Kind of thing · 6 ideas
Bars, breweries & tastings
The trick is to pick a bar with a reason to be there beyond the drink: a trivia night, a tasting flight, a pool table, a view. Then the evening has a shape, and you can leave when the shape is done. Plain drinking at a plain bar is the fallback, not the plan.
- Typical price
- Beer $6–9, cocktails $12–18, a tasting flight $12–25. Two drinks and a snack: $30–45 per person.
- How long
- Ninety minutes to all night, depending on the company.
How to do it cheaper
- Happy hour, usually 4–6 pm on weekdays, cuts drinks and small plates by a third or more.
- Brewery taprooms are cheaper than bars pouring the same beer.
- Trivia and open-mic nights are free to attend; you only pay for what you drink.
- Order the flight, not four pints. You taste more and spend less.
- A hotel lobby bar costs more per drink but nobody cares if you nurse one for an hour.
Works for
The ideas
A flight at a brewery taproom
Four small beers, a long table, dogs under it, and a food truck outside. Low stakes.
- Cost
- $12–18 for a flight
- Best when
- Weekday evenings or weekend afternoons
- Cheaper
- Taprooms pour their own beer $2–3 cheaper than bars serving the same thing.
- Skip it if
- You don't like beer. Most taprooms have one cider and one wine, and that's it.
- Bring
- Cash for the food truck. Some are card-only, some the opposite.
Happy hour at a place with a real menu
Two drinks and three small plates at a restaurant you'd never pay full price at.
- Cost
- $20–30 per person
- Best when
- Weekdays, 4–6 pm, sit at the bar
- Cheaper
- This is already the cheap version. Bar seats usually get the deal; tables sometimes don't.
- Skip it if
- You want a long dinner. Happy hour ends and the prices double.
- Bring
- A friend who's off by five.
A tasting flight at a wine bar
Three glasses, a card explaining them, and an excuse to sit across a small table for two hours.
- Cost
- $20–30 per flight
- Best when
- Tuesday to Thursday, when the bartender has time to talk
- Cheaper
- Many wine bars run a half-price bottle night early in the week.
- Skip it if
- It's a first date and you don't know whether they drink.
- Bring
- An appetite. The cheese plate is the move.
Trivia night
A free reason to sit in a bar for two hours with a team, arguing about state capitals.
- Cost
- Free to play, $8–9 a beer
- Best when
- Tuesday or Wednesday, 7 pm
- Cheaper
- Winning teams usually get a bar tab. Lose, and you still only paid for the drinks.
- Skip it if
- You hate losing in public. It happens weekly.
- Bring
- One person who knows sports and one who knows 90s music.
A dive bar with a pool table
Cheap drinks, a jukebox, a table that eats quarters, and a night that goes nowhere on purpose.
- Best when
- Late, any night
- Cheaper
- Dives are the cheap option already. Bring quarters; pool is $1–2 a rack.
- Skip it if
- You need a cocktail menu. There is a well, and there is a beer.
- Bring
- Cash. Half of them don't take cards.
A hotel lobby bar, alone
The one bar where sitting by yourself with a book is normal, because everyone else is from out of town too.
- Cost
- $15–20 a drink
- Best when
- 7–9 pm on a weeknight
- Cheaper
- One drink, nursed. Nobody turns tables in a hotel bar.
- Skip it if
- You're on a budget. This is the expensive drink of the evening.
- Bring
- A book or a notebook. The phone makes you look like you're waiting for someone.