Cheap San Francisco Restaurants

Forget all those been-there-done-that beer and wine happy hours and check out this popular Izakaya happy hour spot. From 5:30pm to 7pm, appetizers are half price. Better yet, purchase a bottle of whiskey from the Nihon Whiskey Lounge's selection and the establishment will store it for free. Consider this your introduction to the traditional Japanese-style bottlekeep.

Happy hour goodness arrives every day from 4:30 pm to 6:30pm at this lounge on Taylor. Ponzu offers kobe sliders for $3, vegetable chips, crispy calamari, and chili chicken wings. Lurking behind the bar are draft beers for $3 alongside specialty cocktails, and wines by the glass. Oh yes, well drinks go for $5.

Yes, you've probably heard, eating blowfish has its downsides. But Blowfish Sushi To Die For offers a lot of cheap consolation, including $2 hand rolls and appetizers for just a few dollars more. Well drinks, sake cocktails, and bottled beer will set you back $3, and $6 will cover the cost of a glass of wine or a specialty cocktail. These prices are good Monday through Friday from 5-7pm.

Ten is the magic number at Yoshi's, where Friday and Saturday nights brings you "10 for 10." And what, you are wondering, is that? Well, starting at 10pm until close, you can order 10 pieces of sushi, prepared by Executive Chef Shotaro 'Sho' Kamio, for just $10.

Tsunami Sushi is a popular Mission Bay restaurant that serves up a raft of enticing happy hour specials. Along with half-priced bottles of sake or $5 soju cocktails, you ought to try a $4 temaki hand roll. These deals are good Monday through Friday from 5pm-7pm.

Next time you find yourself in the Marina district at that odd time of day before the evening's festivities take off, check out Umami's Sumo Hour.From 5:30pm to 7pm on Tuesdays through Sundays, you can wrestle down half-priced appetizers and bottles of wine. Don't overlook the edamame hummus for just $4 or chicken-shiitake potstickers for $5.

The cheap good eats are almost too numerous to enumerate at Naked Fish. Everyday between 4:30pm and 6:30pm, you can choose from among 20-plus varieties of nigiri at $1.50 a piece, seven hand rolls for $2 a pop, 14 six-piece maki rolls going for $3 each, and well, we're running out of space. You can also grab $3 beers and carafes of hot sake. Needless to say, happy hour is pretty overwhelming at this sushi spot.

Namu offers a welcome break from the usual happy hour hours. The party here starts at 9:30 pm on Mondays and lasts for just an hour, but order some sake, wine, or beer and the chefs will treat you to some free Pan-Asian appetizers. If you haven't yet, now's the time to try treats like tomato, white bean, and chicken spreads, or chicken skin and giblet skewers, and so much more.

Potrero Hill residents have something special to crow about. Circolo is a restaurant and lounge with its very own Neighborhood Appreciation Happy Hour every Wednesday. From 5:30pm to 6:30pm, Chef Garret Martindale offers free appetizers ranging from curry chicken satay to crispy chicken lollipops to orange-glazed ribs. To help wash everything down, you can order $2 beers, $3 well drinks, and $5 wines-by-the-glass.

Small plates and sushi rolls going for $2-$4 during the week between the hours of 5:30pn and 7pm make Ace Wasabi's Rock'n'Roll Sushi a popular spot. If that's not enough to fill you, spring for the $7 Tokyo trio, which consists of one draft beer, one hand roll, and one shot of Nagori sake.

You can't go wrong at this Castro Street spot. Fuzio offers appetizers (think crab cakes, calamari, spring rolls, pulled-chicken lettuce wraps, and pork sliders with Asian slaw and habanero mayo) and drafts of all kinds for for $3 each. Other Monday-Friday 3pm to 7pm specials include $5 well drinks and wine.

We don't have much contact with Myanmar these days, but if you're looking for a close-at-hand encounter, check out Burma Superstar. This popular spot has been featured on the Food Network for its offerings of Burmese, Thai, and other Asian cuisines. The famous tea leaf salad costs only $8.25 and is made with imported tea leaves from Burma (aka Myanmar).

This hip steakhouse deep in the heart of the financial district features a 5@5 happy hour. The terms of the deal are quite transparent: $5 wines, cocktails, beers, and appetizers (for example, a french dip w/au jus on Thursdays and Fridays), and 50% off select bottles of wine on Mondays.

Here's a lunch deal you can walk off with -- a mess of gourmet sandwiches, salads, and specialty items for less than $10 each, courtesy of American Box Lunch Takeaway. This cheap San Francisco restaurant offers 6 to 10 choices a day between the hours of 10:30am and 1:30pm.

Bean Bag Cafe, in the midst of the artsy Haight/Ashbury part of town features incredibly cheap (as in, less than $2) microbrewery pints during happy hour. If beer's not your thing, no need to despair. The cafe also sells $2.50 glasses of wine, $3.50 glasses of sangria, and $11 pitchers of sangria throughout the late afternoon and most of the evening (specifically, till 10pm).

Location, location, location. It's all about the view at this sea-cliff spot. But the drink deals count, too. From Sunday through Thursday, 6pm-9pm, you can score $3 Moonlight Martinis featuring Skyy Vodka and Tanqueray Gin. On Tuesdays, a wine lover's promotion features half-priced bottles all day long.

The Ferry Building is known for delicious but high-price food options. Breakfast spot Il Cane Rosso bucks the trend with a three-course dinner deal offered nightly for $25 a person, or half price for children 10 and under.

Luna Park is a well-known cheap San Francisco restaurant that does has not forgotten those veggie lovers. From Monday through Thursday, there's a Blue Plate Special that offers a choice of two entrees, including one vegetarian. Prices are a moderate $10 to $12, which leaves you some dough for a mojito at the bar while waiting for a table.

If you're looking for an affordable lunch downtown, Urban Tavern may be just the place for you. Located at the Hilton Union Square, this spot features a daily $7 lunch special between 11:30am and 2:30pm. For folks who drive to lunch, the real deal here may be the five hours of free validated parking.

It sounds almost too good to be true. Two-for-one on everything at this well-known tavern in the Civic Center/Tenderloin area, and that means food and drink. From 4pm to 6pm every day, you can double up on top shelf pours like Hennessy, Veuve Clicquot, and Johnnie Walker Green.

The Cellar is another downtown bar with happy hour deals and a twist. That is, the deals change with the day of the week. On Monday you get $3 beers, well drinks, and pizza; Tuesday brings $1 tacos and $3 Coronas and tequila shots; Wednesday is good for $1 wells, $3 beers, and miniature corn dogs; Thursday comes with $4 sliders and $6 PBR buckets; and Friday smokes with $4 chili cheese nachos and $6 Jack Daniel's shots. Pick your day and have some fun.

Nibble or dine at McCormick & Schmicks at Fisherman's Wharf. Weekday afternoons, from 3-6pm, you can choose among small plates like fried-chicken-and-biscuit sliders with jalapeno-honey mayo for $1.95 or pork wontons, chicken wings, or stuffed jalapeno poppers for $3.95. Bigger appetites might be satisfied with a half-pound cheeseburger with fries for just $2.95.

The marketing come-on sounds like a football play, but the code soon becomes obvious. The 3-6-9 happy hour at Beach Chalet runs Monday through Friday from 3-6pm and then again from 9pm to close. The brew pub's menu of drinks and appetizers is priced at $3, $6, or $9. There's also prime rib on Mondays and brunch a la carte on weekends from early morning till early afternoon.

Two is the magic number at The Amabassador on Geary (perhaps in honor of the second day of the workweek?). The $2 Tuesday happy hour features a host of nibbles, including sliders, bruschette, Tater Tots, chicken wings, quesadillas, and Caesar salads. You can also enjoy $2 well drinks and ten bottled and draft beers, such as Anchor, Stella, Fat Tire, and Blue Moon.

Spring is popping and so is the bubbly at The Cosmopolitan in the city's SoMa neighborhood. Every Wednesday you can enjoy glasses and bottols of Champagnes and sparkling wine at 50% off. Relax in the lounge or on the covered patio, and order from the diverse menu.