GU Japanese Fusion Sushi & Bar: $7 Cocktails, Seven Hours a Day
GU Japanese Fusion Sushi & Bar runs happy hour Monday through Saturday, 3–10pm, at 155 East 52nd Street in Midtown East: $7 cocktails from its mixed list, $7 house red or white by the glass ($30 a bottle), and $5.50 bottles of Sapporo, Kirin Ichiban, Kirin Light and Asahi.
The verdict: the window is the selling point. Seven hours a day, six days a week, and Monday to Thursday it runs right up to the 10pm close, so it isn’t just for the 5:30 crowd. A $12 cocktail for $7 is about 40% off, and a $40 bottle of house wine for $30 is a fair split for two. The catch is what qualifies: the $7 list leans on schnapps, juice and sake-tinis — Puppy Love, Tokyo Jolly Rancher, Tequila Sunrise — while the GU Signature cocktails ($10–17) have no happy-hour price. Beer is bottles only, and Sunday gets nothing.
The Happy Hour
Happy hour runs Monday through Saturday, 3–10pm. Bottled Japanese beers are $5.50 (usually $7). House wines — pinot noir, merlot, malbec, cabernet, chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, riesling — are $7 a glass or $30 a bottle (usually $10 and $40). All 15 mixed cocktails, from the Lychee-Tini to the Wild Peach Sangria, are $7 (usually $12). The restaurant bills it as up to 50% off beer, sake, wine and cocktails, but no happy-hour price is posted for sake, prosecco, the signature cocktails or the $65 bottles. No food is discounted.
The Restaurant
GU is a sushi bar and Japanese kitchen: 34 kinds of à la carte sushi and sashimi, signature rolls at $16.95–22.95, hibachi combos at $26–33, poke bowls and tonkotsu ramen. Weekday lunch runs 11am–3:30pm, with two maki rolls for $14.95 or three for $18.95. It also books parties and caters. The 6, E and F at Lexington Av/53rd St are the closest trains. More in Manhattan, by neighborhood and our Saturday happy hour guide.
Who GU Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| A late after-work round | $7 cocktails and house wine until 10pm, Mon–Sat |
| A cheap Japanese beer | $5.50 bottles of Sapporo, Kirin and Asahi during happy hour |
| A weekday sushi lunch | Two rolls for $14.95 with soup or salad, 11am–3:30pm |