August 2, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Review: A Santa Monica Restaurant’s New Happy Hour is Top-Notch

By Dolores Quintana

Birdie G’s in Santa Monica has a new Happy Hour and it is something special. For one thing, it really is only an hour. It lasts from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the “Bird’s Nest” portion of the restaurant. What’s really special about it is that the restaurant is serving some really super appetizers and drink specials for reasonable prices as well as offering some more substantial dishes for a bit more. 

I did sample some of the dishes at the restaurant and I was amazed by how good they really were. They range between $5 and $15 but they are nothing like what you would expect at your typical happy hour. I tried the Vernors-Baked Ham & Pickled Melon and it was wonderful. What made it so good was the fact that the melon was pickled which gave the dish a sour flavor that enhanced the taste of Vernor’s ham. I am not a melon person, but when I tried the ham and melon snack, I was hooked. It is like the traditional prosciutto e melone, but with a twist of pickling the melon which raised it to another level. On the menu, you can also find Whipped Avocado with Fried Matzo, Kippered Sable Terrine with Crispy Potato Waffles, three kinds of fries (Reuben Fries, Caesar Fries and Fries & Aioli) and Lavender Almonds, I didn’t try any of those, but I definitely would like to visit again so I could. 

At the same time, I was treated to Bar Manager Stephanie Reading’s creation Staycation Summer with lime, kumquat, strawberry brandy and tequila which will only set you back about $12.00, its one of the drink specials, and it’s a really solid drink. Light with fruit accents and a little tequila punch with a crust of Tajin and salt on the outside of the glass which makes it look great. You can also find Reading’s Chamomile Lavender Lemonade Mocktail for $4, if you want to stay sober and $6.00 glasses of craft beer. But there’s more, Sommelier Kobi Tsesarsky has assembled a variety of planet-friendly, $12 glasses of wine. 

The next dish was the ACG Caesar salad and it was a treat. It is gem lettuce, anchovy, garlic, capers, and an egg yolk bottarga which will cost about $19.00. While eating the salad, I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, but suddenly the salad came together and I realized that the reason my taste buds didn’t know how to cope with the salad was that this was a genuine Caesar, not the faux version that you so often find in grocery stores or grab and go. It had little crispy anchovies which lent that true Caesar dressing flavor. The croutons were fantastic. Usually, when you eat a crouton, you might want to be careful not to chip a tooth. These croutons were fresh and lightly crispy on the outside. Perfect.

Next up was the Weiser Farms Potatoes, priced at $15, with Mt. Tam cheese sauce and truffle butter layered with basil leaves, I think. This was another decadent choice that really hit the spot. The delicate cheese sauce hit the truffle butter with the velvety soft potatoes and the greens. Absolutely dynamite. So simple, but so comforting. 

The most amazing dish to me was the corned beef tongue. Yes, I know what you are thinking, ew tongue. I had a bad experience as a child where I was tricked into eating some really chewy, boiled beef tongue which wasn’t very appetizing and put me off of tongue for most of my life. This dish is corned beef tongue, delicately sliced extremely thin and cooked lightly, with cornichon de bourbonne, clusters of mustard seeds and lovage. One of the hallmarks of the snacks during this happy hour that I tried is that they are all very light, but extremely flavorful, comforting but still satisfying. I was on my fourth dish, but I wasn’t feeling weighed down or overly full. The corned beef tongue was the lightest dish of them all. With the tenderness of corned beef tongue together with the gentle flavors of the accent ingredients, I was wowed. I never wanted to eat tongue again after that chewy nightmare, but I would eat this dish at Birdie G’s again in a heartbeat. 

Finally, I had dessert, and once again, I was won over by what is called the World Famous Rose Petal Pie. I think that these menu options are outside of the Happy Hour menu, but only the drinks are bit more expensive than the Happy Hour options. The other desserts are the malted chocolate layer cake, the empress date bundt cake, the peach and basil rice pudding, and their homemade ice cream, but I really felt that I needed to go with the ultimate favorite dessert and what they are known for. It was the right choice. The Rose Petal Pie is like an aspic suspension, but the consistency is very soft and the flavors are delightful, a fruity combination of raspberry, rose and hibiscus with a slightly salty pretzel crust that is highly complimentary. I would have to pronounce it a pie favorite of mine after enjoying it thoroughly. The dessert ranged in price from $7.00 to $14.00, for the Rose Petal pie.

Finally, I had a choice of two after-dinner drinks and I had to complement the bar director personally because the imagination and taste combinations in the bar drinks were truly on point and in harmony with the overall theme of light and flavorful that the happy hour was working. The choices were Not Your Mother’s Grandmother’s Grasshopper, which I found highly interesting as a bit of a connoisseur of classic cocktails and the nitro average brew. I had to go for the coffee-based cocktail though. I will save the grasshopper for another visit. The nitro average brew is cafe luxxe coffee, St. George coffee liqueur, creme de cacao la Vanille, creme de banana, Anejo tequila and mezcal. It comes covered and when you are ready, the server whips the top off and a cloud of smoke rises from the drink. Very impressive and Instagrammable. It’s also light and delicious which is a difficult feat to achieve with mezcal, but Reading managed to do that somehow. Mezcal is a very distinctly smoky spirit, but Reading managed to merge the flavors in the drink so that no one flavor outshined the other.

Birdie G’s new Happy Hour comes with a high recommendation from this reviewer. Light delicate flavors that satisfy and are so comforting in a really welcoming atmosphere. Don’t miss out. You can peruse their menu here. The happy hour menu has a lot of really delicious options and you could visit multiple times and not get bored. Certainly, you would be dining at a Happy Hour that is a cut above most in the city.

Related Posts

Last Call: Culver City Wants Your Input in Hiring Its Next City Manager

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Public Survey Open Through August 1 Invites Residents to Weigh In As Culver City begins its search for a new...

1,000 Additional National Guard Troops Withdrawn From LA as Federal Presence Continues to Shrink

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

National Guard Presence in Los Angeles Slashed Again Amid Ongoing Rollback Roughly an additional 1,000 National Guard troops have been...

Luxury Watches Stolen From Keanu Reeves Recovered in Chile, To Be Returned to Actor

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Six Rolex Watches Worth Over $120,000 Were Seized in Santiago Police Raid Six high-end watches stolen from actor Keanu Reeves’...

Aging Mindfully: Zen-Inspired Senior Living Takes Shape in Simi Valley

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Two Zen-inspired senior living communities are embracing the reality of aging — consciously. Ensō Village, open since 2023 in Sonoma County,...

Trio of Suspects Busted in $50K Beauty Heist at Culver City Store

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Burglars Try to Flee, But Culver City PD Catches All ThreePolice arrested three suspects late Sunday night following a break-in...

Lulu Hosts Summer Tardeada With Guest Chef From Oakland’s Bombera

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros Joins Alice Waters for a Courtyard Celebration Lulu, the acclaimed restaurant located at the Hammer Museum, will...

Film Review: Together

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

By Dolores Quintana Dave Franco and Alison Brie, a married couple in real life, star in Michael Shanks’ gruesomely passionate...

Heidi Klum’s Tropical Erewhon Smoothie Drops Just in Time for Summer

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

Supermodel’s Limited-Edition Drink Blends Kiwi, Coconut, and Matcha Erewhon has debuted its newest celebrity smoothie collaboration, this time with supermodel...

‘Challahboration’ Hits Culver City with Sausage-Stuffed Treats and French Cruller Flair

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

Nyletta, Nyletta and Challah Dad Serve Summer Sizzle in Culver City A limited-run culinary collaboration is coming to Hi-Lo Liquor...

UCLA Agrees to $6.1 Million Settlement Over Alleged Discrimination During Campus Protests

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

Faculty Group Argued Protest Wasn’t Antisemitic; Judge Approval Still Pending UCLA will pay more than $6 million to settle a...

Tsunami Advisory Issued for Los Angeles Coast After 8.7 Quake Near Russia

July 29, 2025

July 29, 2025

Strong Currents, Surges Expected; Residents Urged to Avoid Beaches and Harbors Update from NWS Los Angeles at 6:50 a.m. “Latest...

Brazen Wheel Thieves Hit Beverly Grove, Hollywood Neighborhoods

July 29, 2025

July 29, 2025

Early-Morning Thefts Leave Cars on Blocks; Residents Coordinate  Los Angeles police are investigating a growing number of wheel thefts reported...

Westchester Del Rey Stuns Tucson With 11-Run Inning to Reach World Series

July 29, 2025

July 29, 2025

 Westside Team Heads to Greenville, North Carolina to Compete for Glory  Westchester Del Rey Little League is headed to the...

Felony Charges Dropped for Man in UCLA Encampment Attack After Diversion Deal

July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025

Malachi Marlan-Librett Must Complete Therapy, Anti-bias Training in Hate Crime Case The only person charged with a felony in connection...

Fiesta La Ballona Returns to Culver City With Rides, Food, and Family Fun

July 28, 2025

July 28, 2025

Discounted Unlimited Ride Wristbands Now Available Online Fiesta La Ballona is set to return to Veterans Memorial Park on August...