Thursday happy hours in Austin
Thursday is one of the two biggest happy hour days in Austin, in a dead heat with Wednesday. 600+ places run one, nearly every venue we track, and well over twice what Saturday manages. 100+ venues discount something by half, and only Wednesday keeps pace. If you are going to pick one night a week to do this properly, the data says this is one of the two to pick.
Where to start
11 of the 600+ running a Thursday window, chosen for a reason rather than a rating. Hours below come straight from our database, not from this article.
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Photo: Yellow Jacket Social Club via Google Maps 01 · Eleven in the morning until two
- Mon–Thu, Sat, Sun 11–2 AM
- Mon–Fri 3–6 PM
Fifteen hours of Thursday, layered with a shorter afternoon window inside it. A dog-friendly patio and a bar staff people name individually, the kind of room that turns a quick drink into an evening.
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Photo: Hamid Hajjafari via Google Maps 02 · Seven to eleven, Thursdays only
- Thu 7–11 PM
A four-hour evening window that exists on exactly one day of the week, in the alley bar behind the ramen shop. Dog-friendly, outdoors, and open later than most of what surrounds it.
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Photo: Voodoo Room via Google Maps 03 · Ten at night until two, Thursday only
- Thu 10 PM–2 AM
Starts when most happy hours have been over for four hours, one of the latest-starting windows we track on any day. It is a nightclub with DJs and lighting rigs, so calibrate accordingly; the drinks are better made than the format suggests.
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Photo: Amici Ristorante Pizzeria via Google Maps 04 · Five to nine, Thursday only
Amici
$$- Thu 5–9 PM
Four hours, once a week, out in Southwest Austin, with half off bottles of wine. A neighborhood Italian room where the food arrives quickly and the salads get named.
See Amici's deals in Zappy → Checked -
Photo: Devil May Care via Google Maps 05 · An early window and an 8 PM one
- Tue, Thu–Sat 5–6:30 PM
- Thu 8 PM–2 AM
Two-dollar oysters early, then a second window from eight until two. People describe this as a happy hour destination rather than a bar that happens to have one; ask for the patio.
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Photo: Hillside Farmacy via Google Maps 06 · Half-price plates, two windows
- Wed–Fri 3–5 PM
- Thu 3–10 PM
Thursday is the fullest schedule of the week here, a 3-to-5 and a longer evening one. A room people go to for the room as much as the food.
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Photo: Bar Toti via Google Maps 07 · Half off burgers and bottles
Bar Toti
$$$- Tue–Thu, Sun 5–6 PM
Food and wine discount stacked together, running Thursday as it does most days. Small, and very well regarded.
See Bar Toti's deals in Zappy → Checked -
Photo: Sign Bar via Google Maps 08 · Four until two
Sign Bar
$- Mon–Fri 4–7 PM
- Tue–Thu 4 PM–2 AM
One of the hundred-odd Thursday venues going past ten, and one of the handful that run to closing. Reasonably priced by east-side standards, which is most of its reputation.
See Sign Bar's deals in Zappy → Checked -
Photo: Cape Bottle Room via Google Maps 09 · Half off bar snacks, daily
- Daily 4–6 PM
A wine room with the discount on the food rather than the bottles, reliable every day of the week including the busiest ones.
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Photo: Cabana Club via Google Maps 10 · Half-price cocktails
Cabana Club
$$- Mon–Thu 4–7 PM
Cocktails at half price and drafts at three dollars, four to seven.
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Photo: Anna Gibbs via Google Maps 11 · The biggest board in the city
- Daily 11:30 AM–5 PM
- Mon–Thu, Sun 9–10:15 PM
100+ deals, an afternoon window and a 9 PM one, the biggest board on one of the two biggest days. Thursday is busier than the Tuesday regulars recommend, so book or go early.
One of the two biggest days, and neither is Friday
Thursday and Wednesday sit together at the top of the week, a handful of venues apart, and both run comfortably more happy hours than Friday. That drop is the largest single-day fall of the working week, and it happens for the same reason Monday over-performs: Friday sells itself.
Thursday is also level with Wednesday at the top on discount depth, with 100+ venues putting something at half price. And it has three exclusive windows, which means there are things available on a Thursday that are available at no other point in the week.
When it runs
Three is the most common opening and four the second. Six is the largest single ending cluster of the week, then seven.
100+ venues run past 10 PM. That is fewer than Tuesday or Wednesday, which is worth knowing: Thursday is one of the two best nights for volume and choice, but not for a late start. For that, Tuesday is stronger.
Where to look
Downtown is strong on Thursday, within a handful of venues of East Austin. Central Austin is third.
Both the Downtown guide and the East Austin guide go deeper. If Thursday is the start of a longer evening, the sequencing advice is in how to plan an Austin bar crawl.
All 600+, sorted by what's live
This page is 11 places and an opinion. The app has every Thursday happy hour we track (7,500+ deals) on a map, filtered by the day, the time and what you actually want to eat.
Common questions
What is the best day for happy hour in Austin?
Thursday or Wednesday, by the numbers. 600+ of the Austin venues Zappy tracks run a Thursday happy hour, with only a handful between it and Wednesday and both comfortably ahead of Friday, and 100+ of them discount something by half, level with Wednesday at the top of the week.
Do more Austin happy hours run on Thursday or Friday?
Thursday. 600+ venues run a window on each day, but Thursday has several dozen more. Bars that expect to be busy on a Friday have less reason to discount.
What time does Thursday happy hour start in Austin?
3 PM is the most common Thursday opening and 4 PM the second. Most close at 6 PM, then 7 PM, and 60+ venues open a Thursday window as early as 11 AM.
Are there Thursday-only happy hours in Austin?
Three: Voodoo Room downtown, Domo Alley-Gato at Ramen Tatsu-ya in East Austin, and Amici in Southwest Austin.