---

The Bonney Read opened Tuesday night in the Steinbach building, providing its long-awaited traditional seafood restaurant experience.

The brainchild of Asbury Festhalle Biergarten partners Andrej Ivanov, Ladiflav Sebestyen, and Executive Chef James Avery, the restaurant is named for legendary pirates Anne Bonney and Mary Read.

The floor to ceiling glass windows capture nuances meant to echo a boat’s hull and the menu features classic seafood recipes not readily found along the waterfront.

“Very traditional seafood at the shore is something you don’t see anymore,” said Avery, best known as Gordon Ramsey’s sous chef on the popular Hell’s Kitchen television show. “I really just wanted to open up a classic chowder house with fried clams, lobster rolls, a rotating fish selection, and a rotating oyster selection.”

Opening night on a Tuesday was as expected – the 75 to 80 capacity dining room and bar quickly filled with its 90 reservations and interested passersby.

“We were doing some shopping in the area and decided to stop in,” said Simon Goldenberg of Red Bank.

He and wife Jenn were among the first to arrive, opting for a pint of Forgotten Boardwalk, a local witbier and the Marie Antoinette, a Prosecco and Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach cocktail laced with macerated raspberries. The couple chose a variety of oysters on the half shell from the hard to miss raw bar that offers four styles of oysters and middleneck clams.

While Avery’s traditional seafood dishes include a New England clam chowder, lobster bisque and an oyster stew, there are rarities like his Jersey Green Clam Chowder, Angels on Horseback – showcasing local oysters accented with bacon and a parmesan cream atop a brioche Texas Toast, or the Clam and Chorizo Fritters paired with a saffron aioli.

“I want to have a little fun with [the recipes] but keep the classics on the menu like Linguini and Clams with my own riff or spin on it,” said the 34-year-old Spring Lake native.

His white wine, garlic and shallot Linguini and Clams feature guancile – an Italian cured pork.

Wild caught Maine mussels are prepared in the traditional garlic, white wine, and shallot broth, in a spicy Fra Diavlo marinara, or the opening special – miso-style with ginger and scallions.

And, a whole lobster is no longer a hard find. It’s not only the spotlight of a main course with fries and coleslaw but also a feature of the Clam Bake for Two.

Avery said, he’ll begin introducing fish delicacies and other worldly preparations like fish curries, bouillabaisses and Asian-influenced dishes.

“The way people now is different from 20 years ago,” he said.

For example, in his research to create traditional seafood offerings, Avery purchased vintage cookbooks that featured items not considered healthy in today’s diet. Instead of using the now forbidden MSG, Avery opts for fish sauce or anchovies.

“I try to find new ways to take those old dishes and breathe new life into them in order to make them more up to date,” he said.

Capitalizing on nautical history, the classic seafood dishes can be paired well with any of their 12 champagnes or selection of 20 rums, General Manager Sebastian Walker said.

“Champagne goes hand in hand with the raw bar,” Walker said. “And our desert menu has five high-end rums.”

The Bubbles and Perils Happy Hour runs from 4 to 6 p.m. and features half price champagne splits and half price oysters by the dozen or half dozen, Walker said.

The Bonney Read opens 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with dinner service running from 5 to 10 p.m.  Lunch is served from noon to 3 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday and dinner ends at 11 p.m. on the weekend.

The Bonney Read is located in the Steinbach building, located at Cookman and Bangs avenues. For more information, visit The Bonney Read website.

—————————————

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

---