Pilsener Shore Haus: First Look at Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten

Story and photos by Jackie Post, The Mile Square Table

Something very special is happening in Asbury Park, again.

Over the past few days, the new Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten has been hosting nightly “soft openings” which translates to “find the holes and patch ‘em” before opening your doors to the public.

The venue is yet another venture by Andy Ivanov, the restaurateur behind Hoboken’s Pilsener Haus and Brooklyn’s Radegast.

So far, everything seems right. Deep communal tables are filled with an eclectic “Jersey Proud” crowd, ready to lean in for a piece of pretzel and good conversation. Your server appears at your side just as you begin to think about having another round. When you ask for a burger “as rare as legal”, it’s exactly how you’ll get it.

There are no TVs. Repeat: NO TVs.

Down along the bar there are beer taps as far as the eye could see. A green rooftop deck is being outfitted with wall gardens. I see myself up there in the spring, with a “rare as legal” burger and a Sledgehammer wine, staring past the Casino Pier with my North Jersey coastline train schedule that just may fly away.

Scheduled for an early February opening, the Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten is going to be a hit for all the good right reasons.

Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten
527 Lake Avenue
Asbury Park, NJ
asburybiergarten.com