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Photograph: Visit OrlandoTapa Toro

Where to find the best happy hour in Orlando

Eat, drink and be merry on a budget at these top happy hour spots in Orlando

Megan duBois
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Megan duBois
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There are many reasons why you might find yourself in Orlando, Florida. Maybe you live nearby, or perhaps you're just passing through, but if you're reading this, then the chances are you've embarked on an exciting adventure in the Theme Park Capital of the World. Regardless of the how you ended up there, while you are there you owe it to yourself to enjoy that most time-honored of American traditions, happy hour. 

There are plenty of restaurants claiming to offer the best happy hour in Orlando, but let's face facts, some are just better than others. What we found was a delightful mix of restaurants ranging in cuisine style from coastal seafood and craft cocktails to perfectly cooked pizzas and pasta paired with inexpensive glasses of wine at one of Orlando’s most popular tourist destinations where mouse ears are found around every corner. These are the nine best happy hours in Orlando you’ll actually want to invite your friends to join you at.

Best happy hour in Orlando

Tapa Toro is known for its family-style plates and authentic Spanish cuisine. During happy hour, which runs every day from 3pm until 6pm, you can sip on craft cocktails, which are on a two-for-one special, plus house wines, beers and sangria for half price. If you’re going with a group consider getting a half-price cocktail pitcher to share, as long as everyone can agree on the cocktail. Many of the restaurant's tasty appetizers are also discounted. With options like $2 empanadas, $5 ham croquettes and $6 fried calamari you can make an entire meal for yourself without ever looking at the entrees on the menu.

With two locations in Orlando, Winter Park and Winter Garden, The Hangry Bison has made a name for itself with decadent burgers, craft bourbon cocktails, and a focus on local ingredients. Hangry Hour as it’s called here runs Monday through Thursday from 4pm until 7pm and Friday from 4pm until 6pm. Cocktails and wine are $5 and $6, depending on what you’re getting. Small plates and flatbreads are $5, with the fried green tomatoes being a favorite among locals.

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Located in downtown Orlando, DoveCote is a more elegant restaurant with a happy hour menu that reflects that. The menu has the standard dips and loaded fries, along with delightful ham and cheese beignets. For something a little more hearty consider any one of the happy hour sliders for $8 or $9. The fried chicken slider with honey hot sauce, garlic aioli and homemade pickles is a firm favorite. Cocktails are a little pricey for happy hour at $10 each, but the $7 glasses of champagne are a major deal. Happy hour here runs Monday through Friday from 2:30pm to 6pm at the bar.

Those looking for happy hour that starts and finishes a little later will want to go to the Baldwin Park neighborhood of Orlando and find The Osprey. The delightful restaurant specializes in fresh-caught seafood and has a variety of raw oysters to try. In fact, every Tuesday through Friday from 5pm until 7pm raw oysters are half off mid-Atlantic varieties and $2 each for specialty oysters. Classic cocktails like Old Fashioned and Daquiris are $8. While sipping drinks be sure to order a plate of the crush puppies, which is a blue crab hush puppy, with corn, leeks and green goddess dressing.

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Winter Park has plenty of places to dine, but a fun one for Happy Hour is Cocina 214. The Mexican restaurant hosts happy hour Monday through Friday from 4pm until 6:30pm. Happy hour drinks range from $3 Corona beers to $5 margaritas. There are only four items on the happy hour food menu, but it’s definitely enough to get you full on the cheap. Our favorite items include the $6 avocado bites and the $10 nachos with spicy chorizo.

Winter Park is a bustling neighborhood where shops and restaurants all beckon people to walk inside, and none does it better than Prato, especially for happy hour. Monday through Friday, from 4pm until 6pm, the restaurant dishes up $13 specialty pizzas, including the popular pomodoro with apples, taleggio cheese, and brussles sprouts. Along with pizza there’s a short list of appetizers, like hand cut chips and Caesar salad. Some cocktails are also discounted to $8 and select wines are $5 a glass.

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The only sushi restaurant on our list for happy hour is Sushi Pop, located in Winter Park. Happy hour runs Wednesday through Sunday from 4pm to 6pm with a variety of sushi rolls and drinks. Hot or cold sake will set you back $7, which the cocktail of the week costs $8. The food menu is filled with things like nigiri and maki that range from $5 to $9, making this a cheaper alternative to some of the pricier sushi restaurants in town, but just as tasty.

Terralina Crafted Italian is a waterfront restaurant at Disney Springs. Happy hour here is just drinks, but that’s not an issue since there are so many great places to dine at Disney Springs. Every day from 4pm until 6pm. at the Outdoor Terrace bar, the restaurant boasts $5 beer and half off wine by the glass. Pair this with one of the pizzas from the menu and you have a delicious meal at Disney Springs without breaking the bank.

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Greek cuisine is what’s on the menu at Taverna Opa. Happy hour here runs daily from 3pm until 6pm with half-price cocktails and two for one drinks at the bar. A large selection of small plates is also available, including tzatziki and hummus dips, traditional greek salad and stuffed grape leaves. If you stick around until 7pm you’ll be able to see the start of the nightly belly dancing show as well.

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