Warmer weather and longer days call for going out and grabbing a drink or snack after work—but it also coincides with one of the busiest, buzziest times of year. Can’t make it out for happy hour one evening? These bars and restaurants have deals for you seven days a week—including leisurely weekends.
Bar Charley
1825 18th St., NW
The Dupont Circle cocktail bar, restaurant, and garden has a special for every day of the week—starting with Monday, when happy hour runs all night. There’s a thorough list of $7.95 cocktails that includes draft tikis, daiquiris, and sazeracs, plus $4 Narragansett tallboys. Pad the stomach with $7 loaded fries or $12 Korean wings. Details: All night Monday; 5 to 6:30 PM, Tuesday through Thursday; 4 to 5:30 PM every other day.
Boardwalk Bar & Arcade
715 Wharf St., SW
Family-friendly happy hour might seem like an oxymoron, but this new massive indoor/outdoor Wharf hangout (filled with 30-plus arcade games) offers something for all ages. For the grownups, there are $9 cocktails, $6 rail drinks, and an $8 “happy meal” that comes with a 10-ounce Miller High Life, a shot of whiskey, and popcorn. For the kiddos (or just anyone who’s hungry or nostalgic) happy hour food options include $5 corn dogs, hot dogs, and jumbo pretzels alongside $2 popcorn and cotton candy. Details: 4 to 6 PM every day.
Boqueria
1837 M St., NW; 777 Ninth St., NW
Both the Dupont Circle and Penn Quarter locations of these bustling Spanish spots serve lengthy happy hour menus from 3 to 6 PM daily. Specials include $7 sangria ($29 pitchers), a colorful array of $9 wines, $10 shishito margaritas, and tapas like crispy potatoes ($8) or pan con tomate ($10). In Penn Quarter, cava fans can belly up to the bar on Thursdays when free-flowing bubbles accompany the purchase of tapas from 5 to 6 PM. Details: Daily, 3 to 6 PM; Cava Thursdays, 5 to 6 PM (Penn Quarter only).
Espita
1250 9th St., NW
The Shaw Mexican spot pours happy hour cocktails for $9 and $10 each. Classics include margaritas and an old fashioned, or you can opt for innovations like the mezcal-based “Smiling Rabbit” with pineapple syrup and Chartreuse. Those and other drink deals like $7 wine, $5 mimosas, and $3.50 beers are also available on the outdoor patio. Details: 4 to 6 PM on weekdays; 11 AM to 6 PM on weekends.
King Street Oyster Bar
Locations in NoMa, Potomac, Leesburg, and Middleburg
These popular seafood spots in DC, Maryland, and Virginia are all about happy hour—every day, 3 to 6:30 PM, except the Union Market-area location, which goes until 7 PM. The lengthy specials menu includes not only $1 oysters but also $7 cocktails and sangria, and a wide-ranging menu of $7 food items like tuna tacos, burgers, and spinach dip. Details: 3 to 6:30 0r 7 PM daily.
Mission
1221 Van St., SE (Mission Navy Yard) and 1606 20th St., NW (Mission Dupont)
The Mission Group’s Mexican happy hours are popular for a reason, with beers for $5.50, margs for $9 (or $26 pitchers), and discount snacks like $10 nachos and $1 chips and salsa. New 14th Street sister spot, Salazar, has similar happy hour deals—and they go a little later, until 7 PM daily. All three locations have outdoor patios or rooftop seating for catching some early evening sunshine. Details: 4 to 6 PM daily.
Succotash Prime
915 F St., NW
If your goal for happy hour is more work or date-related, less cheap beer with buds, this downtown DC steak-and-Southern restaurant housed in a stately historic bank is a good pick. Specials are generous: eight beers ($4 to $6), a good selection of wines and Southern cocktails starting at $7, and lots of bar bites from chef Edd Lee like deviled eggs ($1.50 each) or hot fried oysters ($13). On Wednesday, the kitchen goes all out on wings with three styles for $1.50 each. Details: 4 to 8 PM daily.
Tiger Fork
922 N St. NW, Blagden Alley NW
Night owls, this one is for you. Shaw’s Hong Kong-inspired restaurant just launched a nightly late-night happy hour starting at 9 PM. Specials celebrate the restaurant’s new collaboration with DC Brau brewery: “Double Dagger,” a light rice lager inspired by those in Asia. Specials include a can of the beer matched with peach-pork mushu ($16), with a shot of biaju ($16), and more. Details: 9 PM to 10:45 (Friday and Saturday) and 9:45 (every other day).
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
