Shutters on the Beach

Shutters on the Beach has been on my "want-to-go" list because I heard that all their happy hour food is just $5 and is really good.  Since we were headed to Santa Monica's Concerts on the Pier, we thought this was a perfect place to eat and drink beforehand since it's walking distance.

When we first got to the hotel, we saw a bar in the lobby near a small patio. We checked out the menu and the happy hour food wasn't $5, but after checking with the waitress we found out there are two different happy hours... one in the lobby (which we were at) and one in the hotel's cafe, Coast Beach Cafe and Bar. And yep, it was the Coast Cafe that had the better deal and choice of items.

So my happy hour partner, Shaun-Mathieu, and I headed downstairs to Coast. As soon as we walked in, we liked the place. It's very nice, but not too froo-froo. There isn't an outside patio but you can see the ocean from the bar, so that was nice.

The Coast Cafe's happy hour is Monday-Thursday from 4-7pm and offers a nice selection of food, cocktails, wine, and beer. We tried everything you see below and we impressed with all of it except the nachos. They were actually very tasty but hardly had any cheese. The rest of it we just loved! The Fish Tacos were soooo good. And the oysters!!!! Great price and some of the best oysters I have ever had. We were even surprised the Pulled Pork Sliders were so good. They were made with pickle and cole slaw and were just delicious.

Nachos - $5

Fish Tacos - $1.50 ea.

Oysters - 3 for $5 or 6 for $9

Kurobuta Pulled Pork Sliders - 3 for $5

The drinks were a decent price. We tried three different cocktails: Cadillac Margarita, Mojito, and the Pomegranate Wave Martini. I had the Margarita and the Mojito. I liked both but the Mojito was definitely my favorite! I tried Shaun's Pomegranate Martini, but it was pretty sweet. Shaun-Mathieu tends to like more sweeter drinks than myself, but he even thought it was a bit too sweet. The prices aren't the greatest but they are completely awful either. I think since the food is so inexpensive, it sort of balances out.

Cadillac Margarita - $8

Pomegranate Wave Martini - $7

Mojito - $7

HH Menu from the Lobby Bar

So we definitely loved this happy hour and can't wait to go back. Our bill was a tad higher than our typical happy hour tours, but the food was quality so we were okay with throwin' down the extra bucks. On our next trip, I really want to try the Mussels and the Ahi. I would actually like to try the happy hour at the bar in the lobby, too. Check out the lobby's HH menu... not the best selection of food but I do like the drink selection.

Happy Hour

M-Th 4-7pm
$5 food, $4 beer, $6 wine, $7-8 Cocktails

Shutters on the Beach

(in Coast Cafe and Bar)
1 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.458.0030

Website for Coast Cafe and Bar

Kravings

It was one year ago today that I posted my first happy hour review and it was for Kravings in Tarzana. Since their happy hour inspired me to start this blog, I thought I'd honor them and update my review. Plus, that original post is super cheesy 'cuz lots of it I just copied from the review I wrote on Yelp.com.  And check out some of the text!! It's not even centered properly. How embarrassing! Hmmm... bad Vixen. Oh well. Now on to the update!

Kraving's happy hour is daily from 4-7pm and they also have a late night happy hour Wednesday -Saturday from 10-11pm.  Gotta love a late night happy hour on the weekends, right!? But it's their menu that is the real bonus at this happy hour. The first time I went to Kravings, their menu was slightly different from what they have now.  Back then I got a 1 1/2 lb. lobster for $20. WHOA MOMMA! You can still get lobster but it's offered in a combo deal and still is a great price. But they still do offer the Filet Mignon entree for just $10. YEP! 10 BUCKS! You get 4.5 oz of filet wrapped in bacon with a side salad, pita, and Greek yogurt. It's such a good value!  Here some of the other goodies we've had and loved:

 Blue Point Oysters $1.25

Big and meaty!

Bacon Wrapped Dates $5

Stuffed with Blue Cheese, Brie, and Walnuts

Love them!

Filet Mignon Wrapped in Bacon $10

served with pita and a side salad

Baby Back Pork Ribs $5

Very tender.

Seared Ahi Tuna $5

It was good, but just okay 

compared to the other dishes.

Check out the rest of the goodies offered including their Happy Hour Combos:

Amazing deals, right!? I've been back a few times this year but if it wasn't my mission to find new happy hours, I'd be at Kravings every week!


They also have good deals on drinks.  Signature drinks are $6-7, all Smirnoff cocktails are $5, and Straight Smirnoff Martinis are $6. You can also get wine starting at $6 or a 21 oz. beer for $4. And the selections of beer are great: Blue Moon, Heineken, Amstel Light, Pyramid, and Samuel Adams. That's an awesome deal for 21 ounces!

Caipirnha $6

Ginger Pineapple Mojito $7

White Cosmo $7

















So if you live in the Valley and haven't gone to Kravings yet... well, I don't want to call you stupid... but... you are. ;)

Happy Hour

Daily 4-7pm and Wed-Sat 10-11pm
Amazing Food starting at $1.25
Cocktails, Beer, and Wine $4-9

Kravings

18663 Ventura Blvd.
Tarzana, Ca 91356
818-881-7111

kravingsfusion.com

Helpful Tip: 
Don't park in the lot in front because it's one hour max. But there is a large parking structure in back and it's free.

Ocean Ave. Seafood

I have one word for you. Oysters. Man, I love 'em! And we found another great place for them... Ocean Ave. Seafood. 

 

Ocean  Ave. has happy hour Monday through Friday from 4-6pm where you can feast on some heavenly oysters for just $1.75. This is definitely a great price because this place is literally across the street from the beach, and you know how those beach-side places can get pretty pricey. Other eats runs $6-$9.50. Not the cheapest when you compare the prices to other places but the options are quite good. Lobster taquitos, filet mignon tips, and more. Fancy-schmancy! We tried the fish tacos and they were amazing!

$1.75 Oysters

Fish Tacos $9

As for the drinks, Ocean Ave offers $6.50 wine, $7 margaritas, $7.50 martinis, and 16 oz. draft beers for $5. Normally I try at least two or more different drinks, but I had to have white wine with the oysters. Another good option is the Oyster and Wine Sampler for $16.50 where you can get 6 oysters paired with a wine tasting of three different wines. They say you get "2 oz. of each wine" but we felt it was more. Okay, maybe I batted my blue eyes a couple times for the hot bartender but a guy-friend got heavy pours, too.

 The wines paired with the oysters.

Nice pours, right!?

Would I go back again? Definitely. Is this the best oyster/seafood happy hour? Well, the food is high quality but the prices didn't "wow" me. But if I'm in Santa Monica and am craving oysters I would definitely go to Ocean Ave again. But if area doesn't matter to you, I would suggest Dephine Eatery and Bar in Hollywood. Dephine's prices and selection are a bit better.

Happy Hour
Mon-Fri 4-6pm 

$1.75 oysters, other eats $6-$9.50, 

$5 beers, and wine, margaritas, & martinis 

around $7

Ocean Ave. Seafood
1401 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, Calif. 90401
(310) 394-5669

oceanave.com

Delphine Eatery & Bar

Hi friends! I have an incredible happy hour for you today that you must try!! Seriously, this is one of the best happy hours I have come across. And since I've been to over 50 happy hours in the last 5 months, I know what I'm talking about.

Delphine Eatery and Bar just introduced their new happy hour yesterday, July 26. Their happy hour is everyday in the bar from 5-7pm and includes a large selection of food such has hamburgers, pizza, steak sandwiches, and lots of seafood. And the prices are just amazing! Shrimp, mussels, and clams are $1, and oysters are $1-2. The amazing-ness doesn't stop there. Every Monday throughout the restaurant, is RAW BAR MONDAY. The menu includes the same selection of seafood at the same prices as the happy hour menu but includes such plates such as a Lobster Roll, Garlic Shrimp, and more AND it lasts until 10:30pm.

Click on the pictures below to see both Happy Hour and Raw Bar menus.

 Here's a bit of what we had:

 Chilled Shrimp ($1), East Coast Oysters ($1),

West Coast Oysters ($2), New Zealand Mussels ($1), 

Little Neck and Small Neck Clams ($1), and Johan Crab Claws ($1)

Very fresh... very good!

 Check out how big and meaty that oyster is!

 Lobster Roll ($6)

Delicious.

 Seafood Ceviche 

(Two orders put together in picture)

$3/order

Great quality, very tender... amazing price

 Garlic Shrimp ($5)

Loved it! Great sauce and very garlicky.

And look how much you get for $5. Incredible!

 Full Pizza Bianca

Spinach, Bechamel, Roasted Garlic

(Can be ordered in halves, 1/2 pizza is $5)

Didn't try this one, 

but did try the Pizza Italienne and loved it.

Salt Potatoes

served with Mojo Verde sauce

Looks like donuts, right!? Nope.

Fried potatoes covered with salt. 

Very tasty!

To wash down all this great food, Delphine offers draft beer, sparkling Rosé, Pinot Grigio, or their Delphine Fusion Cocktail for $5 during happy hour till 7pm. But on Mondays, after 7pm you can still get both wines for $5 until 10:30pm for Raw Bar Monday.

We had the Delphine Fusion Cocktail while checking out the food menu and it was really good, but since we were eating seafood we switched to the Pinot Grigio. But try the cocktail. It was fruity and sweet, but not too much. It was a well-balanced drink.

So if you are seafood lover, you just have to go to Delphine. We were just amazed on the selection, quality, and prices! And gentlemen, this would be an awesome Monday night date to impress a lady and not cost a fortune!

Happy Hour

Daily 5-7pm
Raw Bar Mondays 5-10:30pm
*see above photo for specials

Delphine Eatery & Bar

(located in W Hollywood) 
6250 Hollywood Blvd.
(Cross Street: Vine)
Hollywood, CA 90028
323.798.1355

restaurantdelphine.com

Bar Bouchon

Have you heard? Bar Bouchon now has happy hour. As soon as I heard, I called Amber (my happy hour partner-in-crime) right away and we made plans to go the following day.

Their happy hour runs Monday - Friday 4-7pm and they offer drink ($4-7) and food specials ($2-7). You can sit either inside in the bar area or on the outside patio. The outside is lovely, but most of the tables only sat two people.

For drinks, Bouchon has 2 beers (White Apron Ale or Duvel Green) for $4, wine for $5, and the Cocktail du Jour for $7, which was a Moscow Mule the day we went. We started off with that. It came in a copper mug which we loved, but the drink itself was just okay.... I've had better. I didn't feel $7 was really a bargain for it. For our second round, we switched to wine. They offer a red and a white for $5. We went with the Santa Ynez Syrah, which again was okay. Fine, I guess, for $5.

 Cocktail du Jour $7

"Moscow Mule"

After looking over their food menu, we thought that the selection was nice. We ordered the Deviled Eggs, Oysters, the Sliders, the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and the Canapés . By far, the oysters were my favorite. They were incredibly fresh and juicy. I haven't had oysters that good for quite some time. The Canapés were also good. Everything else was okay. Nothing really remarkable or was a great deal. A half of a grilled cheese sandwich for $4.50?

Oysters $2 each

Canapés $4

Deviled Eggs $6

Sliders $7

Other than the oysters, the highlights of our outing were sitting on the patio and our cute French waiter, Alexander, and his sexy accent. *swoons*
Sexy French accent + Wine = Two giggly girls

So, Bar Bouchon may not have the best deals for happy hour but it's a nice place to have some wine and enjoy a nice summer afternoon.

Happy Hour

M-F 4-7pm

Selected beer $4, Wine $5, Cocktail du Jour $7, Food $2-7

Bar Bouchon

235 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310.271.9910

bouchonbistro.com