Happy hour Fitzroy: drink and food specials by day

Happy hour in Fitzroy, by day

We list a special only when the venue's own website shows it, with the date we read it. Specials change with the season and the menu, so check with the venue before you go. If a venue in our patch runs a happy hour that is not here, it is because we could not find it on the venue's own site.

The venues, one by one

The Rochey, Johnston Street

The Rochey (the Rochester Hotel) has the fullest weekly program we found in Fitzroy: a happy hour every day from 4pm to 7pm, and a food special on every day of the week. Its happy hour starts earliest, which suits an after-work drink, and on Mondays its $15 cocktails run all night. The pub has a beer garden and a free comedy night on the second Monday of each month. The Rochey says walk-ins are welcome but suggests booking for steak night, the Sunday roast and trivia.

The Provincial Hotel, Brunswick Street

The Provincial, on the corner of Brunswick and Johnston streets, is a big pub with a rooftop bar. Its happy hour runs from 5pm to 7pm with select pints, cocktails and frozen slushies, and it lists a midweek lunch special, Monday trivia and drag bingo alongside Wednesday's steak night. The rooftop is the draw on a warm evening; get there early in summer.

Bar Open, Brunswick Street

Bar Open is a live music bar first, with free front-bar sets most evenings. Its happy hour, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm every day, is the cheapest pint we found: $5 pots and $10 pints of Coopers draught, timed to run alongside the early free shows. See our gig guide for what is on.

Pots, schooners and pints in Victoria

Beer glass names change from state to state, which matters when a special quotes a price per glass. In Victoria:

A $10 pint is the better deal per millilitre than a $5 pot, if you want the volume. A jug usually holds a little over a litre, so it is around four pots.

Planning a happy hour crawl

The three happy hours above sit within about ten minutes' walk of each other around the Brunswick Street and Johnston Street corner, and their times run one after the other: the Rochey from 4pm, the Provincial from 5pm, Bar Open from 6.30pm. A sensible evening is an early drink at the Rochey, a move to the Provincial's rooftop, then Bar Open for the free music. Eat along the way: the Rochey's daily food specials and Brunswick Street's cheap eats make it easy.

Getting the most from happy hour

• Arrive at the start. Happy hours end on the minute, and the bar gets busy in the last half hour.
• Check what is included. "Select pints" usually means one or two beers on tap, not every beer.
• Share a jug if there are four of you; at the Rochey's $25 Wednesday jugs it works out cheaper than pots.
• Eat. The food specials run on their own days, so pair a Tuesday parma or a Thursday steak with an early drink.
• Book for food nights. Steak nights, parma nights and the Sunday roast fill up; drinks-only happy hours rarely need a booking.

Not drinking?

Every pub in Fitzroy now carries zero-alcohol beer and mocktails, and many have soft drinks on tap. Happy hour prices do not usually apply to them, but the food specials do, so a Tuesday parma or a Friday workers lunch is a good deal whether you drink or not.

How we check these specials

We read each venue's own website, note the exact days, times and prices, and record the date we checked. We do not copy specials from aggregator sites, because they go out of date quickly and are often wrong about times. When a venue changes a special, we update the table and the date. If you run a venue in Fitzroy or Fitzroy North and your happy hour is on your own website, it belongs here: we will add it when we next check.

Trivia, comedy and happy hour

Several of the pubs above pair a cheap drink with a night out. The Rochey runs trivia on Wednesdays and free comedy on the second Monday of the month, and the Provincial runs trivia on Mondays. Our trivia night guide lists the rest.

Weekend afternoons

Happy hours are mostly an after-work thing, but Fitzroy's weekend afternoons have their own deals. The Rochey's $1 wings and $10 sharing nachos run from midday to 5pm on Saturdays, and its Sunday roast is one of the better-value long lunches in the suburb. Pair either with a sunny table in a beer garden: our beer garden guide lists the best ones in Fitzroy and Fitzroy North. On a warm weekend the rooftops and beer gardens fill by early afternoon, so get there before 2pm if you want a table.

Specials we are watching

Pub specials in Fitzroy change with the seasons: summer happy hours move to rooftops and beer gardens, and winter brings roasts, parmas and footy-night deals. The Provincial already labels its happy hour a summer special, so its times may change in winter. We recheck every venue in this guide regularly and change the date in the table when we do.

Getting home

Brunswick Street is on tram route 11, and Smith Street is on route 86; both run to the city. Johnston Street has buses. Check the Public Transport Victoria journey planner for late services, especially on weeknights, or book a taxi or rideshare before last drinks. Never drive after drinking.

Drinking responsibly

Happy hour prices make it easy to drink more than you planned. Every venue in Victoria must serve alcohol responsibly, and staff will refuse service to anyone who is intoxicated. Pace yourself with water, eat, and plan how you are getting home before you start.

Happy hour in Fitzroy North

Our patch also includes the corner pubs north of Alexandra Parade, from the Lord Newry to the Terminus. We have not found happy hours on their own websites yet; see the Fitzroy North pubs guide for what each pub is like, and the beer garden guide for a sunny afternoon.

Common questions