out and about: barbarella halloween 2025

Another year, and another fantastic holiday display by our local barbarella. Loving the spider touches.

And the restaurant menu is even more halloweeny than last year - totally capitalizing on the colors and flavors of the season.

Barbarella is the best in the san diego game at seasonal decor and food, and we are so lucky it’s in our backyard so that we can consider it a local fav. and not just for the holiday hype.

alpine duet
frankenstein’s special: rotating cocktail

Pretty much the only staple on the barbarella menu is alpine duet. Other drinks and food specials may come and go, but the alpine stays. Luckily for jamie, since it’s a fav.

The frankenstein special of the day was a play on a dark and stormy featuring rum, ginger beer, lime juice and cinnamon. Pretty perfect way to kick of the season (I mean meal).

charcuterie board: rotating selection of artisanal meats & cheeses, paired with local accoutrement

I totally get that this is the same skeleton from last year’s halloween spread, however, they dressed him up a little differently, and for some reason he looks more like a pirate this year. Just me?

Loved the addition of the orange tomatoes, purple grapes and olives to add a colorful halloween pop. In fact, I mentioned wanting that exact thing in last years review. Yay me. Ahead of the curve.

The cheeses were changed up this go ‘round and we loved them all. A brie, and I believe a smoked gouda, and either manchego or iberico.

Other than the obvious prosciutto, there was borolo and calabrese salami and the always present (and necessary) fig jam and honeycomb.

Such a great starter, and so excited for all the new variety.

smokey cauldron: mezcal, blood orange, lime
greek salad: organic heirloom tomatoes, cubed feta, english cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives, bell pepper, greek vinaigrette, balsamic glaze, grilled ciabatta

If there was a picture of jamie’s perfect salad, this would be it. The boy loves his vegetables, but despises lettuce. So when the greek salad arrived with nary a lettuce leaf, you can bet who grabbed it.

I on the other hand am a self proclaimed lettuce whore, so definitely more his vibe than mine, but I still chowed down on all the fresh veg.

funghi pizza: wild mushrooms, fontina, truffle oil

We were in a pizza mood, and I have been obsessed with mushrooms lately, so this was a no brainer. The most melty cheese, and perfectly cooked mushrooms meets bread. And considering how much we love the pizza dough at barbarella, it was a perfect pairing.

They do mushrooms right here - and we are always waffling between the risotto or the pizza because of it.

beetle juice: melon & pineapple vodka shot
chupacabra’s blood: spicy watermelon tequila shot

I love the seasonal shots. They are always so inventive.

The chupacabra’s blood was like an ode to my favorite margarita in (literal) pint sized form.

blake’s plate: chilean seabass, served over black squid ink risotto, and freshly sauteed carrots

We love the risotto at barbarella, and since we were already getting our mushroom fix, we went with the seasonal blake’s plate instead.

My first bite of risotto was a little too al dente for me, but it seemed like it was just that one spot of the plate. As soon as I took a bite in a different spot it was the perfect, creamy bite.

I love love love the play on orange and black with the squid ink and carrots - such a perfect halloween dish.

How cute are these? Look just like little witch hats. Filled with pastry cream and vanilla ice cream, this take on cream puffs is one of my new favorites.

The dough was perfect, the filling fantastic, and the fruit a great contrast.

Definitely the perfect end to our meal.