Say cheers to drinks from $5, snacks from $4 and a behemoth cheeseburger from a hatted restaurant.
No drink tastes better than one you didn’t pay full price for.
Good Food has scoured the Sydney’s bars and restaurants to uncover 10 of the best happy hour discounts. From $5 beers and $14 martinis to heavily discounted snacks, here’s where to head when the clock strikes five.
Centro 86, Sydney
Tue-Sun, 4-6pm
Sydney’s favourite mezcal den heats up its happy hour with $13 spicy margaritas. Flavours rotate, but it’s currently made with sour orange and passionfruit, and served extra-cold with hand-shaved ice. Considering it’s normally $25, you’ll have a tough time finding a better deal on margs in the city. If you’d rather beer, happy hour also includes $7 Angel Oro lager.
86-88 Pitt Street, Sydney, muchogroup.com.au
Vinabar, Sydney
Tue-Thu, 5-7pm
This petite Vietnamese-inspired bar in the CBD is shaking up some of the most creative cocktails in the city. Tequila is paired with Sriracha and hoisin syrup for a twist on a spicy margarita, and its take on an espresso martini involves Vietnamese coffee and pandan cheese foam. Every signature cocktail on the menu gets wound down to $16 during the two-hour discount period. You can also score $8 beers (Hanoi and Asahi) and $10 wines.
G01/332 Kent Street, Sydney, vinabar.com.au
Pocket Pizza, various
Fri-Sun, 4-5.30pm
Not only does Pocket Pizza serve some of the best pizza on the northern beaches, it also has one of the best weekend happy hour deals. From 4pm, you can try its Pocket Pizza draught (brewed in collaboration with Yulli’s Brews) for $5, spritzes for $10, and negronis for $15. It doesn’t end there, with a selection of antipasti, including fluffy focaccia, ricotta flecked with lemon zest and black pepper and 18-month-old prosciutto, available for $5 each.
Various locations, pocketpizza.com.au
Takam, Darlinghurst
Wed–Thu, 5.30-7pm
Takam takes a modern approach to Filipino food while celebrating Australian produce. Its happy hour includes a discounted “pulutan” menu (meaning “small plates” in Tagalog), which features $5 chicken empanaditas (mini empanadas) for a snack, or for something more substantial, $19 pork sisig, the aromatic street food dish with finely chopped pork, onion and chili peppers. There’s also $10 wine, $8 beer and $15 cocktails, including the Galeon de Manila, a chilli margarita tangy with kalamansi fruit and coconut sap ferment.
324 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, takam.au
Where’s Nick, Marrickville
Mon-Fri, 4-5.30pm
Where’s Nick is the mothership of natural wines and Mediterranean share plates in Marrickville, and each weekday you can score a $10 glass of white, orange (skin-contact) or chilled red selected from owner-sommelier Bridgette Raffal’s ever-changing wine list. Negronis, pastis and limoncello spritzes are also $10, while the $5 snack menu includes dishes such as house-marinated olives, anchovy toast with preserved lemon butter, and a particularly good house-made focaccia.
236 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, wheresnick.com.au
Poly, Surry Hills
Mon-Thu, 5-6pm and Fri, 4-6pm
One of the best times to try this hatted wine bar and restaurant is during “Apolytivo” hour, when there’s Moondog lager for $9, select glasses of red or white wine for $10, and cocktails (including a martini) starting from $14. Enjoy a discounted menu of chef Mat Lindsay’s fire-powered snacks, including crispy fried potatoes topped with egg yolk and chives for only $5. Before you eat your weight in those, also consider the $24 Poly cheeseburger, featuring Japanese hot mustard and a crunchy onion ring on a potato bun.
74-76 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, polysurryhills.com.au
Lazy Thinking, Dulwich Hill
Daily, 5.30-7.30pm
It might sound dramatic, but a burger served without chips is a culinary crime we’re seeing more and more often. That’s why we love the happy hour at this small, live-music venue — not only are there $7 cans of Grifter, but you can also expect a free side of chips with any of its burgers. Our favourite is the cheeseburger with a smashed beef patty, but there are also solid vegetarian options with halloumi or portabello mushroom.
380 New Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill, lazythinking.com.au
Knird
Sat, 3-5pm (and Fri from October)
Knird is “drink” spelled backwards, and that’s a strong sign this north shore wine bar is going to have a good happy hour. Cheers to $15 martinis, negronis and spritzes, as well as $10 glasses of prosecco, every Saturday afternoon, with the discount set to extend to Fridays come October. Knird’s snack menu is already wallet-friendly, but during happy hour, the price of dishes such as chicken skin skewers with Sichuan pepper and lime, and potato croquettes with prosciutto and paprika aioli, are slashed from $8 to $4.
31-33 Albany Street, Crows Nest, knird.com.au
Earl’s Juke Joint, Newtown
Tue-Sun, 6-8pm
Earl’s has been shaking killer cocktails and pouring low-intervention wines for more than a decade, and our favourite thing about its happy hour is how late it goes: until 8pm. That means you can take your sweet time leaving work, and still score $8 schooners of select craft beer, $10 glasses of wine and $15 cocktails (including spritzy pornstar martinis, margaritas and negronis). Come October, happy hour will extend to all day Tuesday, so clear your calendars.
407 King Street, Newtown, earlsjukejoint.com.au
Cony’s, Cronulla
Fri, 4-6pm
If you’re after Latin American food with modern flair, Cony’s owner Constanza Henriquez is showcasing her Chilean heritage at this Cronulla bar. During happy hour, Henriquez takes 20 per cent off the price of her signature cocktails, including the “Pisco Disco” sour. Try it with a side of fresh and zingy snapper ceviche, or a comforting empanada filled with beef or gouda cheese.
15 Surf Lane, Cronulla, conys.com.au
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Isabel Cant – Isabel is a social media editor for Good Food. Prior to joining Good Food, Isabel worked as a freelance journalist. She was also previously a social media producer for Endemol Shine Australia, working on MasterChef Australia and Dessert Masters.