Not Your Average Joe’s

3 stars for location (water view patio) & food was pretty good. Our waiter, Zach was terrible. He brought out our lunches BEFORE our apps, & he blamed the kitchen. My husband had his app wrapped up to go, since he had already gotten his meal. We were very specific that we wanted app/​soup first, then our meals. Simple, right?
We weren’t offered a second round of drinks & the first drinks we ordered took forever & were finally brought out by a runner– the bar was EMPTY, so not like the bartender was slammed, either.
I’m thinking these issues were all Zach-​related but nonetheless we won’t be back anytime soon.

The only reason I’m even giving them 2 stars is because they have a nice large patio area, and the sangria was delicious. But other then that the rest of our meal was terrible. The waitress was rude, inattentive, and clearly just wanted to go home. The pizza (I’m using that term loosely) was hard as rock, had just a couple of cut up buffalo tenders thrown on top, with a tiny amount of blue cheese dressing, and I’m not even sure it included cheese. Definitely not somewhere I would go again.

I stopped by on a Friday afternoon and had a lovely time. My waitress, Emily, made my experience entirely memorable. Her exuberant personality and attention to detail impressed me and I appreciated the tips she gave me about downtown Newburyport. We chatted each time she came back to check on me. The manager came out with certificates for a discount for future meals and to meet with me because she told him it was my first time at their restaurant. They even looked up places for me that were closer to where I’m from so I could use said certificates.
I didn’t see much of the inside of the restaurant but I can speak to the outside patio. Very quaint and an awesome location for the occasional breeze from the waterfront. It overlooks the downtown center and while I was there, there was a short bagpipe performance. I sat at a table under the tree and read while I ate. Definitely grab a seat outside if you can, especially in this nice weather!
Regarding the food, the bread and dip at the beginning of my meal were scrumptious! A must try. I ordered a «Berry Me Bubble» drink and the Thai chicken lettuce wraps. Both great choices. The sauce in the wraps was just the right amount of sweet and sour.
Can’t speak for other locations but if each one had an Emily, they will keep their customers coming back. Thanks for a great Friday afternoon with good food and a place to read.

Nick from the Newburyport location was wonderful! the food, service, all over atmosphere is definitively a must go back’ Go see Nick– he’ll take good care of ya!

For a chain I think they do a very good job. The spicy boneless chicken fingers are excellent and there was a muddled cucumber and mint drink that we added gin to that might be habit forming. In Newburyport, there is a front (for people watching) and back patio (very pleasant., facing the park and the river).

Not Your Average Joe’s has always been one of my favorites. They always have tasty selections on their menus & they always change it up each season. Ask for Nick if you go, he was super nice & kept us laughing the whole time!

Had a good lunch as always here! Must mention my nice server, Mitch Q, who was perfect. He was helpful, fast and sweet! Carol R

The last time I went to a not your average Joe’s was probably about five or six years ago. They have really changed since that visit. I came to eat there because I had a fundraising coupon from the local baseball team was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The focaccia and oil oil dip with Parmesan and red pepper is freshly mixed table side and the waitress even give me some extra foccacia to go for my husband. The focus has really shifted to fresh seasonal food. I had a nice refreshing cucumber mint drink. The sage pesto butternut squash flatbread was amazing, and could serve in a meal in itself. I had the veggie burger, which was not bad, but I am really picky about my veggie burgers. The bread was really nice, and they had quite fresh guacamole and a pickled cabbage slaw, and the veggie patty was better than most. I really would like to try their desserts and pizza next time, they seem to have a good range. Service was quick and attentive. The Newburyport location has a great view of the Merrimack river.

We went here on a Saturday night after walking around struggling to find a place to eat without a long wait. There was still a 45min wait there but we sat at the bar and ordered food.
We ordered delicious margaritas that both of us needed after a long day of sightseeing.
I got the butternut squash flatbread because it looked unique and the bartender gave it a rave review. He was right, it was phenomenal. My friend ordered some kind of chicken kebob that was nice. The bread they serve you is really yummy, especially dipped in the sauce.
Our bartender/​waiter was really friendly and the food came out quickly. I wish the prices were a little less but I think that’s tough to do considering the area it’s in.
Overall, I’d recommend it and go back.

I love NYAJ and especially this location by the waterfront! It’s best in summertime when you can sit outside but it was great yesterday when it was freezing out and we could enjoy views of the water while enjoying tasty food. The focaccia with Parmesan and oil is amazing. This time we tried the Mona Lisa salad which was delicious with parm-​crusted chicken, mozzarella balls, and tasty ginger dressing. The buffalo chicken pizza was pretty good too, and the waitress was extremely friendly. It was a great trip and even better getting $ 15 off for my birthday!

This small chain restaurant is usually a good option, but has key areas requiring rapid improvement, starting with cleanliness. It is filthy. The menus are covered with sticky food, the salt and pepper shakers are grimy, the seats are filthy, I had to brush off the table when us 5 sat down, the dishes are spotty. Not confidence building and really gross. The waiter descended immediately for our drink order, too quickly, and then didn’t return for 15 minutes, then forgot one cocktail and 3 waters, and they were out of ginger beer. One of our party didn’t receive her sandwich with our meals for 15 minutes. This is all a bummer because this particular location is in a prime spot on the water in a prime city, and the food itself is actually quite tasty with plenty of vegetarian options for the boy. The drink list is interesting and, more importantly, the cocktails taste good (when the ingredients are available).
It was a Saturday night, and one would think you would put on a good show for a busy night. I also wish the bathrooms were in better shape — I know they’re shared with the Firehouse, but the toilets are always sketchy. I hope you step up your game because we need the variety in this town.

We love this place!!! Our favorite waitress on staff has to be Jenn. Se is caring, helpful and just a sweetheart! Me and my husband go there quite often and hope she stays on forever!

Have to disagree with the name, it was pretty average.
The good:
My friends had the steak tips and said they wee very good.
Another friend had the buffalo chicken pizza and liked it
The bad:
Terrible food presentation. For example — we ordered the nachos — it looked like it was half eaten already the way the dismal chips and toppings were stacked and the portion was small.
the atmosphere in this location didn’t seem very clean. Floors etc was grimy
My food was just average/​OK.
The water had a funny mildew taste. Maybe that’s just the tap water in these parts? We were on vacation.

EDIT/​UPDATE After 3 star review/​complaint:
To my surprise, manager responded after I had posted this original review, along with a rating of 3 stars.
My original review:
«Great atmosphere during the summer time, with the light strands hanging over head. Good non alcoholic drink options, or mocktails, some with unlimited refills. I’ve, unfortunately, had terrible service here before. I went again last night and the service was just O.K. Had to go inside to pay the check because waitress disappeared and we already had waited a little while. Great bread and oil at the beginning of the meal. Just wish the staff was more professional and attentive. Even the hostess was unsure of what she was doing.
The manager sent me a message apologizing and invited me back to dine with them in the future. I am happy with this response and will be returning in the future.

Update–
Still great as always!!! Read my previous review for a more in depth review of NYAJ!

Always love this chain. Food and service are consistently good and the presentation of food is always appealing.
Ordered the watermelon sangria. Refreshing, though, I’ll admit other sangrias have always been more flavorful. I’d probably recommend ordering something else.
Ordered appetizers — ahi tuna wontons and chicken lettuce wraps. Definitely loved the ahi tuna. The chicken lettuce wraps could have done better with a different lettuce, one that is crisper to the bite.
The bread and dipping sauce — my fav of all dipping sauces.
Love eating outside at this venue.

It’s an average American food restaurant.
The location is pretty central with a big parking lot close by. The service was good but the food wasn’t exceptional. The bread they serve as an appetizer is delicious.
It’s a convenient place to eat out since they have lots of seats and a large menu.

We’ve been several times and there is something about NYAJ that really makes me want to like it. There’s outside seating in the front and additional outside seating in the back. If you can deal with the mosquitos long enough to get through your meal, then please, have at it. After all is said and done Joe’s is actually average.
The greeting was very friendly and we were led to the outside seating in the back. The table was obviously broken and someone tried to make it ok with a napkin under the broken leg. Not only was that not acceptable but it could have been unsafe. I couldn’t believe they actually sat us there and we ended up moving ourselves.
When you open your menu or unwrap your silverware, the last thing you want to see is someone else’s food. It was literally baked onto the knife from an oven hot dishwasher. Eww. That just leaves you to wonder about everything else, doesn’t it?
One good thing is that if you’re a glutard you can get GF bread so you too can spoil your dinner instead of just watching your friends do it while you’re starving. Nobody likes to be hungry.
As for Wine Wednesday there were 2 things I had to deal with, the first being that the wine I wanted wasn’t available and the one entrée I wanted wasn’t on the special menu. I then had to opt out of the Wine Wednesday altogether which left me incredibly disappointed.
The service was excellent and everything I expected. She was very friendly and smiled a lot. Attentive without hovering. This is the one reason they get 3 stars. I’ll try again and hope for a better experience but for now I can say that NYAJ is a small chain and I definitely take that into consideration. If this one does’t pan out there are other places in NBPT to eat. It’s just that this one has such a cool location.

Sorry Joe, you’re definitely average. Theres no doubt about it.
Service is decent and view is good. Price bracket is too high for the mediocre food. It’s Applebee’s, it’s Friday’s, it’s every other restaurant that comes to mind when you picture those two. It’s the place you go to with your noisy kids, or a large group of awkward relatives.
I think it’s unfortunate they have one of the few oceanfront spots In Newburyport. Would recommend any other place near this one for better overall flavor. For view within this price range and little care for taste this is your place.

Came here for lunch today with my cousins and we had a pleasant time. The location is great, right in the heart of the bustling Newburyport area. It was my first time in Newburyport and I can definitely see why people come here.
This place is deceivingly large and they have a huge menu of random American food. I guess they’re known for their pizzas, but they have an array of salads, burgers, sandwiches, seafood, kids menu, and daily specials. They also have an extensive drink menu with cocktails, sangria, beer, and wine. Our waitress was super friendly and patient with us (we had two little kids with us too).
The bread and olive oil + parmasan they give you in the beginning is awesome. Their bread is light, fluffy, and tastes delicious. It also quickly started to fill me up without realizing. I ordered a small pizza with jalapeño and pineapple, and it was pretty good. The crust was very large/​thick for a pizza of that size and the middle (the front of the slices) was very thin and would fall apart when trying to pick up the slice. Over the entire pie, I had huge chunks of pineapple and only a few jalapenos. In my opinion, they should’ve made the pineapple slices a bit smaller/​thinner and added more jalapenos on the pie. The crust takes up so much of slice, that after 2 – 3 bites, you’re at the crust (small bites at that too!). However, the dough tasted great and the pizza was cooked just right.
My cousin devoured his salmon special with cauliflower mash, and my other cousin enjoyed her almond crusted goat cheese salad (which looked really really good).