Donovan's Reef in Sea Bright is having a big year: Just a few months after the bar reopened for the first time since it was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, a national website has named the Monmouth County hotspot one of the best beach bars in the country.
Thrillist released its list of the country's 21 best beach bars in America Friday, ranking the long-running Jersey Shore favorite among destinations in Hawaii, Florida and California. It's the only Jersey watering hole to make the list.
First opened in the mid-1970s, Donovan's was devastated when Sandy hit in October 2012. Doubts about whether the bar would ever return followed. It took nearly three years before the tiki bar, the only structure to weather the storm, temporarily opened to the public while the owners continued to plan for a larger-scale return.
But construction began last year to resurrect the main building, and Donovan's finally started running at full capacity this May. The restored building features three bars, an expanded patio and a full kitchen.
Donovan's triumphant return is clearly getting noticed. Thrillist called the bar "a sprawling mecca of summer bliss," and noted its appeal to both tourists and locals with live music and fried food. The rebuilt Donovan's is "bigger, and better than ever," the site says. The list also highlights the bar's idyllic location in Sea Bright, nodding to a previous list that named the town one of the best small towns in the United States.
Of course, not all beach bar rankings are apt to agree. Earlier this summer, The Daily Meal released its list of the 25 best beach bars in the United States: Two different Jersey bars -- Beach Bar in Asbury Park and the Rusty Nail in Cape May -- made the list. We feel a showdown coming on.
Donovan's, at 1171 Ocean Ave. in Sea Bright, is now open seven days a week.
Andrew Doerfler may be reached at adoerfler@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @adoerfler or on Facebook.