Family-Friendly Bar and Eatery Employs High-Tech Tabletop Call Buttons

The Cohn Restaurant Group (CRG) opens Del’s Hideout this Thursday in the Allied Gardens/Del Cerro neighborhood, where co-founders David and Lesley Cohn debuted their very first eatery, a diner called Rory’s, back in 1981. Del’s marks the Cohn’s 23rd San Diego area restaurant, and will combine fast-casual counter service with new technology designed to enhance the dining experience. Each table will have a three-button system that will enable customers to call for the check, summon a smartwatch-wearing server, or request another round of drinks from bar staff. David Cohn told Eater that if guests respond positively to the technology and it make sense for the concept, the group could incorporate it into select new or existing eateries.

The 5,400-square-foot restaurant and bar, designed by Phillippe Beltran, is a indoor/outdoor playhouse for both adults and kids. For little ones, there’s a special activity zone with iPads for gaming as well as a suite of retro arcade games. For grown-ups, there are dozens of TVs and a full bar featuring 36 beers on tap, 20 wines by the glass, and a huge bourbon selection compiled by beverage director Maurice DiMarino. Cocktail options include a Rootbeer Manhattan served in a keepsake flask and an Old Fashioned made with bacon fat-washed bourbon.

Executive chef Tim Eylens, who created the Texas-style barbecue menu at the CRG’s Coaster Saloon in Pacific Beach, is bringing his smoked meat skills here, offering a lunch and dinner lineup that includes brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs plus rotisserie chicken and prime rib. There are also salads, grain bowls, sandwiches, and burgers as well as plates ranging from blackened local fish with fingerling potato hash and corn relish to barbecue pork belly with cabbage-apple slaw and house pickles. The weekend brunch at Del’s Hideout will include giant cinnamon rolls, fresh biscuits with gravy and eggs, and a French toast skilled with sausage and bourbon-maple syrup.