Tampa is a large city, with many different neighborhoods providing their own unique nightlife scene. But there’s only one place to go out if you’re trying to save money: SoHo. SoHo is the nickname of South Howard Avenue in Hyde Park, and it houses many different bars and happy hours. Many SoHo bars are filled with college students on weekends, making them all look as packed as sardine cans. Thursday and Friday nights on SoHo are some of the craziest and busiest scenes in Tampa because of these college bar drink specials.
Owners of these SoHo bars are smart. They cater to the college kids from The University of Tampa and the University of South Florida to make sure they can have a fun night out on a small amount of cash.
Thursday Nights - Dollar Beers at MacDinton's
On Thursday nights, stop by MacDinton's for dollar beers! They have kegs of Miller Lite on tap, and 8-ounce servings are $1 each until the kegs run out. Plus there's no cover, as is the case most nights. Thursdays are the time to come out, drink cheap beer, and have fun without emptying your wallet. But make sure not to wear any of your favorite outfits -- beer is occasionally being spilled as people enjoy the music coming from the outside deck or the dance floor inside.
Friday Nights - All You Can Drink Happy Hours
On Friday nights, you have your choice of four different all-you-can-drink (AYCD) happy hours. The first one begins at 6:00 p.m. at MacDinton’s. If you didn't get enough of those $1 beers the night before, here's your second chance to have some south Tampa bar fun for cheap! For just $10, you get all you can drink draft beer and well drinks from 6 - 8 p.m. Make sure you hang on to your cup, though! It's sink or swim, and if you lose your cup you might have to pay another $10 to get back in the game.
Can't make it to SoHo from work or class fast enough to take advantage of a 6:00 p.m. AYCD? Maybe you need some time to relax and get ready before celebrating the start of your weekend? No problem! Hyde Park Cafe, Yard of Ale, and The Lodge all have all you can drink happy hours starting at 8:00 p.m. Hyde Park Cafe has their $10 AYCD happy hour from 8 - 10 p.m., with Latin music playing on the dance floor and a barrier of bar blockers (those are people who try to save their spot at the front of the bar for a better opportunity to get served more frequently). Yard of Ale, right across the street from MacDinton’s, also has an AYCD happy hour from 8 - 10 p.m. It typically has an older and more mature crowd -- think young professionals. Games like darts are constantly being played upstairs for friends to compete in.
The Lodge's AYCD is also only $10. It's for everyone who couldn’t make it to MacDinton’s on time, or anyone who didn't get enough from the earlier happy hours. Their AYCD happy hour is from 8 - 11 p.m., with a DJ spinning hip-hop, rap, R&B and EDM from above the party.
If you’re looking for a cheap night in SoHo full of fun and energy, try any of these $10 AYCD happy hours to keep your wallet from becoming empty.
Sundays - Bottomless Brunch Specials
Need to recover from your wild Saturday night? SoHo has you covered on Sunday morning. Most of the restaurants on SoHo have brunch specials, with bottomless mimosas for $15-$20.
- Starting at the top of SoHo is Bar Asia, the new Asian fusion bar on the corner of Cleveland and South Howard. They have bottomless mimosas and brunch buffet on Sundays for $30.
- Cask Social Kitchen has a special brunch menu, and you can add on bottomless mimosas for $15. Cask is always fun because they have live music and very attentive waiters and waitresses.
- The Lodge also has bottomless mimosas until 3 p.m. on Sundays, when their hospitality night begins. The bottomless mimosas cost $15 and the special for hospitality night is 50% off the entire lunch and dinner menu.
- World of Beer has unlimited beermosas, bloody marys and mimosas for $12 during their brunch hours. A beermosa is a white wheat beer with orange juice in it. Perfect for any beer lover!
- Ava offers a fancier SoHo Sunday brunch. They serve a brunch menu for refined palettes, including lemon ricotta pancakes, a meatball omelet, and a pulled pork and eggs benedict. They have $15 all-you-can-drink mimosas until your plates are off the table. Make sure to eat slowly if you want to take full advantage!
- Ciccio Water has a similar special, $15 AYCD mimosas until your plates are removed from the table.
SoHo is the neighborhood for those looking to go out all weekend on a strict budget. For under $50, you can get your fill of $1 beers on Thursday night, hit an all-you-can-drink happy hour Friday night, and still have plenty of money for Sunday brunch. If you’re looking to save money but still have an action-packed weekend full of laughs and goofy dance moves with your friends be sure to check out SoHo on any of these nights!
P.S. Make sure to save a little money for a cab or an Uber/Lyft ride home if you're really going to enjoy yourself.
