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Pawel Mikusek, head of cocktail and spirits development at Lily & Bloom, in Central, where your first happy hour cocktail will set you back just HK$5. Photo: Bruce Yan

20 of Hong Kong’s best happy hours, from 5pm to 5am, and from HK$1 a drink

Most bars have happy hours, but not all are made the same. So we’ve picked out a score of the best deals, from the super cheap to the super long to the super late

Almost every bar in Hong Kong has a happy hour, but not all of them actually serve their intended purpose of raising the spirits of bargain-hunting drinkers. Separating the 10 per cent discounts from the all-you-can-drinks is no easy task – so we’ve done it for you.

Whether it involves coming armed with a fistful of HK$20 notes, exploiting your gender to procure drinks, or even paying for booze with just pocket change, these happy hours run the range of bargain drunken delights.
Interior of Lily & Bloom bar in Central. Photo: Bruce Yan

The WTF

Or, as we sometimes like to call it, “the ‘how are they making any money?’” There’s no such thing as a free drink, but there are definitely some ridiculously cheap ones. Pack your wallet lightly and make a night of it.

Kick off early and start at Moon Thai, where between 4pm and 7pm, drinks are just HK$7 for the first seven minutes of every hour. Down a quick one and scramble over to Stone Nullah Tavern, for their “Beat the Clock” deal from 5pm, when drink prices start at a measly HK$1 and double every 20 minutes until 7pm.

The rooftop at Beef & Liberty in Wan Chai. Photo: Jonathan Wong

By the time 6pm rolls around and booze is hitting an unmanageable HK$8, head to Beef & Liberty, where the crew opens a free keg for customers every Wednesday. After you’ve had your fill, finish off your cheap night out at Lily & Bloom, where your first cocktail will set you back just HK$5.

Moon Thai, 83 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2851 1288, moonthai.com.hk

Stone Nullah Tavern, 69 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, tel: 3182 0128, stonenullahtavern.com
Beef & Liberty, 23 Wing Fung Street, Wan Chai, tel: 2811 3009, beef-liberty.com

Lily & Bloom, 5/F, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2810 6166, buzzconcepts.com

The Wan Chai High

Most happy hour round-ups ignore Wan Chai as a drinking destination, which is a little unfair considering the area’s boozy bargains. If you can brave the call of mamasans, the rugby louts and the late-night kebabs, thrifty boozers will be rewarded with some of the best deals in town.

Devil's Advocate in Wan Chai.

Can’t stand the crowds? Start early when things are still quiet – Churchill’s (formerly the Old China Hand) holds a “crazy hour” from 5pm-7pm every day, with pints at just HK$20. Down the road, The Dog House has an equally eccentric deal, with daily drinks priced from HK$25 between 5pm-8pm.

Willing to put up with the late-night delights? Head to Devil’s Advocate on Wednesdays, where a HK$20 Standard Chartered note scores a standard drink from 9pm to 1am. Or take on one of Carnegie’s many specials, including daily “crazy hour” from 6pm to 7pm, Tuesday’s vodka night, Wednesday’s ladies night, Thursday’s happy hour all night, and more.

Devil’s Advocate 48 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2865 7271, devilsadvocate.com.hk

Churchill’s, 104 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2177 7002, www.facebook.com/104churchills/

The Dog House, 72-86 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2528 0868, greatvision.com.hk/doghouse-wan-chai

Carnegie’s, 53-55 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2866 6289, carnegies.net

Carnegie's in Wan Chai.

The Fast as You Can

All-you-can-drink deals were once reserved for seedy dark-side hotel bars, where out-of-tune lounge acts would croon as you downed cheap spirits. But things are changing, and a number of bars are offering up the deal during their slower hours.

Not to be confused with the Taiwanese restaurant of the same name, The Night Market is a hidden bar tucked in the back of a hipster store, but it’s worth the search for its free-flow deal: HK$120 for five straight hours, with Sam Adams and Mac’s Great White on tap, from 6pm-11pm.

Le Garcon Saigon in Wan Chai.

Too long? Check out Le Garcon Saigon instead for HK$98, with free-flow bottled beers from 5pm-7pm, including La Parisienne and various Vietnamese brews. And if you need a bit of food to line your stomach, Posto Pubblico does all-you-can eat and drink prosecco, beer, wine and charcuterie, for HK$98 from 5pm-7pm.

Club Legend in Mong Kok.

But possibly the best, and most extensive free-flow deal, is over at the local-centric Club Legend in Mong Kok, with an astounding range of all-you-can-drink deals on offer. The deal costs HK$120 from 5pm-9pm, HK$300 from 9.30pm-4.30am, HK$180 from 2am-4.30am, and just HK$80 for all those deals if you happen to have been born female.

The Night Market, 8-10 Cleveland St (inside Gum Gum Gum), Causeway Bay, tel: 3486 7070, no website

Le Garcon Saigon, 12 Wing Fung Street, tel: 2455 2499, legarconsaigon.com
Posto Pubblico, 28 Elgin Street, Central, tel: 2577 7160, postopubblico.com
Club Legend, 19/F, 601 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, no phone, www.facebook.com/clublegendhk

The Fairer Sex

Critics were up in arms a couple months back when a disgruntled man dared question the status quo of Hong Kong’s ladies’ night. But our collective memory is surprisingly short, and while not all women-friendly deals give the gratis gift, these Central-based bars are worth dressing up for.

Grab your girls on Wednesday, and start at Solas, where free vodka mixers are dished out from 9pm to midnight. Call in sick the next day and continue on at Boujis, where bubbles are poured freely from 11pm-1am.

Rula Bula in Lan Kwai Fong. Photo: Edmond So

Thursday a better bet? Head down to Rula Bula, where free vodka mixers are poured out for an incredible four hours, from 9pm-1am. And for all you men out there crying foul, at least one bar gives you a meat-and-potatoes advantage. Gay-friendly bar Linq is arguably the only to hold a men’s night, where beefcakes can indulge in free Absolut vodka mixers every Wednesday, from 10pm till midnight.

Solas, 60 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 3162 3710, solas.com.hk

Boujis, 37-43 Pottinger Street, Central, tel: 2324 0200, boujis-hk.com

Rula Bula, 58-62 D’Aguilar Street, Central, tel: 2179 5225 rulabula.com.hk
Linq, 35 Pottinger Street, Central, tel: 2971 0680, www.facebook.com/LINQWineBar

The Late-Night Special

It seems almost counterproductive to reward drinkers for their alcoholic endurance, but bars are starting to cash in on boozers who don’t want to call it a night. Hit up Linguini Fini first, a bar with a late-night deal starting from a respectable 10pm – HK$98 gets you free-flow Aperol Spritz until midnight. There’s also Stone’s over in Tai Hang, a dinnertime burger favourite, but one that brings in the after-hours crowds with happy-hour-priced drinks from 11pm-1am (EDITORS' NOTE: Days after we published this story, Stone's closed down. Sorry)

The

Determined to chug along till the next day? Drop by the hip bar The Pontiac, where at the stroke of midnight, the gorgeous bartenders strut their stuff on the countertop while pouring free shots down patrons’ desperate throats. And if you still refuse to go home, a journey over to Eastside Tavern in Tsim Sha Tsui gets you an extended late-night deal, with HK$39 beers and HK$45 spirits from midnight to 5am.

Linguini Fini, 49 Elgin Street, Central, tel: 2387 6338, linguinifini.com
The Pontiac, 13 Old Bailey Street, Central, tel: 2521 3855, www.facebook.com/thepontiac/

Eastside Tavern, Shop 29, Empire Centre, 68 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2367 8770, eastsidetavern.com.hk

Finish the night at Eastside Tavern, Tsim Sha Tsui, with HK$39 beers until 5am.
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