The Spot: DiVerti Bar & Grill, 4 E. University Dr., Tempe, 480-284-5972 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tempe-AZ/Diverti-Bar-and-Grill/147317605296799
The Hours: Every day of the week from 3 to 7 pm and reverse happy hour from 10 pm to midnight (but the reverse happy hour deals are just Monday through Friday--sorry late night weekend boozers).
The Details: Domestic drafts will run you $2, while a specialty draft is $3. Mai Tais are $4, and a variety of girlie shots are available for just $2 each. If you have a large group in tow, 5 shots and 5 beers will run you just $25. Pretty respectable. To keep all this booze down, there are $4 appetizers and $8 pizzas.
(the happy hour break down after the jump)
The Interior: DiVerti's Bar & Grill opened in the venue that used to house Sucker Punch Sally's, and some of the interior elements have remained untouched. There are still splashy reds, glittery booths, chrome accents, and sleek high-top black tables. DiVerti has succeeded in opening up the layout of the place a bit and they installed a massive bar overflowing with booze. They've also installed tons of TVs blaring sports, so the place has much more of a sports bar feel to it that its previous incarnation.
The Cost: One pint, one mai tai and two appetizers rang in at 14 bucks before tax and tip.
The Conclusion: DiVerti has just opened, so we'll cut them some slack. The service was top notch, but the food and drink were a bit uneven.
The happy hour deals are pretty generous with drinks priced at just a couple bucks, but even though this is a sports bar, we didn't see any well or wine specials. Your party had better like draft beer and sweet girlie beverages. The mai tai ($4) was mouth-puckering sweet, with a bright pink cherry color that was completely at odds with any other mai tai we've had. The drafts were ice cold and thirst quenching though, with domestics ($2) and a variety of specialty drafts ($3). Plus the 5 shot and 5 beer bucket deal ($25) seemed like a great deal for a big group.
For just four bucks you can score fried ravioli, cheesy nachos or chicken fingers. It was generic sports bar food at a decent price point. The nachos were a bit overwhelmed by the canned nacho cheese and pickled jalapenos, while the chicken fingers were largely unremarkable. But those freshly cut fries totally redeemed the fingers.
All in all, a decent sports bar that could use just a bit of tweaking to really nail the ideal happy hour equation.
Overall Grade: B-
