VERS: $13 Martinis and Margaritas Every Day Until 8pm
VERS has a happy hour every day until 8pm: $13 martinis and margaritas, buy-one-get-one well drinks and half-price small plates. It’s at 714 9th Ave in Hell’s Kitchen, between 48th and 49th Streets, a queer cocktail bar that opened in July 2022.
The verdict: a good deal for a bar where the cocktails otherwise run $15–$17. The $13 martinis and margaritas save $2–$4 on the regular list (the frozen guava marg is $16, the jungle bird $17), and the small plates, $8 to $18 on the regular menu, are half off. The catch: the espresso martini is $17 and the menu says plainly that it’s not on happy hour. And there’s no stated start time, so the window is really “from opening until 8pm.”
The Happy Hour
Every day until 8pm.
- Martinis, $13: classic (house gin or vodka, vermouth, olives or a twist), Come On Over-tini (vodka, pomegranate, lemon) and Dirrty (house gin or vodka, castelvetrano olives and brine)
- Margaritas, $13: classic, spicy (jalapeño-infused tequila) and mezcal
- Well drinks: buy one, get one, with a mixer
- Small plates: half off anything small from the main menu
- Also listed: beer and seltzer $7, wine $10, frozens $12, zero-proofs $12
The Bar
VERS calls itself “a new wave queer cocktail bar,” queer-owned and operated, with cocktails and bar bites in a space that’s open until 2am Sunday to Thursday and 4am Friday and Saturday. Hours are Monday to Thursday 5pm–2am, Friday 4pm–4am, Saturday 2pm–4am and Sunday 2pm–2am; food is served Sunday to Thursday 5–10pm and Friday and Saturday 4–9:30pm. The programming is steady: DJ nights on Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm, Show Bitches at 9pm on Sundays, and an open-mic showtunes piano party at 9:30pm every Monday. Wednesdays and Thursdays are unprogrammed. It’s walk-in, and the nearest trains are the 50 St (C/E) and 50 St (1).
Who VERS Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| A pre-show martini | $13 martinis daily until 8pm |
| A quiet drink midweek | Wednesdays and Thursdays are unprogrammed |
| A late night out | Open until 4am Friday and Saturday |
More of the neighborhood is in our Hell’s Kitchen happy hour guide. For more queer bars, see the best gay bars in NYC, or late-night happy hours for the next stop.