The Emerald Hour

Stopped by with a friend in a bit of a hurry for a quick drink on a Thursday evening (~6PM) before a concert at Shoreline. There was a sign near the bar entrance that said "Closed for private event", but the folks hosting were very helpful and let us know the section in front of the bar was still open to the public, just not the seating towards the back of the bar. There was room at the bar, with two bartenders deftly handling parties on both sides. Our bartender (didn't catch his name) was very friendly and helpful, providing us with attentive service and some great drink recommendations! We ended up ordering two appetizers and a drink apiece - all delicious! Appetizers: * Pan con tomate (tomato bread) - sadly no longer on the menu, but super delicious! Roasty toasty bread with a generous drizzle of olive oil, and an herbaceous tomato spread on top* Chicken croquettes - Also super tasty! Bite sized morsels with great texture - not too greasy, not too dry, not too crunchy, etc. The chicken was juicy and tender, A+. Drinks: * I honestly don't remember what they were and I think they rotated off the menu, but they were both amazing. Rest assured if you don't know what you want, the bartenders will help you figure it out.

Sat down at the bar top, gorgeous setting, didn't realize that it was connected to the hotel. It was myself and my friend and we were greeted almost right away. We ordered a Cold Brew martini and a Paloma Punch, which were tasty. Cocktails were $19 each (pretty hefty for even a craft cocktail), otherwise we may have opted to do another round.The 20% gratuity took me bit by surprise, for 2 drinks and one dessert; spent over $60. Probably won't be back.

3.5 STARSDate; Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024Time: around 5pmParty of: 2Meal: Dinner*Chicken Croquetas: traditional spanish fritter, curtido and spanish ham ($17)*Cavatelli: handmade pasta, early summer vegetables, wild green garlic pesto, burrata, and spicy tru e honey ($37)*BASQUE CHEESECAKE: basque style cheesecake, compressed mango, passionfruit curd, graham cracker crumble ($12)*COFFEE MARTINI: wheatley vodka w/cocoa nib, st. george nola, california sherry, marcona almond orgeat, cold brew ($19)*SPARKLING: NV Bohigas, Cava, Brut Reserve, Catalunya, Spain ($15)A girlfriend and I were going to a concert at Shoreline. Since we were running early, we decided to park at the amphitheater and walk to grab some food. After some quick searching, we decided to take the 15 min walk to The Emerald Hour. This spot is basically the hotel lobby bar, so just walk to The Shashi Hotel entrance and you'll see a door that says The Emerald Hour / Broma Restaurant. My CC bill was charged to Broma, so I'm pretty sure Emerald is the bar area and Broma is the dining room. The bar menu seems to be a smaller version of the restaurant menu.Food and drink at Shoreline was going to be expensive, so this was comparable. The portions are small so good for variety and sharing. I wasn't super hungry, but I was thirsty, so I tried a cocktail. I'm more of a spirit forward girl, so this was a lil light for me. But nicely balanced for a cocktail in general. Second beverage was a glass of bubbles which was a healthy pour.Service was pretty good. I did have to ask for a few things a couple of times, but I'm not too strict and judgey about that. One thing to note, they do charge an automatic 20% gratuity. It doesn't look like it was subject to sales tax, so that was nice.Decent place to grab some food and drink before heading to Shoreline. Pricey, but there not much around that's walkable.REVIEW #3482

I loved it friendly staff, really good desert . They have the best service and I just love it's location

The seasonal pumpkin spice cocktail was worth the wait! Light pumpkin spice was well-balanced within the cocktail. Highly recommend even if you're not a regular pumpkin spice drinker like me. Service was attentive and kind. Ambiance is classy and well maintained; great aesthetic. Cheers!

Came here for the Janet concert. And tbh, I was a bit disappointed. First the +, service was quick. The ambiance was nice. Second, food was average. We order the some appetizers and a the Crazy thing is the 20% gratuity was already added regardless of the number in your party. But, their was a sentence on the menu that said they "would gladly removed the 20% gratuity... Seriously? Anyway would I come here again... not sure...

Food was good. Service was below average. Venue was bad.The bar is the overflow when restaurant Bromo is full. Same Bromo restaurant menu, but in a bar setting. They'll serve you in the lobby too, with an industrial exposed concrete chic. I wasn't a fan. Lots of echo, lots of hotel foot traffic.// Appetizers+ House bread and olive oil, $8. Unusually good bread, served with flaked salt. Carby goodness. + Olives. Salty goodness- Risotto with pinenuts. You can get it with truffles shavings on top, at $4/gram. Not sure exactly how much a gram of truffle shavings is, but it covered the little bowl of risotto. It was kind of tasteless.// Mains+ Green Lentils and Spring Vegtables. Decent hunk of polenta, topped with nicely cooked veggies. The lentils were added as a second thought but weren't good as the veggies. + Salisbury Wagyu Burger. Yes, it was a burger. You could taste the Wagyu. And it had Salisbury meatloaf texture. Kind of strange combination. But what made it work was the gooey mushroom gravy and aoli. It was a messy meal, but worth the $22.// Service- Snobby. Wouldn't seat us despite empty tables. Had to sit in lobby. Where we underdressed? Service there was dismissive, and the guy look uninterested in talking us.- Knowledge. Couldn't answer our questions. Was fish sustainable? (It was not). We had to resort to yelp to get descriptions of items.- Accuracy. Ordered risotto with the truffle topping. It came out without truffles. I think it was intentional.I hate paying $20 tip for horrible service, but it was a date night and I didn't want to seem cheap. And I guess rude servers need to eat too.

Amazing chocolate mousse cake dessert for $12. Would definitely come back for this. Good texture mousse with a nice KitKat-like crust, some malt, light cream. Tequila and mezcal old fashion with chocolate mole bitters was good, but a bit pricey for $19. Couldn't really taste the mezcal smokeyness. I think this can be had for cheaper elsewhere.Pumpkin spice gin fizz was $20. I thought it lacked a bit of flavor but my girlfriend really liked it. Note it takes a little while to make (but it was forewarned on the menu). Note that a 20% gratuity is automatically added to the bill. I do appreciate that this is called out multiple times on the menu and is explained that you are free to speak to the server to adjust it. However, I don't necessarily agree with a blanket 20% gratuity being applied to all bills by default. The service was at the level I would expect from any restaurant and was not bad, but I would not call it exceptional. A cool place to grab drinks with friends, nice ambience, not too loud. Would absolutely return for dessert!

Cocktails were crafted deliciously and very potent. I think a lot of them are intended more for the sip and savor - take your time enjoy the conversations and live music. I drank mine a little too fast and hit me pretty good but no headache the next day.The servers were friendly - we sat in the lounge area next to the bar. I liked they gave us water without having to ask.The other stand out dish for me was the oyster Rockefeller. I've had many from different restaurants and I can say this was the most juicy and not overcooked/rubbery. The broth inside the shell was delectable too. I could have licked the shell clean.5/5 drinks4/5 for starters

Great food, wonderful ambiance. The squid is one of the best I have ever tried. Everything we had was great would highly recommend this restaurant to try new things.