If you needed a reason to head to The Hook in Atlantic City, there are a few high-flying reasons to do so.
The Hook is a multi-faceted concept from Spiegelworld, an entertainment company founded by innovative entrepreneur Ross Mollison. Currently, the group has successful shows in Las Vegas (like OPM, Absinthe and the Atomic Saloon Show), but The Hook, which opened in 2023, marked their first show in AC. The concept was planted here after Mollison had a conversation with the CEO of Caesars Entertainment, and they talked about expanding Spiegelworld’s reach around the country.
“There’s incredible interest in developing the properties that are there at the moment, and it’s not just Caesars Entertainment,” Mollison told Metro at the time of opening. “There is literally billions of dollars going into [Atlantic City]. And I think that’s in part due to the migration of people from cities to the Jersey Shore over the last four or five years, and I think there’s a lot more demand for restaurants and live entertainment in that area.”
The Hook sits in the former space of AC’s historic venue, The Warner Theater, which originally opened in 1929. The centerpiece is its show—a comedy burlesque made for adults—which calls the venue’s 450-seat theater home.
The concept also incorporates dining into its experience in a few different ways. While watching the show, visitors can indulge in a craft cocktail or order pizza from the venue’s restaurant, Superfrico. Or, you can opt to dine at the restaurant for a full sit-down meal. To get to the Italian-American psychedelic dining experience that is Superfrico, visitors will have to walk through the theater into the backstage area to enter— because it’s located in the dressing room of the venue.
You can head to The Hook to see just the show, or just to dine at Superfrico. The menu at the dining establishment “pays tribute to generations of Old World Italian cooks by filtering a treasure trove of family heirloom recipes through a modern, globally-conscious lens.” Aka, diners can indulge in dishes such as summer burrata, lobster ravioli, chicken parm, veal milanese, scallop risotto, an assortment of pizza, sweets like pistachio cheesecake and more.
And the cocktails set their own stage here as well. Mollison cites an old NYC bar that he used to live above called Milk and Honey as the blueprint for the cocktail program at The Hook’s dining venues.
That intimate vibe is felt throughout The Hook’s entirety as well, even in the venue’s other two stops, the Horse Dive Bar and Cheval de Plongée. The former is a boutique bar serving up beers and craft cocktails in the lobby and the latter is a breezy new boîte located on the Atlantic City Boardwalk next to the establishment’s main entrance.
Both the Horse and Cheval are available to stop by, whether you want to attend the show or not. And sticking to the theme of history, they play into the local past of AC (which involved diving horses.)
The whole venue is meant to be an experience, whether you are just grabbing a drink at the bar, ordering a sandwich to go to take down to the beach, or you’re looking to get the full experience of the show. The Hook is meant to do what’s in its name—hook people in no matter what they are looking for, and keep them coming back.
To close out the summer, The Hook is welcoming a few new acts: Aerial Rope Artist Deon Fox, the “Duo Transcend” Mary & Tyce, and Contortionist Emerald Gordon Wulf.
Fox is returning to the concept after a three-year hiatus, while the Duo (a husband and wife team ) known from ‘America’s Got Talent’, are joining for the first time as well as part of the reimagined show. Emerald on the other hand, an 18-year-old professional contortionist, is also known for her performances on ‘America’s Got Talent,’ ‘Romania’s Got Talent,’ and ‘Game of Talents,’ as well as her work as a body stunt artist in the movies ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’ and ‘Malignant.’
All three acts will be available to check out throughout the closing or summer and the fresh fall season at the ocean-side locale.
For more information on The Hook (2100 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City), visit spiegelworld.com
