Who says happy hour deals need only apply to drinks? In addition to a price break on libations, these top happy hour specials offer free or discounted fare on delectable dishes (with an option at one bar to order from nearby restaurants).
VALLONE'S
Appetizers at this modern classic steakhouse are gratis if you sit at the bar or in the bistro and order from the happy hour drink menu. Toasted vegetables and miniature pasta on a spoon are among the daily rotating bites and Vallone’s rustic garlic bread is a staple.
From the Prosecco Cocktail to the Contemporary Negroni and hand-crafted Whiskey Encouragement, cocktails are five bucks each. Ditto on the pricing for select wines by the glass.
Happy hour is weekdays from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. and Sundays from 5 to 9 p.m.
CARACOL
If you haven't yet eaten at Caracol, Hugo Ortega's newest venture, happy hour is a good way to check out the Mexican Coastal cuisine at discounted prices. Grab a seat at the bar and get an order of addictive Taquitos Tronadores de Carnitas filled with slow-cooked pork for $7. Seven dollars will also get you an order of Pescadillas de Manilla, crispy white corn quesadillas with queso Oaxaca, seafood hash and a chipotle-tomatillo sauce.
And don’t miss out on half-price oysters available during the weekday happy hour and also on Saturdays before 5 p.m.
Of course, there's also a deal on drinks. Choose from a list of $9 signature cocktails. Sangria and the Y Porque No Margarita go for $6 each.
Happy hour is weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
SPARROW BAR + COOKSHOP
If the half-priced cocktails don’t catch your attention, perhaps the half-priced food will. During happy hour at Monica Pope’s Sparrow Bar + Cookshop, enjoy a Sparrow Longhorn Beef Burger or Cowgirl Creamery’s Devil’s Gulch Cheese plate for $7.50 apiece, plus an assortment of other tasty fare for 50 percent less than the norm.
It’s a deal, especially when you consider the list of over a dozen cocktails, covering a span of spirits, which are only $5 each. Drinks are numbered rather than named. Make sure to ask about off the menu drinks, #'s 13 and 14, also worthy of your taste buds — and your $5.
Keep an eye out for upcoming patio enhancements like added lounge-like seating options and a dedicated bar.
Happy hour is Tuesday through Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.
60 DEGREES MASTERCRAFTED
This Upper Kirby neighborhood restaurant offers a happy hour deal at the bar and the newly opened patio. Small plates are priced from $6 for an order of White Truffle Fries to $18 for the Texas Artisan Cheese Plate. Priced in the middle is the Black Seal Rum Spareribs with green peppercorn sauce and Bosque Blue potatoes.
Under wine director Vanessa Trevino Boyd the beverage program is undergoing an impressive revamp. This includes the happy hour drink menu. Cocktails featuring Texas spirits, as well as select wines by the glass, are $6 each. And it's 50 percent off all blends and single malt scotches and whiskeys.
Happy hour is weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
THE PASS & PROVISIONS
The cheap eats at this popular spot include a $5 ham and provolone Stromboli, $1 oysters, $7 calzone with braised greens and ricotta, and an $8 ploughman’s lunch of cheese, liver mousse, pickles and a baguette. All perfect for soaking up $2 High Life brews and $3 beers on tap. For $5 each, choose from a classic daiquiri, boozy punch or select glass of wine.
Happy hour is daily from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
LITTLE DIPPER
As if $2 Lone Stars, $4 wines by the glass and $2.50 wells aren't enough, this downtown watering hole from the folks who run Poison Girl, Antidote, and Black Hole, offers plenty of seating via barstools, tables and comfy couches, friendly service and a BYOF (bring your own food) policy. Neighboring take out/order in options are Goro and Gun, Roma's Pizza and Fusion Taco.
Happy hour is seven days a week from 4 to 7 p.m.
WHOLE FOODS
Plan your next grocery store run around happy hour at Whole Foods on Kirby Drive. On Mondays, kick off your week at the "Kirbside" bar with a $5 slice and pint. Wednesdays, get over the workweek hump with $3 pints, $4 wines by the glass and rotating food specials.
It's $3 mimosas during happy hour on Sundays, and on the last Thursday of the month, drink for a cause with bar sales benefiting the Houston Zoo’s conservation efforts.
Happy hour is Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m., Sunday from noon until 2 p.m., and Zoo Beats, the last Thursday of the month, is from 6 to 8 p.m.
THE OCEANAIRE
$5 Blackened Fish Tacos, $6 Equila Shrimp Ceviche, $7 Shrimp and Grits... and the menu of happy hour bargain fare at The Oceanaire keeps going. All priced at $7 and under. The deal keeps on giving with $4 drafts, $5 wines by the glass and $6 specialty drinks.
Happy hour is weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and again for reverse happy hour Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. until close. Happy hour on Sundays is from 8 p.m. until close.
DISH SOCIETY
No need to drink on an empty stomach at Dish Society. New to the Tanglewood area, the restaurant offers $5 small plates during happy hour. Try the St. Arnold’s Steamed Mussels, Quinoa Stuffed Avocado or Kale Tostada topped with radish, pico and cotija cheese.
Also during happy hour: House Elixirs like the Orange Rhubarb are $3, wines by the glass are $5, select bottles of wine are $15, White Apple Sangria and other spritzers are $5, and craft beers are $3.50.
Happy hour is daily from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
LA COLOMBE D'OR
La Colombe d'Or/Restaurant CINQ has rolled out a new happy hour menu sure to please. The $5 menu features draft beers, French sparkling selections, specialty cocktails, wines by the glass, and bar bites. You can't go wrong with the mouth-watering B&B Southern style biscuit with bacon and shallot dip or Gulf popcorn shrimp with crispy crawfish tails and remoulade.
For $12, enjoy "Age of Impressionism" cocktails such as Sazerac mixed with rye whiskey, absinthe, bitters and a lemon twist.
Happy hour is weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
60 Degrees Mastercrafted cocktails, from left: Ranch Swizzle with Witherspoon's Rum, Strawberry Moonshine with Western Sun Vodka and Tajito with Fitch's Goat Moonshine.
