Best Happy Hours in Boston

Massachusetts outlawed timed drink discounts in 1984 and Boston still has not got them back, so the word happy hour means something different here than it does anywhere else on this site. The discount lands on the plate. Boston's unit of value is the oyster: Legal Sea Foods on Northern Avenue lists them at $1 from 3 to 6 every day, Fin Point on Broad Street lists $1 oysters Thursday through Sunday afternoons, Summer Shack on Dalton Street lists $2, and Little Whale on Newbury Street lists $2 Island Creeks before 6.

Below the raw bar the pattern holds. Toro on Washington Street lists $5 tapas, Fuji at Ink Block lists $5 sushi rolls, Flight Club in the Seaport lists half-price appetizers, and Bono on Meridian Street in East Boston lists a dollar off every starter. Loco Taqueria near Fenway lists $3 tacos on Tuesdays from open until 1 AM.

Where a drink price does appear, read it as menu pricing rather than a legal happy hour, and confirm it before you go. Ramsay's Kitchen on Boylston lists two cocktails for $15, and The Capital Burger on Newbury lists $9 signature cocktails.

Boylston, Tremont, Broad Street, Seaport Boulevard and Newbury carry most of the listings, split between Back Bay, the Financial District and the Seaport. Windows are short and early, most opening at 4 and closing at 6, and about one listing in thirteen covers a weekend.