What could possibly be better than an hour dedicated to happiness? The answer is two hours. Or three, or four, or even more. The best thing about happy hour in Melbourne is that it tends to run for longer than a mere sixty minutes, making it a heady experience for hedonistic Melburnians. Check out our list of Melbourne's happiest hours, where the drinks are discounted and time is not of the essence.
Photo credit: Bruno Girin.
Horse Bazaar – Little Lonsdale St, CBD
Have a doubly delightful happy hour party at unique arty-bar,
Horse Bazaar. Dedicated to both visual stimulation and bar-fly cultivation, this venue offers $2.50 pots as well as $5 pints and house wine from 5pm to 7pm daily.
Banff – Fitzroy St, St Kilda
You won't get quality, but it is cheap, cheap, cheap, making this contender in the
Melbourne's grungiest bars contest a happy place indeed, particularly for St Kilda's international wanderers. Happy hour at
Banff runs from 3pm – 6pm every day, with $2 pots, $8 jugs and $3 glasses of wine, but even if you miss happy hour you're not likely to get stung for much with the cleanskin vino selection on offer.
European Bier Café – Exhibition St, CBD
There's a lot to be happy about at
European Bier Café – after 5pm on Monday nights you'll get any tap bier (excluding the month's feature bier) for half price, after 6pm Thursdays it's buy one tap bier and get one free, after 5pm on Fridays house spirits are just $6 and there are various specials on beer, wine and spirits from 8pm to 10pm on Saturday nights.
Wonderland Bar – Chapel St, Windsor
A Windsor winner when it comes to happy hour, Chapel St's popular
Wonderland Bar offers not one hour, but four, every day of the week. Head on in between 4pm and 8pm and get $3 wine, $3.50 beer and $4 basic spirits.
Get cocktails cheaper at Charlie's Bar.
Charlie's Bar – Hardware Lane, CBD
One for the cocktail lovers,
Charlie's Bar has a great weekday deal with two-for-one cocktails (saving of $17, both cocktails must be of the same variety) from 5pm to 8pm. Rivalling some of the
best cocktails in Melbourne, these mixes range from classics with a twist to a few very tropical temptations (wild hibiscus syrup, anyone?).
Elephant and Wheelbarrow – Bourke St, CBD
Unwind after the end of the work week with the
Elephant and Wheelbarrow's Friday night specials. Get a pint of
Heineken or cider (main bar has several ciders on tap), or a basic spirit for $6 between 5pm and 7pm.
99 Problems Bar – Johnston St, Collingwood
Opening relatively recently,
99 Problems Bar is a teeny bit dingy, but that's what's cool in Collingwood – and who cares anyway, with $2 pots and $5 spirits from 6pm on Tuesdays?
Blue Moon Bar – Russell St, CBD
With regular super promos drawing in the young crowd, the funky
Blue Moon Bar has big deals every day. Highlights include 50% off drinks on Mondays and Thursdays, $4 sparkling wine on Saturdays, and many other various and varying happy hours all through the week – check the
Facebook page to stay in the know.
Half price happiness at Blue Moon Bar.
Three Degrees – QV Square, CBD
Get a real beer experience at the award winning
Three Degrees with $5 pints of beer and ale (nine craft beers on tap) from 5pm onwards on Wednesdays.
Amber Lounge – Lonsdale St, CBD
You won't only get discounted drinks at
Amber Lounge on Friday nights – you'll get a free drink just for walking in the door. Get your bonus booze between 5:30pm and 8:30pm along with $3 wine (including house sparkling), two-for-one cocktails, and $5 spirits and
Coronas.
