Best Happy Hours in Old Town Alexandria

January 24, 2023 | Inside Alexandria | By: The Goodhart Group

Who doesn’t love happy hour? Lucky for those of us that live and work here, there are plentiful options for Happy Hours in Old Town Alexandria. Whether you like beer, wine, cocktails or just the happy hour munchies, there is a fabulous option in Old Town near you! Wondering what THE best happy hours in Old Town Alexandria are? Let’s get started:

Bars On King Street

Mia’s

100 King Street

Happy hour at this authentic Italian restaurant and bar is every Monday – Friday from 3 – 7 pm at the bar, high-top tables, and in its cozy sofa lounge area. Specials include $6 pizzas, $5 draft beers and sangria, $7 wines, and $8 cocktails. Mia’s specialty cocktail list is definitely worth checking out as well.

The Anchor Bar at The Fish Market

105 King Street

This casual sports bar and seafood restaurant offers happy hour specials Monday through Friday from 3 – 6 pm. Order a draft beer served in its signature 32oz Schooner glass or one of its 40+ bottled domestic, import and craft beers. And don’t forget the oysters! Raw oysters and clams are also on special as well as additional appetizers such as spiced shrimp, crab dip, and sliders. The Anchor Bar is one of Old Town’s best sports bars too. You can catch any local sports teams on one of The Anchor Bar’s 16 HD TVs (plus all of the Big Ten Network college football games). The Anchor Bar also offers live music every Wednesday and Saturday, and a live DJ on Fridays.

Daniel O’Connell’s Restaurant & Bar

112 King Street

Join Daniel O’Connell’s weekday happy hour from 3 – 6 pm with specials on beer ($4 Miller Lite, Modelo, and Paulaner Pilsner), $5 house wines, and $3.50 rail drinks. Various starters are also discounted – be sure to try the Crispy Irish Egg Roll and the Dublin Nachos. This traditional Irish pub also offers live music and special sporting events several nights a week.

Urbano

116 King Street

Love Mexican fare? Urbano is the place for you! With fresh ingredients, excellent hospitality, and delicious tex-mex inspired food, you’ll be sure to love their happy hour Monday – Friday from 3 – 7 pm. Enjoy $10 bites such as quesadillas, nachos, taquitos, and guacamole-pico-queso platters. As well as $ 7 margaritas, sangria, and wine, and $ 6 beers.

Looking for more things to do in Alexandria? Download our ‘Weekend Trip to Alexandria’ Guide right here.

Sonoma Cellar

207 King Street

If you love wine, you’ll love this small wine bar at the bottom of King Street. Sonoma Cellar offers happy hour Monday – Friday from 4 – 6 pm. Indulge in $2 off glasses of wine, $1 off beer, and deals on small plates such as crostini, chorizo tapas, and artichoke dip. 

The Warehouse

214 King Street

Happy hour at The Warehouse in the heart of Old Town runs Monday through Friday from 4 – 7 pm at its antique mahogany bar. Enjoy specials on house wines, domestic bottles, draft beers, and rail drinks. Be sure to sample their small plates, which include the Frito Misto (fried shrimp, crawfish, calamari, zucchini, spicy remoulade) and onion straws. Stop to check out the caricatures of the local Alexandrians on the walls of its historic building.

Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub

713 King Street

Happy hour is daily from 3 – 7 pm at this Old Town institution. Enjoy specials on Irish, craft, and domestic beers and $3.25 off Jameson Irish Whiskey. Select appetizers are also half off. Murphy’s offers live music many nights in genres from Irish acoustic to bluegrass to alternative rock. Sports fans flock to Murphy’s for its daily streamed baseball games (paired with a baseball-inspired menu) and college football lineup on Saturdays. Murphy’s upstairs room is reserved for Patriot fans during all New England Patriots games.

The Light Horse

715 King Street

Happy hour is held daily from 3 – 6 pm. Enjoy specials on draft and bottled/canned beers, Tito’s, and house red/white wine. Select appetizers from burgers, to cajun crab dip, to grilled cheese are also discounted. The upstairs bar at The Light Horse features a boisterous scene that serves as equal parts neighborhood gathering place, sports bar, and late night destination, while the newly renovated downstairs houses the restaurant.

Don Taco

808 King Street

Stop by this Mexican favorite for happy hour Monday – Friday from 3 – 7 pm to enjoy $3 off margaritas, $3 off house red and white wine, $5 rail drinks and draught beer, and $7 house tequila shots. Don Taco starters aren’t discounted for happy hour, but the $6 Mexican Street Corn and $14 Ceviche are still a must!


From ice cream parlors to the best oysters in the city, here are some more things to check out in Alexandria:


The Majestic Cafe

911 King Street

Since 1932, The Majestic Cafe has been a fixture of Old Town dining for over 80 years! From the sign out front to the restaurant itself, various elements from the 1930’s remain. Step into The Majestic and get transported back in time. Every Monday – Friday from 3 – 7 pm, you’ll find $7 sliders, 50% off specialty cocktails.

Thompson Italian 

1024 King Street

Thompson Italian’s happy hour takes place Monday – Thursday from 5-6 pm and Friday – Sunday from 4:30 – 6 pm. This casual, family-friendly Italian spot is the perfect place to stop in for a great meal and a glass of wine without fuss and pretense.

Augie’s Mussel House

1106 King Street

Monday – Thursday from 3 – 6 pm, enjoy $2 of all apps, drafts, and wine. As well as $7 house spirits, $9 sangria and the mule of the month. Boasting a lovely patio area and large TV’s that can be viewed from indoors or outdoors, Augie’s is the ideal spot to watch a game in nice weather!

Vermillion

1120 King Street

Check out Vermillion’s happy hour Tuesday – Friday from 4 – 6 pm and Saturday – Sunday from 3 – 5 pm. Vermilion offers seasonal cooking using local, farm-raised products whenever possible. Choose 3 snacks such as Pickled Brined Fried Chicken, Gougeres, and Fried Plantains for $15. Select beers are $6, glasses of wine are $7, and house cocktails are $8.

 

Bars In the Northeast Quadrant

Oak Steakhouse

901 N. St. Asaph Street

If you’re looking to impress a date, this classic steakhouse is sure to dazzle. Oak Steakhouse offers its bar menu Sunday – Thursday from 5 – 7 pm. These aren’t your average “bar bites,” here, you’ll find dishes like Berkshire Port Pate, Kabocha Squash Soup, the Oak Burger, Baked Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese, and Beef Fat Fries all on special. Additionally, you can purchase happy hour white and red wine for $9, and a rotating special cocktail for $10. 

Cafe 44

44 Canal Center Plaza

Situated on the waterfront, Cafe 44 offers spectacular views, quality food, and great wine and craft cocktails. Happy hour is Tuesday – Saturday from 3 – 5 pm with $5 beers, $6 house wines, $7 house spirits, and$10 craft cocktails. As well as specials on starters and flatbreads.  

TJ Stone’s

608 Montgomery Street

Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 – 7 pm in the Tap Room at TJ Stone’s, located in the north end of Old Town. Beer lovers will appreciate the more than 200 seasonal, craft, and staple beers made both locally and internationally. TJ Stone’s has 14 drafts with five rotating lines and live cask beers brewed especially for them. At happy hour all rail drinks, house wine, and the TJ Stone Pilsner are $4.

Chart House

1 Cameron Street

Happy hour at this iconic waterfront restaurant runs Monday through Friday from 4 – 6 pm offering various appetizers ranging from $4 – $6, $4 draft beers, $6 – $8 glasses of wine, $5 – $7 spirits, and $7 cocktails. The Chart House has an extensive wine list and offers flights of wine for your sampling pleasure. Be sure to try its signature libation, the Tableside Torched Apple Manhattan, made with Baker’s Bourbon, Berentzen Apple Liqueur, and Carpano Antica.

Blackwall Hitch

5 Cameron Street

This coastal-inspired restaurant is situated right in the center of Old Town’s lively waterfront. At Blackwall Hitch, happy hour is from 4 – 7 pm Monday through Friday. Delight in half priced apps, flatbreads, and wings, as well as $5 well drinks, wine and bottled beer, $7 draft beer, and $9 specialty cocktails. On Friday and Saturday evenings enjoy live music from 9:30 pm – 12:30 am, and jazz on Sunday morning during brunch from 10:30 am – 2:30 pm!

Hank’s Oyster Bar

818 N. St. Asaph Street

You must check out the new Hank’s Oyster location in North Old Town featuring a large rooftop bar perfect for a date night or to route for your favorite sports team. “Oyster Happy Hour” takes place every Tuesday through Friday from 4 – 6 pm at the bar, and includes $2 oysters on the half shell, $6 beers, $7 wines, as well as various happy hour drinks — if you’re feeling adventurous try the punch of the day known to be “never the same yet always potent.”

Are you planning a summer trip to Alexandria? Download our Alexandria Summer Guide right here.

Vola’s Dockside Grill & Hi-Tide Lounge

101 N. Union Street

This waterfront favorite has plentiful outdoor seating, perfect for people-watching. Vola’s happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 3 – 6 pm. Specials include $7 wine, cocktails, and beer and $4 and $6 drafts beers. Bar bites range from $5 – $9 and oysters are $2. Be sure to order the Chesapeake Crab Dip or the addictive Smoked Fish Dip.

 

Bars In the Northwest Quadrant

Bastille

606 N. Fayette Street

Happy hour at this French brasserie and wine bar is every Tuesday through Saturday from 4 – 6 pm, and Sunday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm. Bastille’s happy hour specials include $8 house “coq-tails,” $5 house wines, and small plate specials including– you must try the pommes frites!

Mason Social

728 N. Henry Street

This friendly neighborhood spot offers “Social Hour” Wednesday – Sundays from 3 – 7 pm — and all day Monday and Tuesday! Enjoy $2 off all wines and drafts, $6 house spirits, and their signature Old Fashioned for $9, as well as discounted menu items. Mason Social’s bar menu includes tasty treats like potato skins, carnitas nachos, and wings.

 

Bars In the Southeast Quadrant

Fontaine Bistro 

119 S. Royal Street

Fontaine Bistro, “where the locals eat” offers fresh, local, organic food, and the best crepes in the DMV! Fontaine doesn’t offer a traditional happy hour, but they do host Wine Down Wednesdays with 50% off bottles of wine with the purchase of any entree, and Beer Thursdays with 50% all in house beers (American craft and import) with the purchase of any entree. 

Hummingbird

220 S. Union Street

Located within the Hotel Indigo and on the Old Town waterfront with an excellent outdoor seating area, Hummingbird offers nightly food and drink specials from 4 – 6 pm. Be sure to try the wild mushroom arancini balls or the truffle fries (all apps range from $5 – $8). Visit on Wednesdays for Burger and Bottle night with half-off bottles of wine.

BARCA

2 Pioneer Mill Way

BARCA is Old Town Alexandria’s newest riverfront neighborhood restaurant. BARCA, Spanish for boat, styles shipyard chic and Catalonian coastal influence into a waterfront Pier and Wine Bar. Both indoor and outdoor locales serve up Spanish-Mediterranean small plates, wine, sangria, and cocktails plus weekend brunch. Happy hour takes place Monday – Friday from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. Enjoy $7 wines, $6 sangrias, $5 beers, and $7 tapas — the tzatziki is out of this world! Happy hour deals are exclusively available in the wine bar.

Be sure to also check out our article on Alexandria’s best wine bars.

Union Street Public House

121 S. Union Street

Happy hour — with a great seasonal cocktail menu — at Union Street Public House runs Monday – Friday from 4 – 7 pm in the Taproom of this renovated Colonial warehouse just off King Street. Happy hour specials include a wings for $5 and $8 oysters on the half shell.

Chadwicks

213 Strand Street

Chadwicks is an Old Town institution (“Old Town’s Favorite”)! Check out happy hour at the bar Monday through Thursday from 4 – 7 pm with special happy hour pricing on select drinks and $5 bar food items.

 

Bars In the Southwest Quadrant

Southside 815

815 S. Washington Street

Southside offers all you can watch sports, authentic southern food, and both a late night and a happy hour menu! The bar is open until 2 am every night. Southside’s happy hour is Monday – Friday from 3 – 7 pm and consists of food specials like $3 pulled pork nachos, $3 pulled pork sliders, $8 burgers, and $9 fried shrimp, as well as $2 off all draft beers (excluding PBR), $5 rail drinks, $5.50 house wines and $2 off all other wines. 

Joe Theismann’s Restaurant & Bar

1800A Diagonal Road

This restaurant, founded by a former Commanders quarterback, offers happy hour in its bar area every Monday through Friday from 3 – 7 pm. Locals and tourists alike enjoy this welcoming spot, especially for taking in the big game. Theismann’s happy hour specials include $5 draft beers, rail drinks, select wines by the glass, and $8 specialty cocktails. Bar fare is also on special during these hours. Be sure to try the sweet potato tots!

LaPorta’s Restaurant

1600 Duke Street

Happy Hour at LaPorta’s takes place every day from 3 – 6 pm with $2 off all food and drink items. Enjoy a glass of wine from its extensive wine list and its “classics” menu with happy hour treats like flatbread pizza and spicy chicken wings. As an added bonus, LaPorta’s offers live jazz nightly.

Sweet Fire Donna’s

510 John Carlyle Street

Visit Sweet Fire Donna’s in the Carlyle neighborhood any night from 3 – 6 pm for “the happiest hour” and receive special prices on select food and drinks at the bar. Specials include $5 pork sliders and nachos.

Delia’s Mediterranean Grill

209 Swamp Fox Rd

Enjoy happy hour 7 days a week from 4 – 7 pm at Delia’s. Try the Truffled Parmesan French Fries, Crispy Brussel Sprouts, Brooklyn Flatbread, or Lamb Sliders along with any of their beers, wines, sangria, or one of their specialty Limoncello Martinis or American Sours.

 

Well, there you have it – our roundup of the best happy hours in Old Town Alexandria! 

Did we miss your favorite places for the best happy hours in Old Town Alexandria? Please let us know so we can scope them out! And if you have any questions about real estate in Alexandria, give us a call at 703-362-3221 today! 

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