happy hour Archives - Page 2 of 3

Joey Burnaby – Happy Hour

July 16, 2020

Good ol’ Joey’s, many good times were had here. I’ve written a couple of reviews over the years on Joey’s, but thought I’d write another one on their happy hour.

I don’t think I’ve gone to happy hour the whole year due to the pandemic, how much I’ve missed happy hour. Sangria and I usually go to Cactus Club, but we found out that they changed their happy hour to 2-5pm so we went to Joey’s instead.

Sangria: Sangria and I started off with a sangria each. This was a pretty good deal at $5, but there was barely any alcohol in it. My Asian flush is pretty bad, I always get red after a few sips of alcohol… and my tolerance is low as well. In addition, Sangria gets red after drinking too.

However, we both felt nothing nor did we taste any alcohol in this. So while it was a delicious drink, it was more like a juice.

California Chicken Club: It’s been awhile since I had their chicken club, and it did not disappoint! The chicken club came with grilled chicken breast, cheese avocado, bacon, and arugula. I’m a huge fan of arugula in burgers and pizza, and it was fresh and crispy here.

Sushi cone: I’ve had the sushi cone many times and loved it, so Sangria decided to try it. The sushi cone came with prawn tempura, avocado, spicy mayo, and tobiko. The regular price is a bit pricey and not really worth it, so ordering it at happy hour is a better choice.

Yam fries: The yam fries came out piping hot and fresh! Sangria had no complaints about this.

Even though Joey’s was not our first choice for happy hour, we left pretty satisfied. The service was very attentive and friendly as well. Joey’s never disappoints.

Cactus Club North Burnaby – Revisit

January 29, 2020

Konnichiwa from Osaka, Japan! The fiance and I are back in Japan! I have a backlog of food posts though in my absence. Stay tuned for Japan posts next month!

Cactus Club is a restaurant that I frequent often, whether it is for happy hour or dinner! I thought I would have written another review on Cactus since I come here so often, so I was surprised when I found out the last reviews were from 2014! The fiance (boyfriend back then) wrote a guest post for me, and then I wrote a review on the Coal Harbour location.

Over the years, Cactus has changed their menu by adding new items. Sangria and I came for their happy hour during the holidays. Cactus is our go to restaurant for happy hour because the prices are great and the food is tasty.

Passionfruit bellini: I love the cocktails here! My current favourite is the passionfruit bellini. I’m a huge fan of passionfruit so this hit the spot perfectly.

Blackened Creole chicken: The blackened Creole chicken is a chicken breast grilled with Cajun spices and Creole butter. The chicken was incredibly tender, juicy, and flavourful as usual. The butter made it taste even better and richer.

As if the chicken wasn’t enough, the side of mashed potatoes was tasty too. I could see some people thinking it may be too salty, but we found it absolutely delicious.

The Creole chicken was a few dollars cheaper at happy hour, even though the size was the same. It’s a great deal and relatively new addition to the happy hour menu, I haven’t seen it in previous years.

Pesto chicken quesadilla: Sangria and I also split a pesto chicken quesadilla. The quesadilla was cheesy with a nice amount of juicy, sliced chicken in it. The cranberries were a very nice touch and kept it exciting!

Truffle fries: We can not go to happy hour, and not order their truffle fries! They came piping hot and crispy as usual. The truffle oil gives the fries a wonderful aroma and taste.

The bad things about this location are that parking is quite difficult depending on when you go. Parking was never an issue but the last few times, I found the lot to be full and had to circle around a few times.

As well, service can be hit or miss. Sometimes, it is hard to waive the server down and seems like they just disappeared.

Earl’s – Happy Hour Revisit

September 29, 2018

Over the weekend, we met up with Macaroni and Cheese for happy hour at Earl’s. We have been here a couple times before, but I didn’t write about it since we ordered the same things as the first post I wrote last year.

Drinks: The happy hour specials at Earl’s are definitely a great value. We each ordered a drink, which I forgot to take a photo of. I had the rose sangria which was sweet and sugary, reminiscent of a pink lemonade. However, I would recommend ordering it with light ice because half the wine glass was ice.

Earl’s Chorizo Nachos: At first, we weren’t sure whether or not the nachos would be enough for 4 people because it seemed pretty cheap ($10 compared to most places, where nachos are $15+). Luckily, it was a good portion for snacking and we all enjoyed it.

The nachos reminded us of chili, like if you put chili over some nacho chips. There was a lot of chorizo sausage and a decent amount of ripe avocado, but it could have used more cheese. It was a good choice and I wouldn’t mind sharing it again.

Margherita pizza: Last time when Cocoa ordered this, it was disappointing but Macaroni was craving some pizza that day, so we all shared it too. It looked sad and small, but taste wise, it wasn’t bad.

The price increased from $3.50 to $4.00 since last year which is not surprising as the cost of materials and living continue to rise. However, if the price keeps on slowly creeping up, it definitely would not be worth it based on the size.

Yam fries: Surprisingly, I’m not a huge fan of yam fries so I didn’t have any. However, the rest of them did not have any complaints about it.

Garlic fries: I forgot to take a photo of the garlic fries! Last time, I remember that the garlic fries were disappointing and not garlicky at all. Well, this time, it was a lot better because there was a huge amount of crushed garlic! We ended up ordering another bowl of these to share, and all wounded up with garlic breath afterwards! LOL!

As in my last post, I mentioned that the happy hour items are a bit hit and miss… in this visit, we enjoyed all of the dishes, which is making me think that they are inconsistent. For example, the garlic fries last time barely had any garlic, but this time, there was a huge amount. I would say don’t come with extremely high expectations because you won’t know if they’re having an off day or not.

I find service here spotty too, it is either really good, or really slow.

But if you just want a place for cheap drinks, then Earl’s is the place to go!

Yay!

Ebisu – Revisit

July 22, 2018

A couple years ago, I did a review on my first visit to Ebisu. Since then, Ebisu has become one of mine and the boyfriend’s place to go for happy hour. We have brought numerous people here to try it because we love it so much! I figured it was finally time to do a revisit post of the go-to items.

The location that we go to is the Broadway one. There is metered street parking which is easy to find at night. If you’re lucky, you can also score one of the free street parking spots!

Virgin strawberry slush, $4: I don’t order a drink each time, but when I do, I always get the strawberry slush. It is sweet like strawberry syrup and has bits of strawberry pulp throughout. It doesn’t taste super artificial because they add some strawberries in there.

Chicken karage, $5.99: This is the boyfriend’s must order. The chicken karage is always AMAZING. It always comes out piping out and fresh. The batter is crispy while the inside is very juicy. Squeezing the fresh lemon slice on top makes it taste even better!

Takoyaki, $5.99: The takoyaki is my must order. Just like the karage, it always comes out fresh. The outside is crispy while the inside is nice and doughy.

We ordered this at the Richmond location once and it wasn’t as good and crispy.

Salmon and avocado roll, $4.25: Ebisu has higher prices for Japanese food, but the happy hour is very cheap and affordable. The salmon and avocado roll is always fresh. The avocado is ripe and buttery too.

Ebisu happy hour is an amazing deal compared to their regular prices. We’ve been to dinner here as well, but find that happy hour is the way to go because it’s cheaper. It’s a good place to enjoy some snacks with friends after a long work week!

Also, if you’re into drinks, Ebisu has quite the drink selection! They have many different types of cocktails which we see other people drinking. The downtown Ebisu is more popular for getting lit though, because the Broadway location closes at 11, and last call is 10-10:30.

Food: The Flying Pig – Revisit

May 12, 2018

About three years ago, the boyfriend wrote a guest post on our disappointing dinner at The Flying Pig. Since then, I have had happy hour a couple times and my opinion of The Flying Pig has drastically improved! I also wrote about happy hour at their Gastown location a few years ago.

Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) mussels, $6.50: The mussels were an average size, not too small but not that big either. The white wine garlic broth was really good. They’re a nice snack to share.

Truffle jumbo mac & cheese, $6.75: This is what keeps me coming back! It is a must try for their happy hour and my favourite item on their menu. Although there is no meat, it’s very creamy from all the dairy and also aromatic from the truffle oil!

Classic poutine, $7.50: The boyfriend loves his poutine, and this was no different. There was a very generous portion of melted cheese which made it taste very good!

I would recommend going for happy hour rather than the dinner. The happy hour is a lot cheaper and the food is better too. It’s a good place to go on a sunny afternoon because you can take a lovely stroll around Olympic Village afterwards!

Yay!