The Best Sydney CBD Happy Hour Specials
For a post-work tipple or cheeky mid-week drink, here’s our ultimate list of Sydney’s best CBD happy hour specials you need to know about.
These days, ‘happy hour’ doesn’t just mean cheap house spirits, wine, and beer for just 60 minutes. In Sydney, it’s a hefty dose of daily specials, from small bites to creative cocktails, luring us through the doors. We’ve rounded up the best CBD happy hour specials so you don’t have to.
The best Sydney happy hour specials are tucked into laneways, basements, and hotel lobbies, or perched high on rooftops overlooking the city you just spent the workday in. Whether you want a cold schooner at an old school pub or a perfectly chilled martini at a cocktail bar, the CBD does the clock-off ritual better than anywhere else in town.
We have been covering Sydney’s bar scene since 2010, so we know the difference between a happy hour that is a real bargain and one that discounts a drink you would never order anyway. These are the spots our team keeps coming back to. Some are made for a quick one before the train home. Others are built for a session that starts at four and quietly turns into dinner.
From $6 drinks to $5 mini cocktails and $2 oysters and $5 bars, these are the best Sydney happy hour bargains.
The Charles Hours brings $2 oysters, $13 cocktails and $12 wines to this King Street brasserie bar. Don't miss the Le Bisou Two-Sip Martini or Stonefruit Tequila Sour, paired with garlic marinated clams and chicken and truffle croquettes. Monday to Saturday, 4pm–7pm.
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Bistro George's happy hour runs Monday to Saturday from 4-6pm, pairing small plates like Sydney Rock oysters, whipped ricotta and Westholme wagyu tartare crostini with $10 spritzes, $11 negronis, a rotating $12 signature cocktail, wines from $9 and $7 tap beer.
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Their take on the European apéritif, Apéro Hour at Door Knock serves $8 hour wines and beers, $15 Aperol spritzes and bar plates from $8. Feeling fancy? Pop a bottle of Veuve Clicquot for $99. All available Monday to Friday from 4pm-6pm.
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Six days a week, treat yourself to $2 oysters, olives and fries, $7 beers, bubbles and wines or $13 margaritas and Aperol spritzes. Available 3pm-7pm from Monday to Saturday.
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L'Apero brings French-style happy hour to Martin Place with $2 oysters, $2 escargot and an $18 cheeseburger and frites. Pair it with $13 Mini Martinis, $16 Kir Royales or $15 Burgundy reds and whites. Walk-ins only, Monday to Saturday, 4pm–7pm.
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From 4-6pm Monday - Sunday, you can enjoy cocktails from $15 and $9 tacos at Esteban. Available when dining in their laneway and walk-ins only.
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De Vine’s Aperitivo Hour is from 3-5 pm, Monday to Friday and includes $12 wines, $12 cocktails, and bar snacks (for a special price).
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Happy Hour in Bar Pincer runs daily from 5pm – 6pm at Hubert. It's one of our most favourite happy hours and includes the $18 Normandy Burger, $8 lager, $8 wine and $13 cocktails.
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Happy hour that hits like a New York night. $10 sips, $5 snacks, and one very good reason to cancel whatever came next. Try crispy chicken tenders with Avruga caviar, marinated olives, duck fat fries or $3 shucked oysters. Monday to Saturday, 3pm–6pm.
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Jōji’s weekday happy hour runs Tuesday - Thursday from 4-6pm on their rooftop. It features $18 cocktails, $10 beers, and $12 wines, plus the famous "Adulting Meal"—a Wagyu burger, fries, and a martini for $39
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Head to this New York speakeasy outpost for $12 Aperol Spritz and Negronis, $8 beers, wines and spirits. Available Tuesday-Friday between 4-6pm.
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Watch the sun fall on Sydney’s skyline whilst sipping on a refreshing aperitivo at Dean & Nancy. Their Happy Hour Aperitivo, is from 5- 6pm daily offering heavy discounts on their drinks menu. For $15, to $12 wines.
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Earning itself the honour of being one of Sydney’s best bars, Maybe Sammy is a cocktail spot not to be missed. Located in the heart of The Rocks, swing by from 4.30-5.30 pm every day when they’re stirring up mini cocktails for just $8 each with $3 Appelation Oysters.
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Osteria Luna's Aperitivo Hour serves $5 mini cocktails and slushies, $2 lasagne fritti and $6 garlic focaccia, best enjoyed bar-side. Sip a $5 Mini Negroni Spritz alongside arancini, salame cotto and anchovy crostini with pickled green tomato. Monday to Saturday, 5pm–7pm.
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Relax and unwind with friends in a lively atmosphere at Wentworth Bar inside The Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, enjoying $9 house wines and $14 Yuzu Spritzes for a perfect balance of drinks and good times. Live DJs every Thursday and Friday. Wednesday to Sunday, 4pm–7pm.
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Apollonia's Aperitivo Hour runs daily from 4-6pm in this Sicilian drinking den beneath Hinchcliff House. Sip a $15 Vitello Highball or $16 limoncello spritz, paired with $2.50 Sydney rock oysters, $5 mortadella bao-loney sandos or $16 salumi misti with giardiniera.
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Ananas, the modern French brasserie in The Rocks, runs Happy Hour Monday to Friday from 7-9pm with $12 cocktails and wines, $10 beers, $25 Ruinart Blanc de Blancs and $49 rosé bottles. Choose from a Negroni, Dirty Martini, Peach Bellini or Kir de Provence.
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One of Sydney's best steak frites joints, 24 York's happy hour runs daily from 3.30-5.30pm with $7 cocktails, including Margaritas, Martinis, Negronis, Old Fashioneds, Aperol Spritzes and Espresso Martinis, plus $7 beers, wines and spirits, $10 Guinness and $6 fries.
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Spice Temple's Spice Hour runs weekdays from 4-5.30pm at its subterranean Bligh Street home, with $14 cocktails like the Negroni, Espresso Martini, lychee Piglet or passionfruit Rooster, $9 beers and $12 wines. Snack on wok-fried chicken wings or fried prawn wontons, from $6.
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Monday to Saturday from 4–6 pm. Pair $6 Sydney Rock oysters with Champagne mignonette and a selection of small plates like whipped ricotta or wagyu tartare crostini. Enjoy spritzes for $10, negronis for $11 and wines from $9.
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The menu boasts a $16 Le Foote fish sandwich, $18 Le Foote ‘Flame Grilled’ Burger, $6 lager, $7 wine, $12 cocktails and is available daily from 4pm – 6pm.
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At Caterpillar club Happy Hour runs 4pm – 6pm every day and includes a $16 burger, $21 steak, $12 fried chicken, $5 hot dog, $6 wine, $12 cocktails.
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Morrison's Happy Hour runs weekdays from 4-6pm, pouring $10 Negronis and Aperol Spritz alongside $7.50 schooners, wines and spirits, plus a chef's selection of rotating complimentary snacks. Located in the heart of Sydney CBD, it's an easy after-work stop for drinks with the team.
Rockpool's RP Hour brings a taste of the CBD's most luxe steakhouse to the bar for less, Monday to Friday from 4-6pm. Pair $12 cocktails with a $15 bar snacks menu, $4 fries or the Sommelier's Selection of $15 wines by the glass. Walk-ins only.
Heritage Hour at The Treasury inside InterContinental Sydney is the perfect post-work escape, pouring $12 wines, $18 cocktails, $10 Asahi schooners and a $22 Altamura Spritz beneath the hotel's grand heritage architecture. Clock out and sip up, Monday to Friday, 4pm–6pm.
Head to Level 32 of InterContinental Sydney for Skyline Sessions, the city's most scenic rooftop golden hour, with live music and panoramic harbour views. Sip $20 signature cocktails, $15 sommelier-selected wines or $10 beers, alongside two Aster Wagyu Sliders for $18. Mondays and Tuesdays, 5pm–7pm.
Every Friday from 5-7pm, The Lord Nelson Brewery runs a Spritz Happy Hour: grab two spritzes for just $22, the perfect way to unwind and welcome the weekend at one of Sydney's oldest and most historic pubs, tucked away in The Rocks.
Woodcut's Hickory Bar has joined forces with Four Pillars Gin for a limited-time Barangaroo happy hour, running until 12 October. Sip a Yuzu Spritz or Native G&T waterside, paired with elevated bites like snapper ceviche and oxtail empanadas. Mondays 5.30-7pm, Tuesday to Friday 4-7pm.
