(Credit: Aimee Brodeur)
L.A.'s best happy hours
A guide to boozing on the cheap
By Robin Lee, Special to Metromix
April 9, 2008901 Bar and Grill
2902 S. Figueroa Blvd., Los Angeles213-745-7900
Don’t let secret handshakes, sweater vests or talk of homecoming dates at this USC bar interfere with your drinking schedule. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily, the bar offers two-for-one drinks, all served in pint glasses. You’ll be chatting up the Omega Pis in no time.
Akbar
4356 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles323-665-6810
Drink specials at this Silverlake watering hole vary nightly and always get people hammered by midnight. There are $3 tequila shots on Margarita Tuesdays, $4 cosmos on Wednesdays and $7 beer pitchers on Sundays. But the best deal goes down Monday, Thursday and Friday nights, when the bartenders serve $2 beer and $3 well drinks.
Bar 107
107 W. 4th St., Los Angeles213-625-7382
Thirsty for a liquid lunch? Cancel your afternoon meetings! Well drinks are only $3 during Bar 107’s weekday happy hour, which starts at 3 p.m. and goes until 9 p.m.
Barney's Beanery West Hollywood
8447 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood323-654-2287
Beer drinkers are all about Barney’s weekday happy hour, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., when domestic beers cost $2.75 and imports are $3. Keep in mind that the bar serves more than 130 kinds of beer. Well drinks are also cheap at $3, and there’s a half-off appetizer menu too.
Beauty Bar
1638 Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles323-464-7676
Looking good won’t break the bank at this sassy bar that’s decked out like a beauty salon. For a mere $10, you can get a martini—choose from a list of girly cocktails like Platinum Blonde and P.I.N.K Blush—and a manicure, Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. On Mondays, the energizing, Flintstone’s vitamin-tasting malt liquor Sparks is free from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. during the Still F*cking Awesome dance party.
Bigfoot Lodge
3172 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles323-662-9227
If you have $3, this Los Feliz lodge will have you. There are sweet three-buck drink specials Sunday through Thursday, such as kamikaze shots on karaoke Mondays. Need to save another dollar? Pabst is only $2 on PBR Thursdays.
Cabo Cantina - Sunset Strip
8301 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles323-822-7820
Looking to get hammered? Cabo Cantina’s daily two-for-one happy hour (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) will please you and your wallet, but probably not your liver. And now that there are locations in Venice, Brentwood and on the Sunset Strip, cheap drinks, neon lights and loud drunk-talkers are within arm’s reach any day of the week.
Cha Cha Lounge
2375 Glendale Blvd.,
Los Angeles
323-660-7595
They should have named it the Cheap Cheap Lounge with all the inexpensive boozing that goes on here. Stoli cocktails are $2.50 and PBRs go for $1.50 on weekdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Foosball Tuesdays, not only are the games free, but the $1.50 Pabst special goes all night. On Sundays, the bar’s gourmet $2.50 Bloody Marys will remedy last night’s hangover and get you drunk all over again.
The Edison
108 W. 2nd St. #101, Los Angeles213-613-0000
Want to impress your date without letting on that you had to search under the couch for enough change to take her out? The Edison has all the fancy fixings for a romantic evening—long staircase, crystal chandeliers and intimate booths—and on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. the bar’s signature 1910 martini only costs 35 cents.
Fiesta Cantina
8851 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood310-652-8865
Like its straighter but equally neon brother bar, Cabo Cantina, Fiesta is loud, bright and serves up two-for-one drinks that are light on the bills and heavy on the booze. Even better, Fiesta's happy hour runs twice a day: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Frank N Hank's
518 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles213-383-2087
Every hour is happy at this K-town dive. They don’t have any specials or martinis with clever names, but the drinks are always cheap—we’re talking like $3.50 for a cocktail—and made to knock your socks off.
Hamburger Mary's
8288 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood323-654-3800
The more martini-drinking drag queens, the merrier. Whether it’s a Bluetini or the Ab Fab Combo, martinis at Mary’s are $4 weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and $5 nightly—unless you happen by on a Monday, when martinis are two-for-one. And where there’s a Boystown, there are boys who brunch. Celebrate weekend mornings with $1 mimosas or $3 Bloody Marys.
Howl at the Moon
1000 Universal Studios Blvd., Universal City818-755-9970
How better to get people to sing along at this piano bar then to liquor them up? On Tuesday nights, Bud buckets go for $10 (that’s five beers at $2 each); Bud Dry only costs a buck on Wednesdays; and on Thursdays, Miller Lite goes for $1 while UV Vodka drinks are a mere $3. Still thirsty? Take advantage of the three-for-one drink special Sunday nights.
La Cantina
6541 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles323-871-1363
Leave it to the Hollywood dudes at La Cantina to entice a hot crowd with cheap-o specials such as $2 tacos on Tuesdays and $5 margaritas on Mondays. They also have a daily happy hour from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., when mixed drinks, margaritas, piña coladas, beers and appetizers are all half-priced.
The Oinkster
2005 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles323-255-6465
We love chili fries—but we love them more with beer! Lucky for us, Oinkster has a weekday happy hour, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., when burgers and fries are super-cheap. Even better, beer ranges from $2 to $3 for a pint and $7 to $10 for a pitcher. There’s nothing like a pint of Hefeweizen to wash down a pound of Belgian frites—yum.
Pig 'N Whistle
6714 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles323-463-0000
With a happy hour like this, who needs friends? Featuring nightly specials from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on bar food, and $3 beer and well drinks, the Pig ’N Whistle is the kind of Hollywood bar where the Danny Bonaduces of the world come to fall off the wagon.
Royal Claytons Restaurant
1855 Industrial St., Los Angeles213-622-0512
Toy factories make kids happy. Old toy factories that serve beer and wings for cheap make adults even happier. The factory-turned-gastropub offers happy hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pints are priced at $3 and $4, and appetizers range from $5 wings to $7 pizzas. They’ve also got pool tables for those of us who need post-wings exercise.
Saddle Ranch Chop House
8371 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood323-656-2007
Yee haw! From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., domestic drafts are $2.50 and appetizers are half-off. After a few beers and a spin on the mechanical bull, you’ll forget about your empty wallet and concentrate more on the Milwaukee cowboy giving you the eye.
Seven
7929 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles323-822-0700
You might be broke, but that doesn’t mean you can’t drink like the super-fabulous. Champagne is free on Saturdays from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and the WeHo lounge gets packed with a hot, fashionable crowd.
Temple Bar
1026 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica310-393-6611
Many of us can’t make early evening happy hours; we’re either still in bed or still working for the man. We can, however, make a happy hour that starts at midnight. Thursday through Saturday, Temple Bar offers $3 beers, $5 martinis, $2 tacos and live music. The best part about this made-for-night-owls special? There’s no cover.
The Woods
1533 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood323-876-6612
A forest in the middle of a Hollywood strip mall? If that sounds intriguing, then you’ll also be interested in the bar’s mid-evening deals. From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, and from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays through Thursdays, the bar serves well drinks, wines, domestic beers and a shot of the day for just $3. For an extra buck, you can also get a fancy martini. Can you think of a better reason to take a break from the city and head into the woods?
