The 10 Best Happy Hours In NYC
March 27, 2013, 12:20 p.m.
Can anyone deny that happy hour is the happiest hour (or two, or three) of the day?
Hey there, workers of the world! Are you watching that little pixelated clock in the corner of your computer screen inch toward 5 p.m. so you can bust out of your office and blow off steam with $4 gin and tonics? Only a well-adjusted sober person who doesn't rely on alcohol to unwind would deny that happy hour—with its bar snacks, drink deals and discount pub dishes—is pretty much the happiest hour (or two, or three) of the day. Here are our favorite spots around the city for cheap apres-work and late-night happy hour deals; leave your recommendations in the comments.
FULL CIRCLE BAR: Brewskee-ball aside, this teensy Williamsburg bar offers one of the best happy hour food deals in the city. From 5-9 p.m. on weeknights, and 2-9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, you can score a Genny tallboy and jumbo pretzel or hot dog for $4; after a couple of those, you'll be well fed and a little buzzed for under $10. They also offer draft beers for a buck off, $4 STRONG well drinks, $4 bloodys and $3 mimosas. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, hot dogs and jumbo pretzels are free all night long, and, of course, there's brewskee-ball, which is way more fun once you've dulled your motor-skills a bit.
Full Circle Bar is located at 318 Grand Street between Havemeyer Street and Marcy Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (347-725-4588, fullcirclebar.com). Follow them on Facebook.
BBQ: We were mistakenly under the impression that this margarita-and-barbecue spot was affiliated with the infamous Dallas BBQ chain, but it turns out BBQs is really its own animal. And what an animal it is! Head to the restaurant's grubby basement bar between 4 and 7 p.m. for the grandest diabetic happy hour in the city. Small margaritas are $3.99, but don't even bother with that trifling drink: get the large classic margarita, approximately the size of a newborn baby (20 oz) for $5.99, or add a flavor for an extra buck, and let the early evening wave by you in a drunk, sugary haze. You can also spring for an extra test-tube shot for $1.50, and, yes, they serve barbecue, but we've developed the odd digestive problem or two after sampling the honey chicken wings, so...maybe skip the food.
BBQ is located at 21 West 8th Street between 5th Ave and MacDougal Street in the West Village (212-674-4450).
SOFT SPOT: This Bedford Ave dive serves a two-for-one well drink and beer happy hour until 8 p.m., and while that's not unheard of in the area, the bar boasts a lovely backyard complete with plants and scalloped furniture. It's a quaint, almost quiet spot to enjoy a drink or two (or six, or eight), plus it's only a block away from Vinnie's Pizzeria, so you've got a built-in drunchies adventure ahead of you once happy hour ends. If you're smooth, the bartender won't care if you sneak in some garlic knots.
Soft Spot is located at 128 Bedford Ave between North 9th and 10th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-384-7768, softspotbar.com).
THE MAGICIAN: This is one of our favorite happy hours deals on the very happy hour-lush LES. From 5-8 p.m., this Rivington Street standby serves $3.50 drafts (rotating draft list includes brews by Sixpoint, Peek Organic, Guinness, Brooklyn Lager and Victory), $3.50 well drinks and just about everything else for $4. Aside from the cheap drinks, they serve a pretty stellar snack mix that includes peanuts, almonds, soy sticks and sesame crackers, so be sure to ask for that if they haven't put any bowls yet. Another plus: no babies! (Just BLOGGERS.) But it is cash only, so stock up on bills before you imbibe.
The Magician is located at 118 Rivington Street between Essex and Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side (212-673-785).
GOODBYE BLUE MONDAY: This Bushwick bar's got the ultimate happy hour deal for broke hipsters who just aren't ready to grow up and shave—grilled cheese! From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, Goodbye Blue Monday takes a buck off all drafts, which are already usually on the cheap side (about $4). But they've also got a late night deal: from 11 p.m. to midnight, you can get a PBR draft and a grilled cheese for $5. Plus, you can sometimes catch a local band play a set or two—not a bad way to score a cheap dinner.
Goodbye Blue Monday is located at 1087 Broadway between Lawton and Dodworth Street in Bed-Stuy/Bushwick, Brooklyn (718-453-6343, goodbye-blue-monday.com).
BOAT BAR: Smith Street's got plenty of bars boasting good early-evening drinking deals, but this casual little Cobble Hill dive is our favorite. Even at its most crowded, Boat Bar's usually got plenty of seating at its 5-8 p.m. happy hour, making it convenient to check out with a group. Plus, they've got Buck Hunter 3 and a mixtape-playing jukebox with pretty much every song you used to listen to your sophomore year of high school as you clutched a magazine clipping of Brian from the Backstreet Boys and sobbed because his crinkled little face would never really be that close to yours. Oh, right, and there's cheap booze—well drinks, drafts and bottled beer are all $3.
Boat Bar is located at 175 Smith Street between Wyckoff and Warren Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (718-254-0607).
THE BOILER ROOM: Can you call a nightly 10 p.m.-4 a.m. well drink deal a happy hour special? Maybe not, but it's one of this East Village gay bar's best offerings; every single night, from 10 p.m. until close, Boiler Room's SUPER STRONG well drinks will run you just $4. Plus, it's pretty welcoming towards people of all orientations, so no worries if you're just there to enjoy the cheap booze and Madonna tunes on the jukebox. They've also got a regular buy-one-get-one draft and well drinks happy hour deal from 4-8 p.m. daily, and they take a buck off top-shelf liquor, too.
The Boiler Room is located at 86 East 4th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in the East Village (212-254-7536, boilerroomnyc.com). Follow them on Facebook.
LOCAL 138: Lower East Side dwellers know to hit up this extra long happy hour to get tipsy on the cheap. From 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day, drafts, wells and glasses of wine are just $3, and they're not pouring lukewarm Bud Light. Snag brews like Victory, Anchor Steam and Old Speckled Hen and stake out one of the two private booths up front, one of which has a cubby hole directly to the bar for convenient refills. (Nell Casey)
Local 138 is located at 138 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side (212-477-0208)
CILANTRO: Sometimes you need just need a margarita and sometimes (all the time) you need that margarita to be huge and incredibly potent. Enter Cilantro, a Southwestern-themed mini-restaurant chain whose ridiculously strong margaritas are probably boozy enough to put down Governor Shaq himself. These 16 ounce killers are a paltry $5 during happy hour at their 2nd Avenue and Columbus Avenue locations, meaning you'll likely have enough money for three of them but…I don't recommend it. Sop up all that tequila with some greasy bar food—Full Disclosure: I've been known to eat the entire portion of queso fundido myself, #fatkid. The grub is mediocre but, honestly, you won't care. (Nell Casey)
Cilantro is located at 485 Columbus Avenue, 212-712-9090 and 1712 2nd Avenue (212-722-4242, cilantronyc.com)
SEA FIRE GRILL: If you're a midtown working stiff looking for a high-end, low cost place to get drinks after work, the Sea Fire Grill offers a sweet deal for oyster lovers on a budget. Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., snag fresh east and west coast oysters for $1.50 each (not bad for midtown) and wash them down with half priced glasses of wine, draft beer and well drinks. Personally, I like my briny bivalves paired with a classic gin and tonic, but a crisp sauvignon blanc would work beautifully also. (Nell Casey)
Sea Fire Grill is located at 158 East 48th Street in Midtown (212-935-3785, theseafiregrill.com)