Nettie's house of spaghetti - tinton falls, nj

Interesting link. Thanks for posting. I didn’t see any issue with the pricing or portion sizes. If a place has a bar, I expect we will spend about 100 for 2 people.

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'Twas two nights before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a person was home, not even my spouse;
The pantry was empty and the fridge was bare,
In hopes of a good meal at Netties, soon I would be there;
Thinking of my Ho’s who participated in this thread;
While visions of lamb chops danced in my head;

We break away from this Christmas story to review my second visit to Nettie’s.

First I"m pretty sure my cover is blown, @gcaggiano (you might have to take over for incognito reports) since both Carrie Bradshaw (no jab intended but I honestly don’t know her name) and who I assume is her husband came over to check on me, this time even asking my name.

Since I was flying solo I did accept the bread and it is excellent! Next I ordered the house salad with meat and cheese ($16 or $ 11 sans meat and cheese), the salad is very good and honestly enough for 4 people to share. I took more than half home.

Next up was the lamb chop ($24) one-double cut chop and it is delicious. As he mentions above he serves it untrimmed and there is an ample amount of fatty burnt ends that are truly delectable. I was able to cut off a strip of fatty meat off the bone and it was the equivalent of lamb pork belly, very enjoyable, however at $ 24. for a single chop I can see where people could have an issue on price/portion. A normal order of lamb chops would be 2 -or- 3 double cut chops would place this in $48-$72 range as a full meal, that’s pretty steep. I would get this again simply because it was fantastic and I’ll spend on what I can’t get or make better myself.

Still being a little hungry I placed an order of cavatelli, sausage and brocolli rabe. I’m kind of neutral on this…the homemade (I’m assuming) cavatelli was very good, excellent texture but the sausage which is homemade wasn’t very ample. It was chopped up as was the brocolli rabe and the pieces were too small to appreciate their flavor. I would have preferred it “less chopped” as my previous disappointment in the broccoli rabe’ and the same with this dish. Flavor overall was good, just not my preference in preparation, and this time I did request grated cheese. I received a half full ramekin dish, for the love of God I beg, please be more generous with the cheese!!! YMMV!

$ 54. pre-tax&tip and without my couple of martini’s so it’s again not that bad even with the pricey lamb chop. So my second trip and it was overall very good and I will be back again, perhaps wearing my fake glasses nose and mustache.

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Thanks for the follow-up review! Glad you gave Nettie’s another try, and that it turned out much better. I love lamb chops! Since you’ve described how good it was, Nettie’s definitely is now on my “go to” list to try it.

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Ahhh yes cover blown… let’s talk next time if your up for it. Thanks for coming back in and for the review. Cheers
Chris & Tania (Bradshaw)

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Went last night and enjoyed the place. Although I have driven by countless times, I never stopped in under the prior incarnation of the space. We were seated in a booth in the bar area and found the look to be a freshened version of a place like Tuzzio’s in LB. Every seat at the bar was taken throughout our time there, as were most of the tables. It was a hopping night after xmas. We had the salad with meat and cheese (very good and kind of reminiscent of Tuzzio’s salad). Also had the baked clams which we liked but also found a little dry and the plating on a bed of shredded iceberg unusual (would have preferred some type of sauce underneath). Shared two pastas - cacio e pepe (way too dry) and all’Amatriciana (excellent). Also had the lamb chop which was also excellent, fatty and delicious, and the steamed spinach. Service from our waitress (Coral, I think) and the gentleman host in the front of the house was great. This is not your corner pizzeria dining room, but a real restaurant. I wish them success.

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We had an outstanding dinner here last night. This place is the real deal! From the olive oil served with the bread, to the Vinegar Chicken, each and every dish is made with love and pride.

Their baked clams were maybe the best we’ve ever had. The cacio e pepe and amatriciana were the real deal and cooked perfectly al dente. The fried hen of woods mushrooms were incredible!

The vinegar chicken (served two ways), was really good. It’s their version of Chicken Savoy.

Service by Elena was super professional and amazingly attentive.

All in all we had a fantastic time and can’t wait to come back and try more of the menu.

PS- we found out after dinner that this restaurant is only eight weeks old…they have a fantastic future!!!

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think this might be my next spot to check out- very curious…hoping they took some of JR’s advice to heart- though it sounds like they may have as its getting some nice words lately.

I have to agree with @sockster that Nettie’s is in fact the “real deal”. Me and the Mrs. tried it this past Saturday and had an excellent meal. Concerned about the size of the dishes, we seemed to over order a bit. We started with the House Salad with parmigiano and salumi and fried mushrooms for apps and then shared the Spaghetti Arrabiata, Vinegar Chicken and Baked Clams for our entrees. Suffice it to say, we barely touched the Vinegar Chicken and boxed it up to enjoy the next day (I didn’t even bother to heat it up and devoured it cold). Over my wife’s protest, I ordered the Bomboloni with olive oil whipped cream and was very happy I did. Every morsel of food was excellent. From the warm and fresh “Staten Island” bread, to the slightly sweet and Tuzzio’s like house salad (don’t worry, its not that big), to the perfectly fried and za’atar dusted hen of woods mushrooms, to the al dente spaghetti with just enough heat, and ending with pillowy and warm donuts with whipped cream kissed with olive oil. Oh, and the clams casino weren’t too shabby either. Except for the phenomenal chicken, every plate was returned cleaned. Now for a few nick picks. First, our cocktails were a bit uneven. When you have the guts to charge $14 for a cocktail, you better make sure they are well made and consistent. I was happy that they had my favorite cocktail, a Hemingway Daiquiri on the menu, and we ordered two. Though they weren’t ordered at the same time and could’ve been made by different bartenders, each were completely different with one receiving too little grapefruit juice while the other was a tad too sweet (too much Luxardo?). Second, they need to do better on their timing with our salad coming out mere minutes (though felt like seconds) after ordering and the fried mushrooms coming out a minute thereafter. This issue was remedied by asking our server not to fire our entrees until we were ready. Third, I was a little disappointed about the add on charges for the cheese and meats to the house salad for $2 and $4 respectively, I was expecting a bit more than some sprinkled on grated cheese and a few slivers of meats on the salad. Don’t get me wrong, the salad was wonderful, but I expected some nice shaved cheese on top and that I could differentiate the salumi from the prosciutto from the mortadella (was I only getting one?). Nit picks aside, this place is a fantastic addition to the Monmouth county food scene and I know I will be back very soon. Such craftsmanship and dedication to use of quality products should be applauded. Get there quick and good luck.

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Missed you by a night as the wife and I were there on Friday. Had another solid meal!

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Sorry about that. One of these days our paths are bound to cross.

Another great meal at Nettie’s this past Saturday night. We ordered many of the same items from our last visit and added a few more (we were a party of 3 this time) such as the mozzarella and the carbonara spaghetti. The mozzarella was clearly fresh and homemade as it was very soft and creamy. It paired well with the warm bread and olive oil they give you to start the meal. The carbonara was perfect as well. A nice al dente pasta with a creamy sauce studded with pieces of pancetta. What’s not to love? I try making carbonara at home and could never get it that good. On the cocktail front, I tried their excellent rendition of a corspe reviver and will gladly order another one in the future. In addition to my favorite, Drew’s this place will go on my list of dependable standbys. Good luck.

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Thank you! :ok_hand:

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Thanks for the reminder. We need to get back here! Glad you enjoyed dinner.

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We had a tasty dinner at Nettie’s again on Saturday. Everything was delicious. Zero complaints on the food. We split steak special, roasted mushrooms with faro and 2 pasta dishes. Our server was fantastic. I would try to poach him if I had a restaurant level of fantastic. On dishes we ordered, he explained to us how it is served since he has had a few tables that pictured something differently based on the wording of the menu. So smart.

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Love the baked clams homemade pasta served al dente vinegar chicken & bomboloni . Carbonara great caco d Pepe a little dry. Good service atmosphere wines a little pricey. Will come back. 4/5 stars

Directed at those who have been there — @NotJrvedivici, @bgut1, @gracieggg, @jsfein — how is the noise level?

We eat early these days but never had any issue of the noise level. The bar is separate from the dining room so you could request to be sat away from there too.

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@gracieggg, Thanks for your reply! Noise levels that are low when dining early can increase substantially as the evening progresses and the restaurant fills up. So, I hope someone who has been there at a later time will respond.

I don’t think there is a noise issue.

Different experience. My Friday night visits in a pretty full restaurant were on the noisy side and the tables for two are pretty close to each other. Never been on a weeknight and suspect that could make a big difference.