San Francisco's Best Happy Hours

I apologize for not posting in a while but getting laid off/unemployment and other items have been more than distracting for sure. Can't say I am not enjoying the lifestyle a bit though, or am at least trying to in between the stress periods and umm major moolah concerns. Way scary times for sure. Anyhow, in light of that and of being on a major budget, thought I would pass along some of SF's best happy hour deals, especially those that include vino. Hope you enjoy and to perhaps see you at one of the venues soon. Can't lay low and look for jobs and network all the time right? Life is way too short. Cheerio.

Hog Island - oysters

$1 oysters, $3.50 beer and discounted wine

Monday and Thursday 5 to 7p

El Rio - oysters

Free oysters

Fridays at 5:30p, also free bbq on Sundays at 3p

Waterbar - oysters

$1 oysters Monday to Friday 3 to 6p

Hyde Street Seafood House - oysters

$1 oysters

Everyday 5 to 7p

Yabbie's - oysters

$1 oysters

Sunday to Wednesday 6 to 7p

District - oysters

$1 oysters

Monday to Friday 4 to 6p and Saturday 5 to 7p

Cafe Meuse

Half off all vino for ladies

Thursdays

Chevy's (Embarcadero and Van Ness locations)

$3.99 house wines, Bud Light, margaritas and appetizers

Monday to Friday 3 to 7p

Palomino

$4 vino, special cocktails, draft beer, $5 pizzas and half off appetizers

Everyday 4 to 6p and 10p to close (except Sundays)

Market Bar

$6 vino, $5.50 martinis and discounted appetizers

Everyday 4 to 7:30p

Momo's

$4 vino, $ well drinks, $3 appetizers

Monday to Friday 4 to 7p

Nick's Crispy Tacos

$2 tacos and beer on Tuesdays

$3 vino on Wednesdays

South Food and Wine Bar

$6.50 vino and $5 appetizers

Monday to Friday 4 to 6p

Epic Roasthouse

$5 cocktails

Monday to Friday 4 to 7p

Rex Cafe

$3.75 vino

Monday to Friday 5 to 7p

Encore Karaoke Lounge

$3.50 vino

Everyday 3 to 7p

Ti Piacera

$3 vino, draft beer and well drinks and $2 off appetizers

Everyday 3 to 7p

McTeague's

$3 well drinks and drafts and beer specials

Everyday noon to 7p

Boardroom

$14 unlimited mimosas

Sundays

Blur

Free pizza

Monday to Friday 5 to 10p

Danny Coyle's

Numerous beer specials

Monday to Friday 2 to 7p

Harry's on Fillmore

Half off wine by the bottle

Tuesdays

Puerto Alegre

Discounted margaritas by the glass and pitcher on weekdays until 7p

$3.50 mimosas on weekends

Weird Fish

$3 mimosas

Saturdays and Sundays 11a to 3p

Maverick

40 percent off wine by the bottle

Mondays

Iluna Basque

2 for 1 drinks

Monday to Friday 5:30 to 7p

La Boulange de Polk

$5 vino

Monday to Friday 4 to 6p

Palio

Free pizza with purchase of two drinks

Monday to Friday 4 to 7p

Columbus Cafe

$4.50 vino

Everyday

Ducca

Half off wine by the bottle

Wednesdays

Ramblas

Free drink with food purchase

Monday to Friday 5 to 7p

Rogue

Drink and appetizer specials

3 to 6p and 10p to close weekdays

Jade

Half-off vino, beer specials $3 to $5 appetizers

Weekdays 4 to 7p and Sundays 8p to close

Restaurant B on top of Yerba Buena Center - oysters

$1 oysters

Tuesday to Friday 4 to 7p

Gold Dust Lounge

$2.95 margaritas and champagne

Everyday until 7p

Cosmopolitan Cafe

Half-price drinks and $5 appetizers

Monday to Friday 4 to 7p

$4 glasses of bubbly and sliders

Wednesday and Saturday on the patio 4 to 8p

Ozumo

Discounted house wines and sushi rolls

Monday to Friday 4 to 6p

Mexico DF

Free snacks

Monday to Friday 4:30 to 6p

Fly Bar

Discounted sangria and pizzas

Weekdays 4 to 6:30p

Nook

$2.95 vino

Everyday 5 to 7p

Horizon

$5 well drinks and martinis

Tuesday to Friday 5 to 8p

Doc's Clock

$2 PBR, $3 draft beer and well drinks, $5 Chimay

Everyday 6 to 9p

La Parilla Grill (on Polk)

$6 margarita pitchers, $5 tapas

Monday to Friday 5 to 9p

Ponzu

$3 to $5 Sake drinks

Monday to Friday 5:30 to 7p

Wichcraft

$2 draft beer and $4 vino

Monday to Friday 5 to 7p

800 Larkin

2 for 1 beer Monday to Friday 5 to 7p

$3 bloody marys on weekends

Bocadillos

$2 tapas and $12 wine flights

Monday to Friday 5 to 7p

Amelie

$10 wine flights and a free appetizer

Monday to Friday 5:30 to 7p

Vertigo

$2 drafts and $3 well drinks

Everyday 5p to 9p

Olive

$5 cocktails and $7 pizzas

Monday to Wednesday 5:30 to 7:30p

D'elluva Wine Bar

$14 unlimited mimosas

Weekends 11a to 3p

(they also always have a nice selection of wine for $6 a glass and pizzas for around $7)

Sushi Rock

Half off drinks and 25 percent off appetizers

Everyday 3:30 to 6:30p

Solstice

Half price bottles of wine

Mondays

Puerto Alegre

Puerto Alegre in the Mission has a fun and casual vibe with bright colors and always a good crowd. The margaritas are great but make sure you just order regular margaritas - the only choices listed on the menu are the much more expensive, top-shelf varieties. I can't taste the difference anyhow. The chips and thick and super crunchy, and I really enjoy the red salsa with big chunks of tomato and a good amount of cilantro. The tostada salad is fairly large and comes with tons of shredded chicken. The soft chicken taco with grilled or shredded chicken and side salad makes a gorgeous lighter meal. Lots of tasty fried items too of course. Perfect for brunch too with a nice egg menu as an addition, and also great for groups. Enjoy.

Puerto Alegre

546 Valencia Street in San Francisco

Dinner at Alaturca

If you haven't tried Turkish food before, it's actually quite tasty and certainly approachable. Roughly speaking it's fairly similar to Greek food but with more heat and spice. The space is comfortable and the high ceilings make it seem larger than it is. There's not much decor but the vibe is still pleasant and welcoming. We were a large group on a Friday evening and we had the entire semi-private upstairs area to ourselves which was really nice. The short wine list has some interesting choices from California, Italy and of course Turkey. I went for one of the cheaper options, Salmon Creek Pinot Grigio, which was just fine and worked with the dishes we enjoyed. For appetizers, we had Eggplant Salad, Piyaz, Ezme and Hummus. The Eggplant Salad is nicely baked eggplant with red and green pepper, onion, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. The vegetables work nicely together and the lemon juice lightens the dish a bit. Piyaz is white beans, parsley, red and green pepper, onion, lemon juice and olive oil all tossed together. It's tasty and the generous amount of beans makes it fairly hearty as well. The Ezme, crushed and roasted red bell pepper with tomato and onion and spices, is served on grilled pita bread and it works as a simple starter. The Hummus was quite tasty as well, though not as thick as I usually like. The appetizers are all under $5 a pop so it's not a bad idea to sample a bit. We also shared various platters for our entrees. The Doner, or beef sirloin and lamb spiced and roasted and thinly sliced, was tasty and the meat was nice and tender. There's also a Chicken Doner with the same preparation and presentation. We also had a few of the Kebab options which all had the same spice but all were nicely prepared and the meat wasn't overdone. We couldn't resist the Sucuk and Cheese pide, which was really tasty. Not sure about the Chicken and Pineapple combo on a pide, but I'd be curious to try it if I go back. There also are a few soups and salads and a short kid's menu. Alaturca is a cute and laid-back spot that's great for a casual meal, and definitely works for big groups. Hope you have the opportunity to pop by sometime.

Alaturca

869 Geary Street in San Francisco

http://www.alaturcasf.com/