The Dawson: A Midtown Irish Bar With an All-Day Weekend Happy Hour
The Dawson is a family-owned Irish bar and restaurant at 23 West 45th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, a few blocks from Rockefeller Center. It’s a Midtown office-crowd bar, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise. What it gets right is the happy hour, which starts at 2pm on weekdays and runs all day on weekends. In this zip code, that’s rarer than it should be.
The Deal
Monday to Friday 2–7pm, and all day Saturday and Sunday:
- Miller Lite $7, Blue Moon $8
- House wine $10, whether it’s red, white or rosé
- Margaritas $11, plus $2 for the seasonal flavors
- Bar plates $6–12: nuts $6, pretzel bites, olives or a mini charcuterie board $8, and nachos, hummus, guac and chips, cauliflower bites or bang bang shrimp $10. Wings are $12.
On weekends, brunch runs 11am–3pm, with a $30 deal for 90 minutes of mimosas or Bloody Marys when you order an entrée. The entrées are $18–24, and the Irish breakfast is the $24 one. There’s a Sunday roast every week too.
The Room
It’s a bi-level space that shows live sports and has room for groups of eight or more to book a party with an open-bar package. It’s part of a small family of Midtown bars that includes Dawson39, Mulligans and The Brazen Tavern. Weekdays draw the Midtown after-work crowd, and weekends are looser.
Who The Dawson Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| After-work drinks near Rockefeller Center | Happy hour from 2pm, $7 beer |
| A weekend afternoon in Midtown | Happy hour prices all day Saturday and Sunday |
| An office party | Private space for 8+, open-bar packages |
| Brunch before Radio City | $30 for 90 minutes of drinks with an entrée |