Great beer and food makes NYP a good hangout

It’s a happening place.

As soon as you step inside NYP Bar &Grill, you can feel the energy.

There are TVs everywhere, digital tap beer lists, lots of tables and a steady hum of chatter. Not loud chatter. Fun chatter.

NYP Bar &Grill opened earlier this year in the former Olive Garden space across from Everett Mall in a strip between Red Robin and Bob’s Burgers and Brew.

That might seem bold, but these folks aren’t amateurs. NYP Bar &Grill also has locations in Bellingham, Burlington, Seattle and Lynden.

The website proclaims: “Local ingredients. Always from scratch. Local brews.”

The taplist had 24 beers, including Amber’s Hot Friend from Arlington’s Skookum Brewery and Verglas Vienna Lager from Snohomish’s Sound to Summit.

I took Curt and Gary, two hunky dudes from the corporate fitness center in the Frontier building that’s home to The Herald offices.

These two fellows have graciously given me suggestions of dining places to review and it was time to reward them — and put them to work.

We arrived around 4 p.m. on a weekday. Happy hour has $4 pints and is 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close daily as well as all day Sunday.

Two happy hours a day. Wow.

With 40 items under $8. Double wow.

Bottomless fries are $5. Triple wow.

The restaurant wasn’t busy but it had a smattering of people talking and laughing. It’s a spacious arena with a bar and dining areas divided into sections but without walls. This is a good place to come with a group after work. Tables can be arranged without being cramped. Kids can make noise. So can adults.

We sat away from the action, in a quiet booth by the window that overlooks the Wal-Mart parking lot — and still offers a glimpse of any sports action of choice.

“The TVs are placed right,” said Gary.

Curt agreed. “You can see sports from anywhere and it isn’t super loud,” he said. “You can still carry on a conversation, unlike some boxy places where it’s so loud you can barely hear the person across from you.”

The menu is lengthy, and includes gluten-free and vegetarian choices. Kids meals are $5.99.

We started off with items from the happy hour menu.

First choice was bottomless fries with dipping sauces, which included creamy garlic, sweet chili aioli, pineapple aioli, spicy southwest, ranch, bourbon BBQ and honey mustard. Some were better than others. None were bad. No ketchup was needed.

Gary doesn’t like soggy fries. I don’t like crispy fries. We both were in fry heaven.

“The fries don’t bend,” Gary said. “When you shake them they don’t bend.”

By shake them, he meant dip in sauce. Which we did, repeatedly.

We also tried spinach and artichoke dip ($6.50) on a toasted baguette. We all agreed it was nothing special.

Service was cordial but not spot-on. We had to ask the server to bring small plates for the appetizers and to have our bottomless fries bowl refilled. Seems like those are things that would have been offered without asking.

Gary ordered bistro macaroni and cheese ($15.55), a colorful mound of pasta with bacon, chicken, sun-dried tomato, fresh basil and four-cheese sauce.

A bit pricey for mac &cheese, but it was fancy and pretty — and tasty.

Curt ordered carnitas tacos ($12.85) with avocado salsa, cotija, lettuce and sour cream.

“It was good, but not great,” Curt said. “The salad was really good with the creamy garlic dressing. The fries were excellent. The beer selection was awesome.”

I was torn between ordering a pizza and the John Wayne burger ($14.75), with Swiss cheese, cheddar, barbecue sauce, bacon, over-easy egg, onion rings, lettuce, tomato and aioli.

Pizza won. After all, NYP stands for New York Pizza.

I got “The Works” (10-inch, $14.75; 14-inch, $25.50).

It was like the John Wayne of pizza. It was top heavy with toppings. Too many to pick up and eat the pie by hand, so I used a fork. The flavors were good, but I really liked the crust. Next time I’ll get fewer toppings.

Maybe next time I’ll invite the whole fitness class. Better yet, I’ll suggest we all skip kettlebells and go there instead.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.

The NYP Bar &Grill

1321 SE Everett Mall Way, Everett; www.nypbarandgrill.com.

Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight weekdays and 9 a.m. to midnight weekends.

Alcohol: Full bar.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.