Nine Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Ferndale

We were in Ferndale, running errands, and wanted to stop for dinner and drinks. I noticed the sign for Nine Kitchen and Bar, and wanted to give it a try, since it looked new. We were immediately greeted by the waitstaff, and Ryan, the manager, came up to us, as well. He explained that they weren’t actually open yet, as this week was their soft opening, and wanted to make sure everything was perfect, before officially opening. When he saw our disappointment, he offered to seat us, as long as we were okay with some hiccups along the way. I am happy to say that, not only were there no hiccups, but this was one of those evenings where everything was perfect.

We started off with drinks. Each drink was more delicious than the other. My husband preferred the Historic Old Fashioned the best out of the ones he tried, but also really enjoyed the GG. I tried the Blue Eyed Baby, which was delicious, and the non-alcoholic Matcha Moment, which was so refreshing. It’s easily one of my new favorite drinks. The cool thing about the menus is that they are seasonal, so I can’t wait to see what else comes along.

Now to the food… oh my! I don’t know how this restaurant hasn’t been in business for years. It’s hard for restaurants to be consistent with every course, and here is this one that just opened, and every course was more delicious than the previous one.

Appetizers: we tried the tuna tartare. It was a perfect blend of flavors, and the tuna was super fresh. I loved that the chips were homemade, and had a perfect crunch to them. We also tried the Bang Bang Shrimp. My husband can’t handle spicy, and still really enjoyed them. I thought they were cooked perfectly and the sauce was perfect, with just the right kick. 5/5 for both of them.

We then ordered the whitefish and the steak frites. The whitefish was encrusted with a delicious breadcrumb mixture, and was super flaky. The carrots and asparagus with it were just as good. The steak frites was next level deliciousness. The steak was perfectly cooked, just the way we asked, and even the fries were the best seasoned fries we have ever had. We also tried the sautéed spinach and mushrooms and those were amazing. 5/5 for every single part of both meals

As stuffed as we were (portions are very big) my husband wanted to try the dessert. Jackie, our great waitress, suggested the fried Oreos. My husband isn’t a fan of fried things, and still absolutely loved them. They come with ice cream, which pairs perfectly with the Oreos. 5/5

The ambiance of this place is wonderful. Super friendly vibe, that is really hip. We loved the setup, lighting, decorations, all of it! By the time we were leaving, it was really picking up. I can’t imagine how busy this place will be once they are fully open. We can’t wait to go back with our family and friends. Everything about this place...

We had an anniversary dinner here last night.

Service: phenomenal. Manager greeted us, when he got our reservation name he immediately wished us a happy anniversary and let us know that dessert would be on him. Strong first impression, really excellent.

Server was excellent. She had the right touch of being around when you wanted something but not constantly buzzing you. She made great food suggestions and has opinions on selections that she was happy to share. And I always appreciate that.

Ambiance / atmosphere: honestly not what we expected, but not a bad thing. The social media had us thinking that this was more of a fine dining experience in a quiet or dimly lit dining room. Rather, it's a vibrant and busy (in a good way) restaurant that's more casual than formal, with a ton of beautiful natural lighting and great design choices.

If I had a bit of feedback to share on the atmosphere, I'd encourage the team to invest in some sound dampening material to attach to the walls above the decor. It's very hard surfaced so all the noise of all the parties talking bounces off everything and it ends up being quite loud.

Dinner: really good. Had the smash burger and the spicy rigatoni. Also had the fries and mashed potato. The cook on everything was excellent, with the smash burger being a top 5 for my dining career.

Feedback here is: everything needs salt. The mashed potatoes had good pepper but I detected absolutely no salt which left them tasting flat for me. A nice crunchy flaked salt, Himalayan or Moldova, would elevate them to 10/10. Similar for the burger: once I asked for salt and added some to my burger it was exceptional. Before that the Mornay sauce and burger were bland because they lacked salt!

Also don't be stingy on the burger pickles. I got 2 in the center of the lower bun. Gimme 5 or 6 spread out!

In the spirit of salt, acid, fat, heat, everything that I tried is lacking salt. Easy fix of course: just add some!

Dessert: we had the deep fried Oreos and ice cream. Fantastically sweet and decadent, with great textures.

Price point: spectacular. $6 beers and $20 or less entrees. Feels like great value.

We had a great meal and experience, and we'll definitely be back! And hopefully when we are there will be more salt in the dishes! 😂

PS: Cajun lemon fries are a great unique...

Nice, local bar and restaurant with a clean modern vibe. We were there on a Tuesday at 6pm before it was very busy. Nice friendly staff but our waitress was covering quite a large number tables. Our service staff really is 5/5 but short staffing is the reason for 4/5. The menu selection has options for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. The entrée I wanted wasn't available due to delivery issues. I, personally do not like spicy food which proved to be limiting for my choice of entrée. I opted for the Mediterranean salad with salmon. The salmon was perfectly grilled and the salad was quite tasty. I'd never had a salad quite like it before. Since I cannot eat raw onion they were able to remove them from my meal. I took a picture after I'd started eating the salmon. However, my partner likes spicy and was delighted with his spicy riggitoni with spicy Italian sausage. For the food we had it's 5/5 but I'd like more options for those who don't like spicy food. They also have an extremely well-stocked bar serving cocktails, mocktails, beer and wine. I chose a mocktail from the menu. My BBL mocktail was absolutely gorgeous and tasted amazing. It was a great choice. This was a birthday outing for my partner's 81st birthday. The manager graciously comped our dessert. The fried Oreo with ice-cream was an outstanding finish to the evening. We also chose to finish with coffee. We had espresso and mocha cappuccino with our dessert. Because I found so few non-spicy offerings, I'm unsure if I would return for a complete meal due to the spicy menu items, but my bar drink and dessert were so outstanding I'd consider coming in for drinks and dessert at a later date. BTW: my partner felt the menu was perfect and his meal was fantastic. Others have posted pictures of our dessert and pasta dish so I only added the...