The Happiest Hours in SOMA?

This week, Matthew Stafford compiled a Top 30 List of the Best Happy Hours in San Francisco for SF Weekly’s Wednesday Publication. The full list can be viewed here, but it features a few locations right here in South of Market. Here are the SOMA listings:

Kyo-Ya

“For the price of a $3 Sapporo, you can relax in the sumptuous lounge of the city’s most elegant Japanese restaurant, snacking on complimentary spring rolls, grilled chicken, and edamame or selections from the $3 happy hour sushi cart. (The 10-piece $20 sushi combo is a great deal, too.) Cocktail specials ($6) include lychee and Asian pear martinis and a refreshing sake mojito. With it’s comfy armchairs, fresh flowers, artsy decor, and a flatscreen TV, this is a friendly, tranquil place to catch the game in well-fed comfort.”

Tsunami Mission Bay

“Tsunami offers a different daily happy hour half-off sushi special: spider or tekka (Monday), hamachi or tempura shrimp (Tuesday), California or rock’n'roll (Wednesday), New York or Spicy Tuna (Thursday), California or spider (Friday), and hand rolls (Saturday). Monday through Friday, all sake bottles are half-off, 20-Ounce Sapporos are $5, and $5 cocktail of the day just might be the Spring Green (lime, chartreuse, and one of the bar’s four-dozen premium gins, up). On Saturday, the daily cocktail is only $4, or opt for the half-off sake or an 11-ounce Suntory Premium Malt for $4. Attractive brick, glass, and blond-wood setting.”

Maya

“One of the City’s classiest Mexican restaurants serves free botanas (appetizers) until 7 p.m. and a variety of treats until closing time, including high-end $2 tacos with your choice of snapper, carnitas, carne asada, cactus, or pork belly with ancho-habanero salsa. Sipping options include $3 wells, house wines, sangria, Cuba Libres, four types of caipirinha, and eight varieties of mojito, while margaritas in guava, mango, hibiscus, tamarind, and pomelo will run you $5 apiece. The handsome earth-toned bar is a fun place to unwind with a group of friends.”

Epic Roasthouse

“The waterfront views are lovely from Epic’s Quiver Bar (named for the Cupid’s Span sculpture just outside), but the happy hour deals are pretty sweet, too- potato curls with herbs de Provence, fleur de sel, and arugula pesto ($3); smoked chicken drummettes with corn relish ($5); and soft, house-made breadsticks ($3). Every day there’s a different premium bottled beer for $3, and house wines and cocktails are $5. Fun, festive atmosphere with comfortable chairs, industrial-chic accents, and a view of the Bay Bridge through the floor-to-ceiling windows.”

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If you ask me, those are some decent Happy Hour deals, but I can think of a couple others that should have made the list- perhaps in place of something else.

I’ve actually been compiling a list of all the local Happy Hour Specials in South of Market, and I’m almost done with the current batch. I will be sharing that list in the first official Newsletter, so if you haven’t signed up for that, do so now by adding your email to the “Subscribe to Our Newsletter” entry on the right.

In the meantime, here are some of my personal favorites:

Ozone Thai

This is, hands down THE BEST happy hour deal in South of Market (and perhaps the whole City). Not only are their Happy Hour hours frequent (and daily), they offer 16 different Tapa-style Thai dishes for $4 each! I recommend the soups, the spring rolls and- most of all- the Crying Tiger. If you like Thai spice, it’ll kick your taste buds! I can’t quite pin-point the spice they use, but there’s a reason it’s called the Crying Tiger, and it should also be ordered ‘Thai Spicy’.

One of the other great things about the Happy Hour at Ozone is that they feature $2.50 draft beers and $4 specialty cocktails. The bar manager is a cocktail artist, and she’s happy to entertain your conversation (and even try out some new recipes on you if you’re nice). The only draw-back is if you go on Wednesday Nights. I would avoid this night at all costs because they have an unruly bartender who has absolutely no right to be a bartender. Other than that, this place is great for Happy Hour!

Iron Cactus

When the Iron Cactus (and gave The Creamery access to a Liquor License)first opened a few months back, they were in the running for best Happy Hour in SOMA. However, they’ve recently scaled back their specials significantly. It used to be that they had all of their draft beers available in 20 ounce glasses for $3, in addition to $5 wines and Sangria. Since the beginning (and over a one month period), the price went up to $3.18 (they forgot to incorporate tax) for the drafts, and then they removed most of the drafts from the special (other than bud light and Fat Tire). Today, their Happy Hour consists of $3.18 Bud Lights and Fat Tires, $5 House Wines and Sangria, and- this is the best part- half-priced appetizers and $2 tacos! The tacos are great for $2, and I would even argue that you get more for your buck than the $2 tacos at Maya.

PLUS, they have two outdoor seating areas, so it’s a great place to go on a nice day.

Palomino

Down on the Embarcadero, near the Epic Roasthouse, there’s another great Happy Hour. Palomino features $4 wine and cocktails (I recommend their Mojito), as well as $5 Pizzas and Half-Off Appetizers.

It’s a great deal, and good food, but it’s widely known by the downtown/financial crowd, so their happy hour is often crowded, even on the weekends. They also have a great outdoor seating area (and even heat lamps), so it’s another outdoor option for a nice day.