, I was impressed with the staff at Not Your Average Joe’s. As we walked up from the parking lot, the wait staff on the patio asked if we would like a seat out there. It was a beautiful day, so we took the opportunity. We were then seated, but needed to be moved due to the sun being directly on the baby’s face. They moved us promptly and were so nice about it. The manager came to check on us after we were through with our meal. Very customer friendly place.
The food was delicious! I started out with the calamari, then the steak wedge salad, and last the molten chocolate cake. The presentation and taste of the food was great. The steak was cooked to absolute perfection. Oh, and the complimentary bread and dipping sauce was heavenly.
The staff and the food make this place a winner. Great experience.

We did an early Father’s Day lunch for my husband and my son inlaw who will be a dad in a few days. We had a great time! We sat outside and Robert was our server. We have had Robert before and know how on point his service is.
He explained the were having scallop Saturday and had several options for scallops. They were perfectly seared and delicious! Two of us took advantage of the super fresh scallops. The dishes were interesting without being too out there.
All the food was great and presented well. I do love food but I have to say the service is always what I remember. Robert was fantastic, professional without being stuffy and I look forward to coming back.

Not Your Average Joes has a menu that confuses, I guess the only thing you can call it is New American because I think that pretty much encompasses pretty much anything. Not only can you get tacos, burgers, but like me you can get thai salmon! If that doesn’t give you the heebee jeebees then you are indeed brave! All joking aside this place really is like a Chillis or Fridays. The food isn’t bad, nothing amazing, and the prices are moderate. The kitchen was a bit slow, the bartenders weren’t particularly attentive and keen to give me the check immediately after I ordered. So that resulted in multiple payments which is confusing. Not sure why but I guess I look like someone who dines and dashes perhaps? Regardless the food was fine, appropriately portioned, and eating here may not be the top of my list but I wouldn’t be disappointed to come back again.

I went here with my husband and four other people for lunch this Saturday afternoon. I was very excited when I saw the vegetarian burger, but that was where my excitement ended. After what seemed like forever, we got our food. As soon as I looked at my burger, I knew this wasn’t going to be fun. It was already falling apart and I hadn’t even touched it. I decided to just go for it, picked it up, and it literally disintegrated in my hands. It fell into my salad dressing, into my lap, and all over the table. I seriously looked like a drunk toddler who didn’t know how to eat (for the record, I was neither drunk at that current moment, or a child).
After dealing with the merciless teasing of my friends for being messy, I realized I was going to have to think outside the box if I wanted to eat it. Failure was not an option, as I was really hungry and refused to wait another 20 – 25 minutes for another meal to come out. Being the resourceful creature I am, I decided to ditch the buns (which were way too big, in my opinion) and scrape everything onto my plate. I then used a fork to eat what was left of my «burger” — this in itself was annoying. The best part about a burger is eating it with your hands. I was having to be civilized and use utensils. This all could have been forgiven if it was a great veggie burger… unfortunately, it was not. It wasn’t terrible. It was just bland. I’ve had probably 50 different veggie burgers from restaurants in the MA/​NH area, and this one was definitely at the bottom. I didn’t even see any black beans in the burger– it was mainly rice. I didn’t pay $ 10.99 for a rice burger.
This whole ordeal was pretty upsetting because I had been mentally pumped for a good veggie burger. I ordered the seasonal strawberry basil margarita, because quite frankly, I earned it. That drink was really good. It came in a cute mason jar too, so that was pretty adorable. My husband ordered the blue burger, and he seemed to be pleased with it. I might give this place another try– I haven’t decided yet. I would definitely order a drink first so I have something to get me through the meal if it was bad again.
Our server was Celia. She was nice, knew the menu, and did a good job. She did seem to be a little over booked with the tables though– there was a large party in the back that she was working too so it took some patience for her to get to us when we needed something. That’s not her fault though.

My review from 2011 was 5 stars.
I did love this restaurant until recently I have noticed a decline in service and
food. This restaurant has been my go-​to restaurant and now it’s like meh.
I get email reminders of their martini mondays and $ 1 oysters — so once my husband and I decided to go down… at 6pm… OUT OF OYSTERS. Ummm? Why advertise it weekly if the items aren’t going to be there. I understand it’s a special, but 6pm… isn’t even late for dinner!
There have been other times where they ran out of items but I have to go to work in 30 minutes and I honestly don’t think there’s enough time to even write all of my recent complaints.
Will I go back to NYAJ? …maybe?

NYAJ is consistently just above average, which is pretty good for any chain restaurant these days. They are extremely accommodating with gluten allergies, with a separate menu and also ‘gf’ notations on the specials menu. Without fail, the servers will even offer gluten free bread AND know enough to bring a separate little pool of oil/​cheese for dipping to avoid cross contamination.
The drinks are more affordable than most places and the menu changes often enough to keep things interesting. The burger is a little boring, but the pizza can be surprisingly good and the side dishes are usually interesting and tasty. We’ll be back.

This was my first time at a Not Your Average Joe’s. We waited about 10 minutes for a table even though there was several open tables (I’m assuming there wasn’t enough servers on staff to be able to help a full house.)
Our server explained the scratch kitchen concept and that they will do whatever they can to accommodate your likes or dislikes. She brought over focaccia bread with a dipping sauce (olive oil, parmesan cheese, and hot pepper flakes.) I ordered an unsweetened iced tea with lemon, Tim ordered beer, and Katie a watermelon lemonade and water. Tim and I ordered waters late but never got them.
Then we ordered our meal. I ordered the soup and salad combo. I got a french onion soup and the caesar salad… The salad was fine. The dressing tasted good. It didn’t come with croutons or anything. The soup was different. Instead of a clearer dark brown broth, it was more of a light brown color and as thick. It didn’t smell like onions and it had large pieces of garlic in it. The cheese also became very thick fast which was a little concerning. But I have to take in account that the restaurant is called «Not Your Average Joe’s» so it’s not going to be the norm.
Tim ordered the buffalo chicken pizza. It was 10″. He loved it but could only finish ¾th of the pizza.
Katie had ordered the veggie burger and a side of fries. Being vegan, she asked if everything was dairy free. The waitress went and checked with the chef. She came back and it turned out the veggie burger had egg in it (a common binding ingredient for patties) and the chef was offering to make a burger from scratch with white rice. Katie agreed but a few minutes later our sever came back. She wanted to let Katie know that their french fries were fried in the same fryers that meat and fish were fried in. So Katie declined the fries but the server said they could make a side of veggies so Katie opted for the brussel sprouts.
When the food came out, the Chef came along. She explained everything that was in her veggie burger. She had put white rice, red beets, veggies, and onions. Katie ate the ‘burger’ and it stayed intact pretty well and had a good taste. It was a purple color from the beet and was huge. The brussel sprouts had been sauteed and were good too!
It was great to see how helpful both the server and chef were for Katie! The chef and server were both knowledgeable about what a vegan can and can’t eat.
I definitely want to revisit a Not Your Average Joe’s and try more than just the soup and salad!

Seriously impressed by the quality of food from this inconspicuous place. There’s a wide selection of food and flavors, from pizza to pasta to Asian dishes. Came here for lunch with a group and the service was fantastic. Highly recommend the ahi tuna wontons — I love ahi tuna and this was so flavorful with sesame-​crusted tuna, pickled ginger, and wasabi aioli. We finished everything on the plate. I had the crab cake BLT and it was a fresh and delicious take on the traditional sandwich.