Santa Monica’s Locanda del Lago is among the economically savvy restaurants responding to the effects of the recession, offering new lunch and dinner stimlus dinner menus and a happy hour with discounted tapas and drinks. The two-course stimulus lunch menu includes a choice of salad and entree for $15 and includes a chilled appetizer buffet, risotto primavera, pizza margherita, and tiger shrimp with prosciutto. The three-course stimulus dinner menu is more limited, with two salads, three entrees, and two desserts to choose from for $29. It includes a tortellini of veal and prosciutto portobello with sage-brown butter and a trio of brandy-dark, Bacardi-milk, and Amaretto-white mousses for dessert.
Happy Hour is Monday-Friday from 4pm-7pm, and Tuesday nights all night at the bar seating. Beers are $4 and Locanda del Lago offers an impressive selection: Peroni, Stella, and Fat Tire are among other imported and domestic choices. Wine is $6/$8 and special cocktails and martinis are $7. Appetizers are 50% off and include a carpaccio for $6.50 and a grilled flatbread with prosciutto, arugula, and stracchino cheese for $7. See the full menu here.
231 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-451-3525
http://www.lagosantamonica.com