Booze You Can Use
The best happy hours in town
SF likes to start its nights out early. So an arsenal of great happy hours is a must.
These are our ten favorites in the city (in no particular order), selected thanks to great drink specials, cheap bites and, occasionally, a solid appreciation for a straightforward shot-and-a-beer.
Dollar oysters are just the beginning: From 5 to 6:30 p.m., sample $5 fish tacos, $6 bowls of bacon-rich seafood chowder, $4 draft beer and $6 glasses of wine. Pro tip: You can reserve tables for happy hour, too.
Pair cheap beer ($3 drafts) with cheap pizza (half priced at $5 to $6) from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at both locations.
From 5:30 to 7 p.m., get discounted cocktails, plus half off about a third of their food menu (fried baby octopus for $4.50, seared salmon belly for $7).
Make after-work drinks très charmant from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Specials include a $10 wine flight, $5 mushroom flatbread and $20 selection of meats, and cheeses served with baguette.
While away a weekend afternoon at this adorable nook of a bar: From 1 to 4 p.m., get discounted cocktails, beer and wine, plus specially priced bites. Weekdays, too, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Make like it's 1972 every day, from 5 to 7 p.m., with "retro cocktails" ($6) like the Banana Daiquiri or the $20 "Boogie Nights" punch bowl. Get down with "70's Classic Munchies" ($2), including pigs in a blanket.
Learn the tricks of the trade over drinks at the weekly Butcher's Happy Hour, held on Wednesdays. Watch the butchers break down pigs while enjoying wine and tasty snacks.
Shot-and-a-beer, anyone? Get yours here from 4 to 7 p.m.; three combos include Four Roses bourbon and a short Anchor Steam, Pueblo Viejo tequila and a Tecate, and Bols Genever and a short Trumer Pils.
The Cheese School of San Francisco
It's all in the name at the "Cheese Makes Me Happy Hour." Every Wednesday until June 18, hang out from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on the school's lovely patio, where twenty bucks gets you a curated cheese plate, plus a glass of local wine or beer.
At the new "The Happiest of Hours," from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, pair $1 oysters and $6 yuzu chicken wings with $4 Sapporo on draft, plus rotating wine and sake specials for $6.