Blue Rooster is Santa Fe's only acknowledged gay bar. Everyone is welcome and the crowd tends to be mixed. Ambiance is chic and upscale. BR offer two Happy Hour events each week: Thursday's Lady's Happy Hour attracting a mostly lesbian crowd and Friday's Gentleman's Happy Hour, a mostly gay event. Both run from 5 to7pm held offer special drink pricing. Draft beers are $3. They have Blue Moon and locally brewed Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale. There's also a dollar off both bottled beers and wines. The Happy Hours "seem to attract a very professional crowd interested in making new friends and having great conversation with like-minded individuals." Many who come for the early-evening drink specials and socializing stay through the night when the DJs take over and the place rocks. The secret is, if you stay through until the 9pm music starts, you'll avoid the cover charge.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: With the city's significant LGBT population and visitors, chic Blue Rooster with its diverse clientele and a welcome to all is a must-know-about spot.
Billie's expert tip: Head for Blue Rooster on your birthday and let them know it's your special day. You'll get their specialty Drunken Cookie Monster cocktail on the house. This rich concoction is includes cookies and cream ice cream.
Low 'n Slow Lowrider Bar at the Hotel Chimayó pays homage to the small Northern New Mexico town that it's named for and the lowrider culture. If you don't know what a "lowrider" is, Google it. The bar's décor reflects this car-centric cultural phenomenon. While the food and drink menus are eclectic, there's a distinctly New Mexican flair. L 'n S hosts two reduced-price events daily. "Hoppy" Hour from 1 to 3pm offers $4 draft beers, including Santa Fe Pale Ale, Newcastle Nut Brown and Monks Ale as well as $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap. Happy Hour held from 4 to 7pm features $5 well drinks and $6 Frito Pies. The bar mainly attracts both hotel guests and a young local clientele.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: Local beers on tap, specialty cocktails and a Happy Hour Frito Pie plus it's unique lowrider ambiance make this an interesting place for a drink.
Billie's expert tip: Check out the décor while in the hotel and bar. Many of the items are hand-crafted by artists and artisans from Chimayó, a town known for its traditional Spanish Colonial arts, especially its unique weaving style.
Love microbrews? Sample them at the source at Blue Corn Café & Brewery's Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 6pm. They offer $1.00 off beers and well drinks. While many take advantage of the in-house brewed beers and ales, they also have specialty cocktails and a wine list as well. You can sit in the bar with its widescreen TVs and catch a sporting event or, if you prefer, site in the large dining room which can accommodate you along with a host of friends. In warmer weather, there are two outdoor patios. Want something to munch on? Their full menu is available. Their downtown sister restaurant, Blue Corn Café on Water Street, offers the same Happy Hour specials.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: This bustling spot is popular with locals and tourists alike. Beer aficionados will love the beer samplers.
Billie's expert tip: Blue Corn Brewery's Executive Chef David Sundberg loves using fresh and locally produced ingredients. Ask your server what his seasonal specials are. Try the fire-roasted salsa or queso, both served with blue and yellow corn chips, the four-cheese Blue Corn Bacon Mac & Cheese or the beer-battered fish and chips.
Love sipping while ensconced on a comfortable sofa or chair in front of a fire? Head for The Living Room at Loretto where they offer intimate fireside seating as well as traditional bar stools and table seating. The Living Room, adjacent to the lobby, offers two daily reduced price events. "Happy Hour and a Half" is from 5 to 6:30pm and their late-night "Reverse Happy Hour" is from 9 to 10pm. You'll find $4 draft beers (all local) which include Monk's Ale, La Cumbre IPA, Bosque Lager and Bosque Scotia Scotch Ale, as well as house wines, house margaritas and well drinks priced at $5. There's also a selection of appetizers also priced at $5.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: The Living Room at Loretto is a chic, intimate spot to enjoy both early and late Happy Hour food and drink.
Billie's expert tip: Want to have a fun night out? Head to the Living Room at Loretto on Friday or Saturday nights when Santa Fe guitarist Mathew Andrae plays and sings world music from 8 to 11pm. This now-international recording artist has been playing at the Living Room for over a decade.
Does the word "Agave" bring tequila to mind? It's fitting that the hottest-selling cocktail at Agave Lounge at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa is the Picante Margarita, featuring house-infused Jalapeno Espolon Reposado, fresh lime and Cointreau. Or you can opt for either the specially priced La Casa Margarita or a well drink, all $5 during their Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 7pm. If cocktails aren't your thing, you'll find beer and wine specials as well. All draft brews, which include a selection of locally-produced ones, are $4. There are also four specially-priced wines on offer. Sit at the bar, one of the barroom tables or head for the back room with its intimate ambiance and sofa and easy chair seating. Relax as you sip your drink and nibble on $4 menu items or $1.50 oysters. The crowd is a mix of locals and tourists.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: Agave Lounge offers great ambiance and food and drink deals that make it a popular Happy Hour spot.
Billie's expert tip: While you wouldn't think of sushi in most bars, Agave has their own sushi master. Chef Taka, who hails from Japan and whom the hotel calls "a master of his craft," prepares these popular morsels in plain sight nightly using fresh fish flown in several times a week.
Want to take an international jaunt for Happy Hour? Head for Il Piatto Santa Fe's "Italian Farmhouse Kitchen" and you'll feel like you've arrived in Italy. The restaurant, specializing in Italian wines, boasts a custom glass and iron wine cave for storage, a standalone bar where you can enjoy wine and a light bite for happy hour or perhaps you'd prefer a wine barrel table in an intimate alcove. They host two daily Happy Hours, the first is from 4:30 to 6pm and the late-night one takes place from 9 to 10:30pm. During these times you will discover half-price wine specials from their extensive list. There are always between 15 and 20 selections by the glass each day. There's also a special HH menu with half-priced appetizer and pasta specials.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: Il Piatto's two daily Happy Hours offer great food and wine deals. It's a great resource for an affordable early or late-night dinner.
Billie's expert tip: If you're not sure what wine to order to pair it with your Happy Hour appetizers, ask your server. Il Piatto has two certified sommeliers and a well-trained staff. There's an "intense" wine class for them each week plus pre-shift tastings to keep them up to speed.
Taberna La Boca and its sister restaurant, La Boca, both offer Happy Hours and you can't miss at either. If you want to make your HH into an early dinner, head for Taberna where you can enjoy selected tapas and reduced price wines. Chef James Campbell Caruso's tempting small plates bring the foods of the Basque region of Spain and France to Santa Fe. Flying solo? Take a seat at the bar, with its tempting array of some of the evening's offerings, or at the community table. During Happy hour, from 5 to 6pm daily, selected tapas are as much as 50 percent off menu prices and you'll also find beer and wine deals. There are at least two red and two white wines running between $6 and $7 a glass as well as sherry specials. In addition, there are at least two draft beers offered for $3.
Recommended for Happy Hour because: The great tapas and wine specials paired with the quality of the food at Taberna La Boca make it a great Happy Hour choice.
Billie's expert tip: On Paella Tuesdays enjoy a prix fixe three-course dinner for $20. Begin with the house salad: mixed lettuce, grilled artichokes, fried avocado, olives, roasted tomatoes, cucumber queso fresco and pickled onions dressed with red wine vinaigrette, followed by either classic, vegetarian or seafood paella and then dessert.
Secreto Lounge, the popular bar at the St. Francis Hotel, is known for its accomplished mixologists. Their daily Happy Hour from 4 to 7pm offers $7 specialty cocktails, $5 draft beers and $1 off the over a dozen wines offered by the glass. Draft brews include the local Monk's Amber Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Heineken and Guinness. Hand-crafted cocktails are all made from scratch with fresh ingredients and an emphasis on organic spirits and produce. Customers can enjoy their drinks in the bar, take them into the spartan white lobby (said to be inspired by New World Spanish monasteries) or in warm weather, sit and sip under the hotel's front portal. It's a prime people-watching location. Hungry? Order from the bar menu provided by Tabla de los Santos, the independent restaurant located in the hotel
Recommended for Happy Hour because: Secreto Lounge is locally known for its expert mixologists and hand-crafted drinks made from scratch using organic ingredients whenever possible.
Billie's expert tip: Try the Smoked Sage Margarita, their number one seller. It's made with organic Añejo combined with fresh lime and Brazilian orange liqueur infused with sage smoke right before your eyes. The bartender may even smudge you if you ask nicely.