Eat*Drink*Cleveland

A hungry girl's adventures in Cleveland and beyond.

When I was contacted about hosting a Happy Hour at Bahama Breeze I jumped at the chance to sample their newest tropical drinks and snacks.

I'm sure some of you are wondering why I would be excited to go to a chain restaurant since I'm such a vocal advocate of shopping local and supporting our local food scene. Some chains are worth visiting once in awhile - especially when they offer something unique. There's something about the faux tropical vibe at Bahama Breeze that is just FUN - plus they have killer cocktails that are perfect for a Happy Hour or after dinner drink.

I was really hoping that the event would be worthwhile since I had invited a bunch of friends to join me. If it was a dud, I would have felt bad for people that drove from all over town. But as soon as it started, I knew my fears were in vain. They knocked our socks off ~ the hospitality was amazing!!! 
Our servers Colleen and Cameron were knowledgeable and a total blast! Colleen told us the history of the drinks (fun stories!)
Chef Veronica was super sweet too and kept coming out to check on us and talk about the food too. 
And the food - it was great! I always thought of Bahama Breeze for cocktails more than food but it was sooooo yummy! Here's what we had:
1st cocktail: Barbados Rum Punch
Yummy punch with a twist ~ fresh nutmeg grated on top!
Chips and REALLY good salsa
White Bean Hummus
Corn Cakes
Now, at this point we were thinking that this was all the food we were being served; however, it was only the first wave of what they had in store for us!
Cocktail 2 - Pain Killer
Super tasty combo of rum, creme of coconut, pineapple and OJ
Also topped with fresh nutmeg
The much loved Coconut Shrimp
I think we ate our body weight in these!
Truffled Yuca Tots
1st time trying them - sort of like potatoes - yum!
Mojo Marinated Pulled Pork
Best part - it was served on top of grilled plantains - taste sensation!
And there was STILL more to come!
Cocktail #3 - the Goombay Smash
Captain Morgans, Meyer's Original Rum,  OJ and pineapple juice
Love that last pic - Kate was caught enjoying her tasty cocktail! And there was even more food:
Conch Fritters - another first for me!
Chicken Empanadas
These were a huge hit at the table. Loved that they charred the corn in the salsa.
Cheesy Sliders
Not really tropical, right? But they were good!
Perfect for any picky eaters in your group.
We were having such a blast! The food and drinks kept coming and we were tempted to start dancing to the steel drum beats.

But we still had dessert to try to fit in somehow so we decided to stay seated. We didn't want to miss this...
We found out that Cleveland is one of their test locations for new bite sized Island Delights desserts. We each got to pick one - and let me tell you, it was a very difficult decision!
Mark got the Almond Joy
The coconut cream was so good we didn't need the choc cake
My choice was even better!
Fresh fruit with lemon cream
Tony and Tim
Everyone found room for these sweet treats
Happy Bloggers!
Julie from Wearing Mascara, me, @ClevelandChick from Happiness is a Hot Pierogi and Sarah from Cooker Girl
Sara from Sara Finding the Time and Amie from My Retro Kitchen left before we could snag a pic of them too

There were tropical birds....and love birds!
And they even sent us home with their homemade Key Lime Pie with a cute drawing on the box.

I have to say, Bahama Breeze really impressed me with the quality and taste of the food and their incredible service. I will definitely be getting food next time I go there instead of just drinks for sure. They made that easy for us by giving everyone a $10 gift card (and a super cute palm tree bottle opener key chain.) Kate was the winner of a $25 gift certificate for Tweeting even though she didn't Tweet. We think they did a random drawing instead?

There are 5 more Legendary Island Cocktails on the menu that I can't wait to try.
And until August 15th, they are offering a special deal: $10 for a burger and Aruba Red Beer. Click here for details and to print out your coupon. And Happy Hour is from 4-6pm.

A big THANK YOU to Bahama Breeze for treating us to a ridiculously fun Happy Hour! We left stuffed and looking forward to our next visits. 

If you are looking for a fun place to grab some drinks after work or a tropical dinner, check them out. I also think it's a great place to escape the blustery days so keep it in mind when you need a quick winter escape. Now if they only could bottle and serve up the sunshine...

For more photos, click here. You can also click here for some of their recipes.

**Disclosure: Besides all the great food and drinks Bahama Breeze provided for this event, I also received a gift card. This in no way influenced my post. As always, my thoughts are my own. **

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