11 best Boston happy hours

This Seaport stalwart is known for big, celebratory gatherings, especially on the weekends. Sushi lovers head here on Mondays (starting at 5pm) for one of the city's best sushi deals: unlimited sushi for $49. Choose from standard rolls like spicy tuna and California or house creations like the red dragon. Other small items like the crispy, salmon and crab rice bites are also available.

This flashy restaurant slash nightclub has “wicked hour” weeknight bites to get the party started. Try $1 wings every day, plus specials like $20 all-you-can-eat tacos, a $19 meal (tacos, a churro, and beer), and more, from 5pm every weekday. Check the website for updates on specials.

This modern Central Square restaurant draws crowds who rave about the creative riffs on Japanese classics meshed with Spanish tapas. For sampling of some of the menu favorites, stop by daily between 5-6pm for specials like duck confit taco, tempura corn and Pagu pizza. The deal is only available at the bar, where there are plenty of creative cocktails to pair.

Both locations of Earls Kitchen—in the Prudential Center and  Somerville’s Assembly Row—offer two happy hours. Stop by from Monday-Friday (3pm-6pm) and Sunday-Thursday (9pm-close) for discounts on menu favorites such as chicken tacos, Korean hot wings, and truffle fries. As a bonus, the Pru location has a breezy rooftop patio.

For one of the best deals in town, head over to Lynn for a taste of chef/owner Rachel Miller’s refreshing, Vietnamese-inspired cuisine. On Wednesdays from 5pm to 10pm the restaurant offers a special five course tasting menu for $50 (the tasting menu is regularly seven to 14 courses starting at $85).

Descend the stairs into this Harvard Square staple for their legendary happy hour, when the entire menu (spanning from brisket nachos to a brownie in a mason jar) is half-price every day from 5-7:30pm. There is a $4 minimum beverage purchase per person, and the deal not available on the outdoor patio tables or for take out.

This Brookline standby is always packed for good reason. Sit in a booth, a table, the tatami room, or the sushi bar and choose from an extensive menu of standard and creative sushi offerings. From 5pm to 7pm and 9pm to 1:30am, the happy hour bar menu features 50% off bar snacks like shumai, rangoon, tako yaki, and haru maki.

This no-frills pub/club combo in Central Square has an extensive happy hour menu that will get you prepped for a night of Guinness and dancing. From 5pm-7pm every day, enjoy menu favorites for almost half off. Happy hour items include quesadillas, nachos, curry fries, fried brussel sprouts, soft tacos, and more.

This Quincy Market bar and club known for brightly-colored scorpion bowls offers a dollar deal on chicken teriyaki skewers, $1.50 beef teriyaki and coconut shrimp. Or, you can order a pupu platter and scorpion bowl combo for $25 (until 9pm), and after midnight all apps are two for one! That should fortify you before while you dive into one of those party-starting drinks.

For a most classy happy hour option, head Downtown for a sampling of Oceanaire’s super-fresh seafood selection. The Admiral’s Hour menu, offered in the bar area Monday-Friday from 4pm-7pm, includes discounted small bites (e.g. fish tacos, oysters, steamed mussels) and more substantial fare such as a daily crudo, shrimp and grits, and a lobster roll with matchstick fries. Enjoy a classic or contemporary cocktail while you’re there.

Chef-owner Will Gilson’s homey restaurant on Inman Square offers a free bar pie – they started making them during the pandemic, and they’re perfect – every Thursday at the bar only from 9-10p with the purchase of an adult beverage, and dollar oysters every Tuesday from 5:30p until they sell out.