NYCGuide
The Best Happy Hours In Brooklyn
photo credit: Endswell
After a long day at work, you want to make as few decisions as possible. You might also want to find a place where you can drink without spending all the money you just earned, so let this guide to the best Happy Hours in Brooklyn make your life easier.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
When: Tues-Thurs, 5:30-7pm; Bar and High Tops Only Fri-Sun
The Deal: $5 Beers, $10 Cocktails, $5 Snacks, $5 Tacos, $9 Tuna Tostadas
On top of having an excellent Happy Hour, Ensenada is also one of the best restaurants in Williamsburg. Which means the optimal way to eat here is to arrive at 5:30pm and consume as many discounted margaritas and shrimp tacos as you can until the clock strikes 7pm. Then, order the whole fish al pastor.
photo credit: Blinky's Bar
When: Weekdays, 5-8pm
The Deal: $11 Cocktails; $7 Beers; $7 Mixed Drinks; $9 Wine; $6 Beer Shot Combo
Blinky’s in Williamsburg has what a lot of the neighborhood’s citizens want: a backyard crawling with ivy, regularly scheduled DJ sets and comedy shows, and a sassy drink menu with high school yearbook superlatives listed below each cocktail.
photo credit: Jonny Herrera
When: Weds-Fri, 5-7pm
The Deal: $7 Well Shots; $3 Lager Cans,; $7 Drafts; $7 Wine; $10 Cocktails
The TL;DR on LoHi is that it’s just a f*cking big rooftop bar in the industrial part of East Williamsburg that could also be correctly categorized as Bushwick. And in a city where big rooftops are rare, that’s a good enough reason to come here—ideally during the early evening with a group and several rounds of chuggable hibiscus mezcal cocktails.
photo credit: Katherine Lewin
When: Daily, 4-7pm
The Deal: Half-Off Glasses Of Sherry; $12 Martinis; Half-Off Oysters
On any given night at El Pingüino in Greenpoint, you’ll find a transistor radio playing indie music in the bathroom, a cartoon poster of a wine-drunk penguin hanging behind the bar, and an impressive raw bar. Come for drinks and snacks.
photo credit: Willa Moore
When: Daily, 4-7pm
The Deal: Half-Off Glasses Of Sherry; $12 Martinis; Half-Off Oysters
On any given night at El Pingüino in Greenpoint, you’ll find a transistor radio playing indie music in the bathroom, a cartoon poster of a wine-drunk penguin hanging behind the bar, and an impressive raw bar. Come for drinks and snacks.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
When: Mon-Fri, 4-7pm; Sat-Sun 3-7pm
The Deal: $7 Glasses; $20 Carafes; $10 Cocktails; $1 Oysters
One of our favorite LES wine bars to visit during Happy Hour has a second location in Bushwick. Brooklyn’s The Ten Bells sits just a few feet away from Maria Hernandez Park with a brick-walled backyard and a dark wood-covered dining room where you can snack on lamb meatballs and charcuterie.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
When: Daily, 5-7pm
The Deal: $7 Cocktails
This is one of the better choices in Bushwick to impress someone with an interesting cocktail. All of the drinks come in graduated cylinders, and all of the drink ingredients come from taps with little doll heads on them. Hit this place during their daily Happy Hour, when the cocktails are $7.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
When: Mon-Thurs, 4-7pm
The Deal: $6 Select Beers
KCBC beer is a brewery and taproom on Troutman near the Jefferson stop in Bushwick. You’ve probably seen their beer in bars around the city, but their taproom has some interesting ones you won’t find elsewhere. Weekend nights here get packed, but the crowd during the week is ideal for dogs, children, and fully grown adults alike.
When: Daily Until 8pm
The Deal: $1 Off Drafts; $1 Off Wine; $1 Off Well Drinks
King Tai plays consistently good music any time of day, and it looks like it got jealous of Miami and tried to make itself a clone. Happy Hour is an especially good time to take advantage of the Crown Heights space (and try to get a seat at the bar).
When: All Day Monday, 4pm-Close; Tues-Sun 4-7pm
The Deal: $5 Beer; $7 Wine; $9-19 Cocktails; Discounted Small Plates
Come to this snug little cocktail bar in Bed-Stuy to wind down after work with a fruit-and-flower-scented drink and some solo tapas. Or bring some friends so you can order extra plates of the beef sliders, truffle fries, and cheesy cauliflower arancini.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
When: Daily Until 7pm
The Deal: $9 Daiquiris; $10 Margaritas, Negronis, Garibaldis; $2 Off Wine; Discounted Snacks
Lunatico feels like a cafe you’d find on a quiet street in a country with a warm climate and an under-40-hour workweek. It has live music most nights, and if you’re looking for a low-key place to grab a Happy Hour drink and snack in Bed-Stuy, it’s perfect.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
When: Weekdays, 5-7pm
The Deal: $9 Cocktails; $9 Wine; $9 Hors d’Oeuvres
Le Crocodile is a fancy French restaurant in Williamsburg where a half-dozen oysters will normally cost you $24. But during Happy Hour at the bar, you can drink a spritz and eat chicken liver pâté for around $20 total. Come with a date, and if things are going well, move to a table and share steak frites.
photo credit: Endswell
When: Weekdays, 5-7pm
The Deal: $9 Wines; $9 Old Fashioned; $9 Margarita; $8 Lager; $2 Off Bar Snacks
On the weekends, this Fort Greene spot is a mimosa-fueled brunch destination, but it functions more as a laid-back cocktail bar during the rest of the week. If you stop by on a weeknight, you should have no problem grabbing one of the few high-top tables on their outdoor patio.
photo credit: Tom Roughton
When: Weekdays, 3-6pm
The Deal: $3 Presidente Cans, $5 Well Drinks, $8 House Wine
Each and every time we drink in this Clinton Hill bar’s backyard, we hear someone say “I had no idea this was here!” They’re not wrong. The relatively calm back patio feels a lot more private and secluded than the sidewalk seating out front.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
When: Weekdays, 4-6pm
The Deal: $12 Select Cocktails; $5 Select Beer; $5 Bar Snacks; Half-Priced Oysters
Fancy cocktails taste even better when they cost less than usual. And that’s especially the case at a place like Clover Club, which has been serving expensive, excellent cocktails in Carroll Gardens for longer than most other bars. There are also some great bar snacks here, in case you realize halfway through your second Happy Hour drink that you should probably eat.
POWERED BY
When: Monday, All Day; Tues-Fri Until 7pm; Sat-Sun Until 5pm
The Deal: $6 Draft Beer; $9 Select Wine; $8 Mac And Cheese
Brookvin is a casual wine bar in South Slope that’s a pretty ideal early-in-the-game date spot. You can share small plates and charcuterie in the narrow, dimly-lit space, or you can drink in the back garden under hanging lights and greenery.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
When: Mon-Fri Until 7pm; Sat-Sun Until 4pm
The Deal: $5 Well Drinks; $1 Off Wine And Draft Beer; $8 Well Shot And Pint Of Lionshead; $2 Off Frozen Margaritas; $7 Shot Of Jameson Or Four Roses
The front of this bar in Ditmas Park is a fully-operating flower shop during the day, and the backyard has string lights, a bunch of picnic tables, and some pine trees. The Happy Hour deals are pretty great here—and you can even enjoy them on weekends.
