Between review sessions, midterms and 9 a.m. class, it can be hard to go out during the week, but weekends on the town can be expensive. Weekday happy hours offer specialty drinks, food and a chance to drown ““ er ““ dampen your responsibilities, all for discounted prices. Best of all, the whole night can be done by 8. The Westwood bar scene boasts a few good happy hours of its own: Palomino’s half-priced appetizers and Acapulco’s Margarita Mondays stand out. But sometimes a little distance is required to really leave the workday behind. We’ve compiled a list of happy hour deals around Los Angeles for that weeknight when you just don’t want to study quite yet.
West Restaurant and Lounge
170 N. Church Lane, 17th floor of Hotel
Angeleno
4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday
What better way to spend rush hour than high atop the hustle and bustle, watching the sunset reflect off windshields through an east-facing window?
The cars below sit in traffic as you sip a glass of wine and lean against long, cushioned sofas. Rush-hour relief, as West Restaurant and Lounge calls its happy hour, is just a quick skip from campus. Located just off the 405 at Sunset Boulevard, West offers a sophisticated noncollegiate environment for those seeking a little removal from the everyday. Although the food is somewhat pricey, between the happy hours of 4 and 7, all alcoholic drinks are half off.
And if you want some sustenance to balance the buzz, it’s worth the splurge. Options include mouth-watering deep-fried ravioli and mini Kobe beef burgers. Located close to campus, you can skip the rush hour and just enjoy the relief.
Cabo Cantina
8301 W. Sunset Blvd.
4-8 p.m. Monday-Friday
Parking may be a little pricey to catch this particular Sunset Strip hot spot, but with the variety of bars to explore within a radius of only a few miles, the deals make this trip worthwhile.
With a recently opened second location on Wilshire Boulevard toward Santa Monica, it’s hard to avoid this fiesta-themed happy hour with 2-for-1 margaritas and a wide range of flavors. Unlike the more Americanized Acapulco, Cabo Cantina offers a fairly authentic atmosphere and an attentive staff.
McCormick & Schmick’s
2 Rodeo Dr.
4-6:30 p.m. and 9:30-10:45 p.m., Monday-Friday
Located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, upstairs from designer boutiques and across a walkway from Tiffany’s, this seafood restaurant’s happy hour makes you forget you are dining on a student budget.
The menu varies each day, but between 4-6:30 p.m. and 9:30-10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, the purchase of a drink, a half-pound hamburger with french fries is just $1.95. Chicken wings, spinach and artichoke dip, bruschetta and quesadillas are each also just a few dollars. Cocktails are full price at about $12, but excellent to sip on while relaxing at illuminated outdoor patio tables combing the crowd for celebrities.
Valet parking is available underneath the building, and the restaurant validates. If you order right and split the cost of parking, McCormick & Schmick’s offers an upscale evening in Beverly Hills for $20.
The Edison
108 W. Second St.
5-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 6-8 p.m. Saturday
Hidden in an alleyway and unmarked by any signs, the only way you will find this private-power-plant-turned-lounge is by the long line of people trying to get in. Though The Edison may look unimpressive from the street, do not let this 1920s-style lounge’s outward appearances fool you. The two-story lounge transports you to the time of the glamorous flappers, complete with a costumed staff, a smoking parlor and movies from that era projected onto the walls.
Stop by before 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and before 6 p.m. Saturdays to take advantage of their cocktail hour, which boasts 40 percent off their handmade libations. With cocktails priced in the $7-$8 range, make sure you try their signature drink, The Edison, made from lavender-honey-infused liquor, pear liqueur and fresh-squeezed pear nectar. Also try the Golden Lillet Martini, which contains Rhum Barbancourt, limoncello and lillet. But be warned, keep the strict dress code: Wear tennis shoes or flip-flops and you’ll find yourself outside on your own.
En Sushi
11651 Santa Monica Blvd.
5:30-7 p.m. and 9:30-11:30 p.m. Thursday and 9-11 p.m. Sunday
During happy hour at this contemporary Japanese restaurant, you can grab an assortment of sushi rolls and cooked appetizers for $3.50. Wash them down with a pitcher of Kirin for $9 or well drinks for $4.
Decor at En Sushi is contemporary, with soft lighting and a granite-topped bar. Massive wooden trusses support a cavernous ceiling and dark, tinted windows looking out onto Santa Monica Boulevard give the dining room a spacious, yet private feeling.
Finn McCool’s
2702 Main St., Santa Monica
3 to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday
The people behind Finn McCool’s will tell you about how in traditional Irish village culture, the pub was second only to the church as a cultural center, and about the hospitality of countryside folk, mostly in the form of the “wee pint.”
Well as its name makes clear, McCool’s doesn’t exactly follow the traditional model, but at least in terms of happy hour pricing they hold onto a bit of the old-style hospitality. Look out for $3 beers, appetizers, mixed drinks, and wine.
If you can show up on Sunday and don’t mind paying full price, though, you can catch what is probably the most traditional thing about McCool’s: the group of 20 or so fiddlers that shows up each week to make the best drinking music around.
Written and compiled by Amy Crocker, Suzy Evans, Alex LaRue, Kate Stanhope, Michelle Castillo, and Jack Rosner. If you would be interested in trying to hit all these highlighted happy hour spots in one night, find a designated driver and e-mail Crocker at acrocker@media.ucla.edu, Evans at sevans@media.ucla.edu, LaRue at alarue@media.ucla.edu, Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu, Castillo at mcastillo@media.ucla.edu, and Rosner at jrosner@media.ucla.edu.