This roundup is part of a summer 2019 happy hour guide to Hampton Roads, publishing June 30 in the print editions of The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press. Deals at over 120 restaurants across the seven cities will be chronicled.
Each day, we’ll be publishing deals from a different city, leading up to the guide’s publication — with roadmaps to cheap tacos, margaritas, fancy burgers and wings, plus all-day deals for every day of the week.
This guide is by no means meant to be comprehensive — in fact, we know we’ve missed a lot of great deals. We’re happy to field your favorites in the comments, or feel free to send along to matthew.korfhage@pilotonline.com with “happy hour” in the subject line.
DOWNTOWN
Brick Anchor Brew-House
241 Granby St.; 757-431-7064; brickanchor.com
Happy hour: 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; 3 to 9 p.m. Monday
$6-and-under food menu; $2.50 well drinks, $1.50 off Virginia drafts, $1 off craft beer, $3.50 house red or white wine, $4 specialty cocktails
If you’re looking for a happy-hour seat at the bar at downtown’s only steampunk-themed craft beer pub, you’ll have to arrive early. But if you’re looking for a space to people-watch, the restaurant has a small outdoor patio on the downtown sidewalk.
One of the better happy hour deals is the $5 cheeseburger with a juicy patty topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and bacon. But the most popular is the $6 mac-n-cheese balls, with creamy mac-n-cheese deep-fried in bread crumbs and served on a bed of still more molten cheese. They’re overwhelming, but you’d want nothing less.
Sharing an appetizer with a bigger group? Get the generous hillock of $5 deep-fried onion straws, far too many for most to finish solo. — Briana Adhikusuma
Notable daily specials: Missed happy hour? After 7 p.m., get 40-cent wings with a drink on Tuesdays, or half off all appetizers $10 and under on Sundays.
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Scotty Quixx on Granby
436 Granby St.; 757-625-0008; scottyquixxongranby.com
Happy hour: 4-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Half off everything
Outside of Scotty Quixx is a sign that says “Norfolk’s Best Happy Hour.” It would be tough to find one better. It certainly has to be the simplest: half off everything. And they do mean everything — beer, cocktails, appetizers and entrees. If they had half off TouchTunes, this would be my own personal nirvana.
The menu is standard bar food, but the house wings have just the right heat, the burgers are made with fresh (not frozen) beef, and the pulled pork is tangy and moist.
The only surprise is how empty the place is during weekday happy hours: A mere $10 can get you two craft beers and 10 wings, in a daytime pub atmosphere that’s more darts and pool than the nightclub Scotty Quixx becomes later on. — Jeff Reece
Notable daily specials: Until 10 p.m. Tuesdays, all the wings you can eat and a pitcher of beer for $14.99
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Gershwin’s
332 Granby St.; 757-226-0814; gershwinsnorfolk.net
Happy hour: 4-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
$3-$5 drinks, $3 bottled craft beer, $3 off glasses of wine; $5-$10 apps
If you’re looking to bring a little class into your weekday, pull up a seat at downtown Norfolk’s only piano bar. With a robust apps menu and some reasonable prices on drinks and bottled beer, this is a place where you can relax, enjoy some Ella Fitzgerald (live music starts later in the evening) and still hear your companions talk.
Appetizers include alternate-universe versions of bar staples. The roasted red pepper hummus with pita ($5) is not a nacho, but it is a savory match for the classic cheese and chips, though the carrots and celery served with it had seen better days.
Taco and slider proteins change daily, but a recent salmon “taco” consisted of some nicely grilled fish with a bit of butter and some lettuce leaves on pita, reminiscent of tacos only in its shape. — Jeff Reece
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Hell’s Kitchen
124 Granby St.; 757-624-1906
Happy hour: 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday
$2.50 domestic beer, $2.50 drinks; select apps half-off (half-portions)
Hell’s Kitchen’s basic happy hour doesn’t make it stand out in a downtown loaded with after-work bargains. A few apps are half off — though also half portions — and there are decent discounts on domestic beer and well drinks.
Where the bar really shines is with its specials. Almost every weekday, there’s a deal to be had. On Mondays, it’s half off cans and bottles of craft beer, which come from breweries all over the country or even overseas — a great way to try out rare and premium beers.
Tuesdays you can get 30 wings for $20 — bring a friend — and Wednesdays are half off a small selection of wine bottles. Thursday you can get PBR for $1, which is the only way I’ll drink it. All of the specials have time limits, so check with your bartender. — Jeff Reece
Notable daily specials: See above
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219 Bistro
219 Granby St.; 757-416-6219; 219bistro.com
Happy hour: 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 3-9 p.m. Sunday
$3 wells, $5 cocktails, $5 wine, $2-$3 bottled beer, $6 sangria; $2-$8 apps
219 Bistro is known for its fine dining and cocktails, but less well-known is that it has one of the cheaper downtown happy hours. Among the many downtown restaurants owned by the RZ restaurant group (4-5-6 Fish, Byrd and Baldwin, Leone’s), it’s hangs tight with basement bar Big Easy.
The 219 bar is laid-back, well-suited for leisurely conversation. The beer selection isn’t extensive, but cocktail hounds can get a $5 martini or Moscow mule, while those who long for the Beach vibe can get a house crush. Monday is Burger Night, where you can not only get a cheap burger but also eat it while watching “Bob’s Burgers” on the TV. — Jeff Reece
Notable daily specials: 70-cent wings on Sunday, $4 margaritas on Tuesday
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Todd Jurich’s Bistro
150 W Main St.; 757-622-3210; toddjurichsbistro.com
Happy hour: 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 5-9 p.m. Saturday
$6 select wine, $4.50 drinks, $1 off bottled beer, $6.50-$8 select cocktails; $4.50-$5.50 apps
At first glance, $4.50 well drinks probably don’t seem like much of a deal. But happy hour at this 27-year-old upscale dining mainstay is not about cost: It’s about value.
Todd Jurich’s has a well-earned reputation for strong drinks. You might be paying $4.50, but that gin and tonic or vodka and soda is going to be almost a full glass of alcohol with just a splash of mixer.
They also have an extensive appetizer menu, all half off. The BBQ pork on brioche had a satisfying zest, and the white truffle mac and cheese was creamy and rich. You can also get a half-pound burger for $5.50.
As with many cocktail bars, there’s no draft beer. But Todd’s does have a healthy list of bottled craft beers, many local, at a reasonable price. With the smooth jazz in the background and talkative regulars around the bar, Jurich’s feels like “Mad Men” minus the cigarettes. — Jeff Reece
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Saltine
100 E. Main St.; 757-763-6280; saltinenorfolk.com
Happy hour: 5-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, bar and patio only
$5 craft cocktails, $4 select wines, $3 select draft beers; 50-cent raw oysters, $1 peel-n-eat shrimp
Located on the ground level of The Main – Norfolk’s glitzy, new hotel and conference center, Saltine is the busy happy-hour hub among the three new restaurants in the building. Arrive early to secure a seat.
The décor at Saltine is chic, with comfy, leather swivel stools lining the bar, and a handful of tables. Patio seating offers large canvas umbrellas for shade. When the weather’s good, glass-paneled garage doors separating the outdoor and indoor areas are opened. The $5 craft cocktails include a selection of simple classics: moscow mule, old fashioned, tom collins, and some daiquiris that remind you why Ernest Hemingway preferred them.
$3 draft beers are all Anheuser-Busch (craft or macro), but the $4 wine pours are quite decent. Saltine’s specialty is seafood, so it’s no surprise that its two happy hour food offerings are seafood items: 50-cent raw oysters from the James River and $1 peel-n-eat shrimp. The shrimp, from Florida, are so large they look more like prawns. — Jane Harper
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Big Easy Oyster Bar
111 W. Tazewell St., 757-227-6222, norfolkseafoodco.com
Happy hour: 4-7 p.m. daily
$3 well drinks, $5 martinis and house wines, $2 drafts, bottled beers $3 to $4. 59- to 99-cent oysters, fish tacos $2.50-$3, wings $6 a half-dozen, bar snacks $4-$8.
Upstairs, the Norfolk Seafood Company is a bit formal. But downstairs at the Big Easy, the mood is darker and more moody and the happy hour is the stuff of whispered service industry legend. The choices are overwhelming — and the prices are right.
Skip the pale calamari, but crawfish beignets are like soft, seafood “hushpuffies” and four tender scallops arrive in a little cast iron skillet atop lovely fingerling potatoes. Three bacon-cheeseburger sliders come beautifully plated, sprinkled with herbs and cooked just right. A lot of care went into these $5 dishes.
Our favorite was the cajun dry rub wings, served with celery and both blue cheese and ranch for dipping. The seasoning was so tasty and the wings so moist, that they needed no sauce. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with brick walls and dim lighting. A long bar features prominently on both levels. The upstairs dining level is a bit fancier with its white linens, yet retains its intimacy with well-spaced tables, a round booth and plenty of seats at the bar. — Judy Cowling
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Baxter’s Sports Lounge
500 Granby St., 757-622-9836; baxterssportslounge.com
Happy hour: 4-7 p.m. daily
$5-$7 food items, many of which entrees. $3 domestics, wine by the glass and well liquor. $4 craft beers and premium bottles, $5 top shelf liquors
Ah, Baxter’s, the old Pilot newsroom standby. Full disclosure: Because Baxter’s is some 700 feet from the Brambleton office, a lot of Pilot reporters and editors go there. Fuller disclosure: So do I. In the past couple years, I’ve been there more times than I’ve talked to my mother on the phone, and it’s not even close. (Sorry mom. I’ll call soon.)
Pilot journalists go not just because it’s close, but also because it’s cheap and we’re poor. Nearly every beer or liquor, no matter how high up the shelf, was once three bucks until 7 p.m. — it was the MoviePass of happy hours, totally unsustainable but fun while it lasted.
Baxter’s has since come to its senses, but the happy hour is still solid, with $4 craft beers and good deals on food, including chicken tender bites that come piping hot, moist, and lightly breaded. The creamy crab dip is fresh and tasty, and the grilled shrimp salad is both fantastic and heaped with shrimp.
But beware: A 20% tip is automatically added to all happy hour tabs, so any tipping you do on your own is in addition to that. —Jonathan Edwards
Notable daily specials: Free hour of pool on Tuesday nights, with some of the best bar tables I’ve found in Hampton Roads.
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GHENT AND COLONIAL PLACE
Kelly’s Tavern
1408 Colley Ave.; 757-623-3216; kellystavern.com; six other locations in Virginia Beach, Chespeake, and Newport News
Happy Hour: 3 to 7 p.m. daily
$2.50 well drinks ($3.50 with juice), $2.75 domestic bottles, $4.50 craft drafts, $4 wine; $6.25 chicken bites, $6.99 nachos or fried pickles
Since it opened in 1983, Kelly’s Tavern on Colley Avenue has been a go-to for drinks on the cheap, with regulars who’ve been pulling up stools for at least 25 years. The brick-walled pub, owned by Sparky Roberts, is the oldest of seven Hampton Roads locations. If you ask a waitress, it’s Norfolk’s own little “Cheers.”
Happy hour is the best four hours of each day at Kelly’s. Deals vary by location, but on Colley every day from 3 to 7 p.m., well drinks are $2.50, best paired with $6.25 chicken bites — with even steeper daily discounts during the week.
Despite countless regulars, the size of the crowd is unpredictable — it might be mostly empty on a Saturday happy hour, and then packed on Wednesday night when karaoke starts at 10:30 p.m. Sometimes the waitresses croon by their lonesome — while other nights, there are so many people you can barely move, who are singing into the early hours of the morning. — Saleen Martin
Notable daily specials: 10 wings for $7.95 on Mondays from 8 to 11 p.m.; $5 crushes on Wednesday until 9 p.m, $5 mai tais on Fridays until 9 p.m., $3.50 bloody marys and mimosas Saturday and Sunday until 9 p.m.
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Small’s Smokehouse + Oyster Bar
2700 Hampton Blvd.; 757-626-3440; smallsodu.com
Happy Hour: 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
8 to 9 p.m. Power Hour: Half off wine bottles (Tuesday), domestic beer (Wednesday), whiskey (Thursday)
Perched on a fly-by stretch of Hampton Boulevard at 27th Street, Small’s Smokehouse + Oyster Bar was opened by father-son duo John Small III and Logan Small in 2013. The walls are covered in barbecue and oyster memorabilia, including a pink cut-out shaped like one of their most prized menu items: the pig. That’ll send you toward the North Carolina pulled pork ($8 at happy hour), cooked in their North Carolina vinegar-based sauce and served on a kaiser roll that’s crispy around the edges.
But the most salient feature at Small’s, which is not small, is the endless profusion of bargains: happy, power, and daily. There are $3.50 oyster shooters and half-off cocktails from 4 to 6 p.m. every day but Sunday. Dollar oysters are Tuesday, while $11 smoked fish keeps Catholics observant on Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday, power hour from 8 to 9 p.m. offers half-off domestic beer and whiskey, respectively. — Saleen Martin
Notable daily specials (5 p.m. till gone): $1 oysters Tuesday, $10 whole smoked chicken Wednesday, $15 pork rib rack Thursday, $11 smoked seasonal fish Friday, $15 smoked prime rib roast Saturday
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Fellini’s
3910 Colley Ave.; 757-625-3000; fellinisva.com
Happy hour: 4 to 7:30 p.m. daily
$5 off large pizzas; $1 off all drinks
Fellini’s is a Colley Avenue institution at this point, with almost three decades of business under its belt — and despite its location near Old Dominion University, the vibe is low-key and filled with families and older couples.
But the décor skews delightfully weird, with 1980s action-movie glass bricks going toe-to-toe with mini chandeliers and large mirrors. The place is named after the Italian cinema giant, whose portrait adorns not only the mural outside but the staff’s shirts.
At happy hour, your drinks are a buck off and the beer and wine list is substantial. But you’re really here for the pizza, priced at $5 off at happy hour and never expensive to begin with. A 12-inch large is just $10, even if it’s Bourbon Street: a combination of mozzarella, Andouille sausage, grilled chicken, smoked tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, parsley and topped with something called “secret” sour cream. Bar staff didn’t offer any hints about the secret, but one possibility: Sour cream tastes great on a pizza. — Trevor Metcalfe
Notable daily specials: Half price wine bottles on Tuesday, half price drafts on Wednesday
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Press 626
626 W. Olney Road, Norfolk; 757-282-6234, press626.com
Happy Hour: 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
Half off most glasses of wine, $4 well drinks and $6 sangria; buy one, get one half-off for small plates; Virginia Beach has different deals, but always half-off wine glasses
Before it was a wine bar, Norfolk’s Press 626 was a bank. But before that, it was a residence, which may be why it offers intimacy where others may deal in pretense. The cozy combination bar/dining room — with a smattering of tables, exposed brick and rustic accents — add to the feeling of being in a parlor. Hushed happy hour conversations mingle with the occasional laughter of a larger group tucked into a corner.
The Norfolk location opened in the economic downturn of the aughts, and a bank vault left behind now houses bottles behind the bar. The extensive wine menu is heavily European, with a couple of West Coast labels tucked alongside. The baked chevre, at $12, is a standard item on an evolving menu of small plates — buy one, get one half-off at happy hour — and it arrived piled with roasted red peppers and kalamata olives to top a soft baguette. But the real afterwork deal is half-off nearly all glasses during happy hour, a bonus for homeward-bound Ghenties and budget-conscious students from Eastern Virginia Medical School looking for a study break or to impress a first date. — Courtney Mabeus
Notable daily specials: Monday is ladies night: $3 select glasses of wine, $4 cosmos, and half-off entrees. Tuesday is date night: bottle of wine and three-selection cheese board $35.
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Jessy’s Taco Bistro
328 W. 20th St.; 757-216-9922; jessysghent.com
Happy hour: 5 to 7 p.m. daily
99-cent mini-Corona beer bottles and $5 well margaritas and wine
Strands of brightly colored lace-like flags — called papel picado — criss-cross above the outdoor patio of Jessy’s outpost, tucked onto 20th Street in Ghent. Past the sturdy agave plant and the sidewalk sign that says “Taco Tuesday & Thursday, all-you-can-eat $12,” don’t expect a place that peddles yellow cheese glop. This is the real Mexican deal.
Twenty bucks or less will fetch plenty of food and booze during happy hour, for those willing to wait. The menu offers taquitos (small tacos) with a range of meat selections. But choose the zucchini, squash and mushroom taquitos — topped with corn, onions, sour cream and tufts of moist queso Oaxaca. Served over a layer of melted and slightly browned mild white cheese and two crisped-to-golden-perfection corn tortillas, they’re almost convincingly sin-free.
On Wednesdays, those taquitos are only $1 apiece. And leave room for pellizcadas. Those empanada-like bites come filled with a variety of proteins, but the juicy carne asada (grilled steak) with chopped lettuce and diced tomatoes should fill your remaining stomach space. Order $2.50 cervezas or $5 margaritas, and linger. — Veronica Gonzalez
Notable daily specials, 2-6 p.m.: $12 all-you-can-eat taquitos and pellizcadas Tuesdays and Thursdays; $1 taquitos, $2.50 drafts, and $3.50 shooters on Wednesdays
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Luna Maya
2010 Colley Ave.; 757-622-6986; lunamayarestaurant.com
Happy hour: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday
$6 margaritas, $5 sangria, $3 beers; $5-6 appetizers
Past its tall doors and large, heavy black curtains, a blend of upscale and casual vibes meet in this family-owned Latin-American restaurant on Colley Avenue. There’s low light but upbeat music, servers dressed in all-black attire but diners donned in jeans and T-shirts. The tamale luna maya ($6) is a menu staple every time at happy hour.
With a pleasing and unexpected hint of cinnamon, perfectly cooked shredded beef, sour cream and pico de gallo top a noticeably sweet yellow corn tamale. The taquitos ($6), pan-fried and stuffed with shredded beef or carnitas, are pleasingly crunchy and slightly smoky and spicy to the taste.
A bonus at this spot: plenty of vegetarian and vegan appetizer options including tamales, quesadillas with spinach tortillas, and taquitos. Among drinks, favor a $6 margarita or mojito, or a $3 beer to pair. — Briana Adhikusuma
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Orapax
1300 Redgate Ave.; 757-627-8041; orapaxrestaurant.com.
Happy hour: 3 to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
$4 well drinks, $4 crafts, $2 domestics, $3 imports, $2 off all tap wine; food specials
Orapax has come a long way from its roots as rough-and-tumble hangout for longshoremen and railroad workers starting in the late 1960s. Louis Seretis first opened the bar at the corner of Orapax Street and Redgate Avenue, and the speciality was a poor man’s sandwich: spam and cheese on white bread. In the ’70s, his son Nick morphed the place into a Greek pizza joint, and it recently got yet another makeover.
But you can still get stiff $4 wells and $2 beer the color of straw at happy hour, even in a beautiful new bar area with beautiful windows that can slide open to the air. The restaurant is still known for pizza, with some of the best vegan and gluten-free pizza in town — though only the $6 wonton chicken pizza is discounted at happy hour. The $5 julienne-cut rosemary fries are perfectly seasoned, with parsley and parmesan cheese. — Alissa Skelton
Notable daily specials: Half-off appetizers and drink specials, 10 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday
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Pelon’s Baja Grill
738 W. 22nd St., Norfolk; 757-961-4673; 3619 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach; 757-417-3970; pelonsbajagrill.com.
Happy hour: 3 to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
$2.50 domestic, $3.25 craft beers, $5 wine, $6 margarita pints; 3 for 2 tacos
Pelon’s has maybe the best day-in, day-out craft beer happy hour in town: $3.25 daily for pints that may include a surprises like a 9% ABV Golden Monkey from Victory Brewing.
But you’d be forgiven if you got a $6 pint of comfortingly stiff margarita instead: After all, you’re likely pairing it with a 3-for-2 deal on the most faithful Baja-style fish tacos in town — also available at 2 for $5 all day Wednesday.
Why are they so good? It’s the flat-top-finished corn tortilla, the tenderness of the fish, the light crispness and rich flavor of beer batter breading and the angel-hair-thin wisps of cabbage. It is proportion, and it is consistency. And the shrimp tacos are even better than those. Lucky you. — Matthew Korfhage
Notable daily specials: 22-ounce margarita for $6 on Monday, 2 for $5 tacos Wednesday after 6 p.m.
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Red Dog
1421 Colley Ave.; 757-625-0259; reddognorfolk.com
Happy hour: 3 to 7 p.m. Friday-Sunday
40% off drinks in general; 25% off drinks and apps till 9 p.m.
Red Dog is a sprawling space with walls painted the red of Budweiser and a bar shaped like a geometry lesson. The Colley Avenue bar is half sports pub, half catch-basin for seemingly every type of human — the sort of place where you might find two regulars, back and forth, reciting every single car made at the former Chevy plant near Boston.
They’re here because at Red Dog every day, nearly every moment, is a deal. The regular beer prices are a wee bit high, but they shoot down to 40% off before 7 p.m. And they’re still 25% off until 9 p.m., when the appetizers get the same discount. Is it Monday? Your margarita is just $4 till 9 p.m., and it gets you buzzed but tastes like sour mix. How about Wednesday? Your pizza is half off. Maybe it’s not your favorite pizza, but almost no pizza costs less. Every day is a deal, and all of them are cheaper than seems profitable. — Matthew Korfhage
Daily deals till 9 p.m.: $4 (well) to $7 (Patron) margaritas on Monday, $2 Blue Moon Tuesday, $7 burgers and sammies Wednesday, half-off pizza Thursday, BOGO appetizers Friday and Saturday, $6 bites and cheese pizzas on Sunday
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Cogan’s Pizza
1901 Colonial Ave., 757-627-6428
Happy hour: 4 to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday
$2 domestic drafts & bottles, $3.50 well drinks, $4 Aventinus, $1 off everything else
There’s a Cogan’s rooftop bar on Colley, and a funny little nook operated by Waterside. But the original Cogan’s on Colonial Avenue is the place that seems almost contractually obligated to exist in every town with a university — the punk-rock pizza shop with cheap beer and booze and equally cheap slices, with karaoke at night and a patio full of smokers.
Cogan’s pizza doesn’t need discounts: Two slices, which they call one slice, is a meal at $3.59. And yet here you are each weekday evening drinking $4 glasses of perfect beer: Aventinus weizenbock, potent at 8% ABV. Cheap beer is cheap daily, at $2. And on Tuesdays, expensive beer is also cheap, with an extensive menu of crafts for just $2.50 till 9 p.m. Almost every day, you can get a pint and a meal for less than $10 total. It is a bachelor’s paradise whose crowd remains nonetheless an equal opportunity cross-section of bohemian Ghent: skatepunk and motocross fan, service industry and tipsy cheapskate. — Matthew Korfhage
Daily specials: 49-cent wings on Monday, $2.50 drafts Tuesday till 9 p.m., $2 wells and $1 half-pints of PBR on Wednesday from 8 to 9 p.m., large pizza and domestic pitcher for $16.99 on Thursday, BOGO appetizers and $3 bloodies and ‘mosas 11 .m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
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Peck & Pour
1301 Colley Ave.; 757-395-4176; PecknPourNorfolk.com
Happy hour: 4 to 6 p.m. daily
Half-off appetizers; $2 off drafts, $3 domestics and imports, $4 well drinks, $5 wines
In a wood-grained bar space on Colley that looks like every Irish pub in America, Peck & Pour is known for its wings and acts like a sports bar. The house is shoulder-to-shoulder on game days — whatever game, whatever sport.
But to those who know, this wing stop is also the best place to get a beautifully low-cost plate of Korean-style grilled beef at happy hour. Most of the half-off appetizers can be comfortably skipped, in particular a lackluster nacho. But the Korean-style bulgogi (a bit like teriyaki beef) is one of the best happy hour deals in town at $6.50 before 6 p.m, served with a dome of rice and some soy-soaked grilled vegetables. —Matthew Korfhage
With draft craft beer also $2 off, meals before game time are a remarkably civilized comfort.
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Hank’s Filling Station
4301 Colley Ave.; 757-351-3941; hanksfillingstation.com
Happy hour: 3 to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Roll the dice: Learn the price on craft beer, domestics, wine or wells
Happiness at Hank’s means a roll of the dice. At a bar best known for the rolling lawns and ping-pong of its packed patio, happy hour is not a price: It is a gamble.
If you order wine, or craft beer, or well whiskey, you don’t know when you order how much it will cost. You’ll be given a single six-sided die, just like you were about to decide who goes first at Monopoly. Roll it, and the result determines your fate.
A one means your drink costs one dollar — even if it’s otherwise an $8 craft pint, on a menu that often includes rarities. Two means half price. Three is a mere dollar off your drink. And 4, 5 and 6 just means regular price. Unlike in Vegas, the odds are tilted heavily against the house — Matthew Korfhage
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FROM OCEAN VIEW TO RIVERVIEW
Captain Groovy’s Grill & Raw Bar
8101 Shore Drive; 757-965-4667; captaingroovys.com
Happy Hour: 4 to 7 p.m. daily
Half-off on a dozen wings ($9), clams ($9) or oysters ($12); half-off beer, wine by the glass, $2 off well drinks
Despite the “captain” in its name and Shore Drive location, the scenic views at Capt. Groovy’s look out on the nearby auto shop and EconoLodge. Groovy’s is a working-class joint in a working class neighborhood, and has solid happy hour deals to match —and better-than-expected food from chef David Watts. It’s so well-liked by locals you might miss out on the parking lot and park two blocks away. Locals have adapted by posting signs guiding soon-to-be patrons about where they can park.
The bar and main restaurant were full, but the side patio served ably. The double-fried wings, 75 cents apiece by the dozen, were meaty, crispy and hot, though heavier than most on the breading. If you’re solo, order a to-go box. I got through little more than half a dozen before I cried uncle and packed up the rest. — Jonathan Edwards
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El Rey #2
849 E. Little Creek Road; 757-965-5466
Happy hour: All day Tuesday and Sunday, 5 to 7 p.m. other days
$2 any beer, $5 margaritas, $3 Fireball shots, $3 house tequila shot; $2 select tacos
The original El Rey in Ocean View is pretty much a taco counter and a hole-in-the wall — with almost nowhere to sit. At the more spacious and modern El Rey #2 along Little Creek Road, orders are taken on tablet computers, and happy-hour margaritas come for $5 in flavors from pineapple to peach. And even at happy hour, chips and salsa are free.
But really, you are here for tacos, and a small selection of excellent street tacos on house corn tortillas are a mere $2 at happy hour, as is any beer they serve. The carne asada (steak) is good and the carnitas (pork) on a recent visit was just plain brilliant, perfectly seasoned and its fat beautifully rendered. Life is good here, and tipsy, and full of tacos. — Matthew Korfhage
Notable daily specials: All day happy hour Tuesdays and Sundays; $2 house tequila or Fireball shots on Friday; and on Mondays, $7 gets you a “mega taco” that is larger than some dogs
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MJ’s
4019 Granby St.; 757-648-8942; mjtavern.com
Happy hour: 11 a.m to 9 p.m. daily
$3 wells, $6 doubles, $1 off top shelf
Decked out on its exterior with seemingly more flags than the U.N. assembly, MJ’s is the kind of place that seems to exist less and less. It is the friendly neighborhood LGBTQ bar, there for lunch and dinner and seemingly all hours at low cost — a home away from home so devoted to its customers that if RuPaul isn’t on the TV, the screens are likely devoted to loving slideshows of the bar’s regulars.
The $3 well served at happy hour was already a double, so stiff you’re surprised your gin and tonic didn’t have steam coming off it — and so whatever happens when you order a double, you might not know much else. But MJ’s is both living room and dining room, and most tables have food on them. At lunch there’s a $4.99 “blue plate,” and when dinner takes over at 4 p.m., each week has a $7 burger and each Monday has a $5 burger that tastes like dad made in the backyard. Tacos are $1 on Tuesday, because of course they are. The food here is simple, low-cost and made with simple care. — Matthew Korfhage
Daily specials: $5 burger Mondays ($8 for Beyond burger), $1 Taco Tuesdays, $1 wings Wednesday (by the half-dozen), $9 steak Thursdays (8 ounces, with baked potato)
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The Dirty Buffalo
213 E. Little Creek Rd.; 757-321-7242; thedirtybuffalo.com; additional location at 4012 Colley Ave.
Happy Hour: 4-7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday-Friday (closed Tuesdays)
$3 Yuenglings, Modelo and select domestics; $3 wells
Dirty Buffalo comes from upstate New York founders, wins awards in Buffalo for its wing sauces and reps its home state with garbage plates alongside the namesake wings. It has the laid-back vibe of a sports bar without the noise that usually comes with one.\\
The wings are their claim to fame — and were assessed among the top three in Hampton Roads in a taste test. There are 30 sauces and rubs to choose from, whether cajun buffalo, sweet sriracha or jalapeno lime. And in addition to standard happy hour beer pricing, the discounts on daily specials here can be steep — including a tender, juicy, 12-bone rack of ribs on Mondays for $13.99. For the trademark item, come Wednesday to get 65-cent wings. The only caveat? You can’t order more than 15 for yourself. — Robyn Sidersky
Notable daily specials: $13.99 ribs and fries on Monday, 65-cent wings (up to 15) all day Wednesday, and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; all-you-canieat boneless wings ($14.99) on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Mojo Bones
9659 1st View St.; 757-480-6656; mojobones.com; slightly different deals at at 4502 Monarch Way location
Happy Hour: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
99-cent Natty Boh beer, wells $3.50, domestics $2.50-$3; wing dozens $9.99
Mojo Bones is an alternate universe of drinking where National Bohemian costs a dollar till 7 p.m. and Orange Crushes are sold for $2.50 each Thursday, and where wings cost a mere 60 cents each Wednesday.
But drinking specials change seemingly at whim: cheap margaritas on Tuesday may suddenly morph into cheap Fireballs. —Matthew Korfhage
At the ODU location near the college, there might be a profusion of pre-game pricing for the college-party set: $1 beers from 5 to 7 p.m. Fridays (and $2 till 9 p.m.), while at Ocean View the ultimate deal is a $5 pitcher of Coors Light on Tuesdays. You play to your crowd. But either way, the crowd drinks improbably cheap.
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Cap’n Ron’s Bar and Grill
9300 Chesapeake Blvd. Norfolk, 757-587-0547, capnronsbarandgrill.com
Happy hour: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday
$2.25 domestic bottles, $5 domestic pitchers, $2 domestic drafts, $2.50 well drinks.
Cap’n Ron’s is a smoking-allowed spot that’s been around since the 1960s. Though it’s named after its owner, if you go to the back patio, you’ll see a sign calling the place a different name, Harry’s — that’s the owner’s father. Ron’s also has two distinct bar areas. One is a horseshoe-shaped bar where patrons often carry on conversations across the bar whether there’s music playing or not.
The other is a traditional bar area with a more spacious seating that includes booths, a dance floor and plenty of televisions to watch sports.This is also where you’ll find karaoke and the occasional bands.The daily food specials that constantly change, but the best deal is on Thursday when 75-cent beef tacos are joined by $1 well drinks — one of the best deals in the area on any day of the week. — Brock Vergakis
Notable daily specials: $1 domestic bottles and $1.75 domestic drafts Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. $1 well drinks and 75-cent tacos on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.
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Thirsty Camel
394 W. Ocean View Ave.; 757-587-1420
Happy hours: 2 to 5 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday-Friday
$1.75 well drinks, domestic bottles and drafts 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.; $3.50 well drinks and $2.25 domestic bottles and drafts 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., including Saturday
Though it’s next door to the Ocean View Fishing Pier, nobody goes to the Thirsty Camel for the view. There are only a few windows in the building, and the patio is mostly for smoking. But the Camel is a local institution in Ocean View.
Its cinder-block building was built in 1934 and has served as the home of the Thirsty Camel since 1970. Some regulars, whose ages range from their 20s to well into their 70s, have been going for decades — and it’s possible to spend an entire day there because it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cheeseburger and steamed shrimp are the most popular items on the menu — and on Mondays, the steamed shrimp is $8 a pound. —Brock Vergakis
Notable daily specials: $1 domestic drafts all day Sunday; $8-a-pound steamed shrimp from 5 to 10 p.m on Monday; two-for-one prime rib ($22-$26) on Wednesday; dollar PBR tallboys from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, plus two-for-one New York strip or ribeye ($26) all day.
Matthew Korfhage, 757-446-2318, matthew.korfhage@pilotonline.com
