I love a deal. (Which makes me a perfect target for all those ‘super specials online sales… Damn you, ASOS.) I also love getting together with friends after work at the many fantastic bars and restaurants our city has to offer. Below are four excellent happy hours that are relatively under-the-radar in my opinion. I’m detailing out what I got at each and scoring them based on COST, QUALITY, and QUANTITY. As usual, share your own favorite places in the comments section
Pan D’Olive – A+
This place is the real ‘happy hour’ deal. The menu is incredibly extensive offering beer, wine and liquor specials, plus lots of delicious appetizers. The space is also beautiful with a large bar. This place has it all covered: inexpensive, excellent quality, and sizeable pours and portions brings the place to the top of the list.$3 glass of wine people – and you have an option of two different whites and reds. My husband and I had a glass of pinot grigio, a whisky and coke ($5), calamari ($5) and a flatbread ($5) for $18.
Flamingo Bowl – A-
My brother tipped me off to this spot. The big seller, $3 craft beers from 4-7pm. They had some solid options, including Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, and 4Hands. They only have beer specials, so that knocks a few points off. They also did $4.50 appetizers, but their apps listed only consisted of four items. Still, better than nothing. The place was completely empty when we went. Depending on your preference of ambiance, maybe that’s your preference, but I enjoy a bit more of a crowd. We did get a table looking out on Wash Ave, so we could watch people watch. This is by far the cheapest of all of the happy hours. We got two craft beers each and an order of toasted raviolis for $16.50.
Basso – A-
Took some friends here for happy hour and it turned into dinner. The food menu for happy hour was that plentiful. Prices are great for the quality, quantity and ambiance, but were the most expensive of all of the places we tried. However, quality and quantity reign at Basso. By far the best food, and there was a ton of it. My husband and I had a glass of wine ($5), a specialty mixed drink ($6), truffle fries ($4), crispy meatballs ($7) and a pizza ($7) for $29.
Ernesto’s Wine Bar – B+
Ernesto’s used to have a killer happy hour. They’ve seemed to scaled back a bit, but the plus side is, they’re small plates menu is so reasonably priced, (most items under $10) it’s basically happy hour all of the time. Monday – Friday, from 4-7pm, they offer a ‘Wine of the Day’ special, which is a $6 glass of a wine of their choosing. I had a glass of the ‘Wine of the Day’ and their mac and cheese for $11.
urbanpioneerstl 