Category

4622 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92116. (619) 813-2272

http://www.leilounge.com/

Lei Lounge has an inside bar with seating for dining outside. If you have at least 6 people, try reserving one of their white cabanas.

Like great tasting food at bargain prices? Check out Lei Lounge’s Happy Hour special on Mondays from 5 pm to 10 pm: 50% off their samplers!!! (The following prices are already discounted.)

Tempura Sampler ($6) - rock shrimp, veggies, and lobster. The rock shrimp and lobster tempura were very good, but I didn’t like the broccoli tempura. Veggies are supposed to be healthy and there’s nothing healthy about deep frying them. I’d rather have steamed veggies instead of all that extra oil.

Skewers Trio Sampler ($6) - ahi tuna, lemongrass chicken, and beef kabob. The ahi tuna was seared, so I didn’t try it. I like my fish fully cooked. I didn’t try the beef kabob either. The lemongrass chicken was a little bland so make sure you dip it in one of the sauces. It was topped with very fresh, sweet, delicious pineapple.

Dumplings Sampler ($5.50) - scallop, beef and scallion, and ginger vegetable with assorted sauces. This was the only sampler that I didn’t like. Even with the discount, it was not worth $1 per piece, especially when comparing it to the other samplers. Beware, the ginger vegetable dumplings were very spicy hot!

Lei Cabana Sampler ($6) - 5 pieces of the chef’s selection of daily menu items. Our sampler had more of the ahi tuna skewer, lemongrass chicken skewer, veggie tempura, and veggie dumpling. The only new item was the Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls (brown thing to the top right of the sauce).

They even have drink specials! Mondays through Fridays from 5 pm to 7 pm: 50% off their signature cocktails. Lei Tropical Cooler ($3.50) - coconut rum, creme de banana, melon, syrup, pineapple and lemon juice.

Thai Sticky Coconut Rice ($5) - It doesn’t look good, but it tastes delicious! You can even see the whole strands of coconut.

Chocolate Bento Box ($16) - Definitely not worth it! Their dessert menu is a verbal menu, which means your waiter will describe their sweet offerings, but they don’t mention the outrageous prices! They were out of the Chinese-style fried doughnuts, so they gave us another piece of the pistachio cake, which wasn’t good, and another cream puff, which tasted like it was frozen and hadn’t completely thawed yet. The chocolate dipping sauce and the raspberry cake was ok. The standouts: the dark chocolate piece was sinfully decadent, very smooth, melts in your mouth… The circular creme brulee had a cheesecake like consistency, nice and thick… The last piece was white chocolate lemon cake? The smooth finish was sweet.

And… do you want an even better deal? Go to Costco and purchase their $100 San Diego Gift Card for only $80! You can also use it at over 100 restaurants in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegogiftcard.com/

The service wasn’t the best. We got there right as they were opening. There was only one waitress and it was a little difficult to get some service at times.

Lei Lounge also serves brunch and champagne cocktails.

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 5/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 17/20

505 Laurel St, San Diego, 92101

http://www.sdurbankitchen.com/laurelrestaurant.html

Another favorite happy hour spot is Laurel. It had always been a great special occasion dinner place but a few years ago, Laurel was bought by the same group that also owns Chive and Kensington Grill. It’s still an upscale place but the new owner has given the decor a hip, swanky look and the bar is a comfy place for drinks or snacks with friends.

Their ‘7 before seven’ happy hour is a great opportunity to try some of Laurel’s menu and enjoy the atmosphere without paying premium prices. The happy hour, which is offered every night of the week, offers a list of 7 drinks and 7 appetizers, all priced at $7.

A friend and I stopped in the other night to catch up over some delicious bar bites. Above is my friend’s Mango Martini and my Dragon’s Blood Sangria. The sangria was the best version I’ve had in a while - sweetened with port and calvados, an apple brandy.

Here are a couple of selections from the $7 food menu. My favorites were the little sandwiches on the left, Laurel’s version of sloppy joes called ‘lamby joes’, made with ground lamb seasoned with garam masala and topped with caramelized fennel. These were finger-licking good. Our flatbread appetizer was dressed with salty bits of ham and blue cheese and drizzled with a sweet sauce. Also pictured are the addictive edamame which are complimentary. I’ve also tried the short rib spring rolls and the mini escargot ‘poppers’. All portions are pretty generous so it’s easy to put together a decent meal. The ‘7 before seven’ menu makes it easy to treat yourself to a stylish experience without a huge expense!
Taste: 9/10
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Total: 18/20

660 K Street, San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.altitudeskybar.com/

After having dinner at Soleil@K, we decided that we wanted some after dinner drinks at Altitude. The bar is located on the roof of the Marriott. From the top you get a pretty nice view of Downtown and Petco Park. On days the Padres play, Altitude will play the game on their plasma screens or you can just view the game live by looking down the side of the Marriott(I was told most people prefer to watch the game live). The seats are comfortable and they even provide you with a blanket just in case it gets too cold. Their live dj helps keep you entertained while you enjoy your drink.

I didn’t know what to order, so I picked the first item on their list and it happened to be the “Eclipse Cosmo($11)”. The drink is made with Belvedere Cytrus, Grand Marnier, and a splash of cranberry juice. This drink was mixed just right because I could taste the hint of orange and couldn’t even tell that there was cranberry juice in it. My next drink was the “Mojito($8)” and is made with fresh limes, mint, and rum and a splash of soda. The drink wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be and actually kind of on the sour side. Even though it was somewhat sour, I still enjoyed the the drink because the lime and mint made it refreshing. The only complaint I had was my drinks were put in a plastic martini glass and plastic cup instead of normal glass. It really does take away the feeling of drinking a cocktail and alters the taste.

Taste: 7/10
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Presentation: 2.5/5 (because my drinks came in a plastic cup!)
Total: 14/20