Andina | 1314 NW Glisan
During happy hour, Andinaâs expensive but incredible menu becomes slightly more accessible. The $16 ceviche is the star: prawns and green mango with Peruvian corn and sweet potato in a citrusy passion fruit leche de tigre. Donât miss the âSacsayhuamanâ cocktail ($9): habanero pepper vodka, pureed passion fruit, cilantro, and a sugar rim. There are several other excellent mixed drinks, like a super citrusy âRon-Yki-Onâ with roasted ginger rum ($8); a traditional pisco sour ($9); an El Condor bartenderâs choice ($11), and wines by the glass ($6-7). The waiter wisely recommended the vegetarian empanadas ($5): spinach, mushroom, chard, egg, mozzarella cheese, and a slight sprinkling of powdered sugar on top. Get at least one per person. JENNI MOORE
Happy Hour: daily 4-6 pm, $8-11 cocktails, $6-7 wines, $5-16 menu
Bamboo Sushi | 836 NW 23rd
While expensive, this restaurantâs happy hour offers the same level of culinary delight at normal-person prices. Your meal begins with a complimentary order of edamame (LUXURY) and deeply satisfying glass of cucumber water (DOUBLE LUXURY). Start with a $4 steamed bun (chefâs choice; mine held a buttery slice of tangy steak), and sip on cold sake ($5) while you watch a chef artfully craft a made-to-order sushi roll. I chose the Camo Roll ($10), which pairs avocado and cucumbers with albacore and salmonâtopped with crispy nori. The eight-piece roll is filling, doing the work of a dinner menu item. ALEX ZIELINSKI
Happy Hour: daily 5-6 pm, reduced prices on cocktails, beer, sake, & wine, $3-11 menu
Brix Tavern | 1338 NW Hoyt
Brix complements its already lively, inviting atmosphere with a lengthy happy hour menu. At only $6.50 each, their craft cocktails are inventive and unrelentingly fresh; I enjoyed a refreshing, kicky Brix Mule, which can be made with either vodka or bourbon. Their food menu features sturdy faves such as calamari and a personal margherita pizza, but you may as well splurge on the oh-so-fresh Rare Seared Ahi Tuna ($11) which, covered with tomato, corn, avocado, and wasabi mayo, may be the best thing you eat all dayâat any price. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
Happy Hour: daily 3-6:30 pm, 9:30-close, $1 off wine & beer, $6.50 house cocktails, $3-11 menu
The Fireside | 801 NW 23rd
Finding bars like Fireside that start happy hour before 4 pm is a very good thingâespecially when you start with a belly full of Mexican Firing Squads ($8), a potent blend of tequila, grenadine, and bitters. Getting there early means avoiding any waits for food, and youâll only have to contend with some aging barflies who would much rather nurse their cocktails than go anywhere near Firesideâs delectable French dip ($7). ROBERT HAM
Happy Hour: daily 3-5:30 pm, Fri & Sat 10 pm-midnight, $6 beer, $7 cider & wine, $8 cocktails, $5-13 menu
The Hairy Lobster | 900 NW 11th
Full disclosure: I was one of those kids who ate cherry cough drops even when I wasnât sick. Maybe thatâs why the decidedly medicinal flavor of the Great Hot Scotch! ($7) quickly grew on me. This cocktailâa mix of Laphroaig, crème de cassis, and jasmine teaâisnât your typical throw-it-back happy hour fare, but it hit the spot on a particularly blustery day. Seared ahi tuna with a jasmine rice pancake ($9) brought the umami goodness, though Iâll admit being just a little disappointed that there werenât any lobster dishes on the happy hour menu, considering the restaurantâs name. BLAIR STENVICK
Happy Hour: Tues-Fri 5-6:30 pm, $7 wine & cocktails, $5 beers, $6-14 menu
Mediterranean Exploration Company | 333 NW 13th
The Mediterranean Exploration Company has a fine-ish dining happy hour. The $9 drinks range from sparkling wines to a delicious Tanqueray Sterling vodka and Ceylon tea concoction. As far as food, a boat of sheepâs milk feta ($8) topped with savory spices and olives came with a toasty pita, the fresh radicchio salad ($11) was made for sharing, and the sweet and salty combo of bacon wrapped dates ($2 each) with a crunchy almond in the middle were a crowd favorite. Heavier fare includes a falafel sandwich ($13) and Moroccan meatballs ($14), and finishes with a crispy and sweet pistachio and hazelnut baklava ($5 each)âso you can make a full meal out of just the happy hour offerings. BRI BREY
Happy Hour: daily 4-5:30 pm, $4 beer, $9 wine & cocktails, $2-16 menu
Picnic PDX | 1305 NW 23rd
Picnic puts two of the best beers brewed in OregonâBoneyard RPM IPA and Pfriem Pilsnerâon its happy hour menu for $4 each, instantly endearing it to anyone used to forking over six or seven bucks for a craft pint at their local taproom. If you want something stronger, the classic bourbon old fashioned ($9) is just that: classic. A chicken liver pate with a candle in it is the visual star of the charcuterie board ($8), but the buttery Castelvetrano olives were a personal favorite. BS
Happy Hour: daily 3-6 pm, $5 wine, $2 off cocktails, $4 beers, $4-8 menu
Pink Rabbit | 232 NW 12th
Thankfully, Pink Rabbit manages to keep happy hour happier than any song by the barâs namesake band, the National. While Pink Rabbitâs regular cocktail menu features offbeat ingredients like activated charcoal, tea, and Lambrusco, at happy hour, the spotlight is on simpler and classic cocktails like a dynamite sherry and apple brandy old fashioned ($9) or a vodka-aperol sour with passion fruit ($9). Snacks run the gamut from beef tendon chips (think pork rinds but better), to taro tots, to sliders, to those beef tendon chips covered with pork curry and Thai chili cheese sauce, with nothing but those decadent ânachosâ running over $10. THOMAS ROSS
Happy Hour: daily 3-6 pm, $1 off wells and drafts, $9 cocktails, $3-11 menu
Pope House Bourbon Lounge | 2075 NW Glisan
While the geographic center of Pope House Bourbon Lounge is inside a rambly old house off Northwest 21st, its heart is in Kentucky, with a whiskey-forward menu. For happy hour, you can get a cheap glass of lower-shelf whiskey served as you like it, or try a specialty cocktail, including the Half Man (as in Manhattan), a solid take on the Brown Derby, and a vodka-and-lime Junebug. For eats, theyâve got mac ânâ cheese, jambalaya, hushpuppies, pork sliders, and a plate of so-so deviled eggs, or get a large house salad with plenty of mushrooms, cucumber, and feta. NED LANNAMANN
Happy Hour: daily 4-7 pm, all day Mon, $1 off drafts, wells, & wine, $5 whiskeys, $6 cocktails, $5-7 menu
RingSide Steakhouse | 2165 W Burnside
Despite its imposing and pricey reputation, the Ringside Steakhouseâs happy hour is totally worth it. The steak bites ($5) are delightful little beef poppers that come with a creamy horseradish sauce I wanted to smear on everything. Their quesadilla ($5) is meaty and satisfying, and in general the bar is a shockingly normal place. Slight catch: Itâs one of those one-drink-per-person-minimum places, and RingSideâs happy hour has zero in the way of drink specials. They gotta get you somewhere. JOE STRECKERT
Happy Hour: Mon-Sat 9:30 pm-close, Sun 4-5:30 pm & 9:30 pm-close, $4-6 menu
Solo Club | 2110 NW Raleigh
You canât get any substantial happy hour food deals, but Solo Club has a good snack game. The salt cod fritters ($9) and the charcuterie plate ($6) are both savory and delicious. The cocktails on their happy hour menu are refreshing and two bucks off, but ultimately it was the sheer beauty of the Solo Club that won me over. That, and the fact that they played two Pulp songs within a space of 30 minutes. I live there now. SUZETTE SMITH
Happy Hour: daily 3-6 pm & all day Sun, $1 off beer & wine, $3-8 menu
St. Jack | 1610 NW 23rd
There is not a single element of St. Jack thatâs fucking around, and that goes for their exquisite happy hour. The menu changes regularly, but a recent visit evidenced some fantastic options. The fried chicken sandwich ($10), with pickles and Frankâs Honey was a home run, as was the chicken liver mousse ($6), a creamy bulb of soft loveliness to smear all over pieces of crusty baguette. The discounted cocktail list ($9) was a mere three drinks long, but theyâre supplemented by a handful of beer, wine, and sparkling options. NL
Happy Hour: daily 4-6 pm & 10 pm-close, $5 beer, $6-8 wine, $9 cocktails, $4-15 menu
Teardrop Lounge | 1015 NW Everett
A chic martini bar in the Pearl district, Teardrop Loungeâs long-standing, much-beloved happy hour is the only time of day my broke art student friends can feed their ravenous desire for craft cocktails. The best seat in the house is at the round, circular bar where youâre front row for the explosive show of cocktail concoction. Thereâs so much shaking, slamming, and delicate twistinâ! Although the food menu is slight, Teardropâs relationship with Olympia Provisions affords them an excellent pickle game. Their menu of cocktails changes frequentlyâI was told every two weeks!âwith the seasons of ingredients, but itâs unlikely the sturdy, mellow Graduate, with blended scotch, sweet vermouth, tonic, and orange Curaçao, is going anywhere. SS
Happy Hour: daily 4-6 pm, $7 cocktails, $5 menu
Vault Cocktail Lounge | 226 NW 12th
Vault Cocktail Loungeâs selection of booze is as good as it gets, the staff brings their A-game, and the house cocktails are superlative concoctions. The Little Brogue, made with dark rum, bitters, and a spritz of Laphroaig 10, has bottomlessly deep flavor, and the Solid Gold Oldie (a take on the old fashioned) is dangerously drinkable. Plus, the happy hour nibblesâincluding a delicious soft pretzel with beer cheese and decadent, prosciutto-wrapped datesâare far tastier than your usual happy hours. NL
Happy Hour: Mon-Thurs 4-6 pm, Fri & Sat 3-6 pm, Sun 4 pm-midnight, $6 cocktails, $5 beer & wine, $3-7 menu
The Waiting Room | 2327 NW Kearney
The Waiting Roomâs happy hourâwhich, like the regular menu, is a mildly modernized take on Southern cookingâis filled with delights. Days later and Iâm still dreaming of their cornmeal fried pickles ($6), and, while not as memorable, I was still charmed by their take on poutine ($13) that slathers a nice coating of truffle-port au jus and confit bacon over a helping of curly fries. I also canât say enough nice things about their tart and bracing Sazerac ($8), which is on tap at the bar. RH
