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Assorted cocktails.
Cocktail hour drinks at Provisional Kitchen
Matt Furman

13 San Diego Happy Hours to Try Right Now

Bar bites and drink deals for the discerning diner

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Cocktail hour drinks at Provisional Kitchen
| Matt Furman

Take advantage of longer days and hit a happy hour somewhere in San Diego whether you’re unwinding after work or just getting the night started. Find beer and margarita flights, cocktail specials, and bonafide deals on substantial snacks ranging from fresh oysters to tacos, ceviche, and sliders.

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Park 101

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The sprawling 8,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar in Carlsbad Village is known for its barbecue but chef Quinnton “Q” Austin recently rolled out a companion seafood-focused spot in the space. Called the Trap Shack, it’s offering everything from crawfish chowder-topped tater tots to Maine lobster rolls and a shrimp boil. Sample the menu during Park 101’s weekday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour, when house cocktails, draft beer, and wine are all discounted.

A shrimp boil.
The “Boil-Bachi” shrimp boil.
The Trap Shack

Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters

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The breezy La Jolla Shores restaurant’s 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. happy hour is pleasingly robust, with $4 off draft beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and well drinks and an extensive list of food that includes menu favorites like Baja fish tacos, smashburgers, steamed mussels, and crispy shrimp.

 

Baja fish taco
Baja fish taco
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters

Mermaids & Cowboys

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Reopened in downtown La Jolla after a revamp that includes newly-installed executive chef Elias Gonzalez (Eddie V’s), the surf and turf-styled restaurant has a fresh menu that includes aji amarillo ceviche, saffron cioppino, and jerk-spiced lamb chops along with cocktails like the Calypso, which contains blueberry, rum, and cachaca. With live music featured on a regular basis, its daily 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour offers drink and food specials including complimentary charcuterie.

Common Theory

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This Convoy bar’s progressive happy hour, featured Tuesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., offers $3 off beers during the 3 p.m. hour, $2 off at 4 p.m. and $1 off at 5 p.m. along with $5 house wines and discounted food specials.

Seating at the bar [Official image]

Captain's Quarters

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The immersive nautical-styled speakeasy in Pacific Beach spotlights happy hour on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with deals on classic cocktails like gimlets and gin and tonics as well as food specials on bar bites.

Kimberly Motos

Johnston's

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The University Heights bar and restaurant has a weekday 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. happy hour with an array of beverage specials, from its JDS Old Fashioned and 1888 Mule to draft beer, select wine, and well drinks all priced at $7. Snack-wise, chef Peter Ziegler is serving up fried cheese ($8) and housemade chips with beer cheese ($6).

A restaurant with a front patio. Harrison Photographic

Fort Oak

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Fort Oak opens its bar and patio an hour early every Monday for a weekly 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. oyster-focused happy hour. Oyster Mondays feature $1 freshly-shucked oysters as well as wine and cocktails at special prices and other select food specials like chef Brad Wise’s signature half-pound burger topped with fried egg aioli, truffled onion jam, and cheddar. 

Trust Restaurant Group

Go Go Amigo

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Liberty Station’s casual Mexican restaurant and bar serves up happy hour specials on Thursday and Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with $5 potato rolled tacos and $6 mulitas as well as deals on beer, wine, and margaritas.

Fernside

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South Park’s friendly neighborhood bar extends its happy hour offerings from opening until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. There’s $6 beers, $8 cocktail classics like mojitos and Moscow mules, and $8 bar bites ranging from pork sliders to chicken wings.

A cocktail bar with bar stools. Fernside/Facebook

The Craft Creamery

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The Point Loma scoop shop’s kid-friendly happy hour runs weekdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. when children age 12 and under receive 50 percent off. Recently-remodeled and now partnered with local Moniker Coffee Co., the store sources its rotating flavors from independent creameries from across the nation, from San Diego’s own Mutual Friend to longstanding brands like Fosselman’s and Petersen’s Ice Cream, offering scoop flights, affogatos, and pints to-go.

The front of an ice cream shop. The Craft Creamery

Craft & Commerce

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One of Little Italy’s foundational bars features 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. happy hour Monday through Thursday, and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, offers cocktails for $8 and a variety of specials on food including the C&C Slider and fried cauliflower.

Provisional Kitchen

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Offered at the bar or on the patio, this Gaslamp restaurant’s cocktail hour runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday with specially-priced beer, wine, and cocktails like the Seaport Sparkler (tequila, vermouth, lemon, grapefruit) and Italian-style bites ranging from fried burrata to yellowtail crudo and tiramisu.

Assorted cocktails.
Featured cocktail hour drinks at Provisional Kitchen
Matt Furman

Meze Greek Fusion

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Many of the Greek restaurant’s small plates are on special during its 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour that runs Sunday through Friday. Priced at $6, $7, or $8, choices range from tomato-basil hummus and tzatziki to dolma, Greek salad, spanikopita, and Greek-style tacos.

Greek tacos
Greek tacos
Meze Greek Fusion

Park 101

The sprawling 8,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar in Carlsbad Village is known for its barbecue but chef Quinnton “Q” Austin recently rolled out a companion seafood-focused spot in the space. Called the Trap Shack, it’s offering everything from crawfish chowder-topped tater tots to Maine lobster rolls and a shrimp boil. Sample the menu during Park 101’s weekday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour, when house cocktails, draft beer, and wine are all discounted.

A shrimp boil.
The “Boil-Bachi” shrimp boil.
The Trap Shack

Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters

The breezy La Jolla Shores restaurant’s 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. happy hour is pleasingly robust, with $4 off draft beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and well drinks and an extensive list of food that includes menu favorites like Baja fish tacos, smashburgers, steamed mussels, and crispy shrimp.

 

Baja fish taco
Baja fish taco
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters

Mermaids & Cowboys

Reopened in downtown La Jolla after a revamp that includes newly-installed executive chef Elias Gonzalez (Eddie V’s), the surf and turf-styled restaurant has a fresh menu that includes aji amarillo ceviche, saffron cioppino, and jerk-spiced lamb chops along with cocktails like the Calypso, which contains blueberry, rum, and cachaca. With live music featured on a regular basis, its daily 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour offers drink and food specials including complimentary charcuterie.

Common Theory

This Convoy bar’s progressive happy hour, featured Tuesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., offers $3 off beers during the 3 p.m. hour, $2 off at 4 p.m. and $1 off at 5 p.m. along with $5 house wines and discounted food specials.

Seating at the bar [Official image]

Captain's Quarters

The immersive nautical-styled speakeasy in Pacific Beach spotlights happy hour on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with deals on classic cocktails like gimlets and gin and tonics as well as food specials on bar bites.

Kimberly Motos

Johnston's

The University Heights bar and restaurant has a weekday 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. happy hour with an array of beverage specials, from its JDS Old Fashioned and 1888 Mule to draft beer, select wine, and well drinks all priced at $7. Snack-wise, chef Peter Ziegler is serving up fried cheese ($8) and housemade chips with beer cheese ($6).

A restaurant with a front patio. Harrison Photographic

Fort Oak

Fort Oak opens its bar and patio an hour early every Monday for a weekly 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. oyster-focused happy hour. Oyster Mondays feature $1 freshly-shucked oysters as well as wine and cocktails at special prices and other select food specials like chef Brad Wise’s signature half-pound burger topped with fried egg aioli, truffled onion jam, and cheddar. 

Trust Restaurant Group

Go Go Amigo

Liberty Station’s casual Mexican restaurant and bar serves up happy hour specials on Thursday and Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with $5 potato rolled tacos and $6 mulitas as well as deals on beer, wine, and margaritas.

Fernside

South Park’s friendly neighborhood bar extends its happy hour offerings from opening until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. There’s $6 beers, $8 cocktail classics like mojitos and Moscow mules, and $8 bar bites ranging from pork sliders to chicken wings.

A cocktail bar with bar stools. Fernside/Facebook

The Craft Creamery

The Point Loma scoop shop’s kid-friendly happy hour runs weekdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. when children age 12 and under receive 50 percent off. Recently-remodeled and now partnered with local Moniker Coffee Co., the store sources its rotating flavors from independent creameries from across the nation, from San Diego’s own Mutual Friend to longstanding brands like Fosselman’s and Petersen’s Ice Cream, offering scoop flights, affogatos, and pints to-go.

The front of an ice cream shop. The Craft Creamery

Craft & Commerce

One of Little Italy’s foundational bars features 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. happy hour Monday through Thursday, and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, offers cocktails for $8 and a variety of specials on food including the C&C Slider and fried cauliflower.

Provisional Kitchen

Offered at the bar or on the patio, this Gaslamp restaurant’s cocktail hour runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday with specially-priced beer, wine, and cocktails like the Seaport Sparkler (tequila, vermouth, lemon, grapefruit) and Italian-style bites ranging from fried burrata to yellowtail crudo and tiramisu.

Assorted cocktails.
Featured cocktail hour drinks at Provisional Kitchen
Matt Furman

Meze Greek Fusion

Many of the Greek restaurant’s small plates are on special during its 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. happy hour that runs Sunday through Friday. Priced at $6, $7, or $8, choices range from tomato-basil hummus and tzatziki to dolma, Greek salad, spanikopita, and Greek-style tacos.

Greek tacos
Greek tacos
Meze Greek Fusion

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