Cafe Asia
When: Monday through Friday, 4:30 to 7:30.
What: $2.50 drafts, half-price sushi, $4 sake carafes, $1.25 nigiri.
Cafe Asia is the sushi happy hour of all sushi happy hours. With locations in both downtown DC and Arlington, its happy hour is one of Washington’s most popular.
Current Sushi
When: Monday through Friday, 5 to 7.
What: $3 small plates, $4 select rolls, and $5 beer and cocktails.
Start off your happy hour at this Dupont Circle sushi lounge and club with small plates of edamame or shrimp-and-vegetable wontons, and move to the $4 cut rolls and nigiri. Kirin and Peroni are the beers on special.
Mate
When: Monday through Friday, 5 to 7.
What: $6 cocktails, $7 martinis, $4 beers, half-price appetizers, salads, and maki rolls.
You have to go under the Whitehurst Freeway in Georgetown to get to this sleek, loungey sushi spot. In addition to the regular maki rolls (California, avocado, spicy-tuna, and more) that are available for happy-hour prices, you can get special rolls such as the Rainbow Roll and the Volcano Roll for $6 or $7.
Oya
When: Monday through Friday, 5 to 8.
What: Rolls for $5 to $6 and special prices on cocktails, beer, and wine.
This glitzy, upscale Asian-fusion lounge offers a happy hour that may be a bit more expensive than other sushi happy hours, but it also runs longer—until 8—and the sushi is truly delicious. Try the salmon tempura roll or the spicy crunchy tuna.
Saki
When: Monday through Friday, 5 to 7:30.
What: Half-price rolls.
This Adams Morgan sushi spot turns into a dance lounge later in the evening, but sneak in for a happy-hour roll or two before the crowds get crazy. Only certain rolls are on special—California, tuna-maki, and a few more. Bonus: You can wash it all down with a $5 martini.
Sticky Rice
When: Monday, 10:30 PM to 12:30 AM.
What: Half-price sushi.
Sticky Rice’s sushi happy hour isn’t standard—but then, neither is Sticky Rice itself. An edgy, hipster-filled sushi joint on H Street, Northeast, it offers a late-night, Monday-only sushi happy hour. Use it to try out some of the crazier rolls on the menu, such as the Philly Roll—an inside-out roll with smoked salmon and scallions.
Thai Chef Sushi Bar Restaurant
When: Daily from 4 to 7.
What: $4 mixed drinks, $4 beer, half-price rolls, and nigiri.
Sure, it’s a Thai restaurant, but this Dupont Circle spot offers a weeklong sushi happy hour—and who are we to pass that up? Maki rolls range from $4 to $6, and nigiri is $1 to $2. Don’t forget to try the “drinks that make you brave” for $4—sticky, sweet concoctions such as cosmos and apple martinis.
Did we miss one of your favorite sushi happy hours? Tell us about it in the comments.
