Rustic stone and dark wood decor, a scotch lounge, 40 beer taps, gourmet food, nearly 40 scotches and two private party rooms define the unique experience that is "HopsScotch" at 286 Washington St. in Jersey City.

Owners Luke Gomez, Mark Maki, Sarah Gomez, Nirav Patel, owner of The Melting Pot and The Tilted Kilt in Hoboken, and Executive Chef Nick McCoy refuse to let their gastropub be defined as a simple sports bar or restaurant.

"HopsScotch is really a marriage of people from different backgrounds and different places that came together to create something traditional yet totally different," owner Luke Gomez told The Jersey Journal. "We want to serve refreshing craft beers, delicious craft foods and scotches all under the same roof."

Since their doors opened on July 5, HopsScotch has already been popular and it hasn't done any advertising.

The kid-friendly dining room is separate from the party rooms, the scotch lounge and the expansive bar so families can be comfortable as well. "There is something for everyone to love here," co-owner Mark Maki said. "If families want to escape the bar area, we have a very relaxed dining room in the back."

The dining area maintains the traditional rustic look, but the rentable party rooms show a different side to HopsScotch. A local artist was brought in to paint murals relating to the major beer countries and the huge chalkboards show specials as well as beer recommendations based upon taste and characteristics.

Along with their signature beers and scotches, HopsScotch provides meticulously crafted food by executive chef Nick McCoy, who was trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York City.

"All of our food is made from scratch and we really try to incorporate the unique beers into our menu," McCoy said. "For example, a special dessert we have is a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter Bread Pudding that incorporates the dark sweet taste of a vanilla porter with a classic bread pudding. We also have a Baked Strawberry Cheesecake with Tommyknocker Tundrabeary that enhances the savory taste of a cheesecake with the fruity essence in the beer before it's wrapped in flaky filo dough and baked."

The desserts are a main attraction at HopsScotch, but the entrees show how creative McCoy can be. The HopsScotch Burger, a Pat La Frieda patty with roasted garlic, caramelized onions and the HopsScotch cheese sauce, is a favorite as well as the Potato Skins, Wings with various sauces and the HopsScotch "Beer Can" Chicken Breast which infuses an Ithaca Apricot Wheat Glaze to compliment the beer baste with light sweetness.

"We think HopsScotch is the future of beer, scotch and restaurants," Gomez said. "Most simple restaurants and bars are struggling, but we're just getting started as we adapt and expand our business model to new locations in the coming years."

HopsScotch is currently planning drink specials and parties for the 2012 Olympic Games, NCAA Football games and a German Octoberfest in the last week of September that will feature 40 German beers with an oompah band to perform the entire week.