We gave the Black Swan a visit on Sunday. Place is very nice on the inside, they did a great job with the remodel. The bar area was very loud, this was about 4:30 in the afternoon, we were seated on the other side of the half (maybe three quarter wall) between the bar area and the main dining area.
The noise level was still high there and the waitress had trouble hearing us when we were ordering food.
I had a Hemingway daiquiri which was very good, wife had a Guinness in an imperial pint glass.
I then had their version of a Pimms Cup which was very tasty so I had another.
Only the pub menu was available with a few specials
The group shared two orders of the bacon cheesy tots. There are only five per order but they are homemade and larger than a typical tater tot. Very good and a nice sour cream sauce to dip in.
My wife ordered the fish and chips which she loved, the remainder of us all ordered the chicken tiki masala. It was good, but not so good it makes me want to run back for it. And, it was about 25 bucks so not inexpensive, but I haven’t had tiki masala in a while so not sure of the going rates elsewhere.
The bill came and there was a line item for a 3% processing charge, which when asked about it, the waitress said it the credit card processing fee. Now, that should be a cost of doing business or built into pricing, in my opinion. She said if we were paying cash it would be taken off. My wife caught it on there and pointed it out. The waitress, who had also worked for Chef Avery at the Bonney Read, said they do it there as well.
No mention on the menu about this charge.
All in all, I would go again, as it is a nice place to grab and drink and sit at the bar, although something tells me if a soccer match is on that might not be the case due to the noise level. The full menu goes into use this Wednesday.
I wonder if some restaurateurs think that horrid noise is a feature and not a bug. R-Bar and Nicholas come quickly to mind. I find being unable to communicate with my dinner companion and staff very annoying.
Justin and I finally tried The Black Swan in Asbury Park tonight and it was everything we hoped for. Wonderful atmosphere and English pub decor, great cocktails, and awesome food.
To drink, I had a couple of expertly crafted Manhattans with Angel’s Envy Bourbon and Justin had a unique martini with Botanist Gin and truffle brine, which included truffle shavings at the bottom of the glass.
For meals, he had a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich (he thought it was just okay) while I had Chicken Tikka Masala which was on par with what I’ve had at actual Indian restaurants.
Overall, no complaints. We arrived early to our reservation and were seated, and spent nearly three hours there. Time just flew by. As a belated Valentine’s Day dinner, this was truly excellent. Our server Daniel was attentive but also let us just hang out. A+ service. Will definitely be back!
Forgot to post this. We were there Saturday night for my birthday.
For drinks, I had a Vesper with local Asbury Distilling vodka/gin and Lillet Blanc, BF had a strawberry mint gin and tonic with Elderflower Fever Tree, and mom had a Manhattan.
For entrees, I had Chicken Tikka Masala (again), BF had a burger, and mom had mushroom Bolognese (she’s not vegan but it was a vegan option and I tried it and it was awesome).
