Velvet Margarita Cantina

1612 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 469-2000
www.velvetmargarita.com/vmc.html
twitter.com/VMCHOLLYWOOD

Parking: Valet Parking and metered street parking or Hollywood lots
Days: DailyTimes: All da time
Drink Deals: $5 margaritas during the week, $6 on weekends; $5 draft beers (Newcastle, Hefeweizen, Amstel Light, Stella Artois, Bud and Heineken), $5 bottled beers (Tecati, Bohemia, Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Amber, Bud Light) Food Deals: No specific HH deals, but trust us – you’ll love the $8 Nachos de Sancho!

Here’s a secret for hitting up Velvet Margarita on a budget – don’t do a fancy dinner in the regular dining section. Get cheaper drinks at the bar and order an appetizer to share. Take everything outside on the back patio if you’re so inclined.

$5 margaritas ($6 on Fri/Sat)

First things first… technically Velvet Margarita doesn’t have an official Happy Hour. However, they do offer $5 draft & tap beers as well as low-ish priced margaritas to be ordered at the bar every day - all the time. On weekdays, the regular margarita will run you $5. On weekends, you’ll pay $6. Not the cheapest margaritas we’ve had during Happy Hour, but they are pretty good and really, you’re paying for awesome ambiance at either the bar or on the back smoker’s patio (boo on smoking, but we get smoking patios).

Nachos de Sancho (enough to share for $8)!

There’s also a nice food selection including some of the most delicious nacho’s you’ll eat during Happy Hour – the Nachos de Sancho (a slow-baked combination of tomato-basil chips with Velvet Margarita’s jalapeno bean dip, onions, three cheeses, topped with guacamole) that cost $8 and easily feed 2 people. Seriously, I can eat a lot, but these nachos are ideal for sharing. This is good because Velvet Margarita is a terrific spot to meet up for a date – with a friend or date-date.

Ambiance

I’ve been there with both JG and also with a date-date and the spot has just the right amount of kitsch, classic, and modern style with its inside black Dios de los Muertos décor (and the weird telenovela crime movies they project above the bar) and the outside murals of ancient gods highlighted with dancing disco balls to elevate the scene just above the regular old bars you might hit in the vicinity.So if you need a fun, kinda fancy, not-too-clubby spot to hang with a pal or a date-date, you just call them up and tell them to meet you at Velvet Margarita! Boom. Done. Deal!

--JB

Rating: 3.5 Martinis