Remember Happy Hour? For less than $10, you could have a decent cocktail, a few tacos, or a glass of wine without completely betraying your credit card’s trust. Your biggest worry was hopping on the L train early enough to meet your friends at an umbrella-covered patio table before 7pm. Even though things are different now, some NYC spots are still doing great Happy Hour specials outside. So take a break from daydreaming about discounted margarita pitchers or $1 oyster platters and head to one of the places on this guide.
As you visit these spots, it’s likely that you’ll be asked to buy some food with your discounted drinks. If you want to know more about why NYC bars can’t just serve chips with booze and call it a day, check out our feature all about the updated policy issued by the State Liquor Authority here.
the outdoor spots
The Turk’s Inn
When: Wednesday-Sunday, 2-6pm
The Deal: $10 Frozen Cocktails; $24 Beer Bucket; Free Slushie with a $20 Food Order; Free Beer with a Kebab
The Turk’s Inn is modeled on an old Wisconsin supper club that went by the same name, but unlike the original, this Bushwick restaurant has a rooftop called the Sultan Room with neon lighting and red patio furniture. If you’d rather get drinks on the ground floor and order snacks like burrata fattoush, a lamb burger, or kebab, they also have a sidewalk patio where you can do that (and stare up at their astonishing facade on Starr Street).
When: Weekdays, 1-5pm
The Deal: $11 Cocktails; $6 Wine by the Glass
Hunky Dory has a corner lot on Franklin Avenue that’s about the size of your average playground. It’s full of patio tables where you can meet up with friends, enjoy free wifi, and have the kinds of conversations you’d usually have in a cramped coffee shop this summer. Rather than simply offering chips as a Cuomo bar snack, Hunky Dory is doing Frito-covered vanilla soft serve, plus some healthier sandwiches and grain bowls.
When: Daily, 4-8pm
The Deal: $5 House Lager; $8 House Lager With A Shot, $8 House Cocktail
Black Rabbit is the kind of pub that would fit in nicely in an English town. Only it’s in Greenpoint, and there’s a cute little backyard instead of rolling countryside hills. Other people will want to sit in it too, so get there before 8pm.
When: Mon-Fri, 4-7pm
The Deal: $6 Beers; $8 Wine; $8-9 Select Cocktails
White Oak Tavern is a big bar and restaurant right next to NYU, where you’d usually find sports on TV. They’ve got a spacious outdoor patio open right now, where you can drink a Moscow mule or a peach bourbon iced tea this summer.
When: Tuesday-Sunday, 4-6pm
The Deal: $10 Frozen Cocktails and Wine, $6 Draft beer
Concord Hill is a popular East Williamsburg spot where you can get a bunch of vegetable-focused lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch options. They have a few street tables where you can grab a discounted cocktail during the week, but over the weekend. Graham Avenue is closed off to traffic and their large curbside patio opens up in the middle of street.
When: Monday-Thursday 4-7pm; Friday 12-7pm
The Deal: $5 Well Drinks; $6 Draft Beers; $10 Cocktails
The backyard patio at this UES bar is currently under construction, but you can still enjoy Happy Hour on their new covered curbside patio, rain or shine.
When: Daily, 4-7pm
The Deal: $3 tacos; $10 Sangria or Margarita (16 oz) ; $20 Sangria or Margarita (32 oz); $6 Micheladas
For years, Chavela’s has been Crown Heights’ go-to spot for meeting up with friends. And if you happen to walk by this summer, you’ll notice that almost every table has a margarita pitcher during Happy Hour. You should follow suit.
When: All night on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
The Deal: Monday-Tuesday: $24 Mussels, Garlic fries, and Select Wine or Beer; Thursday: $79 Wine Bottle and 3-course Dinner for Two
Cafe Du Soleil is a casual French bistro right by Columbia on the UWS, and it has a lot of covered sidewalk seating. You can come here for dinner or to drink a glass of wine in a wicker chair, even when you think it might rain.
Beatstro
When: Daily, 4-8pm
The Deal: $6 Well Drinks; $8 Sangria; $4 Beer; $7 Wine; $8 Red Top
This Bronx bar usually has live DJ sets with Hip-Hop music playing during its Happy Hour. So if you want to drink sangria on a curbside patio where you won’t feel awkward about bopping along to that new Drake song, this is the place to do it.
When: Monday-Thursday, 4-6:30pm
The Deal: $7 Margaritas; $3 Tecates; $8 Tecate & Tequila Shot; $7 Bar Snacks
Barrio Chino is one of our favorite places in Manhattan to get Mexican food, but even if you’re not interested in eating, you should come to this LES spot for margaritas during Happy Hour. If you change your mind about food, they offer discounted bar snacks, like chips and guacamole and fish tacos.
When: Monday-Friday, 4-7pm
The Deal: $5 Select Beer & Well Drinks; $6 Sangria
Harlem Tavern has a huge front patio, plus a long bar food menu. This place is ideal if you need a big place to meet some friends for drinks, especially if some of those friends want to watch sports and other people only talk about sports ironically.
When: Weekdays, 5-8pm
The Deal: $6 Select Beer; $8 House Wine; $9 Well Mixed Drinks; $10 Specialty Cocktails
Bar Hugo isn’t as cheesy as your average hotel rooftop, and the Happy Hour goes later than most places in this area. If you work downtown, stop by for after-work drinks. Or bring a date and look out at all the cars going to the Holland Tunnel.
When: Sun-Thurs, 2-7pm; Friday, 2-6pm
The Deal: $2 Off Margaritas; $2 Off Well Drinks; $1 Off Draft and Bottled Beer
Sweet & Vicious is a good place to know about when you suddenly have to gather ten friends who want to get drinks somewhere downtown. There’s plenty of space in the back (although it does get crowded), and the frozen margaritas are strong.
When: Weekdays, 4-7pm
The Deal: $3 Shot with Beer; 1/2 off Well Drinks
The Commodore is a divey Williamsburg bar that does certain things very well. The fried chicken sandwich, for example, and the house piña colada. Hit up this Happy Hour when you want to hang out on a curbside patio with other people craving greasy food.
When: Daily, 4:30-6:39pm
The Deal: $1.25 Oysters, $1 Clams, $8.50 Select Cocktails, $8.50 Wine, $5 Select Beer
Come here to hang out at a table on Amsterdam Avenue while you eat a satisfying amount of inexpensive shellfish. There’s also a downtown location with its own Happy Hour deal, if anyone’s complaining about going above 14th Street.
When: Daily, Until 7pm
The Deal: $1 Oysters, $15 Carafe Of Wine
A lower, Lower East Side staple for more than a decade now, The Ten Bells is one of those bars that’s always a good time. It has a ton of character, is filled with regulars, and has way better food than a fun wine bar in this part of town really needs to have. On top of that, they serve $1 oysters during Happy Hour.
