El Naranjo

About

Interior Mexican cooking with this much pedigree rarely does discounts, which is what makes the bar hour at El Naranjo worth catching. Tuesday through Friday, 5 to 6pm, the bar runs happy hour pricing on cocktails, wine, beer, and appetizers. One hour, bar seats only. Tight window, real kitchen.

Thursdays are the bigger play: bottles of wine go half off in the evening. Half-price bottles next to mole that chefs Iliana de la Vega and Ernesto Torrealba have spent decades refining is a serious dinner disguised as a casual one.

Since relocating from Rainey Street to South Lamar, El Naranjo trades party-deck neighbors for a quieter room that suits the food better. The happy hour works as a soft entry: a well-made cocktail, an order of queso fundido, and a look at the menu before committing to dinner. Get there at 5 when the bar seats are open. By 6 the hour is over and the kitchen is back to full price, as it probably should be.