How it works
Not all happy hours are good deals.
HapHunt checks the menus and does the math so you don't have to.
Our verdict system
We rate happy hours based on average food savings compared to regular menu prices.
≥25% average food savings
Meaningful discounts. Worth planning around.
10–24% average food savings
Fine if you're already there.
<10% savings or no overlap
Skip this.
How we calculate savings
We compare happy hour food prices to the restaurant's regular menu prices — item by item.
Only items that appear on both menus are included in the calculation.
For each item, we calculate:
- Dollar savings
- Percent savings
We then average those savings across all comparable food items to determine the verdict.
No estimates. No vibes. Just math.
See it in action
Take Fogón Cocina Mexicana on Capitol Hill. Their happy hour menu lists items at $7 each. Here's how the math breaks down for the items that also appear on the regular menu:
| Item | Regular | HH Price | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sopitos | $18 | $7 | 61% |
| Tostadas de Tinga | $16 | $7 | 56% |
| Ceviche | $15 | $7 | 53% |
| Quesadillas Fritas | $12 | $7 | 42% |
| Flautas | $12 | $7 | 42% |
Average savings across these 5 matched items: 50.8%. Verdict: Real Deal.
Items like the Torta Pollo Asado ($7) don't appear on the regular menu, so they aren't included in the calculation — we can only rate what we can compare.
What we check
For every restaurant, we manually review:
- The regular food menu
- The happy hour menu (including PDFs and image menus)
- Happy hour days and times
- Item-by-item price overlap
- Explicit discount rules (like "$3 off all apps")
If something isn't clearly listed online, we don't guess.
We label it as not listed.
Why some happy hours are labeled "Fake"
Some happy hours sound generous — but don't actually save you much.
A happy hour may be labeled Fake if:
- The discounts are minimal
- There's little or no overlap with the regular menu
- Prices are the same or nearly the same
- The deal only applies to items that aren't normally ordered
That doesn't mean the place is bad.
It just means the happy hour isn't doing much for your wallet.
HapHunt calls that out so you can decide how to spend your time.
How We Collect Data
We use a combination of automated tools and human review to build our database. AI tools help us find and extract menu information from restaurant websites, but every verdict is reviewed by a person before it goes live.
Happy hour menus change frequently. We include source links on every restaurant page so you can verify current prices and hours directly with the restaurant.
HapHunt isn't here to list every happy hour.
It's here to tell you which ones are actually worth it.