Half Price Happy Hour Menu

[seawakim]

We have become regulars at Brasa - we love the 1/2 price menu. We're looking for some other places that may be interesting to try. What other restaurants offer this? Any suggestions?

[ScorchedPalate]

We went to Cascadia last night for drinks with friends. They don't offer half-off their regular bar-food menu, but they do have mini-burgers for $1 ($0.50 more for cheese) and cones of calamari for $2, plus deep discounts on well drinks and their signature alpine martini (lemon vodka with douglas fir sorbet).

~A

[tsquare]

Troiani, according to their web site today:

Happy Hour:

4pm to 6pm M-F

$5 Martini's and half price appetizers

Free valet parking after 5 pm

[little ms foodie]

I think Matador in Ballard has a great selection of happy hour priced items! And the nachos are HUGE!!!

[seacrotty]

We went to Cascadia last night for drinks with friends. They don't offer half-off their regular bar-food menu, but they do have mini-burgers for $1 ($0.50 more for cheese) and cones of calamari for $2, plus deep discounts on well drinks and their signature alpine martini (lemon vodka with douglas fir sorbet).

~A

erm....was there an eGullet consensus after the Cascadia outing a few weeks ago? I was unimpressed with both burgers and calamari. Although the drinks were lovely.

cameron

[tighe]

eGullet consensus

oxymoron

\Ox`y*mo"ron\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ???, fr. ??? pointedly foolish; ??? sharp + ??? foolish.] (Rhet.) A figure in which an epithet of a contrary signification is added to a word; e. g., cruel kindness; laborious idleness.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

[girl chow]

erm....was there an eGullet consensus after the Cascadia outing a few weeks ago? I was unimpressed with both burgers and calamari. Although the drinks were lovely.

I don't know if there was consensus at our Cascadia bar outing in early May, but I think we all had a good time (probably more to do with the company than the eats, of course... MsRamsey and LEdlund and their hubbies are so delightful to swill booze with).

The food at Cascadia during happy hour is very well priced and good for noshing while drinking, but it sure didn't match Brasa's happy hour menu for imagination or execution. I'd still put Brasa at the top of the list. In fact, I haven't been to a happy hour yet that I would say tops what Brasa offers.

One last thing... like Cam, I thought the drinks at Cascadia were *really* good. The alpine martini that Anita described was what we swilled. I loved 'em. The drink starts out chilly and vodka-y.. then, as the douglas fir sorbet melts, you get this sweetness and gin-y flavor. It's a different drink from beginning to end. Very clever. I also saw some pretty darn cool looking cocktails served at the tables around us... I think one was a mojito style cocktail with a popsicle in it. Too cool.

[ScorchedPalate]

...I thought the drinks at Cascadia were *really* good. The alpine martini that Anita described was what we swilled. I loved 'em. The drink starts out chilly and vodka-y.. then, as the douglas fir sorbet melts, you get this sweetness and gin-y flavor. It's a different drink from beginning to end. Very clever. I also saw some pretty darn cool looking cocktails served at the tables around us... I think one was a mojito style cocktail with a popsicle in it. Too cool.

There wasn't a single drink on the menu that I wouldn't have tried. The mojito float -- which was my second-round choice -- has a scoop of Mojito sorbet in it; it's a different drink with the popsicle (raspberry vodka, soda water, and an orange popsicle, to be precise).

[reesek]

i confess slavish devotion to the mojito float. the truffley mac and cheese doesn't suck either.

[mangiabene]

Hi newbie here. Been reading for a while and finally decided to make it official and join.

Brasa is still my favorite happy hour place and it's awesome that half priced food lasts until 7 p.m. on the bar menu.

Another one that's pretty good is the Icon Grill, which stops at 6 or 6:30. They have their scrumptious 4-cheese mac, as well as salmon cakes (not as good), pizza, artichoke dip and more, all for half price. Drink specials too.

Anthony's, especially out at Shilshole, also has half price apps in the bar and outdoor area. They've got generous helpings of mussels, etc.

And, if you're looking for the ultimate cheap happy hour -- i.e., free -- Il Fornaio at Pacific Place has a free food with pizza, pastas, salad, veggies, etc., if you order a glass of wine or beer.

[tighe]

When I was at Brasserie Margaux the other night, I noticed that they're doing a "buy 2, get 1 free" from the tapas menu in the bar. I believe it goes from 4-7.

[Foodie-Girl]

While not exactly 'two for one' the $50.00 gift certificates for $28.50 is quite a good deal I think.

So far we've been to Ristorante Pellini (GREAT) and are next headed for Brasserie Margaux and El Gaucho next.

[tsquare]

Always thought O'Hana's happy hour looked interesting - haven't been.

Marjorie's happy hour also looks very good. And you can sit outside.

[matsutakekichigai]

cameron

Edited July 6, 2004 by matsutakekichigai (log)

[Foodie-Girl]

I've not been to Cascadia for Happy Hour so I can't comment...only to say the dinner menu is a far cry from mini-burgers and frites. I think it's very refined cooking.

I did try one of their Mojitos with sorbet (probably similar to the Alpine martini) and it was yummy...but more like a dessert than a cocktail. Their regular drinks (Cosmos, Mojitos) are great on their own.

[kiliki]

I like the Metropolitan Grill's happy hour. It is fairly standard happy hour fare but done well, and the service and drinks are great. I especially like the bacon wrapped tenderloin skewers (2 for $4.95) and the peel and eat shrimp (3 for $1.50).

The bar at Ray's Cafe (above Ray's Boathouse) offers a half off menu during happy hour. They don't let you sit outside, but you still get the great view out the window and the food is cheap and solid. They have smoked salmon skewers, steamed clams and mussels, caesers salads, salmon burgers, etc.

Edited July 7, 2004 by kiliki (log)

[Fishshooter]

I used to go to McCormick & Schmick's on 1st ave for their happy hour in the bar the have a $1.95 menu that is very good they have a great burger and fries, calimari, mussels etc. I used to eat there all the time when I worked at Warshals and always good. They also do a late night happy hour. Times 3 to 6 and 10 to midnight if I remember correctly.

Happy eating and drinking,

Fishshooter

[girl chow]

In the interest of eGullet research, I went to Sazerac last night and had some very decent and very reasonably priced happy hour eats. Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., everything on the bar menu is $4. Regular prices are about $6-$12, so for some items, it's a real bargain.

The gumbo with housemade andouille sausage was decent, but not as good as when Kevin Davis used to cook at Sazerac. Their pizzas, which we really liked, were also $4, a considerable savings from their $11-$13 prices. We ordered the "simple" pizzas (I think that's what they were called) and they were tasty, although the center was a tad soggy from topping glop and overload. No complaints about the toppings: fresh mozz, fresh basil and some really nice tomatoes. The sweet potato chips with buttermilk blue cheese dressing were nothing special (actually, stale), so skip those.

Also on the $4 HH menu (but we didn't sample): Fried catfish, pulled pork sliders, andouille sausage, etc.

[braincell]

Bada Lounge--I know most people think of it as a pick-up joint in the late night--but it's happy hour menu is pretty good. Half-price on all appetizers--and the food was surprisingly good. Happy hour also lasts until 7 PM, which is nice.

Musiquarium (bar for Triple Door)--doesn't have an extensive happy hour menu--but they have these chick pea frites that are really good. Their happy hour also lasts until 7 PM.

--braincell

Edited July 9, 2004 by braincell (log)

[seawakim]

I went to SeeSound Lounge located directly next to Mistral. They have a happy hour menu and the food comes from Mistral. Very limited menu but pretty good food.

[reesek]

kim - i've been curious about the menu at seesound- do you remember what was on it/what you had?

thx

Edited July 9, 2004 by reesek (log)

[seawakim]

I had some sort of bruschetta and a few other things I don't remember. It was all pretty good.

[girl chow]

Here's what I posted about our visit to SeeSound in early May (right after it opened)

Here's the actual link for full disclosure.

My post from May about SeeSound and its menu:

"....It's true, the food is provided by Mistral. We were still full from our Cascadia calamari and sliders, but the menu looked good from Saturday: Moroccan style quail with preserved lemon couscous, $12; an assortment of artisinal cheeses, $8; caesar salad, $8; Sicilian style pizza, $8; sashimi grade tuna with oil cured olives and potato salad, $8. Also, some sweets and a few nibbles. We sampled the comp flatbread with the chili oil.

Had the bartender, Karen, not been so damn cool, we might have bolted from the place because it is pretty sterile .. concrete floors, high ceilings and white pillars and low-slung furniture that is much more comfortable than it appears. Karen is a bartender with a good sense for balanced drinks. Several drinks were unusual and unexpected combinations .. like jaegermeister and absolut mandarin... and vanilla stoli and Rose's lime juice... all we sampled were pretty tasty."

[ScorchedPalate]

I think Matador in Ballard has a great selection of happy hour priced items! And the nachos are HUGE!!!

We visited there last night after a movie at the Majestic Bay. From 4 to 6pm and 10pm to 1am, there's about a dozen $4 Happy Hour food items. Some are a better value (vs the regular menu prices) than others.

The food was just OK, and the service was crappy. OTOH, if you think of it as a bar that just happens to serve food (rather than a restaurant), they're doing pretty well.

~A

[tighe]

I just ran across this site, so thought I'd post the link to their Happy Hour Guide here. It appears pretty comprehensive...

[OK, so after browsing the site for a while, I have to say its credibility is bottoming out for me. The Melting Pot appears on every recommended list they have and, surprise, surprise, also appears to be one of their main advertisers.]

Edited August 5, 2004 by tighe (log)