Restaurant Review: Fish Urban Dining

For the first time in 2 years, I got to go down the Jersey shore. My friend, Danielle, and I went to the beach, it was beautifully sunny but a little chilly, so no water, but a lot of sun. Long Branch is still in recovery after Sandy but the main drag of beach is still up and running and as gorgeous as ever.  I know that there are other sections that aren't recovering as well but hopefully by summertime, the beaches will be back and better than ever. Long Branch was to an extent lucky, because the main shops and a portion of the board walk is 18ft above sea level.

And then after a lovely day, we drove to Asbury Park and went to Happy Hour at FISH Urban Dining. It was pretty easy to find at 601 Mattison Avenue, Asbury Park. It is located in one of the region's most beautiful and historic structures and is very snazzy inside. It had a great, warm atmosphere with beautiful lighting. It was quite posh so at first I felt a little out of place in my grubby beach attire, but the staff was quite welcoming and friendly and did not seem to notice.
There happy hour was fantastic. It's Monday through Friday 4pm-7pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm-7pm. Select appetizers, wines and house pours are $6 each and select beers are $3. We each had Bellinis that were utterly delicious. There was no fruit juice in this bellini, just Peach Schnapps and Prosecco. It was strong and yummy and definitely worth $6. We got a Yuengling as well and then we tried two of the appetizers but I would honestly love to try a bunch of others as well. Next time I'm down the shore I think I'll have to go back to see how everything else stacks up.

We ordered the Loster Mac and Cheese from the Happy Hour Menu and then the Seared Tuna Tacos from the regular menu. Our waitress suggested that we get the regular Seared Tuna Tacos because for an additional $4 dollars we would get 2 tacos rather than 1, which was an awesome suggestion and well worth it.

Loster Mac &Cheese and Seared Tuna Tacos

I don't know which of the two appetizers was my favorite. The Lobster Mac & Cheese was absolutely delicious and creamy with large chunks of lobster throughout. There was a good ratio of Mac & Cheese to lobster goodness all baked and crusted with breadcrumbs. The cheese tasted almost like a mild cheddar but it was a combination of Gouda and Jack. It was just the right mixture to go with the richness of the lobster. It was also a good sized Happy Hour portion. It was perfect to share. I think had I been eating it alone, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish, just because it was so rich.  But, I'll definitely order it again next time I'm there.
The Seared Tuna Tacos were the perfect sharing portion. One taco for each of us and a good
amount of a very light coleslaw. The seared tuna was perfectly cooked and very light. It was a good balance on the soft tortillas and I loved the combination of pico de gallo, siracha and jalapeno cream. Although, I will say, it took us a little while to realize it was siracha. It was pretty mild which I think was a direct result of the cream. The cole slaw also helped cut the heat a bit without making the tacos too heavy. I'm not sure what was in the slaw but it was lighter than a normal coleslaw with only a hint of mayo, cabbage, carrots and a slight kick of acidity. Altogether there was a great balance of flavors and the tuna was really fresh and made for a fabulous taco.

Next time I'm down in Long Branch and Asbury Park I'll definitely be going back to try other goodies. I would also like to try some of their regular menu because it looked so creative and seems to offer some of the freshest seafood and locally grown products. After our brief tasting, I can only imagine good things from the rest of the menu and I know that many of the local Monmouth students speak highly about what they've tried.