Very interesting experience. We had read reviews and were excited to do our weekly Wednesday date night at the Diving Horse. We showed up and were instantly shocked at the noise inside and amount of loud children. Tables on top of each other and absolutely no ambiance. Maybe this was on me for not looking at pictures online. OK - my bad. THEN we were seated and our waitress, who was very monotone read the specials. We put in 3 appetizers to start (which seemed to annoy them that we didn't want to order everything all at once. NO - we don't want to be rushed through our dinner.). We ordered the baked oysters, tuna tartare toast and the tomato/burrata salad. We are admitted foodies but the quote "tuna tartare" was nothing even resembling tuna tartare. It was more like a smelly mayonnaisy pickled herring on bread with small potato chips on top. Absolutely inedible. The baked oysters were unbelievably fishy and just terrible. We LOVE oysters, all types, Cape May Salts, etc... and I don't know what these were but, "ugh" I was actually worried I would have stomach issues later. The tomato burrata salad was very basic. I make it better at home. At that point we just wanted to get out of there. To their benefit - they comped our appetizers (I paid anyway with cash I left on the table) but the weird thing is - they "cancelled" our reservation on Open Table. I'm assuming it was so I wouldn't leave a negative review. I wonder how often this is a tactic available to restaurants? Overall - would never even think of returning but give them credit for comping the appetizers. I could see they didn't really give a damn whether we liked the food or not, obviously the place was packed and 2 people on a date night won't make or break their profit margin. Just posting my experience. Guessing nobody will care, but I was sort of dumb founded that a place this very very unremarkable is making it in Avalon. read more

We had a delicious dinner with excellent service. The hostess was very helpful and our waitress was friendly and attentive. However, it is very noisy even with 18 empty seats in the restaurant. Very difficult to have any sort of conversation. I don't think we will be going back. read more

One of my favorite restaurants in Avalon, great atmosphere, service, and amazing food!

I may have to call this place my favorite restaurant! Food never disappoints and always taste very fresh. Their homemade pasta is amazing!!! Service has always been friendly and attentive. The aesthetics of the restaurant are really cool too! This place is definitely worth the visit. read more

There's so much YES in this review, and for this restaurant! Our group of 8 experienced a fabulous Saturday summer evening outside in the their beautiful courtyard. It was a nice table set away from the other bigger tables, and it was great to have it to ourselves! The menu was fresh, exciting, and filled with many favorites but with a interesting and delightful twist. Our table ordered the following starters: yellowfin tuna tartare and calamari fritti. Our mains were the seared rare tuna special with roasted fennel, Mid Atlantic fish stew, Barnegat light scallops, and the New Jersey fluke with all of the sides on the menu: braised collard greens, smashed bliss potatoes, Chesapeake fries, and the fried brussel sprouts. (Didn't I just make your mouth water?) Not a crumb left on either plate or dish because they were all fantastic! Portions were large enough to share, cooked to the desired temperature (soup not too hot, tuna was definitely rare!), and plated with so much color and texture. Many of us raved about the brussel sprouts, the scallops, the fluke, and the fish stew which was very similar to a bouillabaisse in a tomato-based broth. Of course we had to have dessert! We all shared the "Kit Kat" bar, blueberry doughnuts, and the shortbread cookies. Always, always order the doughnuts! Very, very good, and a great portion to share. Our table had a conversation about long hots earlier in the day, and our server overheard us talking about it again at dinner. He came back with a long hot relish, and other peppery relishes to try! Long hots, shishito peppers, and another pepper mix with poblano peppers. Delicious by itself, they were much welcomed and placed on our side dishes, and on our seafood. Service was absolutely wonderful. I feel terrible that I forgot his name, but our server was friendly, and offered great advice on what to order for our group. I also love that the restaurant is BYO, and is on Open Table to easily make reservations! Good to know: Same team that does Fitler Dining Room and Pub and Kitchen in Philadelphia. So yeah, these people know what they are doing! read more

The Diving Horse - Seared rare tuna special with roasted fennel. Amazing! - Seafood Near Me - Avalon, New Jersey

I have already covered The Diving Horse in detail on my blog, but I'd be remiss if I didn't put my two cents on yelp, too. This restaurant is without question my favorite new restaurant of 2010. Simply stated: the service is wonderful, the decor is quietly thoughtful and the food is incredible. read more

Very expensive, hard to get in. Not a big menu. Parking in the town is a problem. Other place off shore to choose from for good food and pay less. read more

Picked this restaurant for our date night at the beach. Ambiance was awesome very clean classy plus outdoor seating! It was a byob which was awesome with no corkage fees. I really wanted to love this place but the food was just good. Not bad not amazing just average. I ordered the pasta special which was a stuffed shell with crabmeat. Appetizers were probably actually better than the entree's. I would highly recommend the Brussel sprouts! I am going to give it another shot just hoping we were there on a off night or ordered the wrong thing read more

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Came here with my family for dinner as a belated birthday celebration. We called to make a reservation a few days in advance, and were told that only 5:00pm was available. So we took it, and got our choice of beautiful outside tables. Throughout our meal we couldn't help but notice we were one of the only groups there, and wondered why we couldn't get a slightly later reservation. To start, we got an order of brussel sprouts and the shrimp tartine. Both were delicious but very small portions for our family of 5. This trend continued when we got our main dishes: pork belly, fluke, mahi mahi, and short rib. All very solid dishes but considering the price, we were expecting a more memorable meal with at least slightly larger portions. For dessert we split two of their homemade kit kats, each the size of half of a real kit kat. They were delicious and very sweet with touches of peanut butter and a blueberry sauce that my sister loved. Loved the BYO option and the service was very attentive. read more

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We ordered take out from the diving horse and this is what we got for 100$. A 30$ lobster roll with a bag of chips? read more

The Diving Horse - 100 dollar take out dinner from the diving horse. Really disappointing - Seafood Near Me - Avalon, New Jersey

With two pair of family members already dining here on two separate previous nights, we already knew we were in for a fantastic meal - and we were not disappointed. With entrées averaging around $36, high for even Philadelphia and some New York City restaurants, they better deliver ! The room is open and airy and the staff is warm and professional. The food presentation is outstanding. Our appetizers, fried oysters with nasturtium leaves, house cured pancetta mayo, smashed "dutch" potatoes served on a bed of seaweed, and a breaded/stuffed quail, were delicious. The Barnegat Light Scallops with preserved lemon, toasted pearl pasta, arugula, and vermouth nâg were cooked perfectly. The Yellow Fin Tuna with creamed silver queen corn, Holland leeks and olive oil poached fennel was amazing. So for the above, with coffee, no dessert and before tip, the bill came to around $112. Not inexpensive but worth the price. (Note - it's a BYO) read more

It took us weeks to get a reservation at a time that wasn't too late or too early, so my boyfriend and I were highly anticipating this dinner. Plus, there are not many places to get a nice, delicious dinner in Avalon. Upon arrival, the rustic decor with beautiful flowers set the mood for us. I love how the outdoor tables are tucked away behind thoughtful landscaping! Our reservation got us a table inside and we were attentively waited on right away with waters and a wine chiller. We looked over the menu for a few minutes, but when our server told us the specials, we both decided to order off that short list! We started with the soft shell crab appetizer. My boyfriend had never tried it before and I told him this would probably be a good place to try it. We were not disappointed. It was served with a light yogurt dill sauce with pickled onions, cucumbers, and potatoes. The potatoes were a little overly salted and didn't do anything for either of us, but the rest was delicious. For my main course, I had the housemade gemelli in a blush sauce with crabmeat, breadcrumbs, and basil. It was simple but perfectly executed. I loved it! My boyfriend got the steak special with parmesan steak frites and a small caesar salad. The steak was cooked to perfection medium-rare, but they cut it for you, which I thought was interestingly odd. (I am oddly particular in the size my food is cut...) He didn't seem to mind. The steak fries didn't do it for us (not a fan of the thick cut) but the salad was good. We also shared a side of the fried brussels sprouts with provolone and long hots (a favorite combo of his). I found them to be a little heavy for a veggie side dish and did not have enough long hots. We were full from the rich and fried foods we had, so we skipped dessert though they sounded enticing. We loved our meal here, and the quality is out-of-this-world for Avalon, though it's pricey for a BYOB. But even compared to the city's restaurants, it was delicious. Our reservation wasn't until 7:45 and we saw a few tables were empty while we were there. Not sure if they reserve some for walk-ins, but we felt like it may have been too big of an effort to make our reservation if that's the case. read more

Fantastic service is the name of the game at this place. I walked in with GF while on vacation in Avalon for our "fancy date" night. It was a bit odd in that we got a ho-hum reception at the door when we didn't have a reservation, though the place was empty (6pm). They seemingly "found some space for us" and seated us in the outdoor patio; we were the only ones out there for about 45 minutes, so I'm not sure what the concern was. The patio seating was nice and secluded, romantically lit with string lights. The tables out there seat ~20, and as they fill, you just kinda buddy up with strangers I guess (wasn't an issue for us, no one was seated within two seats adjacent). At any rate, we brought a few beers and a bottle of wine, and our server was absolutely delightful. He was super attentive, we never went 5 minutes without a full beer/wine glass (esp good because I eyed the indoors, and he had tables in there; easily could have forgotten us). Humorous and friendly service, and insightful descriptions of the menu items. The food itself, while pretty pricey (BYO helps, but the food prices are still pretty up there), was very delicious. I got the prime rib, GF got the Mahi, and both were as tender and juicy as could be; portions were moderate. Lobster roll was tasty enough, but not really worth the $20, IMO. As for desert, GET THE KIT KAT. Get it with ice cream. Get two of them, in fact, so you don't have to share (it's the cheapest thing on the menu, after all). Put them in your bellies. Extremely tasty. Would not bring kids. Group is possible (as mentioned, patio tables are 15~20), but best for a date night. read more

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Best meal I have had in the past year! As Avalon locals, we have never eaten here & by chance got a reservation tonight and were overwhelmingly surprised. Have heard about the great reviews at Diving Horse but we're not able to get a reservation in the past during summer, now I know why!! We had the Mother's Day special menu. I had the crab meat iceberg lettuce with 7 mile dressing followed by my entrée which was fresh tuna that was seared to perfection! For dessert I had & olive oil panna cotta - so yummy!! On my way out I made reservations for 4 in mid July! This is definitely worth going to and I thought the price point was perfect Anna or waitress was adorable and very attentive. read more

The Diving Horse - Seafood Near Me - Avalon, New Jersey

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Beautiful decor- mediocre food. Tomato avocado cesar salad was bland- no herbs, watery dressing. Heirloom tomato are pretty but not always tasty. Scallops were OK. Small pan fried. Cucumber side was also under dressed- not worth the price. Go for a drink and get dinner somewhere else. Over priced for what they serve. read more

This restaurant came highly recommended by several friends, and Yelp reviews. We were not impressed. When I made the reservation, I specifically asked for a quieter table, as we were celebrating a special anniversary. So we were seated next to a table of 8 that were doing their own wine tastings. Needless to say, after a few tastings, they were NOT quiet, becoming loud and boisterous. Okay, so, we were willing to overlook that in anticipation of an amazing meal. Hubby ordered the Shrimp gnochi special, with a side of Brussels sprouts. He said the main was very good, but the Brussels sprouts tasted burnt, and weren't good at all. I started with the Maine oysters, and what a disappointment. They were tiny, almost miniscule, and the flavor was heavy: definitely not the juicy plump oysters I was anticipating. At $22, they were a ripoff. I also ordered the fresh catch with corn chowder supressetta. The swordfish was excellent, but the sauce just didn't seem to go well with it. The flavor combination was just not right. The service here is very good, about what you should expect from this quality of restaurant, but not exceptional. There was, however, no acknowledgement whatsoever of our special anniversary. Nothing about this place was exceptional, or made us feel special or made us want to return. And it definitely wasn't the amazing meal we were expecting. Not even close. read more

Great atmosphere, service and food. They were happy to accommodate our vegan diet request. The decor was farm house, the servers could not have been kinder and our meal was great. It's boy and they will chill your wine at request. Glad we went. We really enjoyed our dinner. read more

Absolutely delicious! The steak special is awesome, so well cooked and seasoned! The octopus appetizer is also superb and so are the east coast oysters! read more

Very tough to get a rez! But great restaurant at beach! Prob the best from OC to SH.

BYOB in Avalon NJ farm to table. Nice, trendy. Lots of 5 stars on OT. Table servers good but not excellent. Local catch smothered in overpowering sauce, though well presented. To be fair, short ribs with corn, onions, creaming mushrooms, red wine tomato jus very tasty and well presented. Two issues: 1. Outside seating is way to tight, especially for safe social distancing; 2. Second is that the atmosphere was way too loud (sound app measurements on my phone hit 95db - motorcycle or subway level) and; 3. the staff did not intervene with the offending obnoxious patrons. Failure to intervene with a loud obnoxious party ruins the atmosphere for multiple patrons. The tableservers's remedy was two complementary deserts. I'm rating this a "3" for our visit based on inconsistent food performance, tight quarters and poorly controlled loud atmosphere. I imagine some nights might be a "4" based on other reviews. I wish you a 4 experience. read more

The food was phenomenal!!! I started with the LIONI LATTICINI BURRATA, and then I ate the PAN ROASTED SWORDFISH. I can't wait to order food from there again read more

Small portions and a pricey menu. Avalon doesn't have much to offer when it comes to "Upscale" restaurants so this is one of your best bets on the Island. If you can get a spot at the community table outside it makes the meal a little more special. The fish and desserts are usually pretty good sometimes they will do homemade donuts and spreads. read more

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Hands down the best restaurant on 7 Mile Island. Great atmosphere and great food. The staff is experienced, courteous and knowledgeable. While the menu has some standards, the preparation changes frequently to keep things fresh. Yes it can be a bit loud, but I believe that is a reflection of people on vacation, enjoying themselves and having a great meal. read more

Food gets a solid 4 stars, service detracted from the experience. Our server was visibly annoyed and borderline rude when asked to clarify the special of the day and dessert menu. This would be understandable if the place was overwhelmed but that wasn't the case. Halibut was a little overcooked but overall well prepared, short rib had a very good flavor, polenta side was extraordinarily small. read more

Very nice family dinner over an extended weekend at the shore. This place fills in quickly and you have to book (very) early to guarantee a place. Note also this is a BYOB with a small menu of fantastic fare. I enjoyed the soft shell crabs which were great read more

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Delicious small plates. Food always fresh. Great ambiance. Pricey for avalon but worth it for special treat!

Definitely the best meal I've had in Avalon and probably in the top 10 meals I've had in the United States. I ate here last night and I'm already looking forward to my next dinner at Diving Horse. It's BYOB so stop by Fred's across the street for a bottle or two of wine if you forgot one. For starters, my mom and I split a Crab Iceberg Wedge. It was topped with 7 mile island dressing, crispy prosciutto, red onion, herbs, and jumbo lump crab meat. Definitely the best wedge salad I've ever had. It was a perfect amount for splitting too. For our main courses, my mother and I split two dishes. The Barnegat Light Scallops rested on top of toasted farro, silver queen corn, chanterelle mushrooms, and summer true nâge. Now I don't know what any of those things are, but that's what the menu read and it was damn good. Again, the best scallops I've ever had. So fresh. The other main course dish that we split was the Creekstone Farms Short Rib. It was accompanied by swiss chard, lyonnaie potatoes, and tomato conserva. Again, a bunch a fancy talk for food, but still awesome. I'm so glad it doesn't take much for my mom to fill up since I get whatever she can't eat. Dessert looked great and we've heard wonderful things about it here, but I had to pass so I could head up to Kohr Bros. for some ice cream. Maybe a bad call, so maybe next time. The service was very good, the tables are close to each other and it is a bit cramped and loud, but it is worth it! read more

In the land of overpriced meals and long waits that aren't worth their snuff, the Diving Horse really shines. The food was amazing. And not just "we're at the shore and most of the food places are just pretty okay" amazing. It was amazing for NYC or Philadelphia standards. Everything was cooked, accompanied, prepared, and served PERFECTLY. The service was great. The atmosphere is nice but laid back and not stuffy. We had a ton of stuff on the menu. The housemade ricotta is amazing. The fluke was amazing. The mussels were great. Desserts were delicious. Chicken was divine, as were the potatoes they were served with. YUM. All of it. If you're looking for a nice night out in Stone Harbor/Avalon, skip White Heron, Marabella's, etc. Diving Horse is where it's at. Loved it. And if you have too much wine at dinner to drive home right away, there is an arcade at 29th St. Just walk up to that block and turn left. I won a flashlight necklace and a little stuffed bear lizard leopard guy of some sort. Jealous? read more

Hands down the best restaurant in Avalon. Never disappoints! The decor inside and the beauty of the patio starts the experience off well, the delightful servers are welcoming, knowledgeable, and accommodating to special requests. On both occasions this summer we enjoyed the scallops. Their sweet and have the perfect sear on them. The pork dish came with the most amazing cheesy creamy grits, and steak specials my husband enjoyed on other nights were perfectly cooked and seasoned well. We look forward to our diving horse nights. While the comfort of the AC inside during the heat of summer is ideal, the communal seating on the patio is great!! It's so pretty outside and we've made new friends while dining. So sad to have to wait until next season but way to Diving Horse on another successful delicious summer!! read more

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Being a huge fan of Pub and Kitchen I have been looking forward to trying the Diving Horse since it opened last year. This place is EXACTLY what sea isle/avalon have been missing. An amazing BYOB with outdoor seating and insanely fresh seafood. We showed up at 8pm on the Sunday of memorial day weekend and we were a party of 6 and didn't have to wait more than 30 mins. The hostess took down our cell numbers so we could grab a drink across the street while we waited. Almost exactly 30 mins later our phone rang and our outdoor table on the deck was ready. I think 4 out of the 6 of us ordered the Mahi Mahi and all thought it was incredible. The Flounder special was amazing as well - unfortunately someone at our table got the last order and I only got a small bite of it. I know this place is on the pricey side but you definitely get what you pay for. The quality of the food is amazing - by far the freshest sea food I have had anywhere at the shore. On top of that this place is only open 3/4 months out of the year it and needs to cover rent and utilities for an entire year so I think it is definitely fair. This is definitely my new go to spot for a group dinner at the shore. read more

Took the dive...again...at Diving Horse and found peace and consciousness eating in the outdoor section. Three large communal tables, ala Farmers Cabinet, giant picnic benches all, seat about 10 per table. A perfect 75 degree cool Avalon night and impeccable service helped elevate my review to five stars, something I am stingy to give. The Prince Edward Oysters I was served were among the best oysters I've ever eaten, medium sized and full of flavor. The short rib special was superb, as was the soft shell crab. I now consider this shore spot THE one to beat on the island. We didn't have reservations, and it was Saturday during Labor Day Weekend, so the situation looked hopeless. However, the outdoor section is first come-first served, We arrived at 6:30pm, and sat down immediately. I'll warn you again...the indoor seating at DH is incredibly loud...you will not be able to hear yourself think. Large parties come in and drink it up and think they own the place...don't these people realize that no one wants to hear their loud stories and obnoxious laughs? The Freud in me thinks that they are actually insecure and need to prove their coolness and hipness to the world...but I digress... If you want even a shred of intimacy...or sanity...eat outdoors Diving Horse is BYOB, so bring your favorite vino. There is plenty of street parking out front and nearby. Trot on over to the Diving Horse...just beware the loud "nay"-bors. read more

I really, really wanted to love this place...but was sadly, let down. As an avid Philadelphia eater and foodie, I was excited to plan a dinner date with my husband knowing this place was owned by the same guys that owned the Fitler Dining Room (and also read recently about it in my Philadelphia magazine). The ambience, very cute - you come in and are greeted by a few shelves of fresh flowers and a counter with diving horse beach tags (which I also thought was a really cute idea). The waiter was nice - he got us a bigger bucket for our wine when we asked him (we just drove here from Margate and the white wine got too warm for my liking). To start, we ordered a dozen of the oysters = yum (but how can you really mess up oysters?) and an order of the calamari, which were decent, but really small serving. For our main entrees, I ordered the scallops and my husband ordered the steak special. Scallops were OK and the steak were OK. I was really let down on these courses. My scallops only had a sear on one side (I've watched enough Hell's Kitchen episodes, isn't there supposed to be sear on both sides?) and my husbands' steak special was really, really fatty... too fatty to also be worth $54 dollars. EH. Alright, I know I'm at the shore and things are so overpriced here, but seriously? It wasn't dry aged, nothing! For sides, we got an order of the Brussel sprouts and the fries, both were delic. The Brussel sprouts were very similar to the ones we had at the Fitler Dining room earlier this year (really crispy, sweet, and tangy). Fries - well done, crispy, peppery and a nice little dipping sauce. As for dessert...here's the real bummer: I ordered the blueberry donuts and my husband got their kit kat. 2 out of the 3 donuts were still raw in the middle (they were huge by the way, they should have cooked them longer or made smaller ones), and the kit kat had wayyy to much fudge on the top layer, and it just overpowered the rest of the crunch. The proportions were wrong. Overall, even if the scallops weren't supposed to have a sear on both sides, I can let that slide. But still, I needed cooked donuts and a better cut of meat. Diving horse, I truly was counting on you to have a "Philadelphia" restaurant experience but you still need to work on a few things. read more

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I had only heard of the legend surrounding the Diving Horse restaurant in Avalon and after experiencing the food and service, I can put it at one of the finer meals that I've had down the shore and it ranks up there with some of the best I've had in Philadelphia as well. I enjoyed the open dining room and being able to see right into the line of the kitchen. Our server, who apparently also logged some time at one of Philadelphia's fine pubs with kitchen talked us through the menu and made recommendations based on our dining preferences. We settled on fluke crudo, heirloom tomato salad and scallops for me. I love the fluke crudo. The whole flavor profile was bright, citrusy and very summery and light. The heirloom tomato salad with the fresh basil and nice balsamic was also a wonderful starter. Since my girlfriend doesn't get down with dairy the entire hunk of burrata which was supposed to be on the salad was given to me on the side. I think I must have looked like a kid in a candy store, or like an adult in a cheese shop. The scallops dish kicked ass, there's just no other way to say it. The asparagus was perfect and the faro risotto let me sop up all the goodness left over. The scallops had an excellent char on them and were perfectly tender throughout. This was one fantastic dish. I was thrilled that I finally got to eat here and being that I spend some time down the shore in the summer, I am looking forward to returning and sampling more of their offerings. The short rib that my nose caught wind of before my eyes is probably my next target. Suffice to say, I'm a fan of this place. read more

Fabulous. Food was delicious, wait staff professional, and interior shabby cool. I had a great steak and my date had fluke. Salad was creative. BYOB so bring a bottle of wine. Outside seating is family style, ie they seat everyone who shows up at large tables on patio somewhat secluded from the street. Looked fun if you are feeling social (always). Hot spot in Avalon so the crowd is upscale but not over dressed. No bar so beforehand have a warm up drink at home or in the car on the way or nearby at the Princeton or all of the above. read more

Unbelievable dinner- possibly one of our favorite dinners ever! We had a party of 11 (with three young kids) and we couldn't have been treated any better. My sister has dietary restrictions and they took great care of her as well (main course and the dairy free desert options). Bill took great care of us - he is easily the BEST waiter in all of Avalon! We will definitely be back! read more

This is a really nice spot to grab a special dinner at. We ordered the garden salad, the crab gnocchi, the old bay fries and the Kit Kat dessert and all very delicious. I would come back and recommend. It is a bit pricey but the quality of food is very fresh and good. You can also BYOB too! read more

We went to the restaurant with a large party and the server was super helpful and friendly. The food was great and we loved the oysters! The special was sautéed halibut and highly recommend this dish! Will definitely go again. read more

Some friends and I came from Philly for a week in Sea Isle City. At home, Pub & Kitchen is one of our favorites, so we looked forward to trying Diving Horse. Here's the good and the bad: Good: quite simply, the food is superb. We had tuna crudo and mussels as appetizers, scallops all around as entrees, plus a couple of salads and side dishes. Each was solid, delicious food. Bad: Price point, wait staff. Diving Horse seems to have a bit of an internal conflict. On the one hand, they seem to be putting off a relaxed, casual beach restaurant sort of vibe. This is reflected by the servers all wearing T-shirts (very cute ones, as a matter of fact), and all seemingly under the age of 20. The downside of this is that most of them had obviously not been properly trained. More than once the food was served across people, glasses had to be lifted to be filled, and the food delivery was atrocious--sort of a diner-like "who had the heirloom salad" thing. I mean, there were 4 of us, can they really not figure out who ordered what? Now all this would be fine if Diving Horse were more like its Pub&Kitchen sister...but with entrees all more than $25 I expect better service than this. The service at P&K is orders of magnitude better and at a much lower price point. Summary: Food is exceptional, service is bad, portions are small (we had to go across the street for a slice after dinner). read more

Whoa Trigger! Diving Horse is not your standard Jersey shore eatery. It's upscale with great cuisine and service. In my opinion, Diving Horse is as good as any downtown Philly restaurant. Yes, it's pricey, so bring your wallet... and also your taste buds. Apps are small portions, but flavorful and the fish entrees (in my case fresh tile fish) plentiful and amazingly great. Applause goes out to the kitchen staff. Nota bene: while Diving Horse is upscale, gents can dine in khakis or nice dress shorts and a golf shirt. Ladies, resort casual. (It's still the Jersey shore). Diving Horse is BYOB. Make a reservation and bring a good bottle of wine - you'll be very happy here. --- Don't say WHOA to the Diving Horse, say GO to the Diving Horse! read more

We saw something on the news about this spot a month or so ago so I did my little Yelp thing and checked it out. Good enough reviews for us to head there during our vacation. If you are not familiar with Avalon then you keep your eyes open when your approaching that little checkered flag on your navigation. It has a small sign of a horse diving. Yeah easy enough, sure, but when your programmed to look for letters combined to make words on a sign out front of the restaurant, you could skim right over it. They have a couple really big wooden tables out front. If you have a party of 10 it looks like they could take care of you very easily. We almost wanted to go inside and get 8 other strangers so we could just sit outside and eat. My dog is looking at me. The food here is nothing short of perfect. From the beginning to the end we didn't have a bad thing to say about anything. Really, and we are super judgmental. This was one of the best meals I've had in probably a year. Lobster Roll - God Damn! Root Beer brined Double Cut Pork Chop - God Damn! Coconut Tres Leches Cake...you get the idea. GD! The food was outstanding, the staff was very friendly, helpful and any other nice words you can think of that I can't right now. (Internet high five [[]] to my man Travis working the pen and the apron). I saw people commenting on the price point. The price was reasonable I thought. Whatever. Its money. Its stupid, and the government gets more of it then you. Spend it and eat good food. My dog is still looking at me. read more