Used to be, Happy Hour was, oh, 3 to 5, the idea being to let your neighborhood alcoholics start early so they wouldn't interfere with your after-work crowd. That got to be 4 to 6, precisely to attract the after-work crowd, then 5 to 7, which is now pretty much Seattle's standard. About half the places with early-evening drinks specials have added late-night happy hours as well, 10 to midnight, 10 to closing, that sort of thing. One would think we're a nation of drunks, using those in between hours to sleep it off.
Nope, no longer. Now See Sound Lounge (115 Blanchard; SSL to its friends) is weighing in with a mid-evening Happy Hour, 8 to 10 PM. Recognizing that most of its patrons have already had a bite and a drink by the time they arrive for the late-night music scene, SSL's Kristi Anderson decided to entice them in a bit earlier than usual. Rotating lineup of beers and cocktails for $3. Not just drinks, either: everything on the menu is $5, including SSL's signature crab cakes with lemon aioli. And the movie (last night it was Stanley Kubrick's classic "A Clockwork Orange") thrown in, with the house DJ's techno soundtrack.
So now, with Happy Hour at Umi Sake House running until 8, the whole evening's covered. What a town!
Footnote: have just spent a week in California, where Happy Hours are few and far between. Guess they're happy enough already.
Ronald, I thought this issue of Cornichon would result in a compendium of "happy hours" but alas only your list so far. Here's one from W.Seattle:Ovio, 4:30 to 6:30; wine 3-4.50/glass; lots of hot appetizers 3.50 as I remember it. Busy and good. I hope others chime in. Dr.Joe
West Seattle's a hotbed of happy hours. (Along with Ballard, Fremont, LQA, Belltown, Cap Hill, etc.) There's actually a site that purports to catalog them all, spreadsheet-style. www.sevennites.com.