The Hungry Cat

1535 Vine St
Los Angeles, CA 90028-7304
(323) 462-2155www.thehungrycat.com
www.twitter.com/thehungrycat

Parking: Sunset & Vine Parking Complex (entrance off of Morningside Court), 1 hour free w/ validation, $2 each additional 20 minutes, $8 max

M-F, 12-6 pm, Drinks only – $5-6 specialty drinks, $2-$3.50 beers

The Hungry Cat's happy hour has some great drink deals, but there's not much else to purr about. The cozy little spot, located in the Sunset & Vine complex, is a friend to local farmers and organic produce. It seems a nice place to bring a date. It's quiet (they have a sign advising patrons to refrain from cell phone use!) and private - especially for having a patio in a somewhat trafficked shopping area.

But we've been to better happy hours. The Hungry Cat's Monday – Friday happy hour is long (good); it starts at noon, but it ends at 6 pm (bad). So, unless you're a) having lunch drinks or b) out of work or c) finish up early at your 9-6 (which was our story), it's not the easiest happy hour to make. Also, the happy hour is half-price drinks ($5-6 cocktails, $2-3.50 beers), which is a great, frugal way to sample some of their fab concoctions, but they don't offer any happy hour priced nosh. Hiss.

We can meow at the fun photogenic drinks - we tried the savory Off the Vine Daiquiri (rum, muddled grapes and cherry tomatoes, simple syrup, and fresh lime) and Luke’s lemonade (vodka, mint, and house-made lemonade). Service-wise, our waiter was very attentive and helpful with the menu, and quick enough with our bill as we hurried to make Kitchen 24's happy hour, so we could grab a bite!

We've been down this road before - finding that there is usually some catch when the happy hour runs so long. But both of us would much prefer a shorter cocktail and appetizer happy hour that we can hit after work. Maybe Hungry Cat has found that their average clientele doesn't share this preference - in which case, maybe we aren't the clientele they're trying to reach. In the words of one of our mother’s crazy-ass students on our answering machine, “Oh Wah!” We were just glad to make it on a September Friday early evening to have some fun, fruity end-of-summer drinks!
Rating: 2 Martinis