A $25 Adult Happy Meal? Bistro Amasa’s Après Hour Makes a Case for Late-Night Dining

“This is a pretty late dinner reservation,” my fiancé remarked on our way to Bistro Amasa on a recent Saturday evening.

He was right. It was later than we’d usually go out to dinner, certainly later than most Santa Barbarians, who, by the time of our 8 p.m. reservation, were likely already tucked into bed with a good book.

But we weren’t there that night for the regular dinner menu; instead we were there for Après Hour, Bistro Amasa’s late-night offering: a special menu served from 8 to 9 p.m. at the restaurant’s bar and a limited number of tables.

One standout is the “Adult Happy Meal,” a grown-up take on the beloved McDonald’s Happy Meal. Instead of the usual burger, fries, apples, and caramel, this version includes a martini — all for $25.

“We wanted to create a reason for people to come in during that later part of the evening and make it feel like its own occasion, rather than simply a discounted happy hour,” said chef and co-owner Julian Martinez. 

If you’re not feeling like a burger, there’s the Girl Dinner, another Après Hour option that comes with a wedge salad, apples with caramel, fries, and the house martini, also for $25. (The martini can be swapped for any of the restaurant’s signature mocktails.)

Martinez said the inspiration for the Girl Dinner came from the popular buzzword making its way through social media, referring to “a collection of things that maybe don’t traditionally go together but somehow make perfect sense when you’re the one eating them.” 

Our meals arrived atop gold trays, the presentation almost too good that I initially refrained from digging in and started with a single fry: chewy, herby, with just enough crunch.

Then I went for the burger. The caramelized onions were a flavor bomb, while the sesame-encrusted bun added a welcome texture.

I dug into my wedge salad, which, to my liking, was not actually in wedge form but broken apart. Topped with frozen blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes, radish, and onion, it was light and refreshing.

We were about halfway through the meal when my fiancé remarked that he had regrettably eaten too many fries before discovering how good the yuzu aioli was.

Luckily for me, I uncovered this early in the meal. I gave him my remaining fries, because what is love if not sharing your fries?

Then came the drink.

Listen, I’m not a martini gal. My experience with the cocktail extends mostly to random sips from the tops of friends’ glasses, in futile attempts to like it.

This time I picked up the glass, twisted the stem between my fingers, and thought about the power of the martini — its ability to turn one from an average diner into Elizabeth Taylor.

I sipped tentatively. The aromatics hit me first, followed by the olive juice, then the vodka.

I quite liked it. Who knows, maybe I’ve been convinced.

There was one more surprise to this meal, which I saved for last: the apples and caramel.

Our lovely waitress, Nicole, said she initially thought they were “an afterthought,” but after trying them found they were actually her favorite part of the meal.

Ready for my sweet treat, I scooped a hefty chunk of caramel onto an apple which was crisp, but it was the caramel — the thick, sweet caramel — that stole my heart.

I admit this with no shame whatsoever, but when the apples ran out, I had no choice but to scoop the remaining caramel with my fork and eat it straight. 

Bistro Amasa’s Après Hour is 8-9 p.m. at the bar and limited tables. For more information, see bistroamasa.com