Here now is a map presenting 10 reader favorite bar happy hours. Some were touted for expansive HH food menus or extra hours (or days) of happiness; others garnered fans thanks to unique options, like a 2-for-1 bloody mary, local beer specials, or special Prix Fixe (PBR, shot, cigarette); others were simply a good deal on a classy cocktail. They're here in roughly geographic order; and if your favorite is still missing from the party, do add it to the comments. (Note: Restaurants were exempt from the running this time around; but get ready to spill those HH restaurant picks soon.)
If you can get out of work for a long lunch, you can get double your bloody mary goodness at Pat's Tap with their 2-for-1 housemade bloodies, available Monday - Friday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. There's also a more normal 3 - 6 p.m. weekday happy hour with $3 rails and house wine and $2 off select taps. But who are we kidding? Once it's patio season, we're going to be playing a little hooky.
Uptown's beloved dive has so many happy hour specials, it's hard to keep them all straight. A few highlights: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m and 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. is 2-for-1 on all drinks, every day. There's also $3 Jameson after 11 p.m., and a $5.49 blue plate special every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And come summer, drink specials go 3-for-1.
It's all class at this otherwise somewhat-pricey cocktail bar's early and late-night happy hours. Called the 601Hour, after its home at the Graves 601 Hotel, it offers you a choice of three schmancy cocktails and three delectable-sounding small plates, each for $6.01 (compared to the usual $12 for a cocktail). The early happy hour runs 5 - 7 p.m., Tuesday - Friday; the late happy hour runs 11 p.m. - close, Tuesday - Thursday.
Nothing fancy at this happy hour, just good old 2-for-1s on domestic taps and rail drinks. But the hours of happiness are long (4 - 7 p.m.) and Saturdays are included (no Sunday happy hour, though).
Happy hour at this favorite Northeast watering hole only includes Summit and Surly, but who really needs anything else? All taps from those two local breweries are $2 from 1 - 6 p.m., Monday - Friday. Throw in a $1.50 brat or polish sausage (or two) and a comfortable seat at the bar, and you've got it made.
Every day brings a different happy hour delight at Grumpy's NE, with Mondays perhaps the most delightful of all: Minnesota Mondays means half off all local beer from 5 - 9 p.m. Every Tuesday brings Hot Dish happy hour, where the hot dish of the day is $1/bowl from 5 p.m. until it's gone. Thursdays, get two bottles of domestic beer for $3 from 2 - 6 p.m., and Sundays are Tall Boy Sundays, all tall boys $2 from open to close.
Three words: Free. Bacon. Wednesdays. That's right, every Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (or til supplies last), Triple Rock hands out free bacon, and $3 PBR tallboys to wash it all down. The normal happy hour ain't too shabby, either: Monday - Friday, 4 - 7 p.m., all pints and rails are $3 (plus a $7 pint and burger/veggie burger/hot dog/not dog basket).
This West Bank staple is known both for its outdoor bocce courts and for its Prix Fixe special: a PBR, a shot, and a cigarette, all for $5, on offer all day, every day. If that trifecta isn't your thing, the normal happy hour is $3 select taps, rails, and domestic bottles, from 3 - 7 p.m., Monday - Friday.
This beer bar has a pretty standard happy hour when it comes to drinks - $3 for select beers, house wine, and rail drinks - and pretty standard hours (4 - 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. - midnight). But the food options put it over the top: the $6 burger is made with your choice of 100% grass-fed beef, Wild Acres turkey, or a black bean patty. There's also fish or pork tacos for $5. And, bonus: happy hour runs every day.
The beer only comes in bottles at this Dinkytown lounge, but it's only $2-$3 a pop, every day from 4 - 7 p.m. Happy hour also includes $3 rail drinks and $2.50 wine. You can order burgers and fries (full price, but still not too spendy) from Annie's upstairs.
If you can get out of work for a long lunch, you can get double your bloody mary goodness at Pat's Tap with their 2-for-1 housemade bloodies, available Monday - Friday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. There's also a more normal 3 - 6 p.m. weekday happy hour with $3 rails and house wine and $2 off select taps. But who are we kidding? Once it's patio season, we're going to be playing a little hooky.
Uptown's beloved dive has so many happy hour specials, it's hard to keep them all straight. A few highlights: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m and 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. is 2-for-1 on all drinks, every day. There's also $3 Jameson after 11 p.m., and a $5.49 blue plate special every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And come summer, drink specials go 3-for-1.
It's all class at this otherwise somewhat-pricey cocktail bar's early and late-night happy hours. Called the 601Hour, after its home at the Graves 601 Hotel, it offers you a choice of three schmancy cocktails and three delectable-sounding small plates, each for $6.01 (compared to the usual $12 for a cocktail). The early happy hour runs 5 - 7 p.m., Tuesday - Friday; the late happy hour runs 11 p.m. - close, Tuesday - Thursday.
Nothing fancy at this happy hour, just good old 2-for-1s on domestic taps and rail drinks. But the hours of happiness are long (4 - 7 p.m.) and Saturdays are included (no Sunday happy hour, though).
Happy hour at this favorite Northeast watering hole only includes Summit and Surly, but who really needs anything else? All taps from those two local breweries are $2 from 1 - 6 p.m., Monday - Friday. Throw in a $1.50 brat or polish sausage (or two) and a comfortable seat at the bar, and you've got it made.
Every day brings a different happy hour delight at Grumpy's NE, with Mondays perhaps the most delightful of all: Minnesota Mondays means half off all local beer from 5 - 9 p.m. Every Tuesday brings Hot Dish happy hour, where the hot dish of the day is $1/bowl from 5 p.m. until it's gone. Thursdays, get two bottles of domestic beer for $3 from 2 - 6 p.m., and Sundays are Tall Boy Sundays, all tall boys $2 from open to close.
Three words: Free. Bacon. Wednesdays. That's right, every Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (or til supplies last), Triple Rock hands out free bacon, and $3 PBR tallboys to wash it all down. The normal happy hour ain't too shabby, either: Monday - Friday, 4 - 7 p.m., all pints and rails are $3 (plus a $7 pint and burger/veggie burger/hot dog/not dog basket).
This West Bank staple is known both for its outdoor bocce courts and for its Prix Fixe special: a PBR, a shot, and a cigarette, all for $5, on offer all day, every day. If that trifecta isn't your thing, the normal happy hour is $3 select taps, rails, and domestic bottles, from 3 - 7 p.m., Monday - Friday.
This beer bar has a pretty standard happy hour when it comes to drinks - $3 for select beers, house wine, and rail drinks - and pretty standard hours (4 - 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. - midnight). But the food options put it over the top: the $6 burger is made with your choice of 100% grass-fed beef, Wild Acres turkey, or a black bean patty. There's also fish or pork tacos for $5. And, bonus: happy hour runs every day.
The beer only comes in bottles at this Dinkytown lounge, but it's only $2-$3 a pop, every day from 4 - 7 p.m. Happy hour also includes $3 rail drinks and $2.50 wine. You can order burgers and fries (full price, but still not too spendy) from Annie's upstairs.