The 13 Best Happy Hours In Philadelphia To Grab A Drink
Happy hour is part of many adults' social lives. Even if you don't drink, this period from the afternoon to early evening is useful. It's a time to mingle with coworkers, go on dates, and meet with friends — all while saving money through happy hour discounts. The reduced prices on alcoholic beverages and food are what draw us in. But people also gather during happy hour due to the timing. Since it traditionally starts around 5 p.m., people can participate directly after work ends and before heading home for the night.
It's especially easy to go to a happy hour if you live in a city. Workplaces are usually situated downtown, with bars and restaurants nearby. This allows employees to walk to a happy hour near their work. Later, they can take public transportation home instead of driving after drinking. A city like Philadelphia is no exception. Several businesses offer happy hour deals, especially around neighborhoods like Center City, where many offices are located. If you're interested in finding more Philly happy hour spots, read on. Here are the 13 best happy hours in Philadelphia to grab a drink.
1. Fette Sau
Fette Sau is a barbecue restaurant located in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown, as per Discover Philadelphia, at 1208 Frankford Ave. Its name is German for "fat pig." Although Fette Sau is not found near the city's business hub, the Fishtown neighborhood is known for hip housing and cool residents. The business is a convenient place for locals to grab a drink after work, near their homes. Happy hour takes place Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
During this spot's happy hour, there are markdowns on both drinks and snacks. Patrons can get any pint of draft beer for $5. Some of these include the Victory Classic Lager or the New Belgium Fat Tire. Next, Old Fashioneds and seasonal punches cost only $8. Per the drink menu, Fette Sau's Old Fashioned is made with Heaven Hill whiskey, simple syrup, Peychaud's bitters, and Regan's Orange Bitters. One of the restaurant's punches — the Autumn Pear Punch — is made with whiskey, pear puree, apple, cinnamon, and honey. There are also discounts on food items like deviled eggs, chicken legs, or a burnt ends sandwich (per the menu, a sandwich made with beef and pork) plus spicy slaw.
2. Tattooed Mom
Tattooed Mom is a bar positioned in the South Philly neighborhood of Queen Village at 530 South Street, as per Philadelphia Magazine. It's a dive bar, so you expect the atmosphere to be casual and (at times) rambunctious. This popular spot has punk decorations that fit the South Philly scene so well, it's usually busy. Happy hour takes place at Tattooed Mom from 4 to 6 p.m. every day. During this time, all draft beers cost only $4 each.
To take advantage of this happy hour bargain, you can choose from a rotating selection of locally produced draft beers. In the past, the bar has served draft beers such as Brooklyn Lager and Victory IPA, according to a Facebook post. If you happen to be there during this special, but beer isn't your thing, there are other beverage options. Per the menu, Tattooed Mom serves cocktails like the Mom's Mule (a spin on the classic Moscow Mule featuring rhubarb) or the Pickletini (a twist on the martini that's made with pickles). If you have hungry vegan friends or coworkers, bring them here for happy hour. Tattooed Mom is known for its vegan bar food.
3. American Sardine Bar
American Sardine Bar is a gastropub found at 1800 Federal St. in the South Philly neighborhood of Point Breeze. As the name indicates, it's a place where you can sample various fish dishes, including sardines, littleneck clams, and anchovies. It's also a restaurant that hosts happy hour. If you visit Philly's American Sardine Bar Monday through Friday between 4 and 6 p.m., you can take advantage of certain happy hour deals.
According to a Facebook post, the restaurant's happy hour promotion includes discounts on several types of drinks. To start, you can take $1 off of all drafts. According to the current menu, this includes drafts like Allagash White, Delco Lager, Cape May IPA, or a Hill Farmstead Double Citra. Also during happy hour, the price of certain gin and tonic cocktails — like the eatery's purple-colored Lavender Lemon G&T — may be reduced to $9. If you happen to be hungry while grabbing happy hour drinks, there may be discounts on food (like pickles or sardine sandwiches) as well. This is a great place to bring your friends who love beer and fish.
4. Giuseppe & Sons
Giuseppe & Sons is an Italian restaurant, bar, and lounge located at 1523 Sansom St. in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Center City. It's not just a place to feast on red sauce favorites like rigatoni alla vodka, chicken parmigiana, or fried calamari — it's also a great place to do happy hour. Due to its location within the business hub of Center City, Giuseppe & Sons is sure to bring in a crowd during this time. But if you like a lively happy hour environment, this could be the spot for you. Its happy hour special applies only to the bar and lounge part of Giuseppe & Sons, meaning it's perfect for getting drinks.
This spot's happy hour takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. every day. Throughout these two hours, glasses of wine (red or white) are reduced to $6, cocktails (like a spritz or 50/50 martini) are reduced to $7, and beer (this part only applies to draft Peroni) costs only $5. You could do some damage at this happy hour with only $20 to spend on drinks — not that we would recommend going too hard on a weeknight. We're guessing that grabbing happy hour drinks at Giuseppe & Sons quickly leads to sampling the food side of this menu, which doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world. The happy hour menu includes starters, sandwiches, and seafood — many of which cost less than $10.
5. Oyster House
Oyster House is a Center City seafood bar and restaurant found at 1516 Sansom St. It's what some would call an institution since it's been around for more than 40 years. As oysters are a classic happy hour food, this is a great place to gather when work is done. If you do, Oyster House's special takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. If you like seafood and old-fashioned drinks, this is a good Philly happy hour spot to check out.
There are a few caveats to this happy hour. For one, it's only available in the bar area. Another thing is that you can't make reservations. However, there are still multiple deals to take advantage of. Oysters are $2, and several drinks are marked down. Per Philly Mag, this is good news for those looking for a drink because the place offers oyster shooters (a classic type of appetizer that submerges a shucked oyster in liquid) for only $5 each. According to the beverage menu, this could include shooters like the New Englander shooter, which is made with horseradish, vodka, and tomato juice. You can also get a glass of punch — such as Kelly's Punch, an Oyster House beverage made with rum, passion fruit, black tea, and lemon — for only $7.
6. Mission Taqueria
The Center City restaurant Mission Taqueria is one of the best places to do happy hour in Philadelphia. This business is at 1516 Sansom St., directly above fellow happy hour spot Oyster House. But the seafood spot's Mexican neighbor is a better option for those in search of specific alcoholic drinks, such as margaritas. You can expect to pay a little more than usual, but what you're getting will be good. Happy hour at Mission Taqueria takes place Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
The restaurant's happy hour deals apply to both drinks and food. For beverages, you can choose between beer, a margarita, wine, or sangria. Beers like a Lime City Lager cost only $3. Spicy or hibiscus ginger margaritas cost $6 to $7. White, red, rosé, or sparkling wine cost $6 per glass. Mission Taqueria's blood orange sangria is made with white wine, Blanco, saffron, lime, and pineapple. It costs $6 per serving. If you want more than a drink, there are various snacks to try during Mission Taqueria's happy hour. This includes esquites, chicharrónes, and tacos.
7. The Olde Bar
The Olde Bar is a Philadelphia happy hour spot located at 125 Walnut St., on the edge of the Society Hill neighborhood, near Old City. Its name refers in part to the spot's proximity to the Old City neighborhood, as well as The Olde Bar's location within the historic Bookbinder's building — which is hundreds of years old, per Whyy. This is a place for history lovers and people who enjoy a vintage vibe. If you like this type of atmosphere, happy hour at The Olde Bar takes place every day from 4 to 6 p.m.
During The Olde Bar's happy hour menu, markdowns apply to bar specials, including drinks and food. Thirsty patrons can pick between wine, beer, punch, and a bartender's selection drink. All items are offered for less than $10 at the time of writing. Wine options include glasses of pinot noir, pinot grigio, and a sparkling brut. If you like Narragansett beer, you could get that as well. For punch, The Olde Bar offers a traditional Fish House Punch. According to Mount Vernon's website, this old-fashioned American recipe is made with Jamaican rum, cognac, loaf sugar, water, lemon juice, and peach brandy. The happy hour food menu is seafood-forward, including dishes like shrimp cocktail and fried oysters.
8. Osteria Philly
Osteria is an Italian restaurant found in the North Philly neighborhood of Spring Garden at 640 North Broad St (via Visit Philly). This restaurant is on the pricier end of establishments on this list. However, its happy hour deals are a great way to enjoy the spot without breaking the bank. Happy hour takes place Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m.
If you want to sample Osteria's happy hour menu, you have to be sure to sit at the bar, kitchen counter, or outdoors. The deal is not available in other seating areas. The special applies to beverages and small plates. For drinks, you can order a beer, wine, or daily cocktail for under $10 each. This section of the menu also includes a red or white spritz — the traditional cocktail made with wine, liquor, and soda. The food menu includes snacks like broccoli caesar salad, octopus, and beef tartare.
9. El Rey
El Rey is a Mexican restaurant inspired by the cuisines of cities like Puebla and Veracruz. If you stay past happy hour into dinner, you can order dishes like tortilla soup, nopales salad, or tuna tostada ceviche. It's located at 2013 Chestnut St. in the Center City neighborhood. Happy hour takes place Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.
During happy hour, you can save big on El Rey's drinks and snacks. Cans of Tecate cost only $4 each, Narragansett drafts cost $5 each, and margaritas cost $6 each. Along with extremely affordable beverage deals, the food prices are also low. You can order a vegetable taco, chicken taco, or carnitas taco for less than $5. But it's not just the menu that brings Philadelphians to El Rey's happy hour. The vibe must also be good because many people make it their regular spot. "Great bang for your buck and strong margs!" said one Reddit user. "I always go to El Rey too ... been telling myself I'm gonna branch out. One day," said another person.
10. Loco Pez
Loco Pez is a local Mexican restaurant chain with three locations in Philadelphia: in Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, and West Philly. The extensive menu includes tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bowls, enchiladas, and more. You can try some of these dishes during happy hour if you're more than just thirsty for a drink. According to the chain's Instagram, Loco Pez has happy hour daily.
On Facebook, Loco Pez Fishtown advertises that their happy hour takes place Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. During this time, you can get half-price nachos and draft beer, as well as reduced-price margaritas. It appears that the same deal is available at Loco Pez's Graduate Hospital location and the West Philly location. If beer is what you want, you can choose between drafts like Negro Modelo, Six Point Pels Pils, or Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, according to the drink menu. According to the dinner menu, the nachos are composed of chips, refried beans, pickled jalapeños, pico de gallo, several different kinds of cheese, and more.
11. Cheu Fishtown and nunu
Cheu Fishtown is a Japanese eatery found in the North Philly neighborhood of Fishtown, at 1416 Frankford Ave. The noodle bar's menu is full of noodle bowls, soups, and small plates. Cheu Fishtown is connected to nunu, a restaurant run by the same owners that serves sushi and Japanese pub-style food. At Cheu, you can experience a happy hour focused on Japanese flavors. The special takes place Sunday through Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m.
During this time, drink deals apply to beer pitchers, highballs, sake, mules, wine, and more. The pitchers consist of Kirin Lager and cost $12 each. Draft beer and whiskey highballs are $1 off the original price. Sake costs $8, a lemongrass mule costs $9, and glasses of house wine cost $9. You can also try a drink called the Cheu Nu Citywide, which consists of a glass of Kirin beer and a shot of Shōchū (a type of Japanese distilled beverage that's similar to sake). For hungry happy hour guests, snacks combine Philly cuisine with Japanese food, creating dishes like Furikake Cheese Fries.
12. Harp and Crown
Harp and Crown is a Philadelphia establishment built inside a spacious, renovated building on 1525 Sansom St. in the Center City neighborhood. The multipurpose space encompasses a cocktail bar, lounge, and bowling alley. It describes its cuisine as New American, although it serves diverse dishes like pizza, tuna carpaccio, and cheesesteak egg rolls. Harp and Crown's happy hour takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. daily. Included deals only apply to the walk-in bar and lounge.
You can sample both Harp and Crown's drink and food menus during happy hour. The house cocktail will cost you $6, the house wine will cost you $5, and the happy hour beer costs $5. The food offered during happy hour includes a spicy chicken sandwich, a cheeseburger, and spicy chicken wings. This is a popular happy hour spot, so we recommend getting there as early as you can. "We also arrived in time for happy hour — which was awesome. Every app we ordered was delicious and the cocktails were very well crafted. This ended up being our favorite meal of the weekend and also the least expensive thanks to the happy hour deals," shared one patron of Harp and Crown on Tripadvisor.
13. Sampan and Graffiti Bar
Sampan is a Philly restaurant found in the Center City neighborhood at 124 S. 13th St. If you want to get more specific, it's nestled in a smaller area called Midtown Village. More importantly, Sampan is connected to Graffiti Bar, a pub that offers the same Asian food that's sold at Sampan — except with a few bonuses. Graffiti Bar is popular for its sports-watching abilities (due to TVs being set up behind the bar) and happy hour. The deal applies between 4 to 7 p.m. daily.
The house red or house white, one featured beer, and one specialty cocktail are all the same price during happy hour, according to the drink menu. Other happy hour cocktails — like the Kantori Road, Thai Punch, or Summer in Okinawa — are priced at $9 a piece. You can even get a Scorpion Bowl — made with tequila, vodka, or rum — for $25 each. For happy hour food, you can sample small plates, buns, wraps, tacos, sides, or satay dishes — all for under $10.