I think there's a law in North Andover that mandates every resident visit the 99 at least once a week. I'm not even kidding. Other rules associated with this law: -If you're a senior citizen, you must report before 5:00pm with your son or daughter. Dementia always welcomed. -If you're in high school, you must report before or after local sports events, and dress like a whore. Be sure to annoy the other customers as well. -If you're a student at Merrimack College, report for drinks several nights a week. -If you're a student at a different college, and just home on break, meet your friends here for beers before hitting up The Claddagh in Lawrence. -If you're a local mom or dad, please be sure to drink a few too many beers or glasses of wine, hit on a local single parent, and then stumble over to the booth where your child is sitting with their friends and embarrass them. This is required for a well-rounded childhood. -If you're Jenna C or Jeffrey H and visiting your mothers who live in the condo complex across the street from the nines, report here for drinks and popcorn. You're gunna need it. read more

Had a couple issues when ordering food from the restaurant in North Andover for the first time. I rarely complain and let a lot slide when it comes to restaurant food, but i was so upset i ended up calling. The manager Zack, got involved and resolved my issues promptly. The food was great and i will order again. Thank you so much Zack, your customer service is great! read more

I came here on Thursday at 2:00PM with three others, and had the absolute worst service. The place waas pretty empty, numerous waitresses, however, ours was usually no where to be found and horrible. Took over 20 minutes to be acknowleged and then we waited almost 30 minutes for our drinks to arrive! I just can't understand this.... The manager apologized but that was about it. Put us all in a bad mood and put a damper on our dining out. Also, a glass of house wine is $7.50 and sodas $3.00, real rip off. read more

Stopped in for a quick bite to eat and a drink. We sat at the bar in their comfy stools. It was pretty loud but we decided to stay anyways. For drinks we ordered a frozen daiquiri, frozen mudslide and a glass of Cabernet. My cab was ok but the frozen drinks were said to have been superb. My dinner compadres had the apple BBQ chicken sandwich, honey BBQ boneless wings and I had the seasonal flat bread...we all agreed everything was extremely tasty! We'll be back in sure. read more

My wife and I have finally concluded that we must STOP GOING TO ANY 99 RESTAURANT. Why this change of heart? Our opinion of both the food and service has dramatically changed ever since the chain was acquired by O'Charley's, Inc. Enterprise who negatively changed the menu to, obviously, cut their cost and reduce the portion size.. Instead of the quality of food they were known for - at reasonable prices, the chain has adjusted their menu to cut their costs and portion size. My wife and I ordered fish-and-chips. In the past, the fish served was Cod. Now its Halibut - anything but flavorful. Interesting enough, when we told the wait person of our displeasure with the dish, she bought over the restaurant manager who said that no one likes the changes - her own mother included. Many of the dishes this chain was most famous for are no longer available or, if they are, at far reduced portion size. I feel sorry for this well establish New England Restaurant Chain. They do not deserve the counterproductive manipulating that's been done by O'Charleys Enterprises. Hopefully they'll change the menu back to what it was. If not, I'm guessing that they'll shortly be closing down restaurant after restaurant as the community stops supporting the operation and the doors have to close. Too bad. read more

Not a very good start! Waited several minutes at front and several staff walked by and not one person acknowledged us....when we were finally seated, the hostess was in a foul mood and not welcoming at all! read more

the food was good but the service wasn't good and all the people in the restaurant were rude and not very kid friendly to my children. They waitress was also making comments about how i should get Broccoli because it was good for me, so she was basically making comments abt my weight. read more

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses. Went to the 99 tonight for dinner. We have lived in this area for many years and have gone to this 99 many times. But tonight was not a good night. I ordered one of the new steak dinners with roasted vegetables. I ordered it medium rare. It was raw. She took it back. It came back still raw. She took it back again. Now it was still raw inside and dry and burnt on the outside and had sauce on it and was as tough as leather. I took 2 bites and told her to package it up and I brought it home for the dog. The waitress was as nice as could be and brought us a free desert to share. Never going there again for steak. Chef George, learn how to cook a steak!!!! read more

My fiancée and I have been to this particular location multiple times, although it's been probably a year or so since our last visit. We usually sit at the bar and share appetizers and have a few drinks. This visit we opted to sit at a table as we were meeting my future in laws for lunch who had just traveled up from the south shore. Our experience today was horrible. Our server, who was sweet as can be, seemed VERY new. And almost nervous to be serving people. We ordered our entrees, as well as soups and salads to start. We asked her for the soup and salad first (not that we should've had to because that should be a given, but as I said she seemed new, so we were covering our bases). After about 10-15 mins she came to the table and realized our soups and salads had not made it to us yet. She rushed off to check on them. Shortly after (now about 20 mins) the soups were served by another server and our server followed behind with the salad. Before I could even put the dressing on my salad or have a bite of my soup, our dinners arrived. We sent them back, because we SPECIFICALLY stated we wanted the soup and salad BEFORE the meal. The server came over apologetic and blamed the computer system for the error. Once we finished the soup and salad (maybe 5-10 mins later) she brought our dinners. My medium rare top sirloin was well done. My broccoli was cold. My fiancée's rice and broccoli were cold. They couldn't have even given us fresh sides after our food sat under the heating lamp? Are you kidding me? I told the server about my steak and she said I will have them cook you a new one. She offered me dessert on the house but I cannot eat sweets so I told her to maybe just mention the issue to her manager. By the time I steak came out everyone had finished eating. Which was about another 15 minute waiting time. And it was now UNDER COOKED. The manager came to the table (sporting a SOLID black eye and almost seemed like she didn't know she was a manager). She explained she took two of the three soups off of the bill and both sirloins. BOTH SIRLOINS. Oh... so you were going to charge me for the over cooked steak AND the undercooked steak? But as a nice gesture took BOTH off of the bill?!? How on gods green earth were you going to charge me for TWO mistakes?!? When the entire meal was compromised from the beginning!!! As someone who has been in the restaurant business for over 22 years, I was FLABBERGASTED!!! We will NEVER be back!! Maybe everyone should learn how to do their jobs properly, especially the manager! And next time you get clocked in the face, you should invest in some cover up so it can APPEAR as though you are somewhat of a professional and know how to manage a restaurant, even though CLEARLY you don't! read more

I'm normally ok with any 99 restaurant. I went with my two kids (6 & 2) for lunch. They were served spoiled milk!!!! I had to taste it because you never know when kids say something tastes weird. I still have the taste in my mouth and acidic feel in the back of my throat....even after finishing my lunch. I told the waiter and said the milks were bad and I'd have two waters instead. He never offered any refunds for serving spoiled milk but just noticed on the bill that we were refunded two milks. Never mentioned it. Bad service and bad quality control for the food. read more

Well, it's not the WORST restaurant I've ever been to. I went there once a week for a month or so, and after having to send my meal back half-cooked three weeks running (I ordered my steak medium-well and it came out rare every time) I'm not going there again. read more

I must be a loser for reviewing the 99's, but really isn't much to eat here at night after 9. This is the best 99 I have ever been to. The other one on Lowell St is closed because their septic tank exploded so we went here and I loved Sarah the waitress, she was so funny, she made my potato skins extra outrageous! The food was also much better quality than other 99's. FYI- the lobster roll is actually delicious! read more

While eating at the 99 with other Merrimack students we felt personally victimized by the manager and staff in the restaurant. As students in class all day it should be okay for us to enjoy our dinner without being told to quiet down and watch what we say. We may have seemed loud but let's be clear there are ten of us having dinner and that is going to happen. They also placed us in the middle of the restaurant at an elevated table. We now feel uncomfortable and will not return. If he asked nicely for us to speak quietly it would have been fine but unfortunately he was very unkind. I do not suggest this restaurant as the manager is rude and speaks down to others. read more

Hard to go wrong here. Family friendly, reasonable price, good food, consistent, consistent, consistent.

Always reliable, good food. Inexpensive, hot food and good portions. The bartenders are friendly and good at their jobs making sure everyone is being helped. They are always good about our "no salt on the fries" requests and such. We'll always come back to this neighborhood hot spot in North Andover. read more

Thumbs up! The 99 is a family-friendly chain restaurant. You're not going to get anything really special or excellent here. On the other hand, this is a really great place for a consistently decent tasting, decent quality, relaxing dinner when you realize it just isn't going to "happen" at home. Kids meals are cheap and there's free popcorn to keep 'um happy while food is being prepared. $3.99 enormous margaritas keep mommy happy too! Bar is right in the midst of things and always busy, so there is noise from that but it's not obnoxious. Also, lots of tvs tuned to sports but not overly loud. Selection is pretty limited for someone who doesn't eat meat. But if you're a carnivore or eat shrimp, then you're fine. Best kept secret here is that they have good side dishes of seasonal veggies. Try some! Service is always friendly and prompt. For what it is, the 99 does it well. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE especially their margaritas which is $3.99 and it's delicious. I love their country fried chicken and mozzarella sticks too! read more

Best 99 around- bar staff- Heather, Amy, Megan, Alli, Jojo, and Nina ALL ROCK! Great bar service! Restaurant staff- Danielle, Brittany and Joey are all AMAZING. Manager- Gary does a great job making sure guests are happy. I love this restaurant and their all star team! read more

Food is good and the prices are good. They have a decent gluten free menu . I had the gluten free loaded steak tips and they were yummy

The service was good. The food wasn't that great. I really enjoyed my mozzarella cheese sticks and my biscuits. If I were reviewing just based on those it would be 5 star but I had to take away a bit because my steak tips just weren't that good. There was something about it that I just did not enjoy at all. read more

So I don't normally write reviews, and the few times I have it was with a "grain of salt" as I know how it is to work in the service industry. I however can not and will not be candy coating this review. I have been to several different 99's over the course of my time and most have been OK, a few problems here and there but I can't say there is anything that a manager or corporate person could not take care of to make me try to come back again to give them another chance. This location however should be closed down!!! I have been to it several time as I live close to it, and I have not once had a visit without something wrong with my dining experience. Let's start with the wait time and the freezing cold vestibule waiting area, no heat on and it was snowing out!!! How hard is it for a host or hostess to use some common sense, as they are in and out of the vestibule and change the temperature to suit the weather Our server, god where do I start, PERSONALTY AND TRAINING!!!! I know it's a crappy job, but you are working for tips. You are never going to get any if you never come back to the table!!! Wait time for our food was ridiculous, almost an hour for two meals. The house was not that busy to justify that kind of wait time. My food was over cooked but served almost cold, soggy chewy french fries, really, how did that get by your cooks??? Why is the management not checking on the kitchen??? They should be spot checking on food that is going out on to the floor to customers. I got fried seafood, not hard to prepare. let's break the plate down, and see what might be wrong with it. schrod - over cooked breading was dark brown in places and had a slight burnt taste. shrimp - again, over cooked breading was dark brown in places and had a slight burnt taste. chowder - burnt to the side of the bowl, but served almost cold. stuffed clam - room temp on outside, barely warm on the inside. french fries - cold, rubbery, chewy, soggy, and a slight burnt taste. coleslaw - not cold, room temp. tartar sauce - room temp should have been cold (aka refrigerated). Bottom line on this plate is it should not have left the kitchen, much less been served to a customer!!!!!!! Kitchen = FAIL for putting it up to be served Server = FAIL for serving it So my hypothesis on this is simple........ Kitchen over cooked food and the kitchen staff does not change oil in fryer enough (the burnt taste on all of the fried food, i know this for a fact). Food left out unrefrigerated, food left out too long under warming lights waiting to be served. Now I know the food that I was served was not good as I ended up being sick the rest of the night and missing work due to it. So, yea I'm pissed. You would be too if you were in the bathroom the rest of the night with food poisoning!!! So we ask for the check and to have my wife's leftovers boxed up. Our server tells us that we have deserts coming with our meals and hands us a small dessert menu. we did not ask for an upgrade to our meals. We both did ask for a salad, but instead of telling us that she could upcharge us to a 3 course bistro per meal and that that would give us a salad and a desert and be a little cheaper then just the salad alone. Let's just do whatever we want and the heck with the customers wishes or opinion, we won't even tell them!!! So we end up with two desserts we don't want or need boxed to go as left overs. Another longer then should have been wait, again house not busy enough to justify it. Guess it takes time to get and box up them desserts we did not want. so here we are, with a big bag at the end of the table, and the check in front of me, behind the bag. As I am double checking that the credit card I have out has room on it (that one has a lot of use and a low limit), Now picture this, i have my phone out over the check and here comes my new favorite waitress, that orders stuff for me without my permission. She swoops in like the flash and grabs the check from behind the bag and under my arms and my credit card without so much as one word and off she goes to run it. Now A millisecond before she did this I was double checking that I had enough left on it....well it was close, like $5 off, which is why I was checking it. So back she comes with a bit of an attitude.....how I did not scream is a miracle. Used a different card, and left the restaurant from hell. Let's recap shall we..... Crappy service long wait times horrible food and ....... FOOD POISONING!!!!!!!! Thanks for a great night out 99, I'll be sure to tell everyone about my wonderful experience at your North Andover, MA location. read more

We came here for an early lunch a few weeks ago. We got there shortly after they opened. Given how empty the place was, the service was slow. The food feels like it took forever to come out. Thank goodness for the delicious popcorn. The young child got the kid's mac and cheese. The kid's meal comes with a grocery-store bought ice cream sandwich. The older child ordered the lobster roll platter from the regular menu. The portions were generous. We also ordered two entree salads. The meat was okay, but the lettuce was so brown and wilted I had to pick out over 2/3 of the lettuce. Next time I'd stick with the hot, cooked food. read more

Okay, so normally I avoid chain restaurants at all costs. But the kids were hungry and it was close. The place was packed as much of the surrounding areas were still without power from a storm, so we had to grab a small side ledge in the bar area. Let me just tell you the STAFF at this place was AWESOME! The hostess went out of her way to help us to a spot (and I noticed her helping many other people as well) and then (though they were slammed) both female bartenders quickly took notice that I had two younger kids and quickly gave them kids waters and popcorn. While that may not sound that amazing, these bartenders came out from behind the bar (we were not at a table and they were not serving any tables) and helped my kids. One bartender was even savvy enough to order my kids meals on long plates, so they could eat at the thin ledge. It really is the little stuff that makes a difference. The food was typical bar food, but good, but seriously I would go back just for the service alone! Honestly, that was some of the best and genuinely nice service that I have received in a long time! To top it off, I was trying to get my daughter to leave the restaurant and the bar tender noticed again and gave my kids cups of popcorn to go! It was genius! My son and daughter literally left saying, "we love this restaurant!" read more

I can't understand why this restaurant is getting such bad ratings. I've been here maybe 20 times (lived in north andover for the past 4 years) and every time I get the same thing. Try the double barbeque turkey tips. They are well priced and you get cravings for them. Yeah, they are that good. service can be slow, but its usually crowded so its understandable. However, if you come here for dinner, you really should make a reservation. The place gets packed at night. Otherwise, go for lunch and enjoy yourself. read more

My friends and I used to really love coming here back in the Old Days Before Everything Started To Suck, which seems to be the consensus of the other Yelpers. Back then, I had a cast iron stomach, a taste for Gold Fever Wings, potato skins and a thirst for a tall glass of Killian's. Quality of the food is not what it used to be. And as for the service... Tonight was the night that has finally put me off ever visiting this place again. Host seated us at a table that hadn't been wiped and the snippy waitress seemed upset with *us* over this. She ignored us for at least 15 minutes while waiting on a table that was seated after us. Took forever to take our order. Never came back to ask us how everything was or if we needed anything. Finally got second drinks long after the meal was done. I'd already given up eating the rest of mine because I was dying of thirst. Now we just had to wait another 6 months for the check to arrive. read more

A good,start buttery popcorn. Its a very well delicious place, i love the cheese sauce and chips, and you can't stop thinking about that medium rare steak. For me, the best burger is the all-star burger. I love the chicken tenders and fries. This place rocks! read more

It is a very nice rest..good service for the most part, there is a server there by the name Lynn you should stay clear of.Trust me you don't wanna know. For the most part it's clean, friendly and good food for the price read more

Dinner last night was just a complete disappointment. Knowing that Saturday nights are usually busy, we called ahead and put our name on the list and were told the wait was 20-25 mins. We arrived at about 20 mins after calling and checked in with the hostess. At the 45 min mark I checked in for a status and asked about the time we had been quoted when we initially called. I realize estimating wait times isn't an exact science, but I wasn't expecting the explanation the hostess gave me. I was told that it's just an estimate, at the time you call, and that they can't predict how many people will walk in the door after and then those people are ahead of you in line for a table. This is not how I understand call ahead seating to work, but ok. We finally got seated 55 mins after we had called ahead. If my food was good I would have given you 4 stars, but my buffalo tenders were way over cooked to the point of being difficult to cut. At that point we just threw in the towel. I'll stick with your Wilmington location, it's a bit of a drive but never disappoints. read more

Worst food I've had in a while. I visited the restaurant for my boyfriend's birthday in February and the food was horrible. My steak tips were burnt, and broccoli was over cooked. My boyfriend asked for his Burger well done and it was completely red in the center. His sister asked for a medium-well Burger and it was far from medium well, she couldn't even eat the whole steak because the center was completely cold. I then had the idea to order some coffee...yeah, It resembled dirty water ...just horrible. I was sooooo disapointed. Will definitely never visit another 99 again, total waste of money! read more

I still love the boneless wings here. And there are other items on the menu that are pretty good -- but it's that it's not the same experience as it was 5 or 10 years ago. Even something as simple as the nachos have changed -- they have been brought back over the past year or so, after a few year hiatus, and they had replaced the salsa with a marinara like sauce. There's no really compelling reason to go here any more, although as I said, some of the dishes are still pretty good. The amazing thing is that it isn't like it's as busy as it used to be -- by any means -- so some of the concerns about service that have been voiced here have to be of some concern to management as well. Otherwise, if you catch them on a day after a Red Sox win, it's a very reasonable dinner for the whole family. read more

We love eating at this 99! The service is always good. There was one waitress that we didn't like, but every other has always been awesome. The food is very consistent and always good. Definitely do call ahead seating to avoid a long wait. read more

There is a bartender who has been there for quite a long time. Seem miserable and seems to have no reason to smile unless he knows you. It's unfortunate because I live quite close. I will stop and look in to see who's manning the bar. If Rich is there I move on. read more

Really dude??!! Are you complaining about a FREE bowl of popcorn??!! An unpopped kernel??!! WOW!!! Now I've read it all on Yelp!!

Used to like the 99 in North Andover. Now it is dirty, the menus are ripped and falling apart, the hostesses are rude, tables are empty but they have people waiting to be seated. I think many people just go there out of habit and don't notice the bad smell and poor service from management. The wait staff do try. Not worth the wait. read more

I like this place. It has good pub food, good prices and plenty of varieties of draft. Most of the staff is very friendly with a few exceptions. Popcorn is just so so but that is minor point. The 9.99 meals are pretty good and the Sox burger is good also. What more can you ask for out of a pub! Taking the wall down was a mistake and they snapped out of it and didn't take the wall on the other side down. At least they are trying. I like the Nachos to. read more

My husband and I SPLIT a take out Tips and Tenders dinner about once a month, on a busy night. Sometimes its better than others, but there's always plenty of food for both of us. Sometimes, when we're really feeling hungry, we add an order of broccoli! Nothing to complain about here. read more

Wonderful restaurant They food was the perfect temperature and the staff was splendid, I got that baked acrid with broccoli n mashed potatoes n it was a dreamboat! read more

I stopped going to this 99 several months ago and would have sooner, but other family members still wanted to get takeout and didn't encounter the problems I did. The problems started with my Prime Rib coming cooked any which way, mostly overdone. I know that is a limited item, but it's also the most expensive. If you can't give it to me cooked medium, then tell me you're out and I'll make a different menu selection. After multiple overdone orders, the final straw came when after finishing one that was ironically cooked correctly, I was cutting up the outer ring scraps for my dog and discovered a spot inside the meat that was green. I still don't want to know what that was, but whatever it was, I wouldn't even give any of the scraps to my dog after that. Out-voted again on take-out night by my family, I thought I'd be safe ordering a sirloin, which other members of the family always had good luck with. It looked like sirloin, but I have no idea what it actually was. It had a texture I've never experienced before. One bite and I spit it out and refused to have more. Everyone told me it looked fine, until I made my father try a bite. He'd already finished his sirloin that he'd enjoyed. Then he tried mine. Same response. He spit it out and agreed that something was seriously weird there. It was strangely "spongey". Was it kangaroo? Horse? I didn't want to keep guessing. I was done and so was my dad. It was one thing, getting something overcooked repeatedly, or getting a veggie burger when you ordered "real", but everyone drew the line after the mystery meat. And I still kick myself that I gave them another shot after the green prime rib. Because of this locations poor performance I can't look at any 99 the same and will pass on all of them from now on. read more

food is skimpy and cheap. ordered nachos which ended up being stale chips sprinkled with garnish. plus charged a take out fee!!?? can you get any cheaper? read more

Our group went there this past Sunday, called ahead 20 minutes of when we wanted to be seated since we were a party of 8. We were the only ones waiting for a table, and inside was not crowded. We talked with the hostess before everyone arrived and told her that we did not want to be split into two booths. After everyone arrived, we again talked with the hostess and told her how we wanted our seating arranged. 15 minutes after THAT (and over 40 minutes since we called ahead), they STARTED putting tables together for us. While they were doing that, we walked up to sit, maybe to speed them along, and the tables were so rocky, I'm sure all of our drinks would have spilled. We ended up walking out, but not before the hostess(es) and wait staff told us we were rude...after waiting 45 minutes in an essentially empty restaurant for a table. Worst experience ever, and the staff was rude, and did not communicate with us at all regarding seating, the delay, or anything. We did have a wonderful dinner...down the street. Management should train their staff better on how to effectively communicate with customers or maybe just communicate at all as to why it takes 15 minutes to push two tables together in an empty restaurant. Not going back, ever. read more