Molly Martin
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Ah, happy hour. That magical time of day when restaurants and bars entice guests with deals on food and drinks. For a while after the pandemic, happy hours were slow to come back, but in the last couple of years, they have returned full force.
But these specials aren’t one-size-fits-all. Sometimes you’re looking for the cheapest drinks, or the best deals on oysters, or a smattering of both boozy beverages and sustenance at a discount.
If you’re hungry for happy-hour deals, here are our current favorites:
Molly Martin
Best Booze Deals
Horseshoe Lounge
414 East 20th Avenue
It’s no surprise that one of our favorite classic Denver bars knows exactly what its patrons want: a long happy hour (3 to 7 p.m. every day of the week) with drink specials for $5 or less, including $4 wells, ‘Shoe shots and retro cans of beer. As a bonus, from 4 to 7 p.m. daily, the kitchen offers any of its subs for just $8. Sister bar Pairadice at 2209 Welton Street also serves its happy-hour specials ($1 off drafts, $5 wine and $4 wells) from 3 to 7 p.m. daily.
Hudson Hill
619 East 13th Avenue
This bright and welcoming Capitol Hill cafe doubles as a cocktail bar, and its happy hour (4 to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and all day Sunday) is ideal for afternoon meetings — whether they’re personal or business-related. While you can get well drinks for $7, we prefer the $8 classic cocktails, including an Old Fashioned, Bee’s Knees or margarita. You can also score discounts on beer and wine, plus all the happy hour pricing is available late night, too, from 10 p.m. to close daily.
TrashHawk Tavern
1539 South Broadway
The mixed drinks (you won’t find any cocktails here) at this new-ish but well-worn neighborhood bar are affordable anytime but especially during its long happy hour (2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday). Stop by then to get $2 Narragansett cans, $3 Lone Star bottles and buy-one-get-one wells and Trash Drinks like the Trash Mom, a double tall vodka, tea and lemonade, all regularly priced at just $7.
Semiprecious
2839 West 44th Avenue
What happens when a world-class bar team from L.A. decides to open a neighborhood bar in Denver? Semiprecious, a new Sunnyside watering hole that has the comfort of a dive but a menu that’s anything but typical. Think a tomato highball with Oaxacan rum that’s pre-made and carbonated in-house and poured from a can. For a good introduction to this spot that’s definitely not too precious, we recommend the new late-night happy hour. Available from 9 to last call Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 11 p.m. to last call Friday and Saturday, and all night on Tuesday, it includes a lineup of tempting sippers like a martini and tonic for $9, Campari and soda for $8 and the Precious Little Boilermaker — a well shot and High Life pony for $7.
Wyman’s No. 5
2033 East 13th Avenue
This Chicago bar near Cheesman Park is a favorite for Bears games and its tavern-style pizza, but it also earns points for its affordable drinks during happy hour, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close daily, featuring $4 wells and select craft beer and wine for $5.50. Want more? How about $3 Montucky cans and $3.25 Bud and Bud Light drafts all day, every day. Add in daily food specials — on Tuesdays, you can get a slice of cheese or pepperoni for $2, for example — and you have a spot that’s easy to enjoy on the cheap.
Bonus pick: Lincoln’s, the hidden bar located in the Ice House building next to Union Station, where all drinks are $5 (cash-only), always.
Molly Martin
Best Oyster Happy Hours
Angelo’s Taverna
620 East Sixth Avenue
The original Angelo’s (there’s also a second location in Littleton) has been a staple on Sixth Avenue since 1974. It has daily specials (we love Mollusk Mondays!), but the real star is the daily happy hour, which runs from 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close, and includes a wide range of food options. But oysters are the star here: Slurp up the raw house oyster of the day for $1.25 each or splurgle a little on the chargrilled oysters topped with garlic, butter, Pecorino, fresh herbs and spices for $2.75 each.
Blue Island Oyster Bar
2625 East Second Avenue
It’s worth braving Cherry Creek parking to bag the bivalves at this oyster bar that also has an outpost in Lone Tree. Happy hour, 2 to 6 p.m. daily and open until 6 p.m. on Sundays, includes deals on a variety of seafood offerings and booze — $10.50 martinis, anyone? During that time, the shucker’s choice raw oysters are $2.75 each. Or visit on Mondays to score an oyster for $1.35. The cheapest option, though, is the late-night 99-cent oyster, available from 9 p.m. to close.
Fish N Beer
3510 Larimer Street
The best seat in the house at this high-energy seafood oasis in RiNo is at the counter, in front of the wood-fired grill, where you can watch the shuckers work their magic. Show up early for happy hour, which is available from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. You can order raw oysters for $2.50 each or wood- grilled oysters with garlic butter or the restaurant’s signature slightly spicy devil butter for $3 each. But there are also deals if you order more, like a dozen raw and a dozen grilled for $50.
Uchi
Best Sushi Happy Hours
Hapa Sushi Grill & Sake Bar
Multiple locations
Since opening in Boulder in 1999, Hapa Sushi has grown to four locations, including Cherry Creek, DTC and LoDo. The happy-hour menu at this spot that offers a fusion of Japanese and Hawaiian fare goes hard, with discounts on drinks of all kinds, including hot sake for $7 and cocktails for $9, plus a page-long list of food specials on starters, rolls and sashimi, all available from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. daily as well as 10 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Rocky Yama Sushi
801 Santa Fe Drive
In 2019, Rocky Yama moved into the former home of iSushi with the goal of bringing value to the neighborhood. Six years later, it’s still doing just that, especially at happy hour. From 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (with the exception of First Friday and Mother’s Day), diners can dig into BOGO wine and sake plus dozens of discounted food options, from appetizers and rolls to sushi and sashimi.
Uchi
2500 Lawrence Street
The Denver location of this Austin-born concept is one of the best fine-dining options in RiNo — but a meal can get pricey fast. That’s why we appreciate its happy-hour option of a nine-course seasonal tasting menu for two priced at $120. It may still be a splurge for many, but you get a lot of bang for your buck. Uchi also has an à la carte happy hour selection if you prefer that route, with options from every section of its regular menu, including dessert.
Molly Martin
Best Happy Hours for Food and Drinks
Ace Eat Serve
501 East 17th Avenue
From 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 3 to 6 p.m. on weekends, this pan-Asian spot with ping-pong tables serves a great happy-hour lineup. Highlights include $9 highballs and frozen cocktails, as well as discounted beer, sake and shots on the booze side; there are also plenty of food deals, such as four of its sweet and spicy tiger wings for $8, char siu ribs for $3 each and even a big bowl of spicy pork ramen for $16 (it’s regularly $20).
Alteño
249 Clayton Street
It may be tough to score a seat at Michelin-starred Alma Fonda Fina and Mezcaleria Alma, as both are quite small. Easier to access, though, is their much larger, Michelin-recommended sister restaurant in Cherry Creek’s Clayton Hotel — which also offers happy hour. Available from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the deals here include a classic margarita for $10, rotating wines for $10, a duo of $6 beers and five food options such as a Pacific shrimp taco for $8 and a bluefin tuna tostada for $14.
Champagne Tiger
601 East Colfax Avenue
Last August, Champagne Tiger moved into the former Tom’s Diner space, bringing new life with drag brunches, a Friday $5 martini lunch and an impressive happy hour that runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. daily and until 9 p.m. Sunday. Visit for food options like $2.50 raw oysters and a classic burger for $11, along with drink specials such as a $10 espresso martini or a $5 Spaghett (Miller High Life mixed with Aperol).
La Diabla
2233 Larimer Street
Along with its many daily specials, Jose Avila’s La Diabla has a happy hour sure to please any lover of tacos and mezcal. Choose from carnitas, roasted chicken with green mole or a vegetarian taco with menonita cheese, red beans and epazote for $5 each (you should definitely opt to add bone marrow to at least one for $6), then pair it with cocktails priced at $10 or less, a beer-and-shot deal or, our favorite, discounted mezcal flights. The best part: happy hour here is hours-long, on days you actually want to go out: from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, all day on Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Ototo
1501 South Pearl Street
Ototo is part of the Kizaki brothers’ legendary Den Corner, which includes one of the city’s newest Michelin-star spots, Kizaki. While reservations for that nine-seat counter are hard to come by, it’s much easier to get a table at Ototo, where you don’t even need to plan ahead to dig into its happy hour offerings, which are available from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Sip on discounted beer, wine, sake and cocktails, including a $7 gin fizz in flavors such as mango or passion fruit. Then order up eats like the $18 sushi and sashimi sampler, crab wonton nachos for $14, a selection of Ototo’s signature kushiyaki (skewers) for $5 each, and honey miso eggplant for $6.
Revival Denver Public House
630 East 17th Avenue
There’s a good reason why this Uptown restaurant was our 2025 Best of Denver pick for Best Happy Hour for a Full Meal. Actually, there are a lot of reasons. A $5 Old Fashioned? Blue-hued Polar Pop shots for $5? Chesapeake oysters served raw, baked or broiled with chorizo or garlic herb butter for $2 each? A huge soft pretzel topped with blue crab for $12? Revival has it all and more, from 2 to 5 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Reckless Noodle House
800 Sherman Street
Since this West Coast transplant made its way from Seattle to Denver’s Capitol Hill in 2022, it’s gained a loyal following of fans, particularly during happy hour, which runs from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and all night on Monday. We love the $7 cocktails, such as the barrel-aged Negroni made with Sipsmith London Dry gin, and the Reckless Rumchata with housemade horchata and Koloa float. Bring an appetite for food deals like $5 papaya salad, a lobster rangoon bao for $7, and Shanghai spicy wontons filled with snow crab, rock shrimp and pork for $6.
Shells & Sauce
2600 East 12th Avenue
The happy hour at this cozy neighborhood Italian joint draws a crowd. Drink specials run from 3:30 to 6 p.m. daily and include $4 domestic beers, $6 well drinks, $22 bottles of wine and more. Food specials, available from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and all priced at $10.95, are mini meals with options such as four styles of flatbreads and smaller versions of menu favorites like grilled salmon with scallion whipped potatoes, broccoli and roasted red pepper coulis, or chicken parmesan over spaghetti marinara.
Ultreia
1701 Wynkoop Street
Union Station’s Spanish hideaway is all about tapas and G&Ts. Its happy hour is available from 3 to 6 p.m. daily and includes many bites for around $6, like cider-braised chorizo on bread or a crispy deviled egg with jamón serrano and mahon cheese, plus $7 wines, sangria and a gin and tonic, or Ford’s gin Negroni for $5. Happy hour here gets even better if you can enjoy it on the patio on a sunny day.
Xiquita
500 East 19th Avenue
From 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, this Uptown hotspot serves its Xiquita Taqueria menu of Mexican street-food favorites not on its regular menu. The lineup includes a variety of $6 tacos, such as beef tongue barbacoa or chorizo and carne asada with chicharron (campechano), along with a $15 mixed seafood cocktail, $5 pinto beans “stewed with chorizo and love” and more. Most of the happy-hour drinks, like the house margarita and the Mezcalita, are priced at $9, or you can opt for $5 beers or discounted wine by the glass.
