Happy Hours

Currently, I’m living in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. So, hopefully you’ll understand that for now I’m going to refine my scope to this general area. For the uninitiated, that basically means anything in walking distance from the Fremont Bridge. I’ll probably include some stuff in Wallingford and Ballard, but I doubt it will get much farther away than that.

With that said, if you’re like me, your ability to eat out is heavily tied to affordability. Luckily, there is no shortage of places that offer all sorts of happy hours. It seems that anyplace that serves alcohol, whether it’s a restaurant or bar, has jumped on this marketing ploy as a way to bring in patrons at otherwise slow times. I’ve been especially amazed at how many establishments offer double-happy hours — one in the late afternoon/early evening and another near closing time.

What I aim to do is eventually have a pretty thorough list of which places offer happy hour pricing, what that includes and, whenever possible, my personal review. Hopefully, you’ll come to find this as a go-to resource.

The Dubliner

• Hours: Daily, 3-8 p.m.; Sunday 1-10 p.m.
• Highlights: $3 wells and drafts; daily food specials; 8 p.m.-close Mondays, $4 18oz. New Belgiums; Tuesdays, $3 heffeweizens; Thursdays, $3 Guinness, Harp and Smithwicks and $5 Irish whiskies; Free pool on Sundays
• Review: While it may have the exterior look of your average dive bar, it’s hard to put the Dubliner in that category. For one, they boast an impressive tap collection that includes such personal faves as New Belium 1554 and Smithwicks, as well as local standout Universale from Fremont Brewery. At $3 a pint, it’s tough to beat. As for the food, I’m not entirely clear what the Happy Hour specials are. I was there on a Sunday and we only ordered fries — which were actually pretty good — and they were like $.50 off the menu price. In general, Sunday seems like a great day to check this place out. Although the free pool seems to be pretty well spoken for by a cadre of regulars, they also feature what I believe is the neighborhood’s only Sunday Trivia Night. It’s $5 a team, with the winner taking the cash and the worst team being treated to a pitcher of PBR.
• Address: 3517 Fremont Ave N

Dad Watson’s

• Hours: Daily, 3-6 p.m. and 10 p.m.-close; drink minimum: $2
• Highlights: All McMenamin’s Ales are $3.30/pint and PBR is $2.25; Fries and Cajun Tots, $1; Hummus and pita, $2; Quarter-pound cheeseburger, $4; Chicken tenders, $4.
• Review: Truth be told, I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten off their regular menu, although it does look pretty good. There might not be a better late-night munchie for the price than those Cajun Tots. The burger is totally passable, if not mind-blowing. My wife is really partial to the chicken tenders, which seems to be coated in panko crust. The hummus usually isn’t bad, either. I think what keeps me coming back, though, is the McMenamin’s Ales. They usually have more than 10 on tap, with several seasonals. I’m a particular fan of the Sleepy Hollow Nut Brown, Terminator Stout and whatever porter is in season.
• Address: 3601 Fremont Ave. N.

9 Million in Unmarked Bills

• Hours: Daily, 3-6 p.m.
• Highlights: Wild Mushroom Mac and Cheese, $3; Stacked Casesar salad, $3; Caprese salad, $3.
• Review: If you go by the Yelp reviews, you could be forgiven for completely avoiding this place. The name seems to really annoy people. The late-night crowd seems to be of the meat market variety. The drinks are kinda pretentious sounding. I won’t dispute any of that, but if you go for the happy hour, none of that is particularly relevant. The Mac and Cheese is legitimately awesome. It’s not on the online menu, but when I was there they had a Wasabi Grilled Cheese Sandwich, which was great, too. At least in terms of happy hour, you’re getting a lot better quality than you’re paying for.
• Address: 3507 Fremont Place

Blue C Sushi

• Hours: Daily, 4-7 p.m.; Thursdays, 4-close; Bar only.
• Highlights: $1 off beer (if memory serves, $3 Sapporo); California roll, $1.75; Spicy tuna roll, $2.75.
• Review: This is probably my favorite place to bring guests, especially on Thursdays. The portions aren’t huge, but they really lend themselves to variety. Whether that means trying a little of lots of things or just snacking, rather than eating a whole meal, it’s really hard to end up spending too much money. I’ve gone here with my wife for dinner and spent less than $20 for the two of us, with drinks. I’m also told that this is a relatively authentic Japanese sushi experience, inasmuch as the regular Japanese tend to eat sushi at conveyor-belt style establishments like this one, rather than the smaller single-chef joints that might feel more authentic.
• Address: 3411 Fremont Ave N.

Red Door Ale House

• Hours: Daily food specials, 3-6 p.m. and 10 p.m.-midnight; Monday-Friday drink specials, 3-6 p.m.
• Highlights: Hamburger sliders, $5; Pulled pork sandwich, $5; Hand-cut fries, $2
• Review: On sunny days, the patio is great. They have a wonderful selection of beers, including monthly specials that, if memory serves, are $3 a pint. I wish I could give the food higher marks, but I just thought it was very average. The sliders weren’t bad, but think I would have rather had one burger than a bunch of minis. The Korean-style short ribs are still listed online, but when I went they had stopped serving them — maybe that was temporary.
• Address: 3401 Evanston Ave N

Roxy’s Deli

• Hours: Monday-Friday, 4-6:30 p.m.; Monday-Friday, noon-close at the bar
• Highlights: $2 mini-Bloody Marys
• Review: Truth be told, I’m not entirely clear how happy hour works here. I can tell you that I’m a big fan of the $2 mini-Marys, which as far as I can tell, are available almost anytime you go in there.
• Address: 462 N 36th St

Norm’s Eatery & Ale House

• Hours: Daily, 5-7 p.m.; weekends, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Highlights: $3 drafts; $5 appetizers; $4 Bloody Marys on the weekends before 2 p.m.
• Review: Again, I have to admit I’ve never actually been here for happy hour. I do love the fact that they allow dogs, actually they welcome them. The food has been kinda hit and miss for me, but the prices aren’t too bad. The chili, one of the happy hour items, was a tad underwhelming. But I love those $4 Bloody Marys.
• Address: 460 N 36th St

ToST Lounge

• Hours: Daily, 5-8 p.m.
• Highlights: $2.50 drafts; $3 wells; $5 pizzas
• Review: If budget is your main focus, it’s hard to beat ToST. Those $5 were totally not bad, although I haven’t run out to get another since my first visit. When we went, it was a little on the dead side and the atmosphere is decidedly low key. You can definitely do worse, but there are a lot of better options in relative proximity.
• Address: 513 N 36th St

Nectar

• Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 5-7 p.m.
• Highlights: $5 pizzas; $5 domestic pitchers; $8 micro/foreign pitchers; $4 nachos
• Review: The pitchers are a great deal, especially when they’re offering stuff like Hoegarden and Mac and Jack’s. During nice days, the patio seating is nice, too. I don’t know that I’d recommend eating a meal here, but the food wasn’t bad for the price. We had nachos, which were totally fine.
• Address: 412 N 36th Street

Brouwer’s Cafe

• Hours: Daily, 3-6 p.m.
• Highlights: $1 off drafts and wells; Buffalo and wild boar sliders, $7.50; Fries, $3; Fish and Chips, $4.50; Spaghetti with meat sauce, $5.
• Review: I’m not sure if it’s the biggest selection in Seattle, but Brouwer’s certainly offers one of the most interesting selections of drafts. Ranging from local nano-breweries to lesser-known Europeans and filling in a lot of what comes between, the biggest problem is choosing what to try. As for the food, it’s a major step above standard pub grub. The food is essentially Belgian bistro fare, which is very similar to its French cousin. The fries — or frites — are out-of-this-world awesome, double fried in Belgian style. I’ve only personally tried the lamb burger, which isn’t on the happy hour menu, but if that’s any indication, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place. There are rotating beer specials, too, which adds even more variety.
• Address: 400 N 35th St

George & Dragon Pub

• Hours: Monday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; Sunday, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.
• Highlights: $1 off pints and wells
• Review: I’m pretty sure they don’t offer any happy hour discounts for food, but this is really more of a drinking establishment. The food is much more standard pub-grub, it tastes fine and is served in huge portions, but I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to eat a meal here. If you’re looking for a place to watch soccer, on the other hand, there aren’t too many places that can beat the atmosphere. If there’s a game being played, whether its the Sounders, the U.S. national squad or some foreign league, you can bet it will be shown here. And you won’t have to worry about American football fans horning in, either. Most of my visits were on Saturdays in which the Huskies were playing around the same time as the Sounders and I don’t remember seeing a single TV with anything other than the Sounders playing.  The only thing I can compare it to is watching the World Cup at bars in Europe. Everyone there is glued to the TV and going through the emotions of the game together. If you can’t be at the game, this is just about the second best place to be.
• Address: 206 N 36th St

Hales Ales Brewery & Pub

• Hours: Monday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.
• Highlights: $1 off imperial pints; $5 pizza; Tapas platter of hummus, baba ganouj and tapenade, $3.50; Half-pound, natural-beef burger, $6
• Review: The best place I can compare this to is Gordon Biersch, a macro, micro-brew head-quartered in my home town of San Jose. Both places are very clean — almost too clean — and seem like great places to have a business lunch, or something like that. Both serve decent, but not great, beers that are brewed in house. And both serve food that will please, but probably not haunt your dreams. I found the pizza to be a good deal. The tapas platter was just OK. I wish I tried the burger, but for $6 it’s not a spectacular deal or anything.
• Address: 4301 Leary Way NW

Via Tribunali

• Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 4-6 p.m., bar only
• Highlights: $3 wells; $3 Peronis; 25 percent off take-away pizza
• Review: Truth be told, I didn’t realize Via Tribunali even offered a happy hour. I have been there for dinner, though, and can’t speak highly enough about the pizza. At happy hour pricing, none of them would cost much more than $12, which is a steal. Not the most filling, and should probably be part of the meal, rather than a meal unto itself, but very much worth the experience. That being said, you’d have to eat it somewhere else and part of Via Tribunali’s charm in the restaurant.
• Address: 4303 Fremont Ave N

35th Street Bistro

• Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m.; Mondays 5-9 p.m.
• Highlights: $5 wine; $4 bottled beer; $5 menu on Mondays
• Review: While I’ve visited for the normal dinner service — and was quite happy — for someone on a budget, the Industry Night is really a can’t miss. I’m not entirely clear which Mondays they open for, but those are — or used to be — $5 menu nights. Everything from the burger to the croque monsieur to the frites was just about perfect. For about $20, my wife and I were able to eat what very much felt like a fancy meal. My only complaint was that their onion soup was not on the Industry Night menu.
• Address: 709 North 35th St

Other places I’ve yet to visit, but definitely mean to

• LTD Bar and Grill: Monday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.; $4 chicken tacos; $5 burger; 309 N 36th St
• Sinners and Saints: Monday-Thursday, 4-7 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, noon-7 p.m.; $3.50 wells and drafts; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. $2 bloody marys; 303 N 36th St
• Ballroom: Daily, 4-7 p.m.; Food only, Sunday-Monday, 11 p.m.-1 a.m.; $4 specialty pizza slices; $3 apps and salad; $4 beers and wells; 456 N 36th St
• El Camino: Weekdays, 5-6 p.m.; Weekends, 2-6 p.m.; Carne asada tacos, $6; Chicken mole tacos, $5; Draft beer, $3; House margaritas, $5; 607 N 35th St
• Nickerson Street Saloon: Daily, 3-6 p.m. and 10 p.m.-close ; $3.50 pints; food starting at $1.95; 318 Nickerson St
• The Traveler: Weekdays, 4-6 p.m.; Wells, drafts and Belgian-style frites, $3; 4356 Leary Way NW