Bar Bouchon

235 N. Canon Dr.

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

310.281.5698 www.bouchonbistro.com twitter.com/BouchonBH

Parking: Nearby Public Parking Lots offer 2-hours of free parking or $5 Flat Fee after 6pm

Days: Monday-Friday

Time: 4-7pm
Drink Deals: $4 Anderson Valley Brew Co. Oatmeal Stout, $5 White Apron Pilsner, $5 Wines, & $7 Spirits
Food Deals: $2-8 Bar Bites

There’s something about Beverly Hills that just always makes me think of the 80’s. Perhaps it’s because so many great movies & shows took place there during that decade of excess – Pretty Woman, Troop Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Teens, etc. Perhaps, it’s also because as a child of the 80’s, I associate Beverly Hills with my lifelong goal to be rich. Seriously. I had a poster in my room that read “What I want to be when I grow up… RICH.” You don’t have to be rich to check out Happy Hour in Beverly Hills, but it may help if you are. The deals are there, but I’m still looking for something that’s just right.

On a Happy Hour Tour of Canon Drive, JB & I started out at Bar Bouchon. It was everything a tourist may assume Beverly Hills to be – super blond housewives gossiping over wine, men in suits wheeling & dealing, tourists taking it all in … and then, us who could have easily been mistaken for tourists given our happy hour map and constant snapping of photos. We had good reason to take many photos though. Bar Bouchon’s interior has an amazing, yet small, vintage style bar that can sit just a few people. That’s ok because there are many tables & chairs outside with a great view of the courtyard. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a whole lot of order to the bar.

Cute interior

...but all the action is outside.

The staff would smile as they passed but no one and no signs directed us to a hostess stand. It was only when we asked that we were told that we could seat ourselves. Beverly Hills locals are clearly fond of the bar because we got the last table available outside. Once we got happy hour menus, we had to wait quite a bit to place an order. There were a lot of bus boys, but only one waiter for such a busy time of the Tuesday after work rush. I wondered why Bar Bouchon doesn’t promote one of the bus boys to waiter to make things flow better. Perhaps someone called in sick that day? Due to the wait time, we ordered only one drink and a couple bites.

For drinks, JB had the Anderson Valley Brew Co. Oatmeal Stout ($4), a pleasant, rich chocolate-y ale. I ordered a glass of their white wine ($5). I’m not sure what type of wine it was, and it was far too busy to ask, but I did know that it was a nice, dry white wine though that quenched my thirst. For bar bites, we ordered the hummus & pita ($5) that is not listed for happy hour, but can be found on the regular menu. JB also ordered the truffle popcorn ($5.50). The food was just enough to keep us full until our next happy hour.

$5.50 Truffle Popcorn

$5 Hummus & Pita

Unfortunately, I doubt I’ll be back at this happy hour. While the food and drinks were good, there wasn’t anything outstanding enough to make me return for the wait.

-JG

Rating: 2.5 Martinis