🍸 Half-priced drinks and apps make for a good happy hour

🍸 Here is a list of 12 of the best happy hour spots in New Jersey

🍸 What’s your favorite watering hole in the state?

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?

Work is done for the day. It’s still light outside. It’s warm, breezy, and it’s summer. It’s the perfect season to grab a few friends or co-workers and hit up a good happy hour. But where can you go to sip on a few cocktails and munch on some apps at reasonable prices?

Here are 12 of the best happy hour spots in New Jersey broken down by region — North, Central, South, and the Jersey Shore.

North Jersey

The Barrow House

1296 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton

Happy Hour is only available in the bar area from Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Specials:

• $6 – giant pretzel, crispy cauliflower
• $8 – wings, mac n’ cheese
• $10 – crispy brussels sprouts, margherita pizza, short rib tacos, spinach and  artichoke dip
• $5 – select drafts
• $6 – house spirits
• $8 – select wines
• $10 – specialty cocktails
• $25 – select bottled wine

The Craftsman

1609 Maple Avenue, Fair Lawn

Happy Hour is available Tuesday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Specials:

• $6 – Craftsman draft beers
• $6 – red or white wine
• $9 – select cocktail specials
• $65 – Craftsman punch bowl
• $9 – pretzel, stuffed meatballs, chicken crackling and shishito peppers

Wicked Wolf Hoboken

120 Sinatra Dr, Hoboken

Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Specials:

• $4 – well-mixed drinks, all draft beers and select glasses of wine
• $5 – select appetizers

Central Jersey

Salt Creek Grille

1 Rockingham Row, Princeton

Happy Hour is only available in the bar and lounge Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Specials:

• Half-priced all wine by the glass
• Half-priced all draft beer
• $5 – edamame and seaweed salad
• $7 – sake salmon
• $8 – California roll
• $9 – salt and vinegar chips
• $10 – roasted garlic hummus, tomato bruschetta, eggplant parmesan rolls, spicy salmon roll and shrimp tempura roll
• $11 – Bavarian pretzel bites, sliders and fire cracker
• $13 – short rib mac n’ cheese

Killarney’s Publick House

1644 Whitehorse Mercerville Road, Hamilton

If Irish fare with a flair is your thing, then check out this Happy Hour on Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Specials:

•  $3 – Miller Lite
•  $4 – Nutrl Orange
•  $5 – Guinness combos
•  $6 – Surfsides, Tito’s drinks and Hornitos drinks
•  $12 – espresso martini
•  $7 – edamame
•  $8 – chicken sweet chili potstickers, hummus duo, mac and jacks
•  $9 – bang bang shrimp
•  $10 – wings
•  $11 – mussels
•  $15 – pound pick and peel shrimp

Elixir Bar and Grill

2222 Woodbridge Ave, Edison

There are so many snacks and drinks to enjoy during the Elixir Bar and Grill’s Happy Hour. Drink specials are available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily and during all NFL games. Appetizer specials are also available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

The Drink Specials:

• $1 off pints, beer bottles, and malternatives
• $5 – Fireball, Screwball, Red Stag or Caza Cafe shot
• $6 – Jack, Crown, Jameson or DonJ shot. Tito’s, Jack, Jameson, Don Julio, or Bacardi mixed drink.
• $6 – sangria or wine by the glass
• $7 – bomb shot
• $9 – on the rock’s elixirita’s, rumrita’s, mojito’s or mules
• $10 – house martini, Long Island Ice Teas and specialty cocktails

The Food Specials

• $4 – chips and salsa
• $6 – two soft tacos
• $7 – half-order of nachos
• $8 – buffalo cauliflower, tostadas, and small bites
• $9 – queso and chips
• $10 – Mexican street corn dip, half-dozen boneless wings and fries, traditional quesadilla and Mexican pizza
• $11 – half-dozen wings and fries, two sliders and fries, and grande burrito with chips and salsa
• $12 – guacamole and chips
• $13 – five soft tacos

The Jersey Shore

Mister C’s Beach Bistro

Allen Avenue & Ocean Place, Allenhurst

Happy Hour at Mister C’s takes place daily from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and all day on Sundays

The Specials:

• $4 – Budweiser, Bud Lite, Coors Lite, Miller Lite and Yuengling
• $6 – Corona Extra, Corona Light, Heineken, Heineken Light, Stella Artois, Blue Moon, Yuengling Black & Tan and O’Douls
• $6 – house drinks, martinis and wine
• $8 – Tito’s drink special
• $10 – Tito’s martini
• $6 – South West chicken egg roll, short rib empanada and zucchini sticks
• $8 – vegetable spring rolls
• $9 – blackened tuna bites, wings, blistered shishito peppers and hummus
• $9.50 – sweet sausage, peppers, and onions
• $10 – everything Pretzel
• $11 – tempura shrimp
• $14 – PEI mussels
• $18 – Mister C’s margherita pizza
• $24 – charcuterie and ahi tuna nachos

Tuckers Tavern

101 Southwest Ave, Beach Haven, NJ

If you’re hanging out on Long Beach Island this summer, then check out the Happy Hour at Tucker’s which is Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Specials:

• $6 – Manafirkin, Coors Light, Blue Moon, Yuengling, and Stella
• $7 – house wine
• $8 – well drinks and specialty cocktails
• $1 – Buck a Shuck oysters
• $7 – soup of the day
• $8 – onion rings
• $11 – super frico caesar
• $12 – French onion flatbread
• $13 – lacquered chicken wings
• $14 – crispy fish sandwich

One Willow

1 Willow Street, Highlands

This seafood and raw bar restaurant located on the waterfront in Highlands is perfect for a happy hour get-together. Happy Hour at One Willow runs Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Specials:

• $3 – Miller Lite bottle and Narragansett Can
• $6 – draft beer, well spirits, and select wine
• $7 – cocktails
• $6 – potato chips and dip
• $9 – mussels, crispy eggplant, kani salad, wings, tuna taco and vegetable spring roll

South Jersey

Cinder Bar

410 Berlin Cross Keys Road, Williamstown (Gloucester County)

119 Berkley Road, Clarksboro (Gloucester County)

The Cinder Bar has two locations in Gloucester County. Happy Hour at both spots is Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Specials:

• $3 – Coors Light drafts, Miller Lite drafts, and Modelo drafts
• $4 – Blue Moon drafts
• $5 – house wines and canned cocktails
• $6 – select margaritas and martinis

  Half-Off Select Appetizers:

• Cheesesteak egg rolls
• Ukrainian perogies
• Short rib poutine
• Pane and ricotta
• Jalapeno bombs
• Half-priced margherita pizzas

814 South Pub

814 S White Horse Pike, Somerdale

Happy Hour is Tuesday through Saturday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Specials:

• $4 – well drinks and wine
• $5 – Tito drinks and Orange Crush drinks
• $15 – Mic Ultra bucket and Miller Lite bucket
• $17.50 – Corona bucket
• $5 – burger and fries, meatball appetizer, almost pizza bread, mac n’ cheese wedges, fried pickles and onion rings

Keg & Kitchen

90 Haddon Ave, Haddon Township

Named “Best Bar Scene 2019” by NJ Monthly, the Keg & Kitchen offers Happy Hour specials on Tuesday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Specials:

$5 Everything

• Old fashioned
• Espolon margarita
• Guinness stout 16 oz
• IPA of the week
• Red blend
• Colombard-Sauvignon
• Everything spice pretzel bites
• Empanada
• Hummus
• Loaded chips
• Chef’s flatbread
• Chicken quesadilla
• Kimchi hot dog
• Arancini
• Tacos
• Cheeseburger

Of course, there are so many other happy hour places across the Garden State, so where ever you choose to go, “Cheers.”

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What about property taxes?

New Jersey has among the nation’s highest property taxes, levied by local governments to finance services and schools. The state dedicates some income tax revenue to fund local governments, which helps keep property tax rates from growing even higher. This budget calls for increasing state K-12 funding to fully implement an aid formula ratified by the state Supreme Court, raising such aid to more than $11 billion, up nearly $1 billion from the current fiscal year. The budget also has about $2.5 billion for direct property tax relief, continuing programs introduced in 2022 and 2023 to help residents, renters and seniors. The average property tax amount in 2022, which is the most recently available information, is about $9,500, according to the state.

What else is in the budget?

Quite a bit, given it funds all aspects of state government, from the executive departments to public colleges and universities, to the Legislature itself, which this year passed a 67% pay raise for lawmakers, their first since 2002, which goes into effect in 2026. Overall, spending is up just over 4% compared with the current fiscal year budget.

It includes a number of expenditures — sometimes referred to as Christmas tree line items because they’re viewed as gifts for specific constituencies. They include funding for ending homelessness, helping people re-enter society from prison, fire departments, arts programs and one city’s effort to teach life skills through tennis.

Republican lawmakers said they barely had time to review the budget and lamented that they weren’t sure what all was in it. Even Democratic Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo said the document is too vast to read line by line, but he supports it overall.

“I could not take a test and be quizzed on every line item because it would take hours and hours and days and months,” Sarlo said. “I try to look at it in totality and that’s where I think we’re at.”

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey lawmakers are poised to send a $56.6 billion fiscal year 2025 budget to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy this week, hiking taxes on high-earning businesses and funding for many state services and programs.

The annual spending plan is expected to get enough votes in the Democrat-led Legislature on Friday to reach Murphy’s desk. The state constitution requires a balanced budget to be enacted by July 1.

Here’s a closer look at what’s in the budget, which would spend 4.2% more than the plan Murphy signed last year.

ARE THERE ANY NEW TAXES?

Yes. The budget calls for increasing the state’s corporation business tax on companies that make more than $10 million a year. The current 9% rate would climb to 11.5%. Business groups say that would give New Jersey the nation’s highest tax rate and punish the state’s best corporate citizens.

WHY ARE TAXES GOING UP?

The higher rate was first proposed by Murphy as part of his budget proposal early this year to help New Jersey Transit. He’s billing the levy as a corporate transit fee to help the beleaguered agency, which has regularly had to use capital funds to help finance projects.

Critics note that the revenue won’t go to transit until next year. The current budget keeps it in the general fund, so when the money goes to transit next year, whatever is being paid for now out of the general would need to be replenished or cut, those critics say.

ARE THERE OTHER TAX CHANGES?

Yes. The budget calls for ending a sales tax holiday on school supplies that had gone into effect around the start of the academic year. That cut was first introduced in 2022 when the Democrats who control state government aimed to show voters they were making the state more affordable. Lawmakers didn’t explain this cut when they unveiled the budget Wednesday, but the additional revenue could help balance the budget.

WHAT ABOUT PROPERTY TAXES?

New Jersey has among the nation’s highest property taxes, levied by local governments to finance services and schools. The state dedicates some income tax revenue to fund local governments, which helps keep property tax rates from growing even higher. This budget calls for increasing state K-12 funding to fully implement an aid formula ratified by the state Supreme Court, raising such aid to more than $11 billion, up nearly $1 billion from the current fiscal year. The budget also has about $2.5 billion for direct property tax relief, continuing programs introduced in 2022 and 2023 to help residents, renters and seniors. The average property tax amount in 2022, which is the most recently available information, is about $9,500, according to the state.

WHAT ELSE IS IN THE BUDGET?

Quite a bit, given it funds all aspects of state government, from the executive departments to public colleges and universities, to the Legislature itself, which this year passed a 67% pay raise for lawmakers, their first since 2002, which goes into effect in 2026. Overall, spending is up just over 4% compared with the current fiscal year budget.

It includes a number of expenditures — sometimes referred to as Christmas tree line items because they’re viewed as gifts for specific constituencies. They include funding for ending homelessness, helping people re-enter society from prison, fire departments, arts programs and one city’s effort to teach life skills through tennis.

Republican lawmakers said they barely had time to review the budget and lamented that they weren’t sure what all was in it. Even Democratic Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo said the document is too vast to read line by line, but he supports it overall.

“I could not take a test and be quizzed on every line item because it would take hours and hours and days and months,” Sarlo said. “I try to look at it in totality and that’s where I think we’re at.”