Manhattan / Nolita
Nolita
Happy Hour
A few square blocks of cocktail bars, old dives, and Italian wine rooms — where to drink well between Houston and Broome without the SoHo markup.
Most Nolita happy hours run 4–7pm — Botanica and The Grey Dog go every day.
- 11 verified spots
- drafts from $5
- HH cocktails $8
- open till 4am
The short version
- Best daily dealBotanica – $2 off drafts, $6 wells & wine, open till 7pm every day.
- Best cheap pintSpring Lounge – the 1920s Shark Bar, zero pretense.
- Best cafe HHThe Grey Dog – $5 lager, $8 cocktails, daily 4-6:30.
- Best wine barCompagnie – a thousand-bottle list and a back room.
- Best sceneLa Esquina – the hidden downstairs brasserie (no deal, all theater).
The best Nolita happy hours right now are Botanica ($2 off drafts and $6 well drinks, open until 7pm every day), The Grey Dog (daily 4–6:30pm, $5 lagers and $8 cocktails), and Epistrophy (a weekday 4–7pm aperitivo). Nolita packs a lot into a few blocks between Houston and Broome — old dives that predate the boutiques, Italian wine rooms, and a couple of genuine deals hiding among the $18 cocktails. This guide splits three ways: the spots with a real discounted window, the dives and cocktail bars where you drink cheap and characterful, and the wine bars and destinations you come to for the room. It’s all walkable from the 6 at Spring St or the B/D/F/M at Broadway–Lafayette. One note: Nolita blurs into SoHo, Little Italy, and the LES at its edges, so a few picks sit right on the seam.
At a glance
Confirmed deals up top, then the dives and the wine rooms. Tap a number on the map to place it.
| Bar | The deal | Days | Window | $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botanica Bar | $2 off drafts, $6 wells/wine, $3 off frozens | Daily | open–7pm | $$$ |
| The Grey Dog | $5 lager, $8 cocktails, $9 bar bites | Daily | 4–6:30pm | $$$ |
| Epistrophy | $6 wines & beers, $9 cocktails | Mon–Fri | 4–7pm | $$$ |
| Socarrat Paella Bar | HH sangria, wines + tapas (bar only) | Daily | 4–6:30pm | $$$ |
| The Vig Bar | Wells, wine, Modelo, margs on special | Mon–Fri | open–7pm | $$$ |
| Spring Lounge | Cheap pours; reported weekday HH | Mon–Fri | confirm* | $$$ |
| Mother’s Ruin | Cocktails, slushies (HH not posted) | Daily | confirm* | $$$ |
| Café Habana | Reported half-off cocktails & beer | Daily | from 3pm* | $$$ |
| Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels | Wines by the glass on special (confirm) | Daily | confirm* | $$$ |
| Balzem | HH wines + mezze (confirm window) | Daily | confirm* | $$$ |
| La Esquina | No HH – hidden downstairs brasserie | Daily | — | $$$ |
Map: where these 11 spots are
Everything’s within a few blocks of Mulberry, Mott, and Elizabeth between Houston and Broome – walkable from the 6 at Spring St or Broadway-Lafayette (B/D/F/M).
Pins are numbered to match the table above – tap any pin for the deal and directions.
Nolita’s real happy-hour deals
The spots with a confirmed discounted window. More across the city in our best cocktail bars and best wine bars guides.
Botanica Bar On now
Verdict: the neighborhood’s best cheap-drink happy hour, and it runs every day. A low-key, no-frills room on Houston between Mulberry and Mott: open until 7pm daily with $2 off drafts, $6 well drinks, $6 house wine, and $3 off the frozens. There’s no kitchen, so bring a slice or order in. The move: get there before 7 and claim the back room if it’s free. Honest caveat: it’s a dive in the truest sense and cash is king — but it’s one of the few Nolita spots where you’re not handing over $18 for a cocktail.
botanicabarnyc.com · See our best dive bars in NYC
The Grey Dog On now
Verdict: a coffeehouse by day that quietly runs one of Nolita’s most reliable happy hours — every day, 4 to 6:30. $5 Grey Dog Michigan lager, $8 house wine, and $8 cocktails (margarita, mule, gin and tonic), plus $9 bar bites like disco tots and wings. Comfortable, unfussy, and the rare daily window in a neighborhood that mostly doesn’t bother. The move: a lager and disco tots at the bar before the dinner rush. Honest caveat: it’s a casual café, not a scene — which is exactly why it’s good for an early, cheap drink.
Epistrophy On now
Verdict: a candlelit Italian café on Mott that’s been a Nolita regular since 2005, running a weekday 4–7pm happy hour — $6 wines and beers, $9 cocktails. (They post the menu as an image, so confirm the exact pours, but the window is solid.) Pure aperitivo energy: a glass of something Italian, a plate of cheese, low light, jazz in the name. The move: an early spritz before it fills. Honest caveat: it’s small and gets cozy fast — come right at 4 for a seat.
epistrophynyc.com · See our best wine bars in NYC
Socarrat Paella Bar On now
Verdict: Spanish small plates and paella on Mulberry with a daily 4–6:30pm happy hour at the bar — rotating sangría, house cocktails, and Spanish wines by the glass, plus discounted tapas. They don’t post the happy-hour prices online, so confirm at the bar, but the window’s solid every day (holidays excepted). The move: a stool at the bar, a glass of sangría, and the croquetas. Honest caveat: the deal is bar-area only, and seating is communal long tables — lively, not intimate.
socarratnyc.com · See our Saturday happy hours
The Vig Bar On now
Verdict: a dependable Nolita corner lounge on Spring at Elizabeth with a weekday happy hour from open until 7pm — well drinks, house wine, Modelo, and margaritas on special (the exact prices aren’t posted cleanly, so confirm). Low sofas, booths, a neighborhood crowd, trivia on Tuesdays. There’s also a $10 bubbly special on Sundays, 2–7. The move: grab a booth before 7 with the after-work crowd. Honest caveat: it gets loud and runs late (open to 4am), so it’s an early-evening value that turns into a night out.
vigbar.com · See our best cocktail bars in NYC
Dives, cocktails & Cuban corn
Cheap and characterful — the old holdouts and the bars people actually pile into. More in our best dive bars in NYC guide.
Spring Lounge
Verdict: the Shark Bar — a 1920s dive on the corner of Spring and Mulberry that opens at 8am and pours cheap with zero pretense. There’s a weekday happy hour (regulars report $1 off drafts and wells, free hot dogs on Wednesdays), but it’s not posted on the bar’s end, so confirm the window — no live pill until then. The move: a cold one at the bar under the taxidermy sharks. Honest caveat: it’s a dive in the best sense — small, scuffed, and that’s exactly why it has outlasted the boutiques around it.
thespringlounge.com · See our best dive bars in NYC
Mother’s Ruin
Verdict: a Nolita cocktail bar that drinks like a dive — a simple room, fair-ish prices, a serious cocktail program, and boozy frozen slushies that sneak up on you. It runs a happy hour, but the venue doesn’t publish the window, so confirm before you bank on it (no pill until then). Grilled cheese, micheladas, slushies, a good weeknight crowd. The move: a slushie and a grilled cheese with a group. Honest caveat: it’s tiny and packs out on weekends — weeknights are the play.
Café Habana
Verdict: the corner Cuban spot famous for griddled, cotija-dusted corn — and it runs a happy hour the venue itself advertises “from 3pm daily,” reportedly around half off cocktails and beer (sources split on the exact window, so confirm; no pill yet). Frozen margaritas, Cuban sandwiches, and a near-permanent line out the door. The move: the corn, a frozen marg, an off-peak afternoon. Honest caveat: it’s small and busy — the Habana To Go window next door is the workaround when there’s a wait.
Wine bars & destinations
Lower-key rooms where the list (or the scene) is the draw, deal or not. More in our best wine bars in NYC guide.
Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels
Verdict: an intimate, candlelit wine bar at the Nolita/SoHo/Little Italy seam with a thousand-bottle list and a romantic back room. There’s a happy hour — a few dollars off by-the-glass pours — but the days and window vary across sources, so confirm before you go (no pill). This is a destination for the wine and the room more than a bargain. The move: a flight, the salumi, and the corner table. Honest caveat: it leans splurge — the deal is modest; the list is the reason you’re here.
compagniewinebar.com · See our best wine bars in NYC
Balzem
Verdict: a warm Mediterranean wine bar on Mott with a genuine happy hour — discounted wines and small plates like hummus and spicy feta — though the exact window is muddled online (older sources say 5–7pm, newer ones 3–6pm except Saturday), so confirm before you go (no pill until then). Good for a low-key glass and a few mezze. The move: a bottle to share and the spreads. Honest caveat: the price sheet floating around online is years stale — check current pours at the bar.
balzem.com · See our best wine bars in NYC
La Esquina
Verdict: no happy hour, but it’s a Nolita rite of passage — a corner taqueria that hides a buzzy downstairs brasserie behind an “Employees Only” door. The margaritas are $20 and there’s no deal; you’re paying for the room and the theater of getting in. The move: book the brasserie, go late, order the corn and a pitcher. Honest caveat: full price, often a scene, and the secret-entrance bit is the whole point — this is a destination, not a deal.
Nolita happy hour: FAQ
What time is happy hour in Nolita?
Most run 4–7pm. The most reliable daily deals are Botanica (open until 7pm every day, $2 off drafts) and The Grey Dog (4–6:30pm daily, $5 lagers, $8 cocktails). Epistrophy runs a weekday 4–7pm aperitivo, and The Vig goes from open until 7pm on weekdays.
Where are the cheapest drinks in Nolita?
Botanica ($2 off drafts, $6 wells) and the 1920s dive Spring Lounge are the value plays in a neighborhood that mostly charges SoHo prices. The Grey Dog’s $5 Michigan lager is the cheapest reliable pint with a real happy-hour window.
Does Nolita have good wine bars?
Yes — Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels (a thousand-bottle list and a candlelit back room), Balzem (Mediterranean, with a happy hour), and Epistrophy (Italian, weekday 4–7pm). See our best wine bars in NYC guide for more.
What happened to Sweet & Vicious?
It closed in 2025 after nearly 30 years on Spring Street, so the frozen-margarita happy hour it was known for is gone — its old website still shows a leftover menu, so ignore it. For discounted frozen drinks now, Botanica knocks $3 off its frozens until 7pm daily.
Is Nolita or SoHo better for happy hour?
They run together — many ‘SoHo’ bars are technically in Nolita and vice versa. Nolita leans a little cheaper and divier (Botanica, Spring Lounge); SoHo skews pricier and more polished. A few spots, like Compagnie and La Esquina, sit right on the line. See our SoHo happy hour guide to compare.
Last updated: June 2026. Deals and hours change – confirm with the venue before you go. Spot something out of date? Let us know.
