Eight 1/2 lounge

Hello friends! The holiday festivities are slowly coming to a close and one of the places I went to celebrate at was Eight 1/2 lounge! Eight 1/2 lounge is hidden away in a nook along Main Street and 8th street. It used to be a home in the 1880’s until they converted it into a restaurant about 8 years ago.

Moscow Mule

★★★★

We started off the night with a couple of drinks. Grayson got the Lager on tap and I went with a peach Moscow Mule. I’ve been obsessed with these ever since Natasha introduced me to them on our visit to Brix and Mortar a couple of months ago. Anyway, this drink really hit the spot and got the evening going. It was lightly sweetened with the peach gingerbeer and even though it was a double, it wasn’t too strong.

Steak Bites

★★★★

We weren’t going to get these at first but were really glad that we did because they were slightly charred and ever so flavorful. Even though though the exterior was slightly dry from the cook, the interior remained nice and juicy. It came with a sauce that resembled tartar but it didn’t need it.

Tuna Tataki

★★★

We were both really looking forward to trying this dish but unfortunately it didn’t measure up to our expectations. The tuna wasn’t sliced very well and looked ragged. The char on the tuna wasn’t done well enough so it ended up looking like a pile of mush. The sauce it came with was Japanese mayo and teriyaki sauce. The tuna tataki slices sandwiched pieces of avocado in between and reminded us of a tuna avocado sushi roll.

Smoked Salmon Pizza

★★★★

This pizza was a good bang for your buck at $13.50 for the entire pie. We were excited to try a pizza with smoked salmon and capers on it but were disappointed to find that the base was made out of a thick layer of dill cream cheese. While the cream cheese added a welcomed tangy-ness to the pizza, it made it too heavy and it was tough to eat more than 2 slices. We would have liked to see more smoked salmon on top as well because even though it was a smoked salmon pizza, it tasted more like a cream cheese one.

Westcoast Spaghettini

★★★★★

I saved the best for last because this really was the best dish of the night. The pesto was made well and the herbs stood out against the olive oil it was made with. There were garlic shrimp amongst the mix and they were all cooked perfectly and remained slightly translucent on the inside. Our only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of it on the plate because it was just so delicious!

Quick bites:

1. Get the spaghettini
2. Great drinks
3. Nice cozy hidden lounge! It almost feels like you’re out of the city because it’s so homey on the inside