The Parlor

Put yourself in the mood for impulse shopping at this Lincoln Square pool hall/lounge.

Bellevue Collection visitors seeking a break from competitive holiday shopping, stroller dodging, and parking-lot circling should take a breather at the Parlor, a restaurant/bar/pool hall with a super-cheap happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. daily (and Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to midnight, too). Start with a glass of Mondavi cabernet sauvignon ($2.99) or Silver Lake chardonnay ($2.99)—yes, it’s oaky, but it’ll taste refreshing after all that mall air. If you don’t like sweet drinks, steer clear of the huge happy-hour cocktails, such as the sugary Caribbean Lemonade ($3.99) made with tequila, blue curaçao, sweet and sour, and lemonade. The happy-hour menu offers 16 appetizers at three price levels: $1.99, $2.99, and $3.99. The Caesar salad ($1.99) was a winner because of its generous size. The seafood quesadillas ($2.99) housed melted cheese, tiny shrimp, and a bit of shredded crab meat; they came three to a serving and tasted mainly of cheese and flour tortilla. The halibut taco ($2.99), served whole, was harder to share. It had shredded cabbage and what looked like Thousand Island dressing on it (at least the fish was tender). Watch what you wear, though: At a recent happy hour, a friend and I chuckled as the manager enforced a no-hats rule with a gentleman near us. After a few glasses of wine, we were tipsy enough to hit the stores again and make impulse purchases in the name of gift giving.