Capital Garage

Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS
$2.50 – Shock Top Bottles
$2.75 Wells
$3 Margaritas
$3.50 Long Islands/Beaches
$4 Jager Bombs or Irish Car Bombs
$1 off all draft beers and wine
Draught Beer – Newcastle, Deschutes Mirror Pond Ale- $3.75, Pyramid Haywire (Hef) - $3.50, River City Seasonal - $3.25, Unknown Amber Ale -should be $1.95 but is $2.95, Dogfish Head IPA - $5.50

FOOD

$3 – Potato Tower w/ mozzarella, tomato, basil
$4 - Mozzarella Sticks, Popcorn Chicken, Fried Shrimp, Crab and Cream Cheese Wontons


$5-$7 - Nachos (depending on addition of meat)

Location: 15th and K Street

Capital Garage Hours of Happiness: 4:00-7:00 PM (Monday-Sunday)

Late Night Happy Hour on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday



MY HAPPY HOUR EXPERIENCE:

I visited Capital Garage on a Friday after work around 5:00. The space (although rather small) is very open, as two walls are pretty much all open windows. There were about 25 people enjoying happy hour, which is by far the most crowded I had every seen it after work.
We ordered two Shock Tops as well as a Long Beach to start.
A Long Beach is pretty much a long island with the Coke swapped out with cranberry juice and sometimes a bit of Sprite. We also ordered the potato tower then went and sat outside. The potato tower took about 15 minutes to come out, and looked impressive. It tasted pretty good, but was slightly under seasoned.
When the waiter came outside to bring the tower to us, we asked if we could order another round of drinks. He said to go inside and order them at the bar. This seemed a little weird, but he seemed a little flustered with the number of people, so it was probably better that we got our own. Once inside, we ordered three Unknown Amber Ales from the tap. Now the non happy hour price of these is $2.95. On the happy hour menu, it clearly states "$1 off all draught beer and wine." You would think this would include the Unknown Amber which is a draught beer, making the final price $1.95....not the case! We even asked the bartender, "Isn't it supposed to be $1 off?" to which he replied, "Not for that beer." Now it's difficult for me to really complain about this because it was still only $3 and the beer was tasty, but I felt a little hosed.
I would be satisfied if the menu read: $1 off all draught beer EXCEPT FOR THE UNKNOWN AMBER ALE.


RECOMMENDATION:

Relaxed atmosphere, but the service can at times be a bit slow. If it's busy, you are better off ordering at the bar and taking your drinks back to your table. Capital Garage probably has the cheapest long islands you can find in the downtown/midtown area (I'll update if I find any cheaper). If you're looking for a strong drink after a rough day at work, this is definitely the spot for you.
One little quirk was that each drink was priced down to the quarter...example - a well drink is $2.75 but a margarita is $3.00. Could I order a well tequila w/ lime juice and sweet and sour to save a quarter? I wouldn't mind if all wells were $3 just from a simplicity standpoint.
Except for the slight false advertising ($1 off ALL draughts), I was overall quite happy with the experience. Great start to the weekend!

Level Up

Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS

Bottled Beer (no draft available) - $2 domestic and $3 for premium
Call drinks- $4.50
Wine- $5.50
Signature Cocktails- $6.50
Assorted Managers drink specials - $4

FOOD

$4 - Wonton Chips, Tai Ginger Garlic Fries

$5 - Vegetable tempura, Samosas


$6 - Lettuce Wraps, Chicken Satay, Tai Beef Jerky w/ sweet Rice, Coconut Chicken, Spring Rolls




Location: 2431 J St Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 442-7690

Level Up Hours of Happiness: 4:00-8:00 PM (Monday-Friday)


My Happy Hour experience:

Level Up is a somewhat hidden place located above Thai Basil (same owner). This is officially the longest happy hour I have seen so far in the midtown/downtown area. Since there was no beer on tap, I went with a “call” drink. I ordered a peach vodka (Stolichnaya) and club soda, and my friend got a rum (Bacardi) and coke. $9 for the two, which is a little more than the average $2-$3 wells, but Stoli and Bacardi are no doubt a few steps up from the crap well quality I’ve seen (Aristocrat, St. Elmo etc.). Definitely worth it! We ordered the somosas (shown above), beef jerky (below), and the coconut chicken (above), which were all on point. Someone ordered the chicken satay which looked identical in size to the satay served as starters downstairs (Thai Basil) for $7.50. It was good to see they didn’t skimp on the portions for the happy hour price.
The low ceilings along with the artwork and "bowl" seats gave a cozy loft feel to Level Up. There were two TV's, one of which was equipped with a Guitar Hero setup. It seemed like a decent place to watch sports, although when I was there the TV's were muted and music was playing. Seating at the bar itself is limited to about six people, however there is plenty of room throughout to sit.




Recommendation:

I think Level Up is one of the most underrated happy hour spots in downtown/midtown. There were only 4 people in the whole place…which very well could be attributed to it being a Thursday when I went. The food (from the kitchen of Thai Basil) was excellent and worthy of all of the accolades and awards they've received. The decor was hip w/ an indie vibe and the second story view of J street was refreshing. The bartender was very friendly, and was not at all pushy, which I greatly appreciate. No complaints!