Wonder Bar — Restaurant in Asbury Park

There for 20 minutes. Everything going well. People complimenting my dog and how friendly she is. One dog keeps barking at her, cool she’s not reacting. Get a beer. Relax and talk to others like I do at dog parks.

20 minutes goes by, same dog Barking at every dog, but eventually at only mine. The dog is following her barking. Trying to play in the pool barking. My dog is not trying to be phased. It was honestly annoying me that nobody is saying anything. As soon as my dog shows any emotion after being barked 20 minutes and nobody saying anything, I was told by the “dog bouncers” “please leash him” after she jumped in way too early grabbing my dog and the other. I immediately moved to go grab my dog too as I don’t want another person reaching down aggressively like that when she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Get the owner of the barker to control it. Other owner wasn’t to be seen too, so that meant “oh her, my dog”. I was told no leash in the park area, so that basically meant you’re “kicked out” in a nicer way.

Most unfair “dog park”. Don’t go to this place unless your dog minds it’s on business and stays with you at all times. Been wanting to check this place out. However, A veterinarian friend warned me about this place when she said something similar. She was right. A dog bothering her dog in the pool while she tried to lay in it. As soon as her dog reacts “tossed in doggie timeout”. This a dog park or a doggie prison?

The $10 charity seems suspect too. I’d like to know how much that is bring towards their pockets...

Came to Wonder Bar for Yappy Hour and left seriously disappointed.

My dog wandered a few times toward the gate that separates the dog area from the human-only side to lay in a shaded area. A staff member (the bouncer) told me that if I couldn’t keep him away from the gate, I needed to leash him or leave. Totally fair—she has to make sure dogs don’t get through the gate. I leashed him right away, no issue.

A little while later, we were sitting at a nearby table with my leashed dog when one of the owner’s dogs came over to play. Out of nowhere, the same bouncer came over again—this time with an attitude, claiming our dog wasn’t allowed near the gate and had to stop winding up the other dogs. (Mind you, other dogs kept laying by it after she told me to leash mine, and she said nothing to them.) We were confused because he wasn’t even near it , and it was a different dog that was wound up about my dog playing with the owner’s . When my boyfriend tried to explain that, she got in his face, told us the dog wasn’t allowed in that area at all, and said if we didn’t like it, we could leave.

The entire situation felt like a power trip and completely ruined the experience. I’ve since seen other reviews calling out aggressive staff, and another customer even told us it’s basically a rite of passage to get kicked out.

The concept of Wonder Bar’s Yappy Hour is great—but if this is how they treat paying guests, I won’t be back, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who expects basic courtesy...

The other week, my girlfriend and I visited Asbury Park and the surrounding towns for the first time for 3 days. We were on an unofficial tour of the towns, childhood homes, and bars/music venues where Bruce Springsteen grew up and got his start. So of course, we had to stop by the legendary Wonder Bar! I had seen photos before, but it was awesome being there in person for the first time! We loved the atmosphere and vibe of the whole place. We were particularly impressed with the staff. Everyone we came into contact with from the doorman to the bartender to the man and woman selling merch were friendly and professional. I wish I made a point of getting the names of the two employees who sold us the t-shirts, hoodie, tumbler, and magnets we bought, as they gave us outstanding customer service! The gentleman was older and had black hair and the lady was younger and had black hair, blue eyes, and glasses. Both were very personable, funny, and patient as I debated which size t-shirt and hoodie to purchase. I have OCD, so it can be a bit of a “process” before I ultimately settle on a size, style, etc. I hope their manager reads this because they deserve a raise for going above and beyond by making us feel so welcome and that we had their undivided attention. We plan on returning next summer or fall to catch a show and visit our new friends at the Wonder Bar. Thank you so much for helping to make our short but amazing trip to the Jersey shore everything we hoped it would...