Cheap Vegas Happy Hours Actually Worth Planning Your Day Around
Most happy hour lists are useless because they read like a phone book: fifty bars, no priorities, and half the deals expired before the article was published. This one is different. Seven happy hours, each one worth building part of your day around, spread across the Strip, downtown, and the locals' side of town.
One honest note first: happy hour deals change. Menus rotate, times shift, and a deal that was $5 last month can be $7 today. Confirm with the venue before you go — every pick below is worth the two-minute check.
The Local Legend: Herbs and Rye
Herbs & Rye, at 3713 West Sahara Avenue, is the happy hour other happy hours get compared to: 5 to 8pm and then again from midnight to 3am, with half-off steaks and classic cocktails. Two windows means it works as a pre-dinner stop or a very late nightcap, and the half-price steak is the rare happy hour deal that is also a real dinner. (Note: If you can't get into Herbs and Rye, try it's sister restaurant Cleaver, located a few blocks from the Strip on Paradise.)
The Downtown Anchor: Carson Kitchen
Carson Kitchen, at 124 South 6th Street downtown, runs Tuesday through Sunday from 3 to
6pm: $7 cocktails and $5 bites. It's the anchor for a downtown afternoon — pair it with a walk
through the Arts District or a stop at the Downtown Container Park and you've built a cheap
evening without setting foot on the Strip.
The Early Start: STK at Cosmopolitan
STK inside the Cosmopolitan runs its “$7 $7 $7” happy hour starting at 2:30pm — seven $7
bites, $5 beers, $10 wines, and $12 cocktails. The 2:30 start is the point: it's one of the earliest Strip happy hours, which makes it the move on a day when you want a late lunch that turns into an afternoon.
The Weeknight Deal: Hakkasan at MGM Grand
Hakkasan Restaurant at MGM Grand runs Monday through Wednesday from 5 to 7pm, with
selected food and drinks at $10 each, bar only. It's a weeknight-only deal, which is exactly when the Strip is quietest and a $10 plate at a high-end restaurant feels like getting away with something.
The Late-Night Reverse: BALLA Italian Soul at SAHARA
BALLA Italian Soul at SAHARA runs a reverse happy hour daily from 9 to 10pm, and its $7
Limoncello Spritz runs all day. Reverse happy hours are the underrated move in Vegas: the
dinner crowd is thinning, the bar is settling in, and the prices drop just as you're ready for one more.
The Arts District Stop: 18 Bin
18 Bin in the Arts District runs 5 to 8pm daily: $5 draft beer, $6 wine and wells, and $7 to $12
appetizers. It's the right stop if your evening is already downtown — smaller, quieter, and
cheaper than anything with a Strip address.
The After-Midnight Safety Net: PT's Taverns and Sierra Gold
PT's Taverns and Sierra Gold locations run daily from midnight to 2am: $5 select drafts, $6 well drinks, and half off select appetizers. When every other happy hour has ended and you're still out, the locals' taverns are still pouring at happy hour prices.
How to Plan Around Them
Afternoon: Start at STK at 2:30, or Carson Kitchen at 3.
Dinner window: Hakkasan Monday through Wednesday, Herbs & Rye from 5, 18 Bin from 5.
Late: BALLA at 9, Herbs & Rye again at midnight, PT's until 2am.
Before you go: Confirm the deal with the venue. Happy hour menus change, and a two minute check beats a wasted trip across town.
ON THE SITE: See our list of additional happy hour specials.
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