Wonder Bar

It’s a cool dive, and a throwback to the old Asbury Park. My Dad and I usually stop in here to grab a beer or two if we’re nearby. They’ve got a lot of concerts here and a nice stage /​venue space inside. The bar is really long and winds around as well so it’s easy to get to.
It’s worth checking out if you’re nearby or if you’re a fan of live music. Bruce has popped up here before as well, so I guess you never know for sure what’ll happen.

Very inviting local dive bar that features a large outdoor area that allows dogs. I didn’t hang outside so this is just my review of the interior.
Fairly large bar with a stage for performances. I would be interested to return to check out a concert.
Bartenders are friendly and cool here. If you order a Guinness from the female bartender she will most likely draw a clover on the foam at the top of the beer. I was able to capture her artwork in slow motion. She’s great!
We should have stayed for food — they have burgers, hot dogs, and even things like fried mushrooms and people were having a great time drinking and watching football. It’s Steeler country here (or so it seemed today).

We recently came to the Wonder Bar for Yappy Hour with our bulldog to attend the Mid Atlantic Bulldog Rescue Group fundraiser. We had an awesome time meeting the other dogs and their owners, enjoyed the sunshine and the drinks. They are well organized with the pet guidelines which are perfect. The owner must be a great animal lover and I love the concept — thank you!

Overpriced tiny drinks ($ 9) and bartenders you have throw something at to get their attention. Sat for half hour at a basically empty bar and no one asked me if I needed anything. Atmosphere is kinda cool. Food is decent. That’s about it. Employees seem more interested in flirting with each other than serving customers.

Wonder Bar is a different kind of concept that allows for people to enjoy perks of an outside bar, but with your dog. You’d be hard pressed to find something like this anywhere else.
It’s a huge outside space that is made especially for dogs. With water bowls and doggy pools, it’s seemingly heaven for dogs. To top things off, there is a bar off to the side that allows for the dog owners to enjoy themselves. They even do a «yappy» hour at the bar with discounted drinks!
The issue with this place in my opinion is that it just doesn’t seem to be very clean. I know that with dogs running around everywhere, you can’t expect beautiful green pastures, but i can’t help but get a bit of a skeevy vibe in here… One would have to judge for themselves.
Overall, this place gets four stars for the concept alone. It fits very well into Asbury Park’s reputation for being open and welcoming of all. If you have a dog and want to enjoy the enjoy the shore for a day, this is the place to come.

I have a Happy Friendly smeadium sized 40 Pound Hound. Been to Yappy Hour many times. But Lately, twice turned away cause my dog was too small for the big dogs and today cause my dog was too big for the small dogs. Frustrating wasting my time driving to the happening AP area and paying for parking and turn around to go home.

*Yappy Hour* I was having a rough day when I went here with a group of friends and OH MY GOD did the mood change! I was in my happy place here. Cutest idea ever! Dogs running around, beer, good food, indoor/​outdoor seating. Wish the bar tender was a little more attentive at times because it took me 15 minutes to get order food and get drinks… but it makes up for the new friends I made ;)

A group of us were having food and beers at the bar which weren’t great but as expected in that dive. After several hours, an ugly old blond lady came around collecting a cover charge from each of us. Never went back.

Went on a Sunday with my Blue nose pitbull, they denied him access because he wasn’t neutered! Kinda funny my pup got denied at a bar (I knew how it felt). So makes sure your pets are neutered and have their vaccines OR THEY WILL DENY ENTRY.
Other than that it looked very nice from the outside. Lots of dogs of various breeds and some days they have days for just smaller dogs or days for bigger dogs.
Right across the street from the beach
Will definitely come back another time once my Pit has been neutered.

Very bad experience here. During a nearby festival, I ordered a large amount of food to go. The employees were very rude and it took an unnecessarily long time for my food to come out. When I requested to speak to the manager, the «bouncer» or whatever his position was had refused and said he was the acting manager and would not speak with me. On top of the horrific service experience, the food was well below average. I highly recommend never going here.

Decent place to hang out in Asbury. You might end up paying a cover charge because some cover band is playing at an inappropriately loud volume and you can’t hear yourself speak. Luckily, there is an area to hang out outside, on both sides of the bar. They also do Yappy Hour and even if dogless, you can go out there and watch like some sort of puppy pervert. They are just so cute :)

Yappy Hour is the best thing ever. Dogs and cheap beer is all I want. The dogs are all super happy and get strangers talking to one another. The dog bouncers are always pretty friendly. I make a point to swing by here whenever I’m in town.

Decent drink specials, but don’t order food. You’ll sit on ass for an hour wondering where the hell it is and why you didn’t just wait until you got back to the boardwalk to eat.

We went here for yappy hour with the dogs. It’s really nice being able to have a beer and order food with the dogs able to run off leash. There are two doggie bouncers who make sure the dogs don’t get past certain gates and that he dogs get along. We weren’t sure where to order food and asked the bartender inside and they asked where to order and he seemed really bothered by Us even though he wasn’t really doing anything. Our waitress was really nice as were the outside bartenders and doggie security.

Cute bar in Asbury, great atmosphere and amazing bartenders. This is a true jersey shore bar.

NOTE: This review is solely about the «Yappy Hour» section on the side of the bar. We did not spend time inside.
My wife and I came here on a Thursday night for Yappy Hour with a 25lb dog. Mondays and Fridays are typically small dog night (we were told it’s 30lbs and under), but Tues/​Wed/​Thurs all sizes are welcome.
It’s a nice-​sized area on the side of the Wonder Bar, easily enough room for the 12+ dogs at a time. There’s a fenced time-​out area for dogs who need a breather, which is nice. A bar sits towards the center; there are typically drink specials. You can order food inside, but you can’t eat it *inside* the dog area — you have to sit on the other side of a separate fence, so beware if you’re coming solo.
Also, while there are tables and plenty of chairs everywhere, the dogs are allowed to jump on anything. This was largely not an issue, but just watch your drink!
As with a dog park, the atmosphere inside is dependent on the attitude of the dogs and their owners that evening. When we went, the dogs all largely behaved, from the few 10lb dogs scampering around to a bloodhound and a few boxers, the dogs were almost all friendly.
Almost. One white-​haired pitbull was playing much too rough, to the point that my dog and a few other dogs were fleeing it (ours jumped into our arms for a break), and that dog’s aggression was agitating the other large dogs. The owner was not paying attention to his dog whatsoever, so I and a few patrons were protecting the smaller dogs from the pitbull with our bodies.
Eventually, we were told the attendants asked the pitbull owner to leave, after which the boxers and all the other dogs returned to being sweethearts.
There’s no way to prevent 100% of issues; the big question is whether the attendants are paying enough attention to keep order when things get out of control. It looks like yes, they do pay attention, and that’s enough for us to come back in the future.

This dump is the absolute best! A DOG PLAYGROUND & BAR — how great is that.
What could be better than bringing your 4 legged buddy and hanging in a big, sandy lot on beach chairs and lounges with a full bar and a passel of dogs running around playing, digging in the sand, and jumping in and out of the wading pools.
consider that you’re across the street from the beach, everyone is mellow, the dogs are all cool (but there is a bouncer for dogs who don’t behave), AND you can get great greasy burgers and fries! The bartender actually made very good gimlets (harder than it sounds), the beer is cold and it is NOT too expensive. (i’ve seen a few reviews here complaining about the cost and quality of food — don’t know what backwater they are from or maybe they just expect sterile «dollar menu» food-​like products).
this was the best time I’ve had down the shore is a very long time — too bad the traffic /​parking is horrible!!!

The employees are extremely rude. We were yelled at for holding a child up to look at the dogs from the only section kids could be. There is something called tact that unfortunately they did not possess. This was as we were leaving after eating and buying a large amount of raffle tickets for their charity. It’s nice to know they do not appreciate clients.
Food was typical greasy, fried, bar food with a poor selection of beers for the area.
I would have loved to become a regular being a local, but I do not appreciate poor customer service.

One of the fixtures of Asbury Park. We always have a great time here. Monday nights are a good time to go because it is not as crowded and the bands are awesome! Especially the Villianelles! It is right across the street from the beach too!

Wonder Bar is one of those iconic bars I kept hearing about that I never made the time to visit. Finally, I came here after 8 on a Saturday night, not knowing what to expect. There was no door charge, and a band was playing Springsteen music (what else?) — the lead singer was so good, that you had to do a double-​take to make sure it wasn’t actually Bruce himself.
The overall impression you’ll get is that this is a dive bar. Everything is black — the walls, floors and ceiling, almost similar to that of the Stone Pony, with a pretty antiquated looking bar and some sports signage hanging around the place. A large, squared-​off U-​shaped bar is the first thing that greets you. The overall crowd that day was mostly 45 and up, with perhaps 20 people total in the entire bar.
Overall, I wound up spending around 2 – 3 hours here and not wanting to leave. The music was great, and it really makes the place what it is. They have the most excellent No. 9 on tap, too (finally, more selections than the usual Coors/​Bud/​Stella). Would definitely visit again.
Park at the nearby lot at one of the pay station spaces.