By Dr. Ink

Amid the organizational changes that have occurred at Eden Nightclub and Eden Restaurant over the past couple of years, the patio between the two remains an attractive, fairly steady target for skirting the late-night hubbub while soaking up the happy hour deals.

Perhaps in preparation of springtime weather, a minor adjustment was made recently to the offerings on Sundays, which are now available from 2 p.m. to closing opposed to 4 to 8 p.m., as listed on Eden’s web site. As we were told when handed the new Sunday menu, the latter time slot still applies to Saturdays and weekdays.

On this day of rest, the drink deals furnish you with $5 well drinks, $4 house wines and $1 discounts on a few draft beers. Missing from the list, however, are the fruity $5 cocktails available on all of the other days, though the “bites” menu has been fortified with heartier fare such as shrimp po’boys, Italian beef sandwiches and plump Mediterranean wraps. Across the board, food and drink prices on Sundays are a notch higher in comparison.

Visiting with a couple of friends in tow, we imbibed from all three drink categories with a sturdy rum and Coke, a creamy Shock Top beer served with lemon instead of the customary orange slice and a smallish glass of Domino cabernet sauvignon. In my semi-developed palate for vino, I ventured to guess that it was poured from a bottle opened a few days prior, given its flatness.

Eden’s butternut squash bisque ($5 for small, $7 for large) caught our attention as a food starter, a signature recipe that delivers creaminess and sweetness with a tasty finishing of sage oil. We also ordered the Mediterranean wrap ($10), which brims with hummus, roasted peppers, feta, cucumber and other booze-soaking organics. Although the friend who ordered the trio of “East Coast sliders,” announced from the get-go that he wasn’t sharing them because of their excellent flavor and pygmy size.

Eden’s patio offers cushy seating throughout its middle section (fueled by a DJ in our visit) and along the front sidewalk stretch, where you can gather at big tables built around trees. Their metal swivel chairs, however, cry for cushions. Either way, no matter where you plant your caboose, you get to drink and eat freely under the open skies of Hillcrest.

RATINGS:

Drinks: 4/5
Assuming the happy hour lineup doesn’t undergo more changes, a variety of unique fruity cocktails make the list Tuesdays through Saturdays. On Sundays, the deals are geared to generous well drinks, draft beer and decent house wines.

Food: 4/5
The menu covers all bases with tasty and attractive dishes that include excellent butternut squash soup, hummus-veggie wraps, meaty sandwiches and cheddar sliders with spicy ketchup.

Value: 3/5
Compared to late-night, drink prices drop on average by about 20 percent during happy hour.

Service: 3/5
Our bartender was swift and efficient. Table service runs faster when it’s less crowded.

Duration: 5/5
Sundays now feature all-day specials on drinks and food, while Tuesdays through Saturdays give you price breaks for four hours on each of those days.

Eden
1202 University Ave. (Hillcrest)
619-269-3336
Happy Hour: 4 to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; 2 p.m. to close on Sundays.