Spoonful

3413 Cahuenga Blvd W 

Los Angeles CA 90068 

323-512-4800

www.spoonfulrestaurant.com
twitter.com/SpoonfulLA

Parking: Parking lot that’s sometimes valet and sometimes free (yippee!!), also metered street parking 

Days: Daily 

Times: 4-6pm and 10pm-close 

Drink Deals: $2 off all drinks

Food Deals: $6 Appetizers

Daytime and Nightime Happy Hours!

Henry’s Hat is gone. Long live Spoonful! Or something like that since they don’t feel all that different… That’s not a bad thing as JG and I always loved the multi-space set-up at Henry’s Hat. Both bars feature cozy small group dining areas, a nice bar with high-top tables and plenty of hi-def televisions for your sporting needs, and Spoonful even has a very cute lounge that I would totally bring a book to read at (while sipping on a mint julep, but of course!). 

 

The decor has a "masculine Gone with the Wind vibe!"

The change came about when Henry’s Hat changed ownership – from Luna Park’s AJ Gilbert to Frank Foley. The latter shuttered Henry’s Hat, updated the décor with what’s described as a “masculine Gone with the Wind Vibe” (thanks EaterLA for the apropos description!) and created a new Southern cookin’ menu – both food & drank (think Fried Green Tomatoes, Braised Pork Belly and the aforementioned Mint Julep).

Nice natural lighting!

The Happy Hour menu is pretty swell – all appetizers are $6 (they’ll normally run you anywhere from $6-12) and all drinks are $2 off. I’d say the food deal is better with potential $6 savings, but I feel like the drinks are still a bit pricey with specialty cocktails still costing $10 (down from $12 during non-HH). That said, the $2 savings put wines in the $7-9 range and draft beers around $4. 

Plus, they’ve got a sh*t ton of bourbons and whiskeys that HH discounts $7-12. Not bad, y’all! Longtime Happy Hour Tour friend Booze and I popped in Spoonful after an afternoon shopping and seeing a movie at Universal City, ready to get our Happy Hour fill from the exciting menu. For vittles, we had:

 

 Feast for Southern Royalty  

(descriptions below - running counterclockwise from top left)

-- Buffalo Shrimp ($6, normally $12) – Fried plump Gulf shrimp tossed in buffalo sauce with celery root puree and house made Ranch dressing. I’d never had buffalo shrimp before; they were pretty tasty as was the celery root puree that I want to try to make myself!

-- Sweet Potato Fries (from the $5 side menus) – These bad boys were awesome and served with a little aioli with curry undertones? Definitely share-able! 

-- Fried Green Tomatoes ($6, normally $7) – Cornmeal crusted and served with a spicy remoulade and micro cilantro. No Southern-fried Happy Hour would be complete without fried green tomatoes and these didn’t disappoint! 

-- Dixieland Salad ($6, normally $7) – Field greens, red onions, fresh strawberries, slivered almonds and bleu cheese. We totes enjoyed this sharing size appetizer salad with the right mix of fruity and savory.

On the drinks end, Booze ordered a traditional sidecar ($10 during HH), which was traditionally strong, and notably served with a big ball of ice – all the better to melt slowly in your sidecar! I went for the Mannish Boy ($10 during HH), mainly because I liked the name (not really, though I don’t think Boyish Man would be that much better?), a summery cocktail featuring Hendricks Gin, St. Germain, Crispin Apple Cider, muddled cucumbers, and lime juice.

Mannish Boy and Old Fashioned ($10 each)

Given the high alcoholic content of our first round, we opted to share one last cocktail and got the dessert-like Texas Flood ($10 during HH), a Tanteo Cocoa Infused Tequila based martini/margarita cocktail. I dig cocoa-tequila, but could see where this might not be everyone’s cup of… tequila! 

We finished the night with another “Can’t Leave a Southern Restaurant Without Eating This” – Pecan Pie served with Bourbon-flavored ice cream. Soooooooo good! Sweeter than sweet, but delicious! And not on HH pricing, but only $8 - not too bad.

Pecan Pie ($8)

The HH menu is definitely Good for Dinner, though HH runs from 4-6 and after 10pm daily – so you’ll either be eating an early or late dinner. Let me recommend early so you can spend the evening digesting all the delicious bites!! 

Ain't that the truth? 

-- JB 

Rating: 4.5 Martinis