Cheap SF Restaurants

This German beer hall is well known to locals, and the best cheap come-on is the offer of free appetizers, including meatballs in marinara sauce and garlic fries. Four two hours, starting at 4 pm, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, you can fill up with $5 tap beer from around the world.

It's kind of an early bird special, but one that frugal diners won't want to miss. From Sunday to Thursday, between 5 pm and 6:30pm, you can order a Peroni for a $1.50 and choose from a variety of small plates, such as cacio e pepe pasta for $8, orange lentils with herbs and croutons for $4, or cracker-thin pizza topped with mozzarella and Zoe's artisan salami at just $6. Order just one and it's not much of a meal, but assemble a group of friends for some post-work relaxation, and you've got yourself a cheap feast.

Oodles of cheap deals here. Sunday nights bring Shirley Temples for kids. And during the early dinner hours, from 5pm to 7pm, there's a little Luella menu crafted for young diners (aged 10 and under) that features an array of affordable dishes. Adults get to enjoy a three-course prix-fixe menu for $33 a person from Mondays through Thursdays. What's not to like?

Daily deals at this Nob Hill favorite from 5-7pm. Indulge yourself with cheap delights such as pita pizzas for $5.95, a glass of wine for $2.95, PBR cans for $1.50 each, and sangria for a cool $4. Don't overlook the $4 sake cocktails in peach, ginger, and cranberry.

Sure, work calls on Mondays, but so does Goat Hill Pizza. So get over the weekend with Neighborhood Night on Mondays from 4pm to 10pm. All-you-can-eat pizza and salad is priced differentially for young and old at rates that are hard to beat: $10.95 for adults and $5.95 for children, ages 6 to 12. How full can you get?

Maybe you should skip lunch and in the late afternoon head on over to Piazza Pellegrini. This popular Northbeach spot offers a three-course prix fixe menu for just $14.95 a person on Mondays through Fridays before 6 pm. A variety of traditional Italian dishes prepared by this cheap San Francisco restaurant, located in one of the city's hip neighborhoods, will keep you fueled throughout those long evening hours.

Reasons to stop off at the Fly Bar between the hours of noon and 6 pm every day: pizza for $5.95 and drink specials like $4 sake, $3 sangria, and $1 off draft beers. You can also choose among a wide range of top-drawer beers for just $3 and a wide variety of cocktails for just $5. Deals like this are the perks that accrue to those who set their own schedules.

South of Market (or SoMa, for those of you in the know) is the place to be during happy hour, when Zupa serves up 75-cent oysters every weekday from 5pm to 7pm. The special menu also features half-price pizzas, $3 flat bread, $3 marinated olives, and $5 arancini. If all these goodies don't make you thirsty, beer and wine at $4 a pop certainly will.

Next time you find yourself downtown in the late afternoon or early evening, check out Grand Cafe. This Geary St. spot hosts an extended (and cheap) happy hour from 3pm to 7pm during the week, with specials that include $1 oysters, and menu items such as warm olives at prices ranging from $3-$7. If it's booze you're craving, the tab for beer, wine, cocktail, and champagne specials also ranges from $3-$7.

More gifts from the happy hour gods...Bar Crudo's raw bar is serving oysters for $1 each and Sierra Nevada beer for $3 on Monday through Thursday from 5pm until 6:30pm. You can also snag a glass of wine for $5 glasses to complement discounted signature dishes such as seafood chowder and fish tacos.

Fish lovers should head over to Fisherman's Wharf, where Alioto's Restaurant is dangling an enticing hook. For an additional $8.50, diners can enjoy any of the fresh seafood entrees as part if a three-course meal. You can choose among eight appetizers and five desserts. The special is available from 4pm to closing.

If you don't yet have BFFs, you will once you spill the beans about Andalu's special party menu. Gather five friends and feast on small plates for just $19.95. If that doesn't sate your appetite, order some food and make the most of a two-hour all-you-can-drink beer and sangria deal for $15.

The Mission is the place to be when you're hungry for $5 chicken fajitas, chicken sandwiches, or fish tacos. This Mexican joint also offers cheap drinks, like $2 sangria, $3 beers, and 1/2-off pitchers of sangria during those very happy hours of 4pm to 7pm on Tuesday though Sunday.

Just in case you haven't heard, Taco Tuesdays at The Blue Light on Union St. includes $1 tacos, $2 Coronas, and $3 margaritas starting at 4pm and running straight past the midnight hour (till 2am, actually). The taqueria also features daily specials for diners on a budget. Not surprisingly, the place packs 'em in, so go early.

Maya is one of the more popular Mexican spots in San Francisco's downtown, in no small way due to the extra-long happy hour. People just keep rolling in from 4:30pm to 10pm on Monday and Tuesday, and from 4:30pm to 9pm on Wednesday through Friday. What's the draw? $3 draft beers and $5 margaritas, mojitos, wine, and sangria that add some spice to the $2 taco special.

The Taco Shop @ Underdog's likes to keep its customers happy. Every Friday, this local haunt offers 50-cent margaritas from 6pm-6:30pm. And on Tuesdays, $2 Tecates are featured alongside Nick's famous crispy tacos, also priced at two cheap bucks.

Tired of the ham-and-cheese routine? For just $3.75, you can tickle your taste buds with a roast pork banh mi with pate at this Vietnamese sandwich spot on Larkin. Be sure to arrange for an early lunch hour because there's always a line snaking out the door. Other items on the menu range in price from about $3 to $5.

A Mission restaurant with a mission -- daily happy hour from 5pm to 7pm. The must-have grub specials include a $3.50 hand roll menu and tempura onion rings, $1.75 oysters, and $5 meatballs. For libations, you'll find $3 pints of Sapporo and small carafes of hot sake, well cocktails for $4, and margaritas, martinis, and cosmopolitans for a mere dollar more.