The Best Happy Hours In Brooklyn

When: Daily, 5-7pm

The Deal: $10 Cocktails

A $10 cocktail might not sound like the greatest of deals, but the cocktails here are exceptional, and you’ll probably think , “Wow, this is worth more than $10,” while you drink one. This is a long, narrow space just off the main stretch of Bedford Ave in Williamsburg, and it’s perfect for an early Happy Hour date. Get one of the booths along the wall, or sit at the bar and take a shot out of a little glass boot.

When: Weekdays, 4-7pm; Sat-Sun, 3-7pm

The Deal: $2 off Drinks; $3 Beer

The Commodore is a divey Williamsburg bar that does certain things very well. The fried chicken for example, and the house piña colada. Hit up this Happy Hour when you want to hang out in a dark room with greasy food and a bunch of young people.

When: Daily, 5-8pm

The Deal: $7 Select Cocktails; $7 Frozen Margaritas; $7 Sangria; $5 Select Beers

When it’s cold outside, hang out in the downstairs living room that feels like an opium den (in a good way). In the summertime, head to the roof and drink frozen margaritas as you listen to the majestic hum of the BQE.

When: Weekdays, 5-8pm

*The Deal: $3 Off All Draft Beers, Draft and Frozen Cocktails, and Tacos

The ceilings here are high, and the inside is bright and attractive. If you stop by during Happy Hour, there might be a man in a beard playing a stringed instrument in the corner. The weekday atmosphere at Donna is reliably mellow, and the cocktail list is huge. Get something on tap, like the Milano Vice (slushy negroni + piña colada).

When: Daily, 4-7pm

The Deal: $1 Oysters from 6pm-7pm; $5 Select Beer; $8 House Wine, Happy Hour Cocktail

You feel good at Lighthouse. There’s something about the big windows, the friendly service, and the food that’s mostly healthy. We suggest you order a salad then get some Happy Hour wine. And then, for round two, get the burger.

When: Sun-Wed, 4-8pm; Thurs, 4-10pm

The Deal: $7 Cheeseburger or Veggie Burger with Fries; $6 Grilled Cheese; $6 Margarita, Sangria, & Bloody Mary; $5 Well Drinks, & Draft Beer

Trophy Bar checks off all requirements of a good Happy Hour spot. Fun crowd? Check. Cheap drinks? Check. Burger for when you get tipsy? Check. Patio to hold onto summer for dear life? Check.

When: Daily, 5-8pm

The Deal: $1 Off House Wine and Select Drafts; $1 Oysters All Night

Pinkerton is a neighborhood spot with a small bar, some high tables, and seating outside when the weather is nice. Get a glass of wine and order some oysters. All night, every night, they’re only a dollar each. We wouldn’t say Pinkerton is trendy, but it’s ideal for a low-key night out.

When: Mon-Fri, 5-8pm

The Deal: $5 Draft Malbec; $5 Draft Narragansett; $7 Old Fashioned, Moscow Mule, Coffee Colada, Mojito

Diamond Lil is a neighborhood cocktail bar that’s nicer than it needs to be. It isn’t upscale and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but the barstools and booths are all covered in green velvet, and there’s a giant painting of a woman reading behind the bar. This is not a bad option for a Happy Hour Old Fashioned next time you’re in Greenpoint between 5 and 8pm.

When: Weekdays, 5-8pm

The Deal: $7 Old Fashioned & Sazerac; $5 Drafts; $5 Glasses of Wine

Ramona has earned its place as our favorite cocktail spot in Greenpoint for several reasons: its beautiful, giant space, its excellent drinks, and its proximity to Paulie Gee’s. Another big reason? Ramona’s Happy Hour, when some of their expertly-made classic cocktails are on special.

When: Daily, 4-8pm

The Deal: $4 House Lager; $8 House Cocktail

Think of a nice pub - that’s Black Rabbit. It wouldn’t look out of place in a small English town, and there’s even a little backyard. On Tuesdays, they host trivia, and, if you get there before 8pm, you can prep your brain with a Happy Hour cocktail.

When: Daily, 5-8pm

The Deal: $6-$8 cocktails; $5 drafts; two-for-$6 tacos

On weekends, you can dance beneath the disco ball in the big back room at Mad Tropical. But on weekdays, this tropical-themed bar is quiet enough for a first date or a drink with a friend that you haven’t seen in while. They also serve tacos (which are two-for-$6 during Happy Hour), and we like that the front bar area is filled with potted plants.

When: Daily, 5-8pm

The Deal: Select Cocktails for $5

Yours Sincerely calls itself a “cocktail laboratory,” and they serve their drinks in little glass beakers. Somehow, it’s much less pretentious than it sounds. Aside from the beaker thing (and the fact that all the cocktails are on tap), this is mostly just a tiny place where you can hang out in a booth and catch up with friends orr talk to a date, if you have one of those.

When: Weekdays, 2-8pm; Weekends, 12-6pm

The Deal: $1 off Drafts, Well Drinks, and Glasses of Wine

It might not sound like a huge discount, but that’s a pretty long Happy Hour. And these drinks aren’t pricey to begin with. Three Diamond Door is an essential Bushwick bar, and we think that in order to find yourself, you have to lose yourself here one night.

When: Weekdays, 12-7pm; Sunday, All Day All Night

The Deal: $5 Well Drinks; $5 Glasses of Wine; $1 Off 20 oz. Beers and Frose.

If you’re with a big group or you want to sit outside (or both), The Rookery is a fine choice. Stop by before 8pm on weekdays for cheap drinks and Caribbean-style pub food. Happy Hour goes all day Sunday, so this is where you should head with your brunch bachelorette party.

When: Daily, 5-8pm

The Deal: 2-for-1 Well Drinks; 2-for-1 Narragansett and Rolling Rock; $1 Off (Almost) Everything Else

Duck Duck is one of those places where everyone always seems to actually be enjoying themselves. It’s divey, but not gross, and ideal for anything from a casual date to late-night dancing to old-school hip hop. It’s especially perfect for Happy Hour, when deals abound and the already-cheap drinks are even cheaper.

When: Mon-Fri, 5-8pm

The Deal: $1 Oyster Happy Hour; $2 Off Drafts; $1 Off Cocktails

When you need to drink out of a coconut or a golden pineapple in Crown Heights, go to Super Power. This is a nicely-designed tiki spot with a long bar, a pinball machine, and a backyard filled with tropical plants. This place tends to be crowded with people who live in the area and are trying to pretend that they live in a warmer climate. If you get hungry, there’s bar food like hot dogs, nachos, and oysters (which are $1 from 5-8pm).

When: Daily, 5-8pm

The Deal: $5 Drafts; $5 Well Drinks

Situated in between Crown Heights, Prospect Park, and Clinton Hill, Hot Bird is the ideal meeting spot for all your friends who refuse to go too far from their respective South Brooklyn neighborhoods. And with its giant outdoor space, there’s plenty of room for 20 of you.

When: Daily, 3-8pm

The Deal: $7 Well Drinks; $1 Off Drafts; $1 Off Glasses of Wine

King Tai feels like you’ve gone from the middle of Crown Heights to Miami Beach as soon as you walk through the door. And while the neighborhood crowd & consistently good music is great any time of day, Happy Hour is an especially good time to take advantage of the light, bright, whitewashed space. All that’s missing is a bucket hat and a cigar.

When: Mon-Thurs, 5-7pm; Fri, 3-7pm

The Deal: $8 Select Cocktails; $10 Beer-Shot Combo; $2 Off Wine By The Glass

If Diamond Reef were in downtown Manhattan, there would be lines to get in most nights. And that’s because this place has great cocktails, plenty of seating (in a room with tropical wallpaper), and a backyard that’s big enough for groups. Fortunately, it’s in Bed-Stuy, and you can stop by for Happy Hour without having to convince a bouncer that you’re a former child movie star.

When: Mon-Sat, 4:30-7pm

The Deal: $7 Old Fashioned; $6 Margarita/Daiquiri; $2 Off Beer, Wine, Cider

Lunatico feels like a cafe that you’d find on a quiet street in a country with a warm climate and a sub-40-hour workweek. But this place is actually a bar, and it has live music most nights that starts around 8:30pm. If you’re looking for a low-key place to grab a Happy Hour drink in Bed-Stuy, Lunatico is perfect. And it’s even better for date night at 8:30pm.

When: Mon-Fr, 5-7pm

The Deal: $7 Old Fashioned, Sazerac; $5 Select Beers; $5 Select Glasses Of Wine

Elsa looks so nice you’ll want to buy it flowers and ask if it’ll hold your hand. It’s a bar in Cobble Hill with leather booths and Art Deco light fixtures, and it’s from the same people behind Ramona in Greenpoint (another cocktail bar that’s perfect for date night) . More importantly, however, they make great cocktails, and a few of them are discounted during Happy Hour.

When: Weekdays, 4-7pm

The Deal: $8 Cocktails; $6 Glasses of Wine; $4 Beer

Fact: fancy cocktails taste even better when they’re cheaper. And that’s especially the case at a place like Clover Club, which has been serving pricey, excellent cocktails in Brooklyn for longer than just about anyone. The atmosphere is comfortable - there are couches and bar stools with backs (for the record, yes, you know you’re getting old when you notice a bar stool has a back).

When: Weekdays, 4-7pm

The Deal: $2 Off Drinks

This is the best place to drink cocktails in Park Slope. Come during Happy Hour and you’ll have more money leftover to buy the big charcuterie platter, which you could either use as a light meal for two or a group snack while you wait out your table at Al Di La down the street.

When: Mon-Fri, 3-8pm

The Deal: $3 PBR; $4 Well Drinks; $1 Off Everything Else

High Dive has free popcorn and plenty of board games, and you can buy someone a drink days or weeks in advance, which the bartenders keep track of on a big chalkboard. There’s also a backyard, so if you need to play battleship and drink beer outside at 6pm on a Thursday, this is an excellent option.

When: Sun-Fri, 4-8pm

The Deal: $5 Draft Beer; $7 Wine; $14 for 3 Cheese or Meats

Wolf & Deer is where you should be drinking before a show or game at Barclays Center. It’s a cool little spot with a u-shaped bar where you might talk to a stranger while you have oysters, charcuterie, and cocktails.

When: Mon-Fri, 2-7pm

The Deal: $5 Mixed Drinks; $5 Glasses Of Wine; $3 Narragansett

You probably aren’t going to travel for 68 Jay Street Bar, but if you live or work in the area, it should be one of your go-to spots for a casual drink. It’s a little space on a corner near the waterfront in Dumbo, and it feels sort of like someone’s living room.

When: Mon-Fri, 5:30-7pm

The Deal: $5 Select Beer; $6 House Wine; $7 Select Cocktails; $5-$8 Bar Food

This is more of a restaurant than a bar, but they have a front area where you can sit with one or two people for a few Happy Hour drinks and snacks. Your parents would also like this place.

When: Thurs & Fri, 4-8pm

The Deal: 2-for-1 Drinks

Nowadays is a bar in Ridgewood with an enormous backyard where you can play ping pong, drink at a picnic table, or dance. If it’s warm out and you can make it here before 8pm on a Friday, you can get your weekend started without spending all of your disposable income. And while this place technically isn’t in Brooklyn, it’s close enough, and it’s a spot you should know about as soon as it gets warm outside.

When: Daily, 2-8pm

The Deal: $2 Off All Drafts; $5 Beer-Shot Special; $6 House Wine; $5 Well Drinks; $6 House Punch

The Bad Old Days is another great Ridgewood bar, although it feels less like a bar and more like the common area of the dorm you wished you lived in during college. There are books and board games, and also a couch in front of a fireplace that may or may not be functional. And if you bring your laptop to Happy Hour to get some work done, no one will judge you.