Sometimes you just wanna shake things up, right? The fried onion rings, sliders and gooey nachos that you normally consume at happy hour are great, but these naughty dishes can become a little banal -that’s why it can be refreshing to find an edgy new happy hour.

Playa is a new Los Angeles hot spot that opened on Beverly Boulevard a few months ago. Turns out they have “Local’s Night,” (their version of happy hour) offered on Thursday nights only, from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. Playa’s cocktails and cuisine are unlike any that I’ve seen or tasted; Latin flavors and eclectic ingredients comprise their colorful menu of culinary surprises. Whoa…is right.

The “Local’s Night” happy hour menu uses house made maize cakes as a recurring foundation for most of their dishes. Edible flowers are a creative addition their most simple starter, whereas, the Maize Cake Jewish is more involved; maize cakes are stacked with smoked salmon, crème fraiche, caper berries and red onion.

All of the cocktails are $9 and own some fun names like: “A Diving Bell”
or “Beer and a Ball.” If you like spicy, go for the first one, made with Mezcal, English Gin, lime, Falernum, caramelized pineapple gamme, yuzu and cayenne pepper – oh, snap!

The interior of Playa has a modern beach feel; eccentric lighting fixtures hang from the ceilings, mimicking mini “chic” palapas. If all this sounds a little too crazy for you, El Coyote Mexican restaurant is next door. But I’ll go with Seal on this one, “We’re never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy.”

PLAYA

7360 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 933-5300

MID WILSHIRE HAPPY HOURS

Local's Night at PLAYA on Beverly Blvd

Archive

September '11

August '11

July '11

June '11

May '11

April '11

March '11

February '11

January '11

December '10

November '10

October '10

September '10

July '10

June '10

April '10