Bacari (North Park)

The Missus was having Her hair done in North Park and I was passing time with JJ. We were walking on 30th Street when I noticed the host stand outside what used to be Urban Solace which was a favorite of the Missus.

I recalled hearing of a restaurant with several locations in LA taking over that spot a while back…it just kinda seemed like a hipster-chain so I really didn’t pay much attention. But while waiting for the Missus, I took a look at Bacari North Park on my phone and it was both dog friendly and the patio was covered. They also open at 430 for dinner service….so I figured why not? I made reservations for patio seating and once the Missus was done we walked over for an early dinner.

The patio is nicely covered and JJ was quite comfortable.

It was quite relaxed and empty when we arrived, but the place filled up quickly after 5pm.

The service was quite friendly and the gentleman, who I believe is the manager was super nice and even brought J some water.

We were brought menus, which are just a single sheet, but it’s just crammed with dishes.

All the dishes are designed for sharing and we were told that 2-3 dishes per person is the norm….so we went ahead and placed our orders and the Missus got a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

The first item to arrive was the Salatim ($16.50), a term I actually remembered from when we visited Israel as meaning something along the lines of salad and similar items. This was an interesting array of vegetarian style “dips” which mimic items like pate and muhamarra. The pitas were almost fluffy, seemed so fresh, arriving hot, and were quite good.

My favorite item hands down was the Hazelnut Beet Muhamarra. I really do enjoy traditional Muhamara, the roasted red bell pepper – pomegranite dip…but man, this was so good…it was slightly spicy, tangy, somewhat earthy, with savory tones, and seemed to have a slight butteriness to it. The Tahini Hummus seemed almost ordinary in comparison, but was still good, very rich, not super acidic. The cashew pate was vegan, but still quite savory and nutty. But that Muhamarra was so delici-yoso!

Next up was the Lamb Hummus ($16) which featured ground lamb in what was called a Lebanese Stew placed in some of that nice Hummus.

It came with large crudites….which were kind of unwieldy, the carrots being somewhat past their prime. The lamb stew was quite gamey, nice savoriness, not as spiced as I expected.

The one dish that we really care for was the Flat Iron Steak ($18), which, while done to a nice medium rare was really tough, lacked seasoning.

Look at the size of those zucchini slices! The bearnaise sauce was creamy, but really lacked that “rich zip” and herbaciousness that I like.

The Missus really enjoyed the Lamb Pistachio Kebab ($17), though I thought the three sauces (kale, tumeric, and beet tahini) were a bit of an overkill.

The texture of the kebab was really good, so tender, while still being slightly gamey. The pistachio added a nice textural contrast and an almost sweet nuttiness to things. Like I said, the Missus really enjoyed this.

We did order a bit too much food for us and had leftovers. Though the lamb kebab in the sauce didn’t heat up well.

We both enjoyed this meal and the Missus wants to return soon. We’ll probably do an early dinner again as the place was getting quite busy and loud as we left. A lot of folks were headed upstairs to the bar. Great service and some delicious dishes. We’ll be back.

Bacari
3823 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Mon – Wed 430pm – 1030pm
Thursday 430pm – 1230am
Friday 430pm – 1am
Saturday 1030am – 230pm, 4pm – 1am
Sunday 1030am – 230pm, 4pm – 1030pm