A Sophisticated Happy Hour in Calabasas

A valley mom shares her pick for a quick getaway.

Looking for a happy hour that has a more sophisticated vibe than the usual two-for-one drinks and typical bar food? Then check out Riviera Restaurant and Lounge in Calabasas.

Their HH deal is offered seven days a week, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The entire restaurant menu, as well as the bar menu and drinks, are 20 percent off in the bar/lounge. Plus, a complimentary bruschetta appetizer and a handful of fresh potato chips come with your drink order.

Located across from the Calabasas Commons, Riviera is quite a surprise, considering  it’s located in a shopping center anchored by Babies R Us. It has a casually elegant, European ambience, with stylish couches, leather chairs, stucco walls, hand-blown glass chandeliers and warm lighting. The bar itself, with its high-backed chairs, feels a tad more homey than bar-like. If you arrive just before 8 p.m., the special prices will be honored for whatever you order.

The full bar carries 30 wines by the glass with regular prices starting at $8. Wine flights with 2-ounce pours are offered as well. Cocktails include mixed drinks of your choice and special martinis. Order appetizers or entrees from the main restaurant menu.

The bar menu includes such items as heirloom tomatoes and burrata cheese, Kobe beef sliders, Hawaiian ahi tuna tartare, spicy Eastern mussel Arrabbiata and fritto misto—all regularly priced from about $8 to $14. It is definitely more fun to share dishes, and easier on your wallet.

The full menu of modern Italian specialties (thrown in with the non-Mediterranean items, such as Kobe beef and Hawaiian tuna), including a variety of soups, salads, pastas, seafood, steak and duck, are always available. So is dessert; selections presented on a tray include crème brûlée and tarte tatine.

The food is all carefully plated. Service is very friendly and rather formal for happy hour, with linen napkins and a full place setting propped on coffee tables. Upon ordering the chopped grilled vegetable salad to share, the server even asked if we wanted it split on two plates.

This is not the $4 happy hour selection offered elsewhere—think of it more as a dinner option in a lounge. Two drinks and three shared items will set you back about $30 (including tip), but then that’s the cost of two regular drinks alone these days.

Filled  with co-workers, dates and friends having a night out, Riviera’s happy hour is a great setting for socializing casually, eating quality food and drinking good spirits at fair prices.

In this economy, you can say "cheers" to that.

Riviera Restaurant and Lounge,  23683 Calabasas Rd., Calabasas; 818-224-2163;  happy hour every day from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.