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Echo Park's Best Happy Hours
Happy Hour is the happiest of hours, is it not?
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John Arano/Unsplash
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Need a place to pregame before hitting Dodger Stadium? Echo Park has lots of quality happy hour choices within walking distance along Sunset Boulevard — and they all start early enough for Dodger fans to make a 7 p.m. game. For the most hardcore revelers, one of them even opens its doors at 9 a.m.
The Semi-Tropic
At semi-hidden Semi-Tropic, happy hour isn't an afterthought, it's a way of life. The cafe and bar offers food and drink deals all day, every day. Got nowhere to be on a weekday? Ease into the morning with a $7 mimosa or an $8 Bloody Mary, transition into the afternoon with a $7 margarita or an $8 Aperol Spritz and end the night with a $7 Old Fashioned or a $10 Boilermaker. Other drink specials include $5 16-oz. draft beers and $5 glasses of house wine (red, white, rose or sparkling). Make sure to supplement your drinks with $5 happy hour olives and $1 movie theater popcorn. If you need a full meal, Semi-Tropic has brunch and dinner offerings, at their regular prices. There's only metered street parking available at the intersection of Glendale, Montana and Liberty.
- Happy Hour: Daily, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- 1412 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park. 213-568-3827.
Sunset Beer Company
Do not dismiss Sunset Beer Company's one happy hour deal, which is simply "no corkage fee." When it's connected to a wonderland of a beer store with goodies such as Stone's 2019 w00tstout and Great Divide's 25th anniversary Big Yeti (both in cans!), that's special. Seriously, buy any cider, import beer, domestic, bottle of wine in the store and take it to the bar in the room next door to enjoy ASAP. Bonus is that it's BYOF(ood) as well. You can brown-bag a PBJ or have takeout delivered. The bar and store are handicap accessible with low tables inside and on the patio. Regarding parking, there's a small lot with one handicap spot... but it's usually packed so you'll probably have to hunt for metered street parking.
- Happy Hour: Monday - Thursday, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
- 1498 Sunset Blvd., Ste 3, Echo Park. 213-481-2337.
Bar Calo
Located next to Sunset Beer Co. in the same Sunset Blvd. strip mall, mezcal and tequila-focused cocktail lounge Bar Calo has some of the best crafted happy hour cocktails. Thank Bestia alum Jeremy Simpson for that. A margarita, mezcal Old Fashioneds and Santiago Spritz (an Aperol Spritz with Fernet Vallet) are only about $10 each. That's a deal in this part of town. Nibble on $5 housemade tortilla chips and guacamole (regular: $8), $7 fried brussels sprouts (regular: $9) and $10 shrimp and bay scallop ceviche (regular: $12) while sinking into the sofa that spans the length of the bar. Other seats are available out front at a couple of communal tables, and a section of the bar top is ADA-approved.
- Happy Hour: Monday, 4 p.m. - 12 a.m.; Tuesday - Friday, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
- 1498 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. 213-278-0901.
The martini at Freedman's in Echo Park.
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Dylan + Jeni
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Freedmans
This stylish Jewish delicatessen understands the siren call of the weekend. Freedman's kicks off its Friday, Saturday and Sunday happy hour at 2:30 p.m., so ditch the office early and toast #weekendvibes with $8 glasses of chilled red, white and rosé or $10 martinis and Negroni Sbagliatos. The handicap-accessible restaurant, which has a ramp outside, offers a bounty of low two-tops as well as some bar seating. The gender neutral restrooms can accommodate wheelchairs. Located in a strip mall, there is a parking lot out front but only one handicap spot.
- Happy Hour: Tuesday - Thursday, 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday - Sunday, 2:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.
- 2619 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. 213-568-3754.
Mohawk Bend
Craft beer lovers know Mohawk Bend, with its 72 beers on tap. Come happy hour all those brews (as well as wine and cider) are $2 cheaper. For the cocktail-inclined, well drinks featuring California craft spirits, such as silver rum by Pasadena's Stark Spirits, are $6 and specialty cocktails are $9. Discounted bar snacks include $10 Tachos (tater tot nachos) and $3 fried chickpeas. For a cheap early dinner, order a pizza. Normally, the pies here cost between $14 and $17.50. During happy hour, they're only $11. Valet parking is available out front.
- Happy Hour: Monday - Friday, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
- 2141 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. 213-483-2337.
Honorable Mention: Lowboy
Although Lowboy, a newish neighborhood cocktail bar, doesn't have an official happy hour, its everyday prices are low enough that they're comparable to area happy hour deals. Chill out with $5 to $8 draft beers or $10 Manhattans and $12 Mai Tais. Don't want to think too hard about what to drink? Order up the Lowboy Special, a 12-oz. Coors Banquet "Stubby" with a shot of Old Grand Dad bourbon. The bar is wheelchair accessible but has only a few standard tables out on the patio. Inside, the seating consists of high-top booths and bar stools. Only metered street parking is available.
- Hours: 5 p.m. - 2 a.m.
- 1540 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. 213-266-8161.
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