Nettie's house of spaghetti - tinton falls, nj

That’s really helpful, @jsfein! The day of the week can make a huge difference. Actually, we rarely have dinner out in NJ on Friday or Saturday unless we’re going with people who can’t go midweek. We find that midweek, most NJ restaurants tend not to be very busy which makes for an experience that’s not hectic, and noise is not an issue.

@NotJrvedivici, In your first review, you mentioned your wife seeing an empty parking lot on a Wednesday, but it was jammed when the two of you went for dinner. Was that midweek?

I believe it was a Friday night that we went.

Thanks! So an empty parking lot on a Wednesday vs. a jammed one on a Friday indicates to me that Nettie’s is like most NJ restaurants, i.e., packed on Friday and Saturday and quiet during the week.

R - Sorry it took me so long to reply. I agree with @jsfein. On a Saturday night when the place was full, both the bar and back rooms can be a bit on the noisy side (though not so much that it interfered with our conversation and meal). On a second visit late on a Saturday night with the restaurant not more than 3/4’s full, the sound level was fine. Looking forward to your pictures and write up.

Thanks for the reply, B.! No need to apologize! We’ll be going midweek (possibly next week) so hoping the noise level will be as you found it during your second visit. I’ll report back and, of course, there will be photos.

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Mr. RBI and I had dinner at Nettie’s on Thursday (3/14). When we arrived for our 8 p.m. reservation, all the booths and most of the tables in the bar room were filled. Quite a healthy showing for a NJ restaurant midweek. The noise level was fairly high, so we chose to sit in the dining room where only one other table was occupied and the noise level was more moderate. The music being played wasn’t blasting and included songs from our teen years, i.e., 1950’s do wop, etc. We were able to sit at a 4-top instead of the two-top available in the bar room. Tables, covered with white tablecloths, were nicely spaced. Décor was pleasant.

Soon after our order was taken, the bread basket arrived. Two types of bread along with the butter we requested because we prefer it to olive oil. It was at the perfect spreadable temperature and not rock hard the way too many restaurants send it out. We both liked the bread topped with sesame seeds; the plain one not so much.

We started the meal by sharing the large order of the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. We almost always share pastas, and it’s easier when the kitchen splits them for us, especially when dealing with long-stranded pastas. But that wasn’t the case here, so I portioned it out as best I could. The spaghetti was cooked al dente, and the tomato-based meat sauce had pleasing flavor.

Spaghetti  with Meat Sauce

For the main course, we chose the much heralded Chicken in Vinegar Sauce. I generally prefer dark meat to white. So, while the roasted breast meat was juicy, for me it was the fried thigh and leg that really rocked. Not a hint of oiliness, the crisp, crunchy coating covered flavor-filled dark meat. Perfection! The vinegar sauce was tasty though I would have liked a bit more tang. The peppers were a welcome addition. I foresee this becoming a signature dish.

Nettie's Vinegar Chicken

We ordered Eggplant as a side with the chicken. I love eggplant in just about any way, shape or form. Here it was a fairly large one split in half lengthwise and roasted with chili, lemon, and olive oil. Sadly, I found it disappointing. Much too plain with no hint of the chili and/or lemon.

The Sicilian Orange Cake we shared for dessert turned out to be the star of the meal. (Well, o.k., there was that fried chicken. So maybe a toss-up.) I happen to love citrus desserts, and this one was seriously delicious! Not to be missed!

Sicilian Orange Cake

To drink, Mr. RBI had a glass of Nero d’Avola (he had wanted a Côte du Rhône, but it came only by the bottle) and a cappuccino.

Our server Marisol had a perky personality and did a good job.

Just after we finished our main course, Chef/owner Chris came to our table. When he addressed me by name, I was surprised until I realized that because he has posted here, he recognized my name on the reservation. His wife and co-owner, Tanya (she had checked us in and seated us) also came over. We had a fairly long chat with them. It was Chris’s description of how he makes the orange cake that tempted us to order it. I was honest with him about the eggplant. And I also told him how disappointed I was that he took the lamb chop off the menu. He said he will probably put it back on the menu. Please do it, Chris!

We will be back!

The entire photo set can be viewed on my Flickr here.

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You had me at Sicilian Orange Cake. :grin:

Thanks RGR. You never disappoint with your review and pictures. I am so happy you had a great meal. The DW and I missed you by a few days as we stopped in on Saturday. Our meal was as perfect as ever. With regard to that piece of cake, Chef Chris let me try a piece last month and I told him he had to put it on the menu. The only problem is now having to forego the wonderful bomboloni. One of these days we will have to meet up. My regards to Mr. R.

Thanks for the compliments, @bgut1! Chef Chris was smart to follow your suggestion about the orange cake. Glad you and your DW had another excellent meal there.

We’d love to get together as it’s been far too long since we’ve seen the two of you. Our best to the lovely Mrs. B.!

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Another nice dinner here on Saturday. We had the vinegar chicken this time which I really liked. I feel like we eat so much chicken that ordering it out seems crazy but this was really quite good. I would have liked to have a side of something green to break it up but next time we know to order a side vegetable. The baby gave the pasta and bread (with butter!) a seal of approval.

My only super minor gripe is I saw the hostess check on all the tables around us but not on ours.

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We gave this place a try last night based on the many positive comments posted above and were not disappointed. I liked the “vibe” of the place and the food was mostly excellent.

We had a wonderful tortellini in brodo with homemade tortellini in a very tasty broth. The carbonara was very good as were the fried mushrooms. We liked the salad a lot and of course the vinegar chicken was terrific. The only clinker of the night were the baked clams which were too dry and too chewy.

It’s definitely a place we will return to try some of the other items and repeat some of the winners from tonight.

We were checked on by the wife of the chef multiple times and felt welcomed by her and our server.

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I’ve only been once and will return. My visit wasn’t as great as others food wise, but our baked clams were excellent and tender. Best ever in a restaurant I would go so far to say. I wouldn’t hesitate to order them again.

Our brodo was super salty and I’m not in love with the house cured pork in the carbonara.

But we will be back.

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We had a decent but not that great dinner at Nettie’s last night. The fried mushrooms, vinegar chicken, and orange cake were all very good and had we stopped at those three things I would have left happy. But it is a Spaghetti House so we had to get some spaghetti. Now, here’s the thing that rubbed me the wrong way - the spaghetti was not that good. This is no small side of spaghetti and sauce like you get at a typical red sauce joint. There were many (10?) different kinds of spaghetti available and all were priced as entrees. We got a large portion of the meat sauced one and at first I was upset that it was not really a large portion. That complaint was laid to rest when nobody wanted to finish off the rest of it.

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This place is close to me but I can’t get a consistent reading. I have reviewed the menu and find the prices not totally reasonable. If EVERYTHING was ALWAYS GOOD I’d have no problem but that does not seem to be the case here. Maybe one of these weekdays …

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Thanks for stopping in Hungry Onioners!

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Hi David,

Just to clarify, we have 5 different types of spaghetti (not 10), with two size options (and coordinating prices), including a small side of spaghetti marinara for $9. Not sure what else you are expecting when you say you want a small side of spaghetti with sauce like a typical red sauce joint. Also, I checked on your table twice and you said everything was delicious and you left happy. If something was not to your liking you could have let me know so we could make it right instead of leaving and then posting your negativity to a food blog.

My husband and I take pride in this restaurant and we always do our best to make our guests happy, but if you don’t give us that opportunity when it is offered then there is not much else we can do.

Thanks for coming in to give us a try.
-Tania

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Hi Wayne,
Everyone has their own opinions, so the only way to find out if you like it or not would be to give it a try for yourself.

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Seems to be way too much hubub over one party not liking their spaghetti.

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I stand by my original post on this thread

Lol, you stand by that?