FIG at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel
By Carole Dixon
For dineLA.com
If the fickle economy has you rethinking that night out at the local hot spot, show up before or after the dinner rush and you can still enjoy some of the city’s top restaurants while savoring some of your favorite dishes and wines for a fraction of the cost. A sign of the times for certain, but you won’t find watered down well drinks and uninspired bar food—happy hours have gone upscale. In this case, the early bird gets the artisan charcuterie plate and a cool signature cocktail.
SBE’s Katsuya located at The Americana at Brand in Glendale has the theatrical modern Japanese design by Philippe Starck that you will also find at their Hollywood and Brentwood locations. Another thing they all have in common: a fantastic happy hour menu. From 5-7 p.m., you can enjoy popular staples such as crispy rice, baked crab hand rolls or rock shrimp tempura, along with sake and well drinks for $5. Even signature cocktails like the Sugarsnap are only $7. Drop by later in the evening for a discounted menu option in the Dragon Room Lounge (Glendale location only) Monday through Thursday from 9-10:30 p.m.
Trendy Equator in Pasadena presents a whole series of weekly Happy Hour specials. On Monday Madness, all appetizers and well drinks are half-price from 4 p.m. to close; on Tasty Tuesdays, your first martini is $1 (additional ones are $5) and satays by the stick are $1. On Wine Wednesdays, there is no corkage fee, and all wine and sake bottles are half-price.
Some venues are even extending specials during the weekend, which was unheard of until recently. At family-style valley institution the Smoke House in Burbank, known for prime rib, garlic cheese bread and stiff cocktails, you can Beat the Clock on Saturday and Sunday from 3-5 p.m. where diners receive 25% off the menu, and the offer extends to weekday from 4-6 p.m.
On the opposite side of the city Chaya Venice hosts a happy hour all night on Sunday and Monday; and after 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings. Featuring items from their sushi menu for $4 - $5 and two cocktails, the Lychee Martini and Juicy Infusion, are in high demand for $6 on weeknights from 5-7 p.m. and late night after 10:30 p.m.
For a great pre-theater or concert venue Downtown, Nick & Stef's features food and drink specials in the bar and on the patio every Monday - Friday from 3:30-7:30 pm. Enjoy live music Thursdays 5-8 p.m. while nibbling on Monterey Bay fried calamari.
Nearby Morton's The Steak House offers a Power Hour Monday - Friday from 5-6:30 p.m. and 9:30-11 p.m. for $5-6 dollars per plate including Four Petite Filet Mignon Sandwiches or three mini crab cakes.
Also Downtown, enjoy complimentary pizza and $2 off all well drinks from 4-7p.m., Monday through Friday at Zucca Ristorante’s bar or out on the patio.
If you’re looking for a view in the neighborhood, Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant is located on the 21st floor of an office building with a panoramic skyline best enjoyed from the patio. On Monday through Friday from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. they offer WINE-ding Down with half-price on the entire lounge menu - don’t miss the shishito (pepper) poppers or the Japanese fries with seaweed flakes, plus a rotating assortment of three Wine Spectator rated wines at $5 a glass.
The sleek Nobu on LaCienga has launched a Recovery bar menu of affordable tapas items that will be available in the restaurant's lounge area nightly from 6-9 p.m. Their highly acclaimed miso cod with butter lettuce and fish'n'chips Nobu style will be offered for the slim price range of $7-9 as well as a full cocktails menu encompassing well drinks, kicked-up cocktails and wines by the glass ranging from $6-10.
Katana’s Red Sun Hour on sunset is probably the darkest and sexiest venue in town offering a selection of sushi rolls and their famous robata skewers with chicken meatballs, asparagus or salmon, wine or beer all at the bargain price of $5 each from 5:30-7 p.m. on weeknights. Sit in the lounge or on the patio under the stars.
Martini Madness takes place every Tuesday through Friday from 6-8 p.m. amid the stunning redish-orange Italian chandeliers in the lounge at Murano. Select house martinis are available for $8, including the Murano Chandelier with vodka, limóncello and pomegranate juice. Enjoy one or two with a menu of Italian small plates spanning skewered shrimp (also $8) to risotto fritters for $7.
Long standing Beverly Hills staple, Crustacean has rolled out the Lucky Hour in the Opium Lounge where cucumber martinis and other specialty cocktails can be quaffed along with their addictive salt and pepper calamari or garlic noodles with the lucky $7 price tag. Even luckier, the hour is extended from 4:30-8pm during weekdays.
BLVD 16 in the Hotel Palomar in Westwood has a Tea Time promotion every night from 4-7p.m. in the lounge where they offer patrons ½ off select bar menu items and inventive tea cocktails for $6. Choices include pizza of the day, salt & pepper beef ribs or charcuterie plate.
Every day from 5:30-7 p.m., Gourmet Hour hits Fraiche in Culver City bringing cheese fondue, meatball sliders and shrimp cocktails for $5 along with select $4 wines and cocktails. At their sister restaurant just off the Promenade in Santa Monica, new Italian eatery Riva will be serving crudo, stromboli and pizza in the $7-8 price range. Beer, prosecco cocktails and wine are only $3-4 every night in the bar/lounge from 5-6:30 p.m.
Another new addition to the area is seasonal bistro FIG Restaurant, Santa Monica. FIG at Five features a choice of five different types of artisanal charcuterie, cheese and wines for $5 each until 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
For a different twist, stop into Andrew’s Cheese Shop on Montana - the home of 200 different artisan and farmhouse fromage varieties. On the first Sunday of the month, they hold a Grilled Cheese and Beer paring social for $35.
Down on the beach at Shutters Get Happy at Coast offers a great view of the pier and a discounted weekday menu from 4-7 p.m. Highlights include $6 grilled fish tacos, sliders and $1 oysters. For $6 you can enjoy mojitos, cosmos and a good selection of international wines for $5.
Next door, Casa Del Mar’s ocean view is much more affordable now with Happy Sushi Hour at Catch from 5-6:30 p.m. on weekdays. Tai snapper, fluke and hamachi nigiri for $5 each pairs wonderfully with a Pearl Pomegranate Martini for $7.
The bargains are even extending out to the shores of ‘Billionaire’s Beach’ in Malibu. The Carbon Beach Club at the Malibu Beach Inn is now open to the public and showcasing a Burger & Cab night every Tuesday for $20 per person. Each week a different hamburger with chef-inspired pairings ranging from truffles, porcini’s, gourmet cheeses and the freshest seasonal ingredients will be offered in the dining room.
Andrew’s Cheese Shop
728 Montana Ave.
Santa Monica
310.393.3308
BLVD 16
Hotel Palomar
10740 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles
310.474.7765
Carbon Beach Club
Malibu Beach Inn
22878 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu
310.456.6444
Catch
Casa Del Mar Hotel
1910 Ocean Way
Santa Monica
310.581.5533
Chaya Venice
110 Navy St
Venice
310.396.1179
Coast
Shutters on the Beach
One Pico Blvd
Santa Monica
310.458.0030
Crustacean
9646 Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills
310.205.8990
Equator
22 Mills Place
Pasadena
626.564.8656
Fraiche
9411 Culver Blvd
Culver City
310.839.6800
FIG
Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows
101 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica
310.319.3111
Katana
8439 W. Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood
323.650.8585
Katsuya
702 Americana Way
Glendale
323.274.8776
Morton’s The Steakhouse
735 South Figueroa St, Suite 207
Los Angeles
213.553.4566
Murano
9010 Melrose Ave
West Hollywood
310.246.9118
Nobu
903 North La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood
310.657.5711
Nick & Stef’s
330 S. Hope St.
Los Angeles
213.680.0330
Riva
9411 Culver Blvd.
Culver City
310.839.6800
Smoke House
4420 West Lakeside Dr.
Burbank
818.845.3731
Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant
811 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 2100
Los Angeles
213.236.9600
Zucca Ristorante
801 South Figueroa
Los Angeles
213.614.7800
