What time is happy hour at NYC dive bars?

Earlier and longer than most. Ace Bar in the East Village runs today's longest window on this list, 3 to 9pm, and 169 Bar on the Lower East Side opens earliest at 2pm. Each bar page carries this week's schedule.

Are NYC dive bars cash only?

A few holdouts are, especially in the East Village, where a cash-first door is part of the room. Mona's on Avenue B is the famous one. Most dives take cards now, but we do not track card acceptance per bar, so keep a $20 on you and you are covered either way.

Dives · NYC

The best dive bar happy hours in NYC

The cheap, the loud, and the well-worn. NYC dive bars ordered by Google review count, most-reviewed first, with each bar's happy hour window and prices.

11 bars

$4 a beer is the cheapest dive pour tonight

Dives with a happy hour, cheapest first.

$4 beer at Holiday Cocktail Lounge, East Village.

Ace Bar, East Village runs 3pm to 9pm, the longest today.

2pm at 169 Bar, Lower East Side, opens earliest.

169 Bar

$4 beer at happy hourLower East Side4.1

Live jazz, leopard print, and a 2 to 7 happy hour every single day of the week.

HH 2-7pm

Spring Lounge

NoHo4.4

The Shark Bar. Pouring on this corner since Prohibition, and it still opens early.

Jeremy's Ale House

Financial District4.4

Quart-sized styrofoam beers a block from the Seaport. Dress code: none.

Ace Bar

$7 beer at happy hourEast Village4.0

Darts, skee-ball, and pinball in a big loud room off Avenue A.

HH 3-9pm

Holiday Cocktail Lounge

$4 beer, regular menuEast Village4.4

A St. Marks institution since the 1920s, revived without losing the plot.

Milano's Bar

NoHo4.5

A sliver of a room on Houston Street pouring since the 1880s. The definition of the form.

Doc Holliday's

East Village4.1

Avenue A honky-tonk with country on the jukebox and zero pretensions.

7B Horseshoe Bar aka Vazacs

$5 shot, regular menuEast Village4.3

The corner bar Hollywood rents when it needs a real New York dive.

Mona's

East Village4.2

Avenue B's cash-only local, famous for its Sunday night trad jazz sessions.

Blue & Gold Tavern

East Village4.3

A Ukrainian East Village tavern where the pours are stiff and the pool is cheap.

Lucy's

East Village4.2

Lucy has run this Avenue A room for decades and might pour your shot herself.

Nobody pays for placement.

More guides

Keep exploring NYC happy hour

Cheap drinks · NYC

The cheapest happy hours in NYC

Every bar ranked by its cheapest regular menu drink.

See the list Pouring · NYC

NYC happy hours happening right now

Bars with an open happy hour window, right now.

See the list Beer · NYC

Happy hour beer for $5 or less in NYC

Bars pouring a happy hour beer at $5 or less.

See the list Cocktails · NYC

The best cocktail bar happy hours in NYC

Real cocktail bars with a happy hour worth it.

See the list

Guide · FAQ