bankers hill restaurant / banker’s hill – san diego, ca

Bankers Hill Restaurant has been on my “to-visit” list for quite some time. Ever since I took a pie making class last fall with Rachel Cayhill, the pastry chef there, I’ve been wanting to indulge in her desserts again. I was finally able to come in for a visit with a few friends (Laura and Heather) in tow to check out Bankers Hill for happy hour!

I totally drove right by the first time. It sort of looked like any old building as I was driving by, but that’s not really the case. There are multiple crazy doors you can open in the front and the whole restaurant has a bit of an industrial feel to it. I dug it.

I came in early and snagged this table in the back, near the bar and this fun table with this awesome wine glass chandelier thing. The decor was very simply stated and I really enjoyed it.

Here’s a peek at the happy hour menu. There are a number of items to try out and we just about had them all.

We did start off with some nice, crusty bread after we placed our order. I kind of wished they had given me some bread while I waited. It didn’t occur to me to ask since I just figured they didn’t have any. Oh well. Yummy crusty bread!

[Roasted Beet Salad and Marmalade Toast – with arugula and housemade mascarpone – $5/happy hour]

This is one of Laura’s ordered items. I didn’t really taste much of it, but she did give me a little bit of the housemade mascarpone and it was sweet and delicious. I don’t do beets so I wasn’t too interested in it, but a taste of the cheese made me long for a just a little bit more – of just the cheese, that is.

[Bacon Wrapped Mini Hot Dog – $3/happy hour]

I got a bacon wrapped mini hot dog. It came with a bunch of pickled veggies on it. They weren’t too heavily pickled, but I still didn’t really enjoy them. The hot dog was super cute, being so tiny, but other than that it was not too impressive. It was all over in about three bites and all I felt afterward was that I was still hungry. It came with some potato sticks on the side.

[Bowl of Truffled French Fries – $5/happy hour]

The three of us shared a bowl of the truffled french fries and it was a good thing we shared it, too. With all of the other stuff we ordered, one bowl was plenty for all of us to share. The french fries had a really lovely flavor and they held up, even after they had gotten cold. We found ourselves levitating back to the french fries and gobbling down “just a couple more” as we grazed on our plates that evening. They were the perfect amount of saltiness and they were thin enough to be crispy but not overdone. Very tasty.

[Bankers Hill Cheese Burger Slider – $3/happy hour]

We all partaked in the mini cheese burger sliders. They were nice and gooey, dressed with grilled onions, pickles (which I discarded) and a tomato slice. They were juicy little morsels and we were quite tasty.

[Cheese Menu – $3/happy hour]

For happy hour, the cheeses are three dollars each. I managed to convince my cohorts that we needed to try all of the cheeses. It didn’t take much to convince them, really.

[We got all of the cheeses -clockwise  from top – Bleu d’ Auvergne, Hock’s 4 Year Cheddar, St. Angel]

In addition to the cheeses we got some honeycomb, apples and marcona almonds, more bread and 2 kinds of jam. I absolutely love the combination of blue cheese and honeycomb – the salty-sweet combo makes me happy every time. The creamy St. Angel was my favorite of the bunch though, pairing well with just about everything set before us.

I really could just eat cheeses and breads and be such a happy girl.

[Butterscotch Pudding with creme fraiche, pecan toffee and shortbread cookies – $7]

For dessert, we (I) made the decision on getting the Butterscotch Pudding. I’d heard about, read about it, and was looking forward to it and it did not disappoint me in the least.

[Spoonful of love]

The creamy pudding was like heaven on a spoon – with bits of pecan toffee tossed in for a lovely, salty crunch. I’ve really started to enjoy puddings and pot de cremes in the last year or so, and this butterscotch pudding is really ranked up there in my book. It’s just perfectly smooth, rich and creamy without going too bonkers or overboard with the sugar. I’d like to nestle inside and just melt my cares away in this creamy dessert.

Happy hours are starting to become a thing with me and I’m starting to arrange one about once a month. It lets us try out new places for a (hopefully) reduced cost and a little unwinding after a long day at work. The next one has already been planned out and I have the next place after *that* already picked out, too. There are just so many fun places to try for happy hour!

Bankers Hill Restaurant
2202 4th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
619-231-0222