Nines Opens in Germantown, With a Menu Perfect for Spring

Last weekend, after much anticipation, the restaurant Nines opened in Germantown. With evening sun pouring in the space's large multi-pane windows, owners Avery Jannelli and chef Ryan McLaughlin welcomed diners into a space that felt refined but casual and handed them a menu that shines a light on the clean, crisp beauty of Mediterranean cuisine.

While the couple’s experience and reputation precede them, it takes a particular type of confidence to open a restaurant in a space as emotionally loaded as 2 Church Avenue in Germantown. For the better part of a decade, this dark blue building in the center of the village held Gaskins, the restaurant Nick and Sarah Suarez built into something that felt, for many, irreplaceable.

Yet, with the Suarez’s enthusiastic blessing and boosterism, this past weekend, after 15 months of SBA loans, inspections, a government shutdown, and what McLaughlin and Jannelli describe as a policy of, "keep trying until someone tells you to stop," Nines finally opened its doors to a crowd eager to reclaim the hometown restaurant’s new incarnation.

Nines is not Gaskins. It doesn't try to be. McLaughlin was clear about that from the beginning. This is a restaurant with its own identity, its own point of view. The shorthand is Italian Riviera: lots of vegetables, lots of fish, lots of olive oil. The wood-fired oven installed by Gaskins stayed, and McLaughlin clearly knows what to do with it. The food is elegant but unfussy, confident without being showy, delicious, and intuitively sharable.

The room still has the comforting warmth the Suarezes cultivated with a refreshed interior and a friendly staff that has clearly been very well trained. Jannelli, who spent 9 years with High Street Hospitality Group in Philadelphia before moving back to the Hudson Valley, has the floor running with a quiet precision.

The Menu

The menu is broken into four categories that moves loosely from small to large but can be shared or greedily hoarded, mixed and matched however you like. The staff is also well versed in the menu’s ingredients so gluten and other intolerances can be easily managed. 

Things start simply with a few small bites. Sparrowbush bread with Ligurian olive oil ($7); radishes, anchovies, and butter ($11); super creamy gigante beans ($9); pickled vegetables ($6); and a luxurious duck prosciutto ($12) go excellently with the arrival of a first glass of wine or cocktail.

Next came the mackerel crudo ($23) with butternut squash and aji amarillo vinaigrette with paprika and almonds. While the presentation is light and artistic, the mackerel itself is rich and bold, its oceanic identity balanced by the brightness of the sauce. 

Additionally, an artichoke salad ($21) mixes fried and marinated preparations with yogurt, mustard greens, blood orange, and bottarga.  Roasted sweet potatoes ($19) come with saffron mayo, gremolata, pickled chili, and fried shallot. A radicchio salad ($18) keeps it honest: lardo, parsley, red onion, walnut vinaigrette. With his salads, McLaughlin really flexes his gift for hitting multiple flavor profiles without overwhelming the ingredients’ nuance. 

From the wood-fired section: lamb meatballs with romesco, herbs, and flatbread ($25); stuffed littleneck clams with lemon zest, guanciale, and bread crumbs ($20); mushroom croquettes with fontina fondue ($19). The swordfish skewers with capers, golden raisins, and a relish of castelvetrano olives and pistachios ($23), captures the imagination and is a refreshing representation of the restaurant’s European influence and individual identity. 

The mains are where the Riviera concept lands most clearly. Branzino, Ligurian style ($30), comes with taggiasca olives, pine nuts, roasted tomato, fresh oregano, and potatoes. Seared hake ($32) is plated with braised chickpeas, artichoke, preserved lemon, and piquillos. The strozzapreti ($26) with asparagus, ramps, fava beans, and parmesan is a spring plate through and through. Braised rabbit tortellini ($31) floats in a rich consommé with tarragon oil. Unbelievably juicy roast chicken fricassee ($34) comes with spring onions and carrots, and a rich polenta cut with dandelion pesto. 

Sounds fancy-fancy but in the moment, in the place it’s all quite relatable. There's a signature burger ($21) on the menu, an unintimidating bar space and a kids' menu featuring chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, pasta, burger and crudités ($9–$14). McLaughlin has four children and says it’s important that Nines is comfortable for families. 

Desserts run $10 to$13. The rice pudding with saffron honey and fennel crunch stood out. A dish that rarely gets the credit it deserves is ethereal, light, and floral. The end-of-meal menu also features crème caramel with Amaro and sesame wafer, chocolate buckwheat tart with candied hazelnuts and crème fraîche and an olive oil cookie called "In the Clouds," served with almond cream, blood orange curd, and poached rhubarb. A digestivo list of Italian Amaros, Nocino, and Fernet closes things out.

From the Bar

The cocktail list deserves its own mention, partly because it's good and partly because the names tell you something about who's running this place. Many Hectares in a Dirty Martini ($17) uses Taggiasca gin, dry vermouth, olive leaf, brine, and olives—the gin a nod to the same Ligurian olive that shows up in the branzino. Bellhop's Demise ($16) is a spritz built on orange aperitif, blanc vermouth, bitters, and sparkling wine. A Manhattan for Christina ($16) swaps in Amaro Camatti and a touch of Sambuca alongside rye and sweet vermouth. Two Words: Last Word ($17) riffs on the classic with Centum Herbis and maraschino. There's a Negroni, Extra Italian ($16), and a Three Words: Debonair Old Fashioned ($16) made with bourbon, Chinato, and Nocino.

The wine list skews Italian and French with some interesting choices by the glass; a Muscadet from the Loire, an Etna Bianco from Sicily, a skin-contact Müller-Thurgau from Alto Adige, a Gamay from Beaujolais. Beer options include three from Suarez Family Brewing, because they’re great, local, and pay a little more homage to the Suarez’s legacy in the space. 

Showing Up and Showing Out

McLaughlin has been cooking in and around the Hudson Valley for a long time—Daughters Fare & Ale in Red Hook, Gedney Kitchen in New Marlborough, Other Half in Philadelphia, most recently Mirador in Kingston. He knows the region and its farms. "We're not a farm-to-table restaurant — that's not part of the thing," he says when the restaurant was announced. "But we'll be using as many farm friends as we can, because that's what we want to use."

What McLaughlin and Jannelli have also done is show up before they even had to. Before taking ownership, they were cooking turkeys for Germantown's free Thanksgiving meal, joining committees, and helping host community events. Sarah Suarez, who is also a member of the town board and is very active in the local community, took note of that. "The first few ways they've engaged with the community before even becoming official owners has been beautiful to see," she says. "That care and intention, that was the heart and soul of Gaskins."

The name itself—not "to the nines," not luxury, not glam, nods to the Route Nines threading through the region (9, 9G, 9H, 9W, 9J) and to the number’s literary use as a kind of placeholder. The logo also kinda looks like a comma, which Jannelli and McLaughlin liked. It spoke to them as a symbol for taking a pause, a breath, a rest between what came before and what's next.

After this past weekend, what's next is clearly worth showing up for.

Nines is located at 2 Church Avenue, Germantown. Reservations at ninesgermantown.com.