Agura

514 North La Cienega Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 289-1940
www.aguradining.com
www.twitter.com/aguradining

Parking: Valet (we couldn’t find the valet guy to ask price, but…) metered street parking is readily available and free during the happy hour times

Monday – Saturday – 10 pm-Midnight, Sunday – 6 pm-10 pm, 50% off cocktails, $3-5 appetizer selection
By now, you know we love a good deal at any kind of bar or restaurant – fancy is fine as long as the deal is good! So we were happy to discover Agura on La Cienega, just south of Melrose when we met for a Sunday night Happy Hour Tour meeting (yes, we schedule website meetings!). On Restaurant Row where there are some happy hour hits and kinda-misses, this new Japanese fusion restaurant offers some nice deals in a mature, sleek setting, we like!

The vibe is urban cool – an open dining room with wood floors (a little annoying with the VERY attentive bus-boys constantly shuffling by – ha!), low hanging chandeliers, and the jazzy music selection. The menu says happy hour is served only at the bar and patio, but the friendly hostess sat us in the general dining area and our server assured us that we could order happy hour in the area, which definitely filled out with fellow patrons over the course of our two-hour visit.

Jennie & I ordered a dinner-like assortment of happy hour food items from their $3-5 happy hour menu: Salmon Nachos ($5), Seaweed Salad ($3), Popcorn Shrimp Tempura ($3), Shrimp-wrapped Spring Roll ($5), Spicy Yellowtail Roll ($3) and Albacore Salad ($5). The servings are slightly smaller than you might expect, but are a good value at the price. And unlike many restaurants and bars whose happy hour fare runs the gamut of chicken wings, chili cheese fries, and onion rings, Agura’s happy hour menu is made up of a great selection of items that are comparable to and whet your appetite for their dinner menu. For drinks, I enjoyed the Emperor’s Caiprinha with Elderflower Liquer, freshly muddled Shiso & orange and lime juice with a splash of ginger ale. I don’t know what Elderflower is, but I sure like it in drinks! Jennie had the Shiso Cucumber Martini – fresh & delish!

Besides the good food, good vibe, and good service, I’d also like to note that the restaurant’s owner is extremely friendly and totally not solicitous, just a business owner who wants to make sure his patrons are enjoying themselves.

--JB

Rating: 4 Martinis