LAGuide
The West Hollywood Happy Hour Guide
Weho is full of bars, but it’s still tough to find a Happy Hour that will make you forget how many times you thought about quitting your job today.
Even if you actually like your job, chances are you’ll be looking for an early evening drink in West Hollywood at some point. Whether it’s a post-audition margarita, pre-dinner beer with a date, or a glass of wine with your co-workers to gossip about how Gina’s totally lying about her dog having hemorrhoids to get out of management training, here’s your almost-exhaustive list to Happy Hours in Weho.
One of our favorite seafood restaurants in LA also has a fantastic weekday Happy Hour, with drink specials and deals on oysters, smoked fish dip, and clam rolls. Sit on the covered patio once, and you’ll probably become a regular.
The Deal: $6 select draft beers, $6 select wines, $7 margaritas, food deals.
When: Weekdays 4-7pm.
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Beverly Grove French spot Marvin is excellent no matter when you go - but it’s especially excellent when their drink deals are running, and not just because they have a Happy Hour-only $9 burger that everyone should try once. Beyond that, they’ve got an impressive list of wines by the glass that will keep anyone happy.
The Deal: $10 wine, $6 beers, $7 snacks.
When: Tuesday-Sunday 6-7pm.
When you’ve been fighting over the thermostat at work all day, it’s likely that you’ll end up drinking outside when you leave. The nice patio isn’t the only reason to go to Electric Owl - cocktails are $6 and pair well with one of LA’s best burgers (which isn’t on the Happy Hour menu, but is worth ordering anyway).
The Deal: $5 beer, $6 cocktails, $7 wine, food specials.
When: Daily 4:20-7pm.
Melrose Umbrella Co. is a solid cocktail bar that serves their normally expensive (but good) drinks at much more reasonable prices during Happy Hour. They have things like a house Old Fashioned, a brandy sour, and various mules for under $10.
The Deal: $8-$10 cocktails, food specials.
When: Weekdays 4-7pm.
Petty Cash, the always-crowded taqueria, has a pretty affordable Happy Hour, with $8 margaritas and plenty of food specials. Get the brisket quesadilla or the cauliflower nachos.
The Deal: $7 food specials, $10 oyster and a shot of mezcal, $6 draft beer, $8 margaritas.
When: Weekdays 5-7pm.
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There are higher profile spots along the Strip, but State Social House is a decent, low-key spot to grab some inexpensive food and drinks and avoid the crowds at nearby bars.
The Deal: Half-priced drinks, food specials.
When: Weekdays 4-7pm.
photo credit: Jakob Layman
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Spartina is an Italian spot on Melrose with a front patio and cocktails worth investigating, especially during Happy Hour. The best time to go is on Mondays and Tuesdays, when they do special deals on their pastas and Happy Hour runs until close.
The Deal: Food specials, $8 cocktails and glasses of wine, $4 beers.
When: Daily 5:30-6:45pm, all night Mondays and Tuesdays.
This bar on Melrose has a great list of wines by the glass, but the real reason you’re here is the menu filled with things covered in melty cheese. They’ve got four different cheese fondue options for around $35, which all come with baguette and vegetables. Our favorite is the aged cheddar and smoked gouda with garlic confit.
The Deal: $6 draft beer, $8 cocktails and wine, $30 select wine bottles, food specials.
When: Tuesday-Friday 5-7pm. Weekends 3-6pm.
A speakeasy transplanted from NYC, Employees Only has great cocktails and some really good food deals during Happy Hour (or “Golden Hour,” as they call it). Once you make it past the psychic’s den out front, get the French 77 (with vodka, St. Germain, and prosecco) and some duck wings to share.
The Deal: $10 select cocktails, $7 select wines, food specials.
When: Daily 6-7pm.
Barney’s has an excellent Happy Hour every weeknight, even during their special events like trivia nights and football games. They usually have specific daily deals, too. Get the nachos and some chili, and try not spill anything on the air hockey table.
The Deal: Half-price appetizers, daily discounts on specific drinks.
When: Weekdays, 4-7pm.
A sports bar on La Cienega that doesn’t look like a sports bar, 40 Love is a good spot when you want to watch the game after work, but don’t want to walk out smelling like French fries. Their cocktails aren’t the strongest around, but the Afternoon Delight (a blackberry Aperol Spritz) is excellent.
The Deal: $10 all cocktails, food specials.
When: Weekdays 4-7pm.
Otherwise known as that place where every kickball team goes after their weekly game, Hi Tops is a sort-of sports bar in Boystown. Basically every drink is $5 during Happy Hour, so you’re going to be spending a lot of time here.
The Deal: $5 wine, champagne, beer, and well drinks.
When: Weekdays 4-8pm.
This spot is Permanently Closed.
This neighborhood spot is well-known for its good bottomless brunch, but weeknights are nice, too. On a random Tuesday, you’ll find that Marco’s is filled with locals drinking inexpensive glasses of wine and eating $4 pizza slices.
The Deal: Food specials, $4 house wine, $3 beer bottles.
When: Weekdays 3-7pm.
The Abbey doesn’t really need an introduction. It’s the most recognizable gay bar in LA - and weeknights during Happy Hour are a pretty good time to come. There’s space to sit down, but it turns out plenty of people are willing to get on the dance floor when it’s still light out.
The Deal: $8 selected appetizers, $6 wine, well drinks, and beer, $9 martinis.
When: Monday-Thursday 4-7pm, Friday 4-9pm.
Saint Felix is a casual gay bar and restaurant in Boystown, with a great patio for people-watching. Happy Hour is the best time to be here, since it fills up with a big after-work crowd.
The Deal: Food specials, $9.99 cocktails or select premium wine glasses, $7.99 house spirits and house wines, $6.99 craft beers.
When: Daily 4-8pm.
This beach-themed gay bar is an absolutely sh*tshow at virtually every time of day, and all the better for it. But if you’re there for their pre-game Happy Hour, at least you’re there before things hit late-night levels of sloppy.
The Deal: Half-off frozen cocktails, $25 margarita pitchers, $5 well drinks, $10 boilermakers, $7 food deals.
When: Daily 4-8pm, Mondays 4pm-12am.
photo credit: Philip Guerette
Yes, Sur has a Happy Hour. There’s $5 sangria, and it’ll be crowded, but at least you won’t have to wait in a line down the block for a table like you did when it first opened. It’ll also be before Giggy’s bedtime, so maybe you’ll see Lisa Vanderpump carrying him around like the little prince he is.
The Deal: $7 cocktails, $5 house wine and beer, $6 sangria and appetizers.
When: Daily 5-7pm.
Saddle Ranch is a touristy bar on the Strip where you can do Fireball shots at 3pm and no one will look twice. They have deals on food and drinks, but you’ll be needing a discounted shot in order to get on a mechanical bull in front of a bunch of strangers.
The Deal: 25-50% off all drinks and appetizers, $4.99 house wines.
When: Weekdays 3-6pm.
This Irish sports bar on the Sunset Strip isn’t as rowdy as you’d think it would be. Stop in for a beer when you’re on the Strip and don’t feel like waiting in line.
The Deal: 50% off everything.
When: Weekdays 5-7pm.
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The Den is a bar full of agency dudes on the Strip, but it’s also a place where you can have a great time sitting by the fire pits - as long as you’re prepared to hear lots of talk from the guy next to you about just how important his boss is.
The Deal: $2 off all snacks, shares, and flatbreads.
When: Weekdays 5-7pm, Weekends 3-5pm.
The Cecconi’s burger is one of the best in the city, and the only time you can get it is during Happy Hour. Add in $3 drinks and a bunch of food specials, and you have a great, surprisingly affordable option on Melrose for after-work snacks and drinks.
The Deal: $3, $6, and $9 appetizers and drinks.
When: Tuesday-Saturday 3-6pm.
The correct way to do Gracias Madre is to hang out on their excellent patio for Happy Hour with a glass of sangria and an order of chips and guac.
The Deal: Food specials, $8 cocktails, $7 house wine, sangria and beer.
When: Weekdays 3-6pm.
This New Orleans-themed gay bar has two Happy Hours - one for after work, and one for when you show up in Boystown and need a few cheap drinks to catch up to the rest of the group.
The Deal: $2 Bud Light, $3 beers, $4 well drinks, $5 wine.
When: Daily 4-8pm, 10:30pm-12:30am.
Eveleigh has fine food and is filled with actors hoping to meet better representation than their current Studio City strip-mall agent. If that appeals to you, or you’d just like to drink an $8 cocktail in a very pretty space, check out their weekday Happy Hour.
The Deal: $8 cocktails, $7 wine, $4 beers and food specials.
When: Weekdays 5-7pm.
At this point, The Surly Goat (and their fantastic tap selection) are Weho institutions, and they discount a few of the beers down to $4 every day during Happy Hour. Pick one you like, or have the bartender pick for you, and head to their great side patio.
The Deal: Select $4 beers.
When: Weekdays 6-8pm, weekends 1-3pm.
Laurel Hardware is a beautiful space on Santa Monica, and a place where you will inevitably find yourself for Happy Hour. Go for the good drinks, just make sure you eat beforehand.
The Deal: $5 draft beer, $10 cocktails and wine, food specials.
When: Weekdays 5-7pm, Saturdays 3-6pm.
photo credit: Matt Gendal
Behind that mysterious door on the far side of Canter’s is the Kibitz Room - a fun, dark bar with strong, very inexpensive drinks, particularly at Happy Hour.
The Deal: $1 off beer, $2 off liquor, food specials.
When: Daily 4-7pm.
This spot is Permanently Closed.
This bar on Melrose has big booths and huge windows that make it an ideal after-work drinks spot. They have good deals on food and $19 bottles of rosé you can pretend you’re splitting with someone else.
The Deal: $6 wine, $5 craft beers, $3 bottled beer, $5 cocktails, food specials.
When: Daily 4-6pm.
Snake Pit is an all-purpose bar with great bartenders who’ll actually talk to you and a Happy Hour that goes as late as any in the neighborhood. You’ll find a crew from the nearby improv school here almost any time of day.
The Deal: Food specials, $$7.50 well drinks and house wine, $6.50 draft beer.
When: Daily 5-7pm.
You probably think of Harlowe for their fratty mid-’00s weekend dance parties, but they also have a surprisingly low-key Happy Hour. The $8 draft cocktails are good, and there’s decent food that works well to share on a first date.
The Deal: $8 draft cocktails, $6 well drinks, $2 off draft beers, $6 house wine, food specials.
When: Daily 5-7pm.
A ramen spot on the Sunset Strip, Daikokuya is one of the area’s more affordable options, and it’s an especially cheap place to drink during Happy Hour, with $10 Asahi pitchers and discounted sake.
The Deal: $3 draft beers, bottled beers, and sake, $10 pitchers, food specials.
When: Daily 3-6pm.
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We don’t love the food at Petite Taqueria, but the Happy Hour prices are pretty good. Come if you’re with a friend who’s really into clubbing, because that’s where everyone goes after eating here.
The Deal: $10 margaritas and palomas, $14 shot/beer combos, $5 tall boys, food specials.
When: Weekdays 6-7:30pm.
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Pink Taco is a Mexican spot on the Sunset Strip that gets crowded during Happy Hour, especially on weekends. Everyone is here for the $8 margaritas, which come in about 20 different flavors.
The Deal: $8 margaritas, $6 sangria, $4 Dos Equis, food specials.
When: Daily 3-7pm.
