Bamboo Izakaya

The Giddy Geisha $6

I love living near the ocean, sure the traffic sucks and parking is nonexistent, but a cocktail on a sun soaked patio by the beach never gets old. So I was looking forward to checking out Bamboo Izakaya. The restaurant opened earlier this year on Ocean Ave in Santa Monica and owned by the same management group as Ocean 41, the members only restaurant/bar next door.

The space itself is very well done, with a mix of black and light bamboo for a clean, cool interior. There's outdoor and indoor seating, a main dining room, sushi bar and a private seating area in the back.

Walking in, we were greeted by a friendly host-- unfortunately service took a huge nose dive to rock bottom from there.

It's been a long time since I've experienced such horrible service. The server never came by, never brought menus to our table, or share plates, napkins or utensils. Normally these are already setup at every table prior to the guests' arrival but not in my case. I had to flag the waitress down every time I needed something and usually she would forget. I've experienced better service at Norms.

Sake "Yuzu Shu" $6

She also spilled another person's cocktail into our share plates, didn't notice and walked away before I could say anything. Take note that we got there at 3:30pm, it wasn't a near a dinner or lunch rush by any means. The busser was the only saving grace and we began requesting items directly from him.

I wrote the restaurant about my experience a week ago but have yet to hear back. (Presumably inundated with emails about bad service. Because it was really that bad... I can't even remember the last time I wrote an establishment about something like this.) 

Besides the poor service, the happy hour is solid. $4 / $5 / $6 dishes. Which include an array of dishes including various rolls, a kimchee burger, wasabi fries and popcorn shrimp.The food and drinks came out at a good pace. And again, it's located on Ocean Blvd, you're here for the cocktails, happy hour specials, comfortable seating and proximity to the beach.

Unfortunately a good happy hour, comfortable seating, and proximity to the beach doesn't make up for such bad service. There are many other places in Santa Monica with all of these and great service.

Happy Hour dishes

Happy Hour Drinks

Garlic Edamame $4

Popcorn Shrimp $5

Kimchi Burger $6

Chicken Skewers $5

~~~~ Reviewed by Jenni ~~~~

Bamboo Izakya
1541 Ocean Ave. Ste 120
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 566-3860
www.bambooizakaya.com

Happy Hour: 2:30pm-6:30pm daily

Parking: street meters or valet

Michael's

It's been a long wait, but Michael's in Santa Monica finally has happy hour!
*Wish for it, and it will come*

Michael's is a fine dining restaurant and is close to both the Third St. Promenade and the beach. Their happy hour is Monday-Friday from 5-7pm and is offered in their bar and in their lounge. If you are looking for a higher end happy hour, perhaps for a date... Michael's is a nice choice.

Click to enlarge

Michael's offers a selection of small plates all for $6, except the oysters that are $3 each. I was a bit confused by the oysters being on the happy hour menu because they are normally $3. Oh well. I love oysters so I ordered them anyway. In fact, I was starving so we ordered lots of different things. My favorite was the Crispy Sweetbread "Poppers".  They were really good.

Truffle Fries - $6

Crispy Sweetbread Poppers - $6 - My favorite!

Duck Confit Rilletes - $6

Oysters - $3 each

Potato Blinis - $6

The happy hour seemed to be a lot of small plates, so we went on to the regular bar menu for something a bit more hearty. The Slider Trio sounded amazing so we went with that and it truly WAS amazing. It was soooo good! The Trio includes Pork Tenderloin, Duck Confit with Slaw, and Wagyu Beef with Stilton Blue Cheese. It wasn't on happy hour but it was worth the $12 pricetag. Sometimes you just gotta splurge!

Slider Trio - $12

Michael's also offers a selection of cocktails ($6-8), beer ($4) and wine ($6). We had 3 of the 4 cocktails offered and The 15th State was our favorite. The next day a friend told me that Jason's Famous Punch #1 is realllly good, so I'm bummed I didn't try that one.

 The 15th State

Makers Marker Bourbon, Ginger, Lime Soda

$ 8

 The Downtowner

Tito's Vodka, Lime, Canton Ginger Liquer, 

St. Germain Elderflower Liquer, Soda

$7

 The Dominicano

Dolin Blanc, Dolin Rouge, Citadelle Gin,

Aperol, Orange Bitters

$ 8

So if you are looking for some small bites and drinks near the beach, give Michael's a try!

Happy Hour:
M-F 5-7pm
$6-8 selected cocktails , $4 beer, $6 wine
$6 small plates

Michael's

1147 Third Street
Santa Monica, Ca 90403
310.451.0843


michaelssantamonica.com
facebook.com/michaelssantamonica
twitter.com/msantamonica


*drinks and food were hosted

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

Basement Tavern

Look for the eye!

I've been to Basement Tavern a few times but didn't write up their happy hour because it only offered drinks and no food specials... BUT NOW THEY DO!

If you've never been to Basement Tavern, you are definitely missing out. It's one of my favorite bars in Santa Monica. My friend Shaun-Mathieu just tried to go last week and well... he never found the place. That's because it is literally in the basement of The Victorian. Poor Shaun-Mathieu went right inside the The Victorian and just thought he had the wrong address and left. But since it's in the basement, you have to go to the back of the place and enter that way. Just look for the eye!

  
Once you've made it downstairs, you'll find one of Santa Monica's most charming bars with its elegant furniture and fancy chandeliers.  Don't worry guys, it's rustic enough for you to still feel cool. In fact, there has been some pretty nice eye candy when I've gone. Oops, getting side-tracked. Sorry.

Basement Tavern's happy hour runs daily from 5-8pm and includes half-off most of their food menu, $3 beers, $5 well drinks, $5 wine, and a $5 specialty cocktail called Delia's Elixir (Buffalo Trace Bourbon, agave, raspberries, lemon). I was quite happy to see the Elixir contained Buffalo Trace. I love the stuff. And their well vodka is Pearl Vodka. Well done, Basement Tavern... well done!!!

Delia's Elixir

$5 (reg. $8)

We had a couple of the Elixirs and then decided to try some other cocktails not included in happy hour.  I had the Basil Honeyden (below left) with Basil Hayden Bourbon, honey syrup, citrus, basil and my friend, Emily, had the C'est La Vie (right) Pearl Vodka, mint, citrus, blueberries, champagne. I loved the the Honeyden! I'll definitely have that again.  Emily's cocktail was nice, but I'm more of a whiskey girl. Love and Linda had well drinks and they were pretty strong.

Basil Honeyden - $10

C'est La Vie - $10

Here's the complete cocktail list but they will also make drinks not listed. My friend, Christopher, said that bartender Matt makes the best Sazerac in town. And Chris KNOWS his Sazeracs.

When we looked at the food menu (all half-off except the cheese and meat plates) we were impressed with the selection and prices.

For food, we got the Basement Burger, Truffle Parmesan Fries, Lamb Kabobs, and Proscuitto & Wild Arugula Pizza. The Burger was really good!! I definitely recommend getting that. Unfortunately, I weren't impressed with the other items. But then again, my friend Jenn liked the pizza so try things for yourself.  (Good to know: The burger comes with jalapenos.)

Basement Burger - $5

Truffle Parmesan Fries - $8

Lamb Skewers - $6

Proscuitto and Wild Arugula Pizza - $6

I would go back to happy hour at the Basement Tavern because I was a fan of theirs before and I liked the burger and drink specials. And if you stay past happy hour, they have live music almost every night.

Happy Hour

Daily 5-8pm
Half-off most food items,
$5 Specialty Cocktail,
$3 beers, $5 wells & wine

Basement Tavern

(the basement of The Victorian) 2640 Main St.  Santa Monica, CA 90405 310.396.2469 facebook.com/BasementTavern twitter.com//basementtavern

M Street Kitchen

I love going to Santa Monica for happy hour but there aren't too many places that have a patio.  But we just checked out M Street Kitchen and they have a great one! Happy hour there is daily 4-6:30pm. They have a nice selection of drinks and food including sushi rolls, appetizers, and a $6 Burger with Fries. We tried a mix of things and my favorites were the Chicken Nachos and The Burger.

 Spicy Tuna Roll - $6

 Asparagus Roll - $5

 Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll - $7

 Pulled Chicken Nachitos - $6

 Guacamole and Chips - $4

 California Griddle Burger - $6

served with fries

For drinks, M Street offers beer, wine, and Sangria. There is a White and Red Sangria so we tried both. They both were really good, but I preferred the White. And each were only $3. Loved the price! I also had a glass of white wine ($5) and that was really nice.  I loved the prices for the drafts, too. Only $3 for a Hoegaarden! Sweet!




















So I thought this was a cool place for happy hour especially if you want to sit outside. And the place is dog-friendly too. So great opportunity to take your pup for a walk and grab some drinks at the same time! And don't forget to check out their bakery inside. We got some delicious goodies to take home!

Happy Hour

Daily 4-6:30 pm

M Street Kitchen
2000 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310-396-9145

http://mstreetkitchen.com




*Food and drinks were hosted