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| - I am surprised how this hidden bar in "downtown Ocotillo" is absolutely never empty. The decor is simple, the ambiance is nice and the general atmosphere is swanky and upscale. Read: my 20-something year old friends would never pay for the stuff here.
But- their happy hour, though 11-6pm (seriously who stops happy hour at 6pm?) is pretty decent and worth checking out when in the area. Its location is the greatest blessing AND curse: if you work in OC, its a great bar at almost-walking distance, but SINCE you work in OC, you're likely to bump into coworkers and managers from your office... often sipping on cocktails with ladies other than their wives.
Oh dear.. look away, pretend you never saw each other.
Social awkwardness aside, I have been pretty pleased by the accommodations at The Living Room. When I organized a 20+ people happy hour here, they were able to reserve the community table for me and extend the happy hour until 7pm (not a hard bargain for them). Our server was suuuuuper slow, which although understandable for the crazy packed venue, was still quite annoying.
Their cocktails are a tad pricey but decently put together and tasty. Out of their food, probably the best thing on the damn menu is the caprese dish: fresh mozzarella served with pesto, cherry tomatoes, aged balsamic reduction and toasted bread - super simple, incredibly delicious. Their bruschettas were tasty but nothing to yell about: the roasted red pepper hummus was standard (hummus and bread, we've all tried it) and the olive tapenade was a bit better, but nothing you can't make at home. Their pinwheel rolls were A-OK but the cider vinaigrette was beyond terrible and did not go well with the tortilla bread and sandwich contents. yuk. Finally, their fondue is simple and nice (at $10) but I think the ratio of dipping items to cheese was a little off. Read: we need more cheese. More cheese!!
A solid 4 stars after multiple visits. I think you can have a great evening if you come here for drinks and make educated menu decisions (not everything is going to be tasty, but that will happen everywhere you go). Its a 5 stars in atmosphere, 2 in speed of service and a 3 in food... Yeah, i'm terribly picky.
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