The Spot: Rum Bar, the adjoining lounge next to the Jamaican eatery The Breadfruit, is located at 108 E Pierce, Phoenix, 602- 267-1266.
The Hours: 5-7pm, weekdays.
The Details: The Happy Hour offerings are a bit slim at Rum Bar, but delicious. Six of their specialty cocktails are priced at $6. Hand pies filled with your choice of spicy fish or spinach are priced at $4.
As the name suggests, Rum Bar specializes in rum -- with more than 100 varieties on site. They offer featured rum flights for $9 (even when it's not Happy Hour), and all of the specialty cocktails on the Happy Hour menu are rum-based. The drinks that are $6 during Happy Hour: The Dark and Stormy (a yummy little mix of real ginger beer and Black Seal rum), a Rum & Cola, a Classic Mojito, Cuba Libre, Classic Daiquiri, and the Caipirinha. Unfortunately, none of this information is posted anywhere in the bar, and we had to practically pull it out of our busy bartender/server.
Rum Bar gets graded, after the jump.
Cost: For $10, enjoy a drink and a hand pie. Happy Hour here is sparse -- perhaps to prepare you for dinner at The Breadfruit next door?
Conclusion: Each of the drinks on the Happy Hour list are made with fresh, authentic ingredients and are $2-3 off the regular price. The Mojito is probably the best one we've ever had, and the Dark & Stormy had us begging for more.
We ordered the Spinach and the Spicy Fish Patty (hand pie), only $1 off the regular price, and were smitten by both. The crust was flaky, reminding us of pot pies. The Spinach Patty is earthy and flavorful, and the Spicy Fish brings enough heat to the tongue to titillate without getting burned.
Happy Hour did, indeed, prepare us for dinner next door at The Breadfruit. But once we
saw and sampled what was on the appetizer menu (Crispy Mango Fish Rolls, Roasted Plantains, Rum Glazed Prawns and Roti Flatbread), we felt a little cheated. Couldn't Happy Hour feature at least one or two of these other goodies? At least a Plantain Avocado Spring Roll at a buck or two off?
We would also like a few signs and signifiers as to what is available during Happy Hour; we actually felt like we were being bothersome to the bartender with all of our questions that a simple sign would have answered.
The Grade: B.
