It’s 4 o’clock somewhere: Atlantic City’s best happy hours

ATLANTIC CITY — The lines start forming before 4 p.m. There’s the predictable 3:30 p.m. queue outside the Knife & Fork Inn, the one on Pacific Avenue waiting to get into Kelsey’s, and, of course, the one outside the mighty Dock’s Oyster House in the center of this enduringly alluring town.

How else to get a seat at one of the great Jersey Shore traditions: happy hour in Atlantic City?

Here’s a roundup of Atlantic City’s finest. Some of these bars are so great, you might just wait until happy hour (or summer) is over to be able to eat (and drink) without having to strategize for seats.

If some happy hours are all about drink specials, at the Knife & Fork, it’s the food. In fact, the drinks don’t change during happy hour, but the appetizers and the raw bar are half price. Try the crispy duck confit, the tuna skewers, the lobster spring roll, the oysters on the half-shell, Kobe sliders, and the tuna tartare. Continue on to the main course, and don’t sleep on the ever-inventive sustainable menu, including line-caught Icelandic cod in a red coconut curry sauce, or the za’atar spiced salmon. Ask for a one-pound lobster Thermidor. Never leave!

Getting a spot at this prized and historic 21-seat bar, with its pressed tin ceiling and old English diamond window panes, is a feat and a treat. Alas, the happy hour hoverers will move you along eventually.

The Knife & Fork bar is in the same room captured in the classic Louis Malle film Atlantic City, where Burt Lancaster and a lemon-rubbed Susan Sarandon have lunch. Bartender Jenni Davidson will make it all the more happy with a signature pineapple martini from their vat of infused vodka, or a generous pour of red wine. In fall, squeeze in just before happy hour ends at 6 p.m., put in your order, and you’ll enjoy those dusky skies behind you as the bar empties out and before it fills up again with the later crowd. It’s a joy anytime.

Knife & Fork Inn, 3600 Atlantic Ave., happy hour 4 to 6 p.m. every day. Half-priced appetizers.

Let’s be clear: There’s always a line outside Kelsey’s. That’s because the destination soul food and supper club on Pacific Avenue doesn’t take reservations. So, the first-come, first-served dinner crowd is also ready for that 4 p.m. opening. Waits can stretch to an hour or more on busy summer weekend nights.

But head to the bar for happy hour when it’s your turn (or wait until fall or winter when you can mingle with the locals), and you’ll see why Kelsey’s sits alongside the Knife & Fork as a top destination in Atlantic City.

Kelsey’s has appetizers for $8.99 during the 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. happy hour. Try the fish tacos, catfish nuggets, wings, and the bang bang shrimp. Martinis are $8, and in the fall, wines and rum buckets will be on special.

But can anyone resist ordering the Sex at the Seawall cocktail? It’s an $18 variation on a Long Island Iced Tea in which the vodka is blue raspberry, the rum is coconut, and mango is added.

“It’s a lot,” laughs Kim Jackson, co-owner with husband Kelsey of Kelsey’s and its sister restaurant, Kelsey and Kim’s. The Jacksons are building a new Kelsey’s across Pacific Avenue that will have three levels, including a 100-seat rooftop and a 150-seat second floor banquet hall, planned for a late 2023 or early 2024 opening. “That’s the future,” said Kelsey Jackson.

Kelsey’s, 1545 Pacific Ave. Happy hours from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Appetizers for $8.99, $8 martinis.

The bar at Dock’s Oyster House is where you might actually find Kelsey and Kim Jackson during some happy hours, Kelsey confided.

He’s a fan of the oyster dishes, including the $1.50 raw ones on the half-shell, the $1.75 broiled ones with the Champagne leek topping, and the fried oysters Parmesan, all from the kitchen of his friend, Dock’s executive chef Stephan Johnson (who in turn is a regular at Kelsey’s). There are $7 mini crab cakes, $8.50 mussels marinara, $4.50 Buffalo cauliflower, and $4.50 clam chowder, Maine and Manhattan.

Frank Dougherty, of the Dougherty family that owns both the Knife & Fork and Dock’s, says Dock’s tends to draw more of a tourist crowd, while the Knife & Fork proves irresistible to the locals. At Dock’s, order the $14 muddled cucumber martini and indulge.

Dock’s Oyster House, 2405 Atlantic Ave. Happy hour 4 to 6 p.m. daily, $1.50 oysters, specially priced happy hour menu.

When it comes to happy hours, the Golden Nugget, in the city’s Marina section, stands out.

Vic & Anthony’s has $1.50 oysters on the half-shell, a tiered happy hour food menu and drink specials including $8 cocktails that favor the serious bourbon/Manhattan drinkers among you. Do not miss the $8 maple-glazed quail. That, with a Brooklyn Gin Negroni, is peak Atlantic City. 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Lillie’s Noodle Bar offers happy hour at from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday with small plates, skewers, sushi and specialty rolls, and $8 pho on Fridays. House sake is $5, specialty drinks are $7. I have only positive memories from my experience with the Green Tea Time cocktail.

Chart House has a lovely view out toward the Farley State Marina, and happy hours are 4 to 6 p.m. daily, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Try the $5 kim chee vegetables, $7 lettuce wraps, $9 fish tacos, or the $11 crispy Asian beef slider. The $7 pomegranate mojito will do nicely.

Golden Nugget, 600 Huron Ave.: Chart House, Vic & Anthony’s, Lillies.

This bar has two happy hours: 2 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 9 to 11 p.m., Monday to Thursday, each offering bar snacks, discounted drinks, lots of beer taps, and an inviting outdoor garden with a fire pit. Extend the night at any of the other bars on the block, part of the Orange Loop: Bar 32, Rhythm & Spirits and Cuzzies.

133 South Tennessee Ave.

Located a few blocks from the Knife & Fork, Ryfe has a new outdoor bar with a roof and indoor bar. The tapas-style happy hour menu they call $10 & $2 runs from 3 to 6 p.m. It’s a $10 menu serving poblano calamari to pan-fired mussels, and $2 off drinks. A fall menu will feature flatbread with a sweet-and-spicy sausage, a seafood bisque, and Grampi’s chili.

4101 Atlantic Avenue.

Another great A.C. bar, located at Gardner’s Basin. Owner Jane Williams says they’re so busy in summer, they don’t do a happy hour, but will bring it back in November. She expects $8.50 appetizers including jerk shrimp and loaded chips, and cocktail specials in Mason jars, at $6 for 16 ounces and $11 dollars for 32 ounces.

800 North New Hampshire Ave.

This locals’ favorite right on the bay really stretches it out, offering a happy hour from 2 to 7 p.m. daily, with drink and food specials. Try a lemon drop martini outside by the tiki hut. Come by jet ski to really do it right.

3701 Sunset Ave.

Another bar with a sunset view, the always welcoming Vagabond offers half -price starters, including wings, tequila shrimp bangers and Buffalo cauliflower. $5 wine and Deep Eddy Vodka.

672 North Trenton Ave., 3 to 6 p.m.