Since Instagram put Hazel Southern Bar & Kitchen on my radar, I have been so curious to check it out. I just did not know that I have walked by it dozens of times in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood without noticing it. Hazel Bar is unassuming from the outside most especially in the day time. At 5 pm it comes alive and serves wonderful Happy Hour and dinner offerings.

I found Hazel Bar while looking for a venue to celebrate GBF’s (Guy Best Friend) birthday. I celebrate his birthday every year with his partner for as long as I can remember. At 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet, GBF called to say that his partner got food poisoning! We wanted both of them to be at the party so we just decided to move it to another date. Since BFF and Alexis were just minutes away from the restaurant, we decided to have a girls’ Happy Hour anyway. It turned out be super-fun as it is so rare to find time together in our very busy lives. BFF, Alexis and I had a fabulous time talking about whatever girls talk about when we get to sit down over drinks and eats including our friend’s baby shower that we put together and her new baby.

Speaking of food and drinks, we ordered a bunch of appetizers from the Happy Hour menu. We pretty much ordered the same foods when we finally got to celebrate GBF’s birthday, except we ordered main dishes as well.

These are what we ordered and shared on both visits. We ordered double orders of each:

• Mac & Cheese Balls
• Cornbread
• French Fries

For GBF’s birthday dinner, in addition to the above we also ordered:

• Shrimp & Grits
• Kale Caesar
• Collard Greens

We also enjoyed our drinks from the Happy Hour menu. The Happy Hour menu is not on the restaurant’s website so I cannot find the name of our drinks. (The alcohol must have happily fogged my memory. All I remember is they were yummy!) The drink that I had (on both nights!) was described by our server as very sweet like apple pie. I almost opted out but he had me at “apple pie”. It turned to be not very sweet at all and I really liked it.

Hazel Southern Bar and Kitchen is fun. It offers classy dining but in an atmosphere that is relaxed and laid back. There is a pool table at the bar where people seemed to be having fun at and loud music blaring. The restaurant space was sectioned off for casual bar dining to more tamed sit-down dinner for those who want to be away from the action.

Hazel’s menu is equally fun. It is a fusion of Southern food ranging from Texas Smoke, to Louisiana Creole, and all the way to Georgia home cooking. We enjoyed everything we had. We all raved over the Shrimp and Grits. The most important thing was the Birthday Boy enjoyed his birthday celebration. I am looking forward to a third visit!