The latest restaurant from prolific restaurant group Creole Cuisine Concepts brings a top-notch happy hour to Metairie, running daily from 2 to 6 p.m. Wines by the glass and cocktails go for $5, premium and specialty cocktails for $6, and draft beers for $3. The kitchen serves $7 appetizers, including eggplant caponata, calamari fritte, baked goat cheese al forno, meatballs, and roasted Brussels sprouts, and all pizzas are half off.

The chance to nibble on chef Nathanial Zimet’s simply elegant cuisine is reason enough to head to his inviting Uptown restaurant for happy hourTuesday through Saturday, 5 to 7 p.m. Add in the $5 house wines, $1 off drafts and $7 sazeracs and life is good. Specially priced bites include $10 steamed mussels, $8 for blackened shrimp and grit cake, $5 boudin balls and $4 fries — get the fries — hand cut, fried to order hot and crispy — they are best enjoyed with garlic aioli for dipping.

Vals is nearly a year old, opened in Summer 2020 by the team behind top New Orleans cocktail bar Cure. The renovated service station at the corner of Valence and Freret makes for a hip, casual setting with a sprawling front patio serving regional Mexican specialties, tacos, and a nice menu of agave-based drinks, both margarita and non-margarita. Happy hour is from 4 to 6 p.m. daily., offering a $6 margarita, frozen or on the rocks, and a $5 Modelo and Tapatio tequila shot combo.

At the reliable Toups’ Meatery, happy hour runs from 3 to 5 p.m., with specials including a $7 cocktail of the day; well spirits and draft beers; select wines; and bar bites. The Mid City favorite now has expanded, heated patio seating.

One of New Orleans’s favorite spots is the laid-back, Mid City smokehouse from pit team Ronnie Evans and Philip Moseley. Blue Oak’s happy hour pickings Monday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. include rotating snacks, cocktails, drafts, wines by the glass, and house daiquiris.

Michael Gulotta’s downtown stunner Maypop reopened this spring after remaining closed during the pandemic, bringing back the centrally-located destination for inventive dishes fusing Southeast Louisiana and Southeast Asian flavors. There’s also a new happy hour, weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m, offering specials on wine, beer, and two cocktails, as well as food — curry hot wings, pork belly buns, crispy oysters, and more.

CBD wine hub Copper Vine has a new happy hour menu this spring, offered every week day from 2 to 6 p.m. In addition to wine by the glass specials, there are $8 wine flights and $8 local flights of local beer, and snacks like tuna tartare and caviar for $7, bacon-wrapped dates for $5, and Brussels sprouts for $4.

Revamped LGD wine bar the Tasting Room, now with 80 new Bourbons and a decidedly bachelorette party vibe, also has a new weekday happy hour: from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, there are $7 cheese and charcuterie boards, $5 cocktails (Old Fashioned and margaritas), $5 house wines, $4 seltzers, and $3 beers.

Seaworthy is the Ace Hotel’s oyster destination, and it’s one of few spots that sources oysters from beyond the Gulf, including smaller, brinier varieties. The popular happy hour runs Wednesday through Sunday from 4 until 6 p.m. and again from 10 to 11 p.m., with specials on oysters, cocktails, and wine.

The owners of French Quarter institution Tujague’s Restaurant opened both Claret wine and cocktail bar and the Bower next door to each other on Magazine Street this year, and for now, the focus is on the outdoor, spacious patio at the Bower. Monday through Friday, a handful of classic cocktails are $7 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The Mill is the Warehouse District’s newest destination for brunch, drinks, and happy hour — a perfect addition to the downtown dining and drinking scene. Happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, offering $6 options for wine and beer and specialty cocktails, as well as daily specials including Mojito Monday and Spritz Saturday, also for $6. The two happy hour cocktails are seriously refreshing, especially the Pretty in Pink slushie made with gin, elderflower, raspberry, and lemon.

The popular “Bubbles at Brennan’s “ happy hour is back, and it’s now an all-day, weekend affair. On Saturday and Sunday, the pink bastion of French Quarter fine dining is offering happy hour drink specials Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Available on the lovely fountain courtyard and inside, the champagne-focused specials include five sparkling cocktails and eight bottle options, and snacks like baked oysters, sweet potato pot stickers, and duck confit poutine (Sunday is brunch all day, but the drink specials are available).

Featuring a lush back patio, Cane & Table is a tranquil afternoon spot for chatting or solo drinking. Happy hour specials offer a chance to sip originals at half the price of the regular menu, and include an old fashioned, daiquiri, and blue Hawaii; beer and shot combos; as well as wine specials; plus a Caribbean snack menu. 

Capulet, the bar and restaurant during the week and event space and popular wedding venue on weekends, is back open after a long pandemic hiatus, and offers a great new happy hour. Monday through Thursday, before live music gets going, discounted drink specials include $2 PBRs, $5 sparkling wine, $5 boozy punch, and $4 PBR and a whiskey shot, 4 to 6 p.m.

Open for a little over a year, Bywater’s Galaxie Tacos is a service station-turned taqueria that’s fared well during the pandemic due its sprawling front patio with spaced-out seating and a section with heaters for cold weather. A recently-launched food and drink happy hour backs up its opening time an hour earlier to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Running from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, drink specials include a Jalisco sour for $7, a Michelada for $5, and a few snacks for $3.