Washington Heights
Happy Hour

The menu is headed “$5 Madness,” and it means it: Corona, Modelo, Stella, Heineken and Coors Light at $5, red or white sangria and wine at $5, and cocktails from the same list, against $14 for a Cuba libre at regular prices. Monday to Thursday the window is the whole day, 2pm to 2am, so there’s nothing to race. The Verdict: the best-value happy hour in Washington Heights, and it isn’t close. The Local Move: two $6 chicken tacos and a $5 Modelo before the 6pm shot price change. The Honest Caveat: the weekend menu runs “until 8pm” with no start time, and Friday isn’t named on its own.

The discount here is on the plate. Locksmith Wings drop from $16 to $10, tequeños from $9 to $5, and frozen margaritas from $14 to $10. Sliders and fries, or tenders and fries, are $10, and a mini ceviche peruano is $13. Beer is $6, which mostly matches the cheapest draft on the regular list, so drink the margarita. The Verdict: the best food happy hour uptown. The Local Move: wings and a frozen margarita for $20, or the $20 Girl Dinner (a martini, Caesar salad and truffle fries) in the same hours. The Honest Caveat: a handful of craft cans and the vodka seltzers are marked “not included in happy hour.”

Five hours every weekday, starting at 3pm, plus a weekend window, which almost nobody uptown offers. The cocktails are the saving: the Passion Fruit Mule is $15 on the regular menu and $10 here, with the Pornstar Martini, Rum Punch and Blackberry Spritz on the same list. Beer saves $2 (a Lagunitas is $8 off the clock), and wine only $1. The Verdict: the longest happy hour in the neighborhood, by the 168 St station. The Local Move: the $13 Michelob Ultra pint and fries, or the $45 platter for a table. The Honest Caveat: the $11 wine is barely a discount.

Two hours, seven days, at the bar, and the only daily one on this list. Monday to Thursday the bar opens at 4pm, so the deal is its first two hours. It’s a coffee shop by morning and a pizza-and-cocktail room by night, with weekend brunch from 10am. The Verdict: dependable rather than cheap: we can’t tell you the saving. The Honest Caveat: the happy hour menu’s prices aren’t published.

Radio runs its own happy hour menu Tuesday to Friday, 4–7pm, at the 181 St end of Amsterdam Ave, where choices are thin. The food is New American with Dominican touches, and the room does DJ nights and weekend brunch parties. The Verdict: a real window with an unknown deal. The Honest Caveat: no Monday (the kitchen’s closed), no weekend, and no prices on the happy hour menu.

A reason to eat Jamaican food early rather than a drinks deal you can price. The 4–7pm weekday window is posted; what’s in it isn’t. The regular menu is fair on its own: jerk chicken at $16 and oxtail at $24, each with two sides. The Verdict: go for dinner, and treat the happy hour as a bonus. The Honest Caveat: weekdays only, and no posted happy hour prices.