When a restaurant is called Lures Bar and Grille, it’s not a surprise to find seafood on the menu, beer on tap, and a burger or two listed among the sandwiches. But what you probably don’t expect is that the seafood is never frozen, the variety of beers on tap numbers fourteen, and the burger in question is made from Kobe beef. Not only that, but among the menu’s crab cakes and blackened tuna steaks are Polish pirogies, a nod to owner Chuck Soja’s Polish grandmother. It’s these quirky and unmistakably personal choices that elevate Lures above your local neighborhood bar and grill.

Soja, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Jill, spent fourteen years working for the T.G.I. Friday’s chain, and his determination to put his own stamp on casual dining is obvious. Nothing about Lures bears a resemblance to Friday’s—from the ever-changing beer list featuring local and national microbrews to the nautical memorabilia scattered throughout. (The only possible exceptions to this are the two televisions in the bar and the low din created by a hungry crowd.)

“We wanted to take the angle where we would cook fresh food, local food,” explains Soja. And although he had fully intended to buy a freezer for the restaurant, he couldn’t find one he liked, so the restaurant opened without one. After that, he says, “We realized we didn’t need one. We could keep it fresh and people really liked that.” With its soaring ceiling and hazy blue-green walls, Lures feels more like a beach cottage where everyone is welcome, rather than a bar hangout.

Lures’ menu is similarly casual and familiar. Aside from the plump potato-and-cheese-filled pirogies (which can be ordered with or without sausage and sauerkraut), the menu focuses on bar-friendly starters (nachos, cream cheese-and-jalape—o-filled wontons, fried mushrooms), sandwiches, salads, and a handful of mostly seafood-based entrees. Though made elsewhere, the pirogies taste like the ones a busia (grandmother) might make—savory, filling, but not heavy. Rockfish bites reveal that the kitchen has a deft hand with the deep fryer, as the beer-battered nuggets of rockfish emerge crispy, fresh-tasting, and bear little trace of grease. They’re as addictive as popcorn.

We try the Kobe burger “Lures style”—with melted havarti, grilled onions, and sautéed mushrooms—and would order it again in a heartbeat for its velvety texture and depth of flavor. Yep, you can tell the difference (though I’m not giving up on Angus beef, which is also available on the menu). The only minor disappointment of the evening is the grilled mahi-mahi, which, despite its mango salsa garnish, ends up underwhelming. And although the menu description promises a topping of jumbo lump crabmeat, the end result is merely a few white flakes of crab.

If you plan to visit Lures, keep in mind that happy hour runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and even if you don’t imbibe, this is a busy time for the restaurant. Our server, while more than polite and never pushy, was almost too efficient in returning to our table to take orders, clear plates, and box up food to take home. These good intentions can make you feel a bit rushed as you dine, but are happy proof that the lure of Lures is strong. Crownsville, welcome to your new local.