By: Maren Swanson • August 16th, 2014
If you've ever been to Fatty's Public House on La Cienega, then be aware that the West Hollywood venue has a new name: Open Air Bar & Kitchen. So as you can imagine, the roof top still opens up, but the name, the menu and a few other things seem to be the only visible changes. I checked out their happy hour the other day because I wanted to know if it was worthy of a return visit and because, well, their entire happy hour menu is $4. Mud Hen Tavern was one of my favorite $4 happy hours in town, but I've heard they started changing their prices, so naturally I'm going to check out Open Air Kitchen & Bar, especially since it's closer to my joint.
My guy and I walked into Open Air Kitchen & Bar in West Hollywood last Friday and the interior looked exactly as it had before when it was Fatty's. The old Hollywood-style painted mural still stood erect and the layout remainded the same, too. The place was about a third full and with the weather being so nice out, we took a table near the entrance to fully appreciate the open air roof above us. Happy hour at Open Air Kitchen & Bar is offered Monday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sure enough, everything on the happy hour was $4, and if it weren't for us having dinner plans later, we probably would have ordered every dish on it. $4 drink options include Champagne, red or white wine by the glass, Budweiser or Bud Light bottles, a rotating draft beer and well drinks.
I started with the Champagne (I'm guessing it's a Cava of some sort) and my guy with a bourbon and Coke. We ordered 3 dishes off the happy hour menu: truffle fries, the burger and the Mac & Cheese. For $4, the presentation on every dish was very nice. I didn't order the happy hour hummus, but my neighbor's dish looked like I probably should have; the pita on her plate with the hummus looked puffed, spiced and very appealing. The truffle fries were decent, however I didn't really taste much truffle flavor and they weren't very cripsy. The Mac & Cheese was served in an bigger oval dish and topped with breadcrumbs and cheese. Value wise, the Mac & Cheese portion size was great but the flavors seemed a little "safe" for my taste.
The real stand-out for me on the happy hour menu is the burger. It's not a slider size, it's about double that, topped with melted cheddar, caramelized onions, arugula, tomato and served on a toasted bun. In addition to the burger being cooked to the desired temperature that I ordered, it tasted great. Warm meat juice, nice textures, gooey cheese and the optional pickle garnish insert on top made for a great burger - and yes, for only 4 freakin' dollars. I ended up going with one of their rotating happy hour draft beers that paired perfectly with the burger, so that was another plus.
Our server was very friendly, although once again, I wish they would have given us a last call for happy hour. You get to talking and enjoying your food and the last thing you want to do is keep taking a look at you watch to make the cut-off order time. Will I return to Open Air Kitchen & Bar? Yes, you had me at $4, and next time you better believe I'm ordering the entire other half of the happy hour menu, so there may be a follow-up to this post. I also heard that on Monday nights they have an industry night and happy hour is served all night (plus, $6 Ketel and Jameson), so definitely call and ask about that. For another peek into our happy hour at Open Kitchen & Bar, check out my video re-cap below!
XXOO,
Maren
West Hollywood, California 90046
(310) 854-0756
