Richmond's best happy hours: Joe's Inn

To launch our semi-regular series of happy hour reviews, we dropped into the granddaddy of Richmond happy hours: Joe's Inn. Boy, does it hold up.

The deal: The restuarant offers $3 draft beers (including a long list of craft options), $3 glasses of wine and $2 highballs. There's no discount on food, but with drinks so cheap, please just pay the full $5.50 for a massive basket of fries.

The happy hour hours: Monday through Friday from 3-6pm.

The vibe: We hadn't done happy hour at Joe's since pre-pandemic and it's just as good as we remembered it. The setting is classic Richmond — a dark, wood-paneled neighborhood Fan bar with plenty of familiar faces.

• During our visit, we spotted local celeb Manny Mendez, owner of nearby Kuba Kuba, hunkered down at a booth.
• The bar was half full when we got there at 3:15pm, but it was starting to fill up when we left around 5pm. It gets crowded.

Ned's thought bubble: I went with a pint of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, but it was hard to pick. Joe's has a huge draft list, and all but one of the beers (Triple Crossing's Falcon Smash) was discounted to $3. I honestly don't know where you could find a cheaper beer.

Karri's thought bubble: I went with the house wine, which comes in a red or white. The white on our visit was a perfectly solid pinot grigio — and best of all, it was $3. Not as much variety as the beer menu, but since so often restaurant happy hour specials neglect wine drinkers, I'll take it.

Pro tip: Go early so you can get a seat.

We've got a short list of where we want to hit up next, but you tell us, Richmond — who has great happy hours? Email us: [email protected].