NSHGuide
The Best Happy Hours In Nashville
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
What a day. Maybe your boss just said, “Working hard or hardly working?” Gross. Maybe you’ve been battling through traffic and errands all day. Or maybe, you just landed at BNA and were immediately greeted by a sea of bachelor and bachelorettes in cowboy hats. Heck, maybe you are the sea of bachelor and bachelorettes in cowboy hats. Whatever the scenario, there’s a socially acceptable time and place to grab a well-priced drink with your friends. Small bites, too. So dodge that downtown construction and pull up a chair, because it’s Happy Hour and there’s a glass, pitcher, or a bucket with your name on it.
THE SPOTS
WHEN: Monday-Friday, 4-6pm
THE DEAL: $2 oysters, $3 french fries, $5 crudité, $8 martinis, $6 cava and sparkling rose
Only one Nashville spot has the confidence to call its Happy Hour “Salt & Spirit.” And you know what? Cafe Roze delivers on both. Oysters come with a classic mignonette and Bloody Mary sauce, and plates of french fries are easy to eat and difficult to share. They have six varieties of gin martinis, including one with maraschino cherry liqueur and sweet vermouth, and a spirit-forward vesper or dirty martini. Fair warning: There’s no prize for ordering all six. If you’re not a martini fan, just order a glass of cava or sparkling rose. And maybe some more fries.
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
WHEN: Monday-Saturday, 4-6pm
THE DEAL: $7 snacks to share, $7 drinks, $8.50 kids menu
They say raising a child takes a village, but maybe it actually takes a community. So, when you’re looking for a patio hang with your other parent-friends, make sure Lockeland Table is in your rotation. They have a thriving Happy Hour, coincidentally, called “Community Hour,” that benefits local PTOs. The kid-focused “youngins” menu has stuff like cheese pizza or chicken tenders with a side of sliced apples and peanut butter. For all the adults, there’s crispy chicken wings, black-eyed pea hummus, and New York-style cheese pizza with chili oil, alongside lemon drop cocktails, muddled Old Fashioneds, and their house Manhattan. If you want to keep things interesting, ask your server for the daily sangria blend.
WHEN: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, 5-6PM
THE DEAL: $4-14 small plates, $10 spritzes
At Folk, it’s all about their Apero Hour menu with margherita pizzas by the slice, bowls of mussels with ’nduja and croutons, and calabrian chili chicken wings that dwarf the ones you’d find at most Happy Hours. In terms of drinks, any of their amaro, sherry, or vermouth spritzes are good. You won’t feel out of place here if you’re flying solo, either—just bring a book, order some meat and cheese at the end of the bar, and enjoy some alone time in public.
WHEN: Monday-Saturday, 5-6pm
THE DEAL: $5 za’atar french fries, $7 hummus, $7 cocktails
Happy Hour can be just as much about the food as the drinks, so meet your friends on the patio of Lyra for hummus, za’atar-spiced french fries with Lebanese garlic toum, and a bowl of aleppo butter chickpeas served over pita chips and topped with tahina labneh. (Yes, you should dip the fries in the hummus.) Lyra’s cocktails take classics and infuse them with Middle Eastern flavors that really complement the food—they do a riff on a mule featuring gin, hibiscus, and cardamom, and add cinnamon bitters to their bourbon Old Fashioned.
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
WHEN: All Day, Monday-Sunday
THE DEAL: $3 Jell-O shots, $15 bucket of PBR tallboys, $25 fishbowl
Tucked behind a shopping mall in Green Hills is The Greenhouse, a cocktail bar built inside of a literal greenhouse with an all-day Happy Hour menu. Check out the large-format drinks made with things like white rum, almond syrup, pineapple, and orange. Or, grab a bucket of PBR tallboys for the crew along with a handful of multi-colored Jell-O shots. They have flatscreens throughout the main bar space, so you can watch the game, and, true to its name, there really are plants everywhere. You know, for oxygen. Fair warning: If you have too many Jell-O shots, you may start to feel like a plant, too.
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
WHEN: Monday-Thursday, 4:30-6:30pm
THE DEAL: $10-12 beer & shot specials, half-price draft beers, $5 rotating cocktail special
How many downtown bars are named after country singers? Trick question. No one knows the exact number, and it’s easy to lose count and even easier to forget which one you’re in. So for something different, check out ACME Feed & Seed for Happy Hour the next time you’re downtown and on or near Broadway. All 28 beers on draft are half-priced, and you can choose from three different beer-and-a-shot specials that actually feel thought out: ranch water and blanco tequila, pineapple cider and Fireball, and Guidance whiskey and a Black Abbey beer, both of which are local.
WHEN: Every day, 2-5pm
THE DEAL: Half off all bottles of wine, $35 pitchers of spritzes, beer + shot specials
Hearts should be your go-to, kind-of-healthy Happy Hour in 12 South. They serve brunch all day and specialize in Australian wines, so you can order some cold-smoked salmon toast or eggs benny for the table with half-priced bottles of wine and six different spritz pitchers. Pay special attention to the M&M Royale—it’s their bubbly riff on a mezcal and amaro Montenegro shot, with fresh lemon juice and cava.
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
WHEN: Sunday-Thursday, 4-6pm
THE DEAL: $2 oysters, $6 palomas and margaritas, $8 guacamole
Ramone’s Oyster Bar & Citrus Club is one of the rare rooftops where you can escape the sounds of party buses and peddle taverns. It’s on top of Mercado by Butchertown in Wedgewood Houston, and there are great 360-degree views of Nashville, comfy patio furniture (and umbrellas), and very crushable $6 palomas. They do similar food to their sister restaurant Butchertown Hall: east and west coast oysters and a spicy aguachile that might be the perfect bite alongside that paloma. It’s only a 15-minute walk to the soccer stadium, so just know it gets very busy on game days.
WHEN: Tuesday-Sunday, 5-6pm
THE DEAL: $2 oysters, $7 glasses of cava, $10 cocktails
Henrietta Red has one of the best raw bars in town, so naturally, their Happy Hour includes a rotating selection of oysters and a list of classic cocktails, wine, and bubbles. Post up at their big and comfortable communal bar space where you can chat up the friendly bartenders, or maybe settle into a cozy corner and do some people-watching. Either way, a glass of cava and a half-dozen oysters make for an ideal stop after work or a great option for that first date. Plan ahead and make a reservation if you think you might want to stay for dinner.
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
WHEN: Monday-Sunday, 4-6pm
THE DEAL: $24 charcuterie, $5 sangria & wine, $5-6 add-ons
When you’re craving one of the best meat and cheese boards in town, and maybe some gildas and marcona almonds, hit up Spanish spot Iberian Pig in The Gulch. Their Happy Hour includes plenty of wine (like a nice rioja), along with a goblet of sangria (you’ll want to use two hands). The downstairs bar space is pretty sultry, too, and it’s a great spot for a lowkey first date.
photo credit: Soundtrack My Drink
WHEN: Every day, 4-6pm (beer) + Mule Mondays
THE DEAL: Half-priced draft beer, half-priced mules on Mule Monday
Village Pub & Beer Garden feels like walking into your friend’s house—no really, the building is quite literally an old home. Inside, you’ll see shelves lined with board games and old books, along with several rooms and lots of regulars chatting up the staff. Hang out for a round of Trivial Pursuit with some old friends, or grab a seat at the bar by yourself because you’ll probably make new ones quickly. All of the beers at Village Pub are half-priced during Happy Hour, but Mule Mondays are the best.
WHEN: Tuesday-Saturday, 5-6pm
THE DEAL: $10 off any bottle of wine, $10 signature cocktails, $8 classic cocktails, $2 off any glass of wine, $5 draft beers
Is there anything more “Nashville” than a restaurant built in a former church fellowship hall? That’s Hathorne, which has a gorgeous open space with exposed ceilings, plenty of natural light, and a bar that spans the length of the room. There’s also an incredible outdoor patio and courtyard space behind a brick wall of privacy. There’s no bad night to go for Happy Hour, but the best nights are on Wednesdays and Thursdays when Patron and Uncle Nearest sponsor their cocktails. That means great margarita-adjacent drinks (garnished with edible flowers grown on-site) and fun small-batch whiskey cocktails.
WHEN: Monday-Friday, 4-6pm
THE DEAL: $6 bar bites, $6 handrolls, $9 cocktails, $6 draft beer, $9 wine
It’s Friday afternoon, and you and your friends are in the Gulch for some retail therapy. You know what goes great with those new Lucchese boots? Shrimp tempura handrolls. And you know what goes great with those handrolls? Blood orange palomas. Accomplish all of that and more at Sunda, which is located on the first floor of the Icon, and grab a table by the bar. By the time you’re finished, rush hour traffic should be, too.
WHEN: Monday-Friday, 4-6pm
THE DEAL: $5 wine options, $7 teeny martinis, 2 for $5 tacos all day on Tuesdays
The Happy Hour specialty at Otto’s in West Nashville is the teeny martini (or teeny ‘tini): 2.5-ounce martinis available in any classic variety—dirty, 50/50, vesper, dry with a twist, etc. They even have a seasonal option called the Sugar Magnolia that’s made with a purple pea flower-infused gin, dry vermouth, curacao, and garnished with colorful gummy bears. Both the dog-friendly patio and the converted auto garage interior (which is why they called it … Otto’s) are lovely places to hang out. Even after the Happy Hour ends, we like to stick around for spicy margaritas and some crunchy tacos.
