Hillview Grill is in the Southside Village neighborhood of Sarasota. STAFF PHOTO / WADE TATANGELO
Hillview Grill, one of the many restaurants and bars clustered together in Southside Village, has unveiled a new happy hour menu. The deals on drinks and small plates could help the casual-dining destination established in 1986 attract new patrons, perhaps even some young professionals, while continuing to appeal to its regulars. Because, really, who doesn’t like paying less for a little harmless decadence?
The happy hour menu is available 3:30-6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the bar and high-top tables. I visited Hillview Grill, near Sarasota Memorial Hospital, after a day at the office recently. There were plenty of stools available at the cozy bar in the center of the restaurant. I ordered the “classic martini” with blue cheese olives that can be made with Skyy Vodka or Bombay Sapphire Gin, gin always being my martini preference. It was a fine martini but then I noticed it was the only gin-based option of the dozen specialty cocktails and martinis available for $6.50. The rest are sweet and fruity, with chocolate and coffee flavors, too. I also had the “grapefruit & basiltini,” the herb nicely complementing the vodka and citrus.
Burger sliders and the "grapefruit & basiltini" photographed at one of Hillview Grill's outdoor tables. STAFF PHOTO / WADE TATANGELO
Top-shelf drinks of your own choice are available for a very reasonable $5, with other fine liquors available in the $4 range. Feel like going to the well? That gin and tonic will cost you a mere $3. The beer and wine deals are pretty predictable, with the closest to a local craft beer selection being the excellent but everywhere Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City Brewing in Tampa.
Flip the drink menu over and you’ll find the “nibbles.” I ordered the burger sliders ($5.95), grilled avocado ($6.95) and fish tacos ($5.95). The burgers benefited from a nice topping of cheddar, caramelized onions and sliced pickles. The grilled avocado came out a bit mushy but still tasty, with a smart Caribbean salsa and strawberry reduction. The fish tacos were a disappointment, the mahi mahi a sliver of tasteless fish couched in a bland mix of cabbage, tomato and baja sauce.
Personally, the drink menu could use some more creative craft cocktail selections. I mean, even something as simple as the trendy Moscow Mule could be a big plus in attracting more discerning drinkers. As for the “nibbles,” which also include mussels and two different kinds of shrimp, I’d stick with the sliders or try one of the flatbreads, steak tacos or wings.
Hillview Grill
1920 Hillview St., Sarasota; 952-0045; hillviewgrill.com
BAR NEWS & EVENTS
The Melon Sangria for "Drink Pink" at The Seafood Shack. COURTESY PHOTO
Bar Wars: Congrats to Cork’s Cigar Bar, 424 Old Main St., for winning the fun and highly competitive Bars Wars event in Bradenton held Monday at Clancy’s Irish Sports Pub & Grill, 6218 Cortez Road W.
WOBtoberfest Bradenton: The first of three area WOBtoberfests features the usual selection of tasty German brews plus local and national craft beers, with oompah music being replaced by American Idiots, a Green Day tribute band. The tavern’s regular food menu will be augmented with brats and other German eats. 2-11:59 p.m. Saturday; World of Beer-Bradenton 497 Cortez Road West, Bradenton; 251-7800; worldofbeer.com
Rum Tasting: Anna Maria Island Privateers’ rum tasting fundraiser is 6-10 p.m. Saturday at Lynches Pub & Grub, 19B N. Boulevard of Presidents, St. Armands Circle. Cost is $20.
Motorworks Oktoberfest: Fun continues all-day Saturday and Sunday with Oktoberfest beers for $5 a pint, food trucks with German cuisine, stein hoisting contest, yodeling competition, and lederhosen and dirndl competition. Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St. W., Bradenton 896-9892; motorworksbrewing.com
Drink Pink: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and The Seafood Shack, 4110 127th St. W., Cortez, is donating $1 from every purchase of its signature melon sangria to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Read more about Drink Pink.
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WADE TATANGELO is a content producer who has been an entertainment editor, reporter, columnist and reviewer at publications nationwide. He is a Hershey, Pa., native who grew up in Tampa and graduated from the University of South Florida. Wade joined the Herald-Tribune in 2013 and writes the weekly Bar Tab column. He can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4955.Follow @wtatangelo
