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Avery did his homework, traveling to gastropubs throughout Britain and Europe to amass design and menu ideas. Opening a British pub seemed an obvious choice for this native of Spring Lake, which some refer to as the Irish Riviera, and indeed, the idea had been percolating for several years for this chef of Irish descent. “Every pub has one-a place you go to have conversations you don’t want others to hear,” says Avery. The gamble has paid off, and the 170-seat restaurant is packed most weekend nights and for Sunday brunch, with patrons choosing among the sporty bar, the high-ceilinged dining room, a window-lined alcove called the tea room, and the former bank’s vault, which Avery refers to as the snug. He had found the perfect space, a historic building that had served as the city’s post office, a bank and, more recently, Modine restaurant. “But if there was anywhere people would gravitate, a place they’d say, ‘Let’s get back out in public,’ it would be this.” “Opening another restaurant was the last thing I thought I’d be doing,” says James Avery, looking back at last summer.

BYO -Eric Levinĥ22 Bay Avenue, 73 The Black Swan Public House Asbury Park Cheese fries are topped with a house-made beer cheese made with Sky Red ale from the Last Wave Brewery across the street. Truffle fries are topped with shaved Parmesan and truffle oil. Chef Ken Held follows through with a grilled 6-ounce patty (or two 4-ouncers) on a brioche bun, hand-cut fries made from fresh russets, and all house-made sauces and condiments. On the side of the building, the wavy seaside mural (by Melissa Hood, with local helpers) signals fun on the inside. (The Topgolf suites down the hall are inaudible.) The menu matches the ambiance: assertive pastas, pizzas and seafood Burke’s patented salt-aged beef his chili-strafed Hipster Fries and marshmallow-filled cookie sliders that may slide into your dreams. The dramatic, high-ceilinged space often thumps with deejayed music. Photo by Christopher Laneīurke, the Hazlet-raised commander of six New Jersey restaurants, in November planted his flag on the historic Morristown Green. The capacious 1776 by David Burke makes a modern statement.