After running some errands downtown, the boyfriend and I decided to check out the Happy Hour at the Hard Rock Cafe since we’d had a good time at the Yelp Rock Star Elite Event we’d been to the week before. Happy Hour runs until 7PM Monday through Friday, so it’s a good choice if you can’t hit one of the earlier happy hours downtown. Draft beers are 50% off (under $3), Washington wines are $5, and I believe $3.50 wells. The starters menu is also 50% off during happy hour (except for the Jumbo Combo).
So to start things off, Mike went with a pint of Longhammer IPA. I chose the Maryhill pinot gris. I will say they pour a generous glass of wine for $5!
As we were quite hungry, we ordered three appetizers starting with the potato skins. Each item was around $5, ($10~ish non-happy hour price) so we wanted to make sure we got enough food. With happy hours, you never know if they will be full portions or ‘happy hour’ portions.
The potato skins were very tasty and were cooked just right. The bottoms of the skins were crispy but not overdone, and the potato itself wasn’t dried out. And the bacon on top was sweet and smokey! Combined with the melted cheese and green onions, it was one of the best potato skins I’ve had in a bar!
Then came the hot wings, a bar food that often disappoints. For $5 during Happy Hour, you get 10 juicy, meaty Hickory Smoked Chicken Wings. We opted for the classic buffalo style this time to see what the ‘baseline’ chicken wing was like. Next time, we may branch out to the Heavy Metal or Tangy Bar-B-Que sauces!
I was quite impressed with the wings. They were each a decent size, and the chicken was moist and flavorful. The buffalo sauce was a great balance of spicy, vinegary, and salty. Oftentimes, I find hot wing sauce is too salty; but I quite enjoyed these wings!
And to end things, we decided to try the Santa Fe Spring Rolls. I was expecting more of a thick egg roll wrapper as I’ve had this type of thing in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised when the dish came out. They actually use a thin spring roll wrapper, so the dish while fried wasn’t too heavy. The spring rolls were filled with spinach, black beans, cilantro, corn, jalapeños, diced red peppers and Jack cheese. I think the spinach in the rolls really added a creamy texture and a unique flavor that really made this quite an enjoyable dish. And another great deal at $5 during Happy Hour!
All in all, the Hard Rock Cafe happy hour is a good choice if you’re downtown looking for decent drinks and good bar food. The two bartenders we had serve us (Tony at the Yelp event, and Jeremy at the bar during HH) were both awesome, so the service is a plus as well! And in the summer, it’s even better if you snag a spot on the rooftop!
Does it come with bacon? 