Copa d'Oro

217 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.576.3030
www.copadoro.com
www.twitter.com/CopadOro

Parking: Metered Street Parking (1 or 2hr. limits) or Public Parking lots, various prices
Mon., ALL Night!/Tues.- Sat., 6-8pm, $5 Cocktails, $ Beer & Wine, $6 Paninis from the Happy Depression menu

After much happy hour research, twitter recommendations, & Los Angeles Magazine’s Best New Bars issue, This J was dying to go to Copa d’Oro’s happy hour.

When we approached the bar, we saw there was no valet. We get that it’s by The 3rd Street Promenade with public parking lots at various locations & prices. However, when we circled the block for parking, we discovered a valet at another happy hour on our to-do list, Border Grill so guess where we went first.
Once we finished up there, we walked over to Copa d’Oro. We were quickly greeted by a server and told her that we were going to need a minute to choose from the lengthy list of happy hour depression-era drink menu (no joke!). We decided on the Clover Club & Aviation. My Clover Club was made of gin, homemade raspberry syrup, fresh lemon juice, & pasteurized egg white. It was tasty and reminiscent of children Flintstones vitamins, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If I can drink and stay healthy at the same time, all the better.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to mingle with any bar flies since we were sitting at a table. Everyone was either deep in conversation or deep in a game of dice. (Do they have games here?) Normally, we like to sit at the bar so we can get to know the bartenders, their specialties, & suggested drinks. Maybe even a little flirting.

Now, the wrap up to our visit may confuse our readers as much as it did us. The JB ordered a very tasty turkey panini, a size so generous that she wanted the other half to go. When she asked the server for a box, she said they didn’t have any. When she asked the server for a bag, she said they didn’t have any. J took to wrapping it in a cocktail napkin. Kinda ghetto? Maybe, but it was tasty. I had a bite. Moments later she returned with an entrée sized to-go box. In our day jobs, we both know never say that we can’t do or have something unless we really know for sure. Add the food wrapping issue to another in which we asked for cash back with our purchase and were told there was no cash in the bar, well… our server was sweet and all, but it was just a little weird.
We would love to give Copa d’Oro another visit, if only we could sit at the bar. After all, this place was recommended to us by many people on twitter. The drink menu is so interesting, even featuring a line about where each drink was originated. We would love to watch the bartenders at work, as well as be more daring with our drink choices. If we sat at the bar, I think our visit may have been much more fun.
Rating: 3 Martinis