New Jersey
Raise a Glass: Discover these top 12 happy hour spots in NJ
🍸 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
Barrow House (Google Street View)
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 (Facebook)
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, Princeton (Google Street View)
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 (Facebook)
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 (Facebook)
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 (Facebook)
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 (Google Street View)
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 (Facebook)
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 (Facebook)
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 (Facebook)
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 (Facebook)
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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NJ’s dry towns: No stores to buy wine, beer or booze
Among NJ’s hundreds of communities — more than two dozen remain “dry” as of 2023.
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
It’s been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.
The organization has completely revamped its vibe since switching states, ditching the red, white and blue look for a very basic black and white colorway.
The Nets have also intermittently changed the colors of the banners hanging up in the Barclays Center from red, white and blue to black and white, much to the chagrin of traditional Nets fans.
Despite the Nets now playing in a bigger market and being far removed from their days in the Garden State, some fans seem to hope for the Nets to make their return across the river. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill was asked about the matter.
“I mean, would I support it? I ask about it all the time,” Sherrill said. “I love the idea. So, I have been pressing for that. I haven’t made a lot of headway yet; you know, maybe in my second 100 days.
“But I do think there is some work being done for some — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it — but some people are working on some different sports coming into the Rock.”
As time went on, the Nets eventually started to embrace more of their New Jersey roots, which started when they rocked a clean tie-dye jersey from the 90s during the 2020-21 season.
The next season, the Nets followed it up with uniforms commemorating their run in the 2000s, when the team got to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and endlessly broke the ESPN top 10 with each crazy Jason Kidd assist and Vince Carter dunk.
It’s fitting that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the latter of whom grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan, got to rock these uniforms, helping boost the popularity of the New Jersey brand to a wide array of fans.
True Nets fans embraced the Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center and the swamps of East Rutherford, getting to witness a winning basketball team for a fraction of the cost of the team mired in dysfunction that happened to play their home games at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Not many marquee free agents would have signed up to play in New Jersey, but real fans remember the good times in the swamps, especially with Sly the Fox as the team’s mascot. Those times deserve to be remembered properly.
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ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. (WPVI) — Drivers heading to the shore on Friday afternoon saw slow-moving traffic for several miles coming off the Walt Whitman bridge, but many travelers said the start of the holiday weekend was smoother than they anticipated.
Aldara Madden, who was traveling with her friend Elana Maser, said the trip moved faster than she expected.
“I was expecting it to take a lot longer,” she said.
Maser added that they left school early to avoid delays.
“My mom and I do that every year and then we always stop here as our little pre-down the shore,” she said.
Others shared similar experiences.
“I’m coming from Bucks County, so I was worried there was gonna be some traffic but it really wasn’t bad at all,” said Erin McFadden of Churchville, who was headed to Ocean City.
AAA reported that while slightly more people are traveling by car this year compared to last, 2026 is projected to have the lowest year-over-year travel growth rate in more than a decade, excluding the steep drop seen in 2020 during the pandemic.
The organization attributes the slowdown largely to concerns over rising prices.
“Gas is ridiculously expensive and I think all the time before going anywhere these days,” said Debbie Maser of Philadelphia. “But this is our happy place and nothing can keep us away.”
A dreary weekend forecast may also be influencing travel patterns.
“I was thinking that, I wonder if there’ll be less congestion on the roads because of the weather,” said Kyra Wolin of Massachusetts. “It’s not looking to be too good this weekend with the rain.”
Still, many shore-bound travelers said tradition outweighs any concerns about rain or crowds.
“No not at all. You go down. You get it done,” said George Miller of Lansdale.
Eric Wolin of Massachusetts agreed: “Never, never. Margate’s a special place for us.”
As the unofficial start of summer begins, travelers said they remain committed to kicking off the season in their favorite spots, not letting rain, traffic, or high prices keep them away.
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This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? Get in touch.
As summer begins, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is urging residents to limit lawn watering, and hand water flowers and shrubs as a drought warning continues. The warning, in place since December 2025, could turn into a drought emergency if conditions do not improve. The state has suffered eight consecutive months of below-normal rainfall, according to officials.
“New Jersey is experiencing a chronic water supply drought, the scale of which we haven’t seen in more than twenty years,” state geologist Steven Domber said in a statement issued earlier this month. “The indicators that we track closely are showing persistently dry conditions. With uncertainty for rainfall in the coming months, we need residents to conserve water today, to ensure we have enough to sustain our needs over the summer.”
The Department of Environmental Protection uses a variety of indicators to determine drought levels, including precipitation, stream flows, reservoir levels, ground water levels and demand.
In addition to the last two months, officials say, the state “experienced below normal precipitation for 20 of the last 24 months since September 2024,” despite heavy snowfall events this past winter that helped restore reservoirs in North Jersey.
“While we saw a little relief over the winter, New Jersey is feeling the effects of nearly two years of below-normal precipitation,” Sherrill said in a statement earlier this month. She urged residents to voluntarily conserve water.
New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson said that since precipitation has been below normal for most of the last 24 months, the recent winter weather did not provide enough water to help restore streams and groundwater.
Should a drought emergency be declared, mandatory water restrictions would be put in place. The last drought emergency lasted almost a year, between March 2002 and January 2003.
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