The Blue Ox — Restaurant in Lynn

I recently OpenTable'd a reservation for six of us to grab some dinner on a snowy Saturday night after doing some research. This place definitely and very easily stood out from others in the area - Apparently good restaurants are hard to come by in Lynn. This place had good ratings and i was looking forward to my meal there.

After fourty minute drive from Boston, we arrived and easily found street parking. Fast forward a minute and we walked right into a very busy, loud and popular restaurant. People were sitting at the bar drinking beers and cocktails while others were happily feasting away. We sat near the front of the restaurant, by a window and our waiter arrived and processed our drink orders and then introduced us to their daily specials and helped field any questions and concerns.

We decided to start with one of their specials which was risotto fritters stuffed with ragu. It came with three per order and were ping pong-sized balls of deliciousness. Rich, meaty, cheesy and a great contrast of both chewiness and crispness. My fiancee and I were in heaven. It was priced at around $9 I think although I could be off. Most of their apps range from $6 to $16 and most are designed to be easy to share which I can definitely appreciate. Others at our table got lobster tacos ($13) which they devoured and another couple of friends share the calamari ($11) which they enjoyed as well.

Next came our entrees - in my case, I went with their grilled, marinated Hanger steak ($22) which came with grilled asparagus and a port wine sauce. Normally it comes with friends but I got mine with mixed greens instead and they turned the whole thing to a delicious steak salad. They even sliced my steak in the kitchen which I actually thought was neat. It was absolutely delicious and the flavors from the marinate came through. The greens were also very good and well seasoned, and the meat was cooked to a perfect medium rare like I had asked. I did get to try a couple of fries from a friend's plate, and they were really good. Everyone else thoroughly enjoyed their dinner and soon enough we all joined the clean plate club. Not a single bite was left... anywhere. No room for dessert.

As far as drinks I opted for beers but a lot of their cocktails seemed good and quite popular. Best of all, it's a bit seasonal and that reflects in the ingredients being featured in each of the drinks. They all have a flat rate of $11 which I'm not hugely fond of as liquors don't all cost the same and some are definitely more expensive than they should be. That being said, they have a bit of everything and its quite diverse which is good.

The atmosphere was pretty simple there but it worked. The service was very friendly and they make a clear effort to try to make their food and cocktail menus seasonal which everyone can and should appreciate. It's not overly expensive either which is nice however reservations are pretty much a must, especially on weekends. This could very well be the best restaurant in Lynn.

Oh a side note, I was pretty bummed when I tried to order some Pappy Van Winkle for dessert, a rare bourbon which was listed on their drinks menu but they were out of. Kind of killed my excitement, especially since the waiter seemed convinced that they had it in stock when I inquired about it. Oh well... I still left pretty...

I am completely appalled by the way my family and I were treated last night at the blue ox. I will just list everything that was wrong:

When we walked in, I was rudely asked for reservations details by the hostess in red floral dress. I stated my last name and the number of people in my reservation, I even stated it would 3 instead of 4. I said my name 4 times because she could not comprehend. My last name is hyphenated it’s a Latin and Jewish last name and I knew it would be difficult to find so I began to spell it out to help her find the reservation this clearly began to upset the lady in her floral dress. “She stated I got it, I got it” and lead us to the dinning room where the flat tops are located. She hesitated to seat us in a dinning room with about 6 open tables but decided that the table next to a service station and literally in the pathway that connects the bar to the dinning room was the perfect spot. As a CIA ALUMNA (bachelor program/food science), I already knew it was done out of spite because I know how running a dinning room works. Despite me telling her it was a reservation for 3 she still dropped 4 menus and did not remove the 4th set up. (Hostess 101) My amazing server Guy, pick up on the frustration, my table that was quite literally in the pathway but after asking if we could be moved anywhere, I was told I could not move to another table (again petty hostess), when his hands were tied he along with a runner/busser they decided to moved the angle the table was in to make us more comfortable in terrible location. This is a fire hazard please see the attached picture and violated so many laws. My husband and I were given the wrong drink order. (Lack of training on the wine list) My entree came out before my 2 apps. (Order fire?no spacing? There’s lack of training somewhere) I was constantly bumped by other patrons because of tables location, this again broke so many laws not Ada compliant. Almost had the person in crutches trip having to walk around us when there still empty tables and a party of 4-5 people walked out because the service was so terrible and it was too loud. I will say they were nice enough to take the persons crutches after seating them but decided that the closet my table was blocking was the best place to put them. So of course my handicapped sister in law had to move over while we were eating. The food was salty like their attitudes so I packed it up to give out to the first homeless people we saw because were I come from we don’t waste food. Even though I make 6 figures, thank you CIA, my roots humble me. The hostess (red floral dress) continued to do petty things, like walking in the path that my server clearly cut off after moving the tables, she took the toughest smallest path closest to the closet to run food to other...

Had a nice anniversary dinner here with my wife, as we sat down they handed us champagne as a congratulations on our anniversary which was a nice touch.

Parking was easy with the bank lot next door allowing for parking for the restaurant.

Our wait was very attentive and did a great job of ensuring food was brought out in a timely manner but not too close together.

I wasn’t a huge fan of my cocktail, a little too strong for my liking.

The bread and butter were excellent. My wife had the clam chowder and a 16oz ribeye, grilled to perfection. I had their famous “Sin” burger and I have to say it’s no wonder it has won best burger so many times, may very well be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

Finally we ordered crème brûlée for dessert. Very good, a little sweeter than usual but delicious.

We had a great meal. At the end of the meal my wife’s blood sugar dropped suddenly and drastically and she ended up fainting in the restroom hallway. To say the staff were anything less than amazing in this scenario would be a lie. They immediately got her orange juice and an ice towel. They also were kind enough to listen to what we had to say instead of immediately calling EMS (as this does occasionally happen so we are familiar with what to do). The manager even came over just to ensure everything was alright, one of the employees sat with us until my wife was ready to sit back up and move on.

Overall a great restaurant and very friendly and caring staff along with great food. Only complaint I have is the menu is a little upscale for the atmosphere, it felt like a weird mix of fine dining and casual. Some folks dressed up, some in sweatshirts, and there were a lot of tables in the area so I think if they were super busy it would’ve felt less like a fine dining experience.

Still, I would highly recommend them if you’re...