Trivia happy hour NYC: bars where the deal meets the first round
For a trivia happy hour NYC night, pick a bar where the deal is still on when the quiz starts, or one where it ends just before. The Rabbit Hole in Astoria keeps its weekday happy hour going into Tuesday trivia. At Josie Woods Pub on Waverly Place, Keg & Lantern in Greenpoint, Phoenix Bar in the East Village and Faces & Names near Times Square, the deal ends at or before the first question, so come early.
Trivia night and happy hour are a natural pair. Both live on weeknights, and both reward the people who show up early. The catch is timing: most quizzes start in the evening, right around when most deals end. So the real question is whether the happy hour is still on when the first round begins, or ends close enough that you can get a round in before the cutoff.
We matched the 259 trivia nights on our list against the happy hour windows of the bars we cover. 51 of those nights are at bars with a happy hour page on this site, and 50 of them line up. At three, the deal is still running when the game starts. At the other 47, it ends within two hours before the game, which means a drink at the deal, then pens out. Our eight picks cover Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and five different nights of the week.
Trivia listings come from the companies and directories that publish them, read on October 16, 2026. Schedules change, so confirm with the bar before you go.
Our picks
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1. The Rabbit Hole Astoria
Shots $4 · House Beers $5
Mon–Fri 5pm–8pm · 38-04 Broadway · Steinway Street (M, R)A bar on Broadway in Astoria, two minutes from Steinway Street on the M and R. Tuesday trivia here is listed by NYC Trivia List, BadSlava and TriviaNearMe, which calls it free trivia, and the weekday happy hour is still running when the game starts. It covers shots, house beers and wines, house mixers, mocktails, frozen drinks and discounted apps, plus a free hot dog when you buy a beer or wine.
Deal checked Oct 15, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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The street outside Josie Woods Pub. Photo: Spencer Means from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 2. Josie Woods Pub Union Square
Bud Light Pints $5 · Rotating Draft $6
Mon–Fri 3pm–7pm · 11 Waverly Pl · 8th Street–New York University (R, W)A pub at 11 Waverly Place, two minutes from 8th Street–NYU on the R and W. TriviaNYC runs a Wednesday game here, also listed by NYC Trivia List. Happy hour runs Monday to Friday from mid-afternoon and ends as the game begins, with draft beers, well drinks, a flavored martini, wine and buffalo wings on the list. Get there early and order before the first question.
Deal checked Oct 17, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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The street outside Keg & Lantern. Photo: Kai Brinker from Brooklyn, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 3. Keg & Lantern Greenpoint
$6 happy hour any draft
Mon–Fri 5pm–7pm · 97 Nassau Avenue · Nassau Avenue (G)A brewery pub on Nassau Avenue, one minute from the G at Nassau Avenue. NYC Trivia League runs weekly Tuesday trivia here, and Brooklyn Trivia Finder and TriviaNearMe list it too, the latter as free to play. The weekday happy hour covers any draft beer and ends right as the game begins. Get there early, order a round, and claim a table before the room fills with teams.
Deal checked Oct 15, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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The street outside Gowanus Gardens. Photo: Jim.henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons 4. Gowanus Gardens Gowanus
$2 off house and n/a cocktail menu
Mon–Fri 3pm–7pm · 256 4th Ave · Union Street (R)A pub on Fourth Avenue, one minute from Union Street on the R. NYC Trivia League hosts trivia here every Monday. The weekday happy hour wraps up shortly before the game, with money off the house cocktail menu and the non-alcoholic cocktails, plus a smaller discount on every tap, bottle and can. Come straight from work, order before the cutoff, then settle in for the questions.
Deal checked Oct 17, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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5. Oliver's Astoria Astoria
Signature Cocktails $10 · Add house shot $3
Mon–Fri 4pm–7pm · Daily 10pm to close · 37-19 Broadway at 38th Street · Steinway Street (M, R)A bar on Broadway at 38th Street, three minutes from Steinway Street on the M and R and a minute's walk from The Rabbit Hole. NYC Trivia League runs a weekly Monday game. The weekday happy hour ends about an hour before it, with signature cocktails like a smoked old fashioned and a spicy ginger margarita, select apps and jumbo wings. The bar's page also mentions a late happy hour every night, and it takes reservations through Resy.
Deal checked Oct 17, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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The street outside Third Avenue Ale House. Photo: Deans Charbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 6. Third Avenue Ale House Upper East Side
$5 drinks (late nite)
Mon–Fri 4pm–7pm · Sat, Sun 12pm–4pm · Daily 9pm to close · 1644 3rd Avenue · 96th Street (Q)A pub at 1644 Third Avenue, four minutes from 96th Street on the Q. NYC Trivia League runs weekly Wednesday trivia here, also listed by NYC Trivia List and BadSlava. The weekday happy hour includes food deals and ends about half an hour before the first round, so it suits a team that wants to eat first. It is our Upper East Side pick.
Deal checked Oct 17, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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The street outside Phoenix Bar. Photo: Kidfly182, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 7. Phoenix Bar East Village
Wells $5 · Red or white wine $6
Daily 3pm–7pm · Mon all day · 447 East 13th Street · 1st Avenue (L)A bar on East 13th Street, a minute from 1st Avenue on the L. NYC Trivia League runs a weekly Thursday game here, also listed by NYC Trivia List. Happy hour runs every day from mid-afternoon and ends about an hour before trivia, with Bud and Bud Light, well drinks and red or white wine. Come early for the deal and stay for the questions.
Deal checked Oct 17, 2026 on the bar's own site.
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The street outside Faces & Names. Photo: Maarten Heerlien from Voorschoten, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 8. Faces & Names Times Square
Bottled Beers (Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Lite, Miller Lite, Tecate) $5 · House Wine (red or white) $6
Daily 3pm–7pm · 159 W 54th St · 7th Avenue (B, D, E)A bar on West 54th Street, one minute from 7th Avenue on the B, D and E. NYC Trivia League runs a weekly Sunday game here, one of only 13 Sunday trivia nights on our list. Happy hour runs every day and ends as the game begins, with bottled domestic beers, red or white house wine, well drinks, a daily drink special and beer buckets. A good way to close out a weekend in Midtown.
Deal checked Oct 17, 2026 on the bar's own site.
How to plan a trivia night around happy hour
Start with the night, then pick the bar. Our trivia listings are sorted by day, and each day page shows the game's start time from the company that lists it. Then check the happy hour window on the bar's card for that same day. If the deal is still on at game time, as at The Rabbit Hole and Houston Hall, you can arrive whenever you like. If it ends before, plan to get there while it is still running.
The early arrival does double duty. Trivia rooms fill up with regular teams, and the table you claim during happy hour is the one you will play at. Order your first round and any food before the cutoff, then switch to regular prices once the game starts. Our happy hour now page shows which deals are running at the moment you open it.
Watch the cadence. Most picks here are weekly, per NYC Trivia League, but some games on our list run every other week or once a month. The trivia pages say which is which.
Which nights have the most trivia
Tuesday is the big night. Of the 259 trivia nights on our list, 91 fall on a Tuesday, 71 on a Wednesday, 42 on a Monday and 36 on a Thursday. The weekend is thin: 13 on Sunday, five on Friday and a single Saturday game. If you want the most choice, Tuesday trivia and Wednesday trivia are where to look, while Monday and Thursday still give you plenty.
By borough, Manhattan has 121 trivia nights on our list, Brooklyn 102 and Queens 33, with two in the Bronx and one on Staten Island. NYC Trivia League runs 145 of the 259, which is why its name comes up so often in our picks. Browse by borough on the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens pages.
Team tips for bar trivia
NYC Trivia League says its games cost nothing to play and that six players is the sweet spot for a team. If you have more than six, it suggests splitting into two teams and playing against each other. A night has six rounds of eight to ten questions, and most nights include a music round and a picture round. The house rules are short: no phones, do not shout out answers, and the host has the final say. League teams can play at more than one of its bars in a week, and the highest weekly score counts toward the season standings.
Other hosts set their own rules, so ask before the first round. A few habits help anywhere: bring people who know different things, agree on one writer for the answer sheet, and tip well, since your team holds a table all night.
Music bingo as an alternative
If trivia is not your thing, or your friends would rather sing along than argue over capitals, try music bingo. There are 25 music bingo nights on our list, all run by NYC Trivia League, with Wednesday the busiest night at eight. The same timing trick applies: catch the happy hour, then play. Several bars on our list host both, on different nights. See the full schedule on our music bingo page, and for pool, darts, shuffleboard and arcade games, our guide to bars with games.
Questions
What night has the most bar trivia in NYC?
Tuesday, by a wide margin. On our list, 91 of the 259 trivia nights are on Tuesday, followed by Wednesday with 71, Monday with 42 and Thursday with 36.
Do happy hours last through trivia?
Rarely. Of the 50 trivia nights on our list that line up with a happy hour, only three have the deal still running when the game starts, all on Tuesday: The Rabbit Hole, Houston Hall and The Factory 380. At the rest, the happy hour ends before the game, so arrive early.
Is bar trivia free to play in NYC?
At NYC Trivia League games, yes: the company says it costs nothing to play and its league is free to join. Other hosts set their own terms, so check the listing or ask at the bar.
How many people can be on a trivia team?
NYC Trivia League calls six players the sweet spot and suggests splitting larger groups into two teams. Other hosts may have different limits, so ask the host before the first round.
Can I use my phone during bar trivia?
Not at NYC Trivia League games. Its rules ban phones and apps for looking up answers, and teams caught cheating are disqualified.
Is there trivia on Sundays in NYC?
Yes, though fewer games. There are 13 Sunday trivia nights on our list, including NYC Trivia League's weekly game at Faces & Names near Times Square. Sunday trivia has its own page on the site.
How we put this together
We took the 259 trivia nights in our listings, read on October 16, 2026 from NYC Trivia League, NYC Trivia List, BadSlava, TriviaNearMe, Brooklyn Trivia Finder and TriviaNYC, and matched every night held at a bar on our list against that bar's happy hour windows for the same day. A night counts when the window covers the game's start or ends within two hours before it; windows without a published start or end were left out. Happy hour hours and deals come from each bar's own website, checked between September 2 and October 16, 2026. Game rules come from NYC Trivia League's how-it-works page. We chose picks across three boroughs and five nights.
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will check it.