Love a good happy hour? Head to downtown Cape Coral

Happy hours have been on my radar lately. Actually, they always are, but I’m here to put them on yours too.

Enjoying cool drinks and sampling new dishes at a discount sounds like a win-win.

Inspired by new happy hours in downtown Cape Coral, let's begin along 47^th Terrace.

Here’s what I found:

Sage on 47th

Locals Hour — as it’s known in this year-old gem — was recently introduced and runs from 3-5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. Among the drink specials and discounts are $8 combos of a PBR Tall boy and a shot of Rough Rider rye whiskey or a Modelito beer and Cimarron Blanco tequila.

Foodwise we’re all in on the $8 duck fat fries or Ralph’s killer shrimp. Oysters are $1 each, as are the shrimp in the shrimp cocktail. Specials can change without notice (keep an eye out for kimchi wings!) and while some places limit discounts to the bar area, Sage doesn’t.

“There are no rules at Locals Hour,” owner Ralph Centalonza said. “Sit anywhere you want.” We recommend sitting at the bar. 1015 SE 47^th Terrace, (239) 542-0200, sageon47th.com or on Instagram and Facebook

Hooked Island Grill

This new South Cape addition also just started happy hour and so far so good.

“It’s created a lot of buzz and we like that,” co-owner Kyle Sherman said, looking around his packed bar on a recent Friday. Drink specials — including $4 wines and wells, and $5 margaritas — run an impressive 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, while endless mimosas are $15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. We’ll be back for the $5 Nashville hot chicken eggrolls and the nibbles menu from 2-6 p.m. Monday to Friday (at the indoor and outdoor bars and tables by the bars). Other highlights include $5 ceviche, island time drops and smoked fish dip, plus $8 Pine Island nuggz and $10 peel & eat shrimp (1/2 pound).  4721 SE 10^th Place at the corner of 47^th Terrace, (239) 471-0134, follow on Facebook

Front Porch Social

From 3-6 p.m. Monday to Friday, you can dive into an assortment of $10 small plates — including the bacon sliders and ZAZA shrimp at this trendy restaurant on the corner of 47th Terrace and Vincennes Boulevard. The menu is subject to change so keep an eye on its social media pages. Drink specials — best enjoyed on that lovely porch — feature $3.50 beer and $8 wells, cocktails and wine. The Porch Punch (strawberry blond, kiwi cooler, flora-dora, peachy lychee and pineapple passion) is $10. Cheers! 4721 Vincennes Blvd., (239) 347-8914, on Instagram and Facebook

BackStreets Sports Bar

The popular and straightforward happy hour is 4-6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 p.m. to midnight Tuesday. It includes half-price drinks, shots (except for the shot of the month), bottled beer and drafts. What we find intriguing here though are the daily specials from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Monday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Depending on the day, you’ll find 99-cent wings or boneless wings and $5.99 tacos, two mini burgers with fries or pork sliders with onion rings. Monday’s half-price pizza (slices or pies) should not be overlooked. 915 SE 47^th Terrace, (239) 945-7555, backstreetssportsbar.com or on Facebook

Cork Soakers

There may not be daily happy hours here, but there is a customer-favorite ladies night on Thursdays. A four-course tasting menu with two cocktails is $29 from 5-9 p.m. that evening. And unlike the name suggests, it’s available to everyone. Reservations are recommended. Oh, go on Taco Tuesday for a free margarita with any entrée. 837 SE 47^th Terrace, (239) 542-6622, corksoakers.net and on Facebook

More deals in South Cape

There are plenty of other area restaurants offering happy hours and specials, from Nevermind’s Taco Tuesday and prime rib nights to Nice Guys’ daily happy hour with happy hour exclusive street corn dogs and tots ($10 each) and $14 broccoli cheddar pizza. From the best-selling margaritas and mini empanadas at Tito’s Cantina to Jungle Bird’s veggie pot stickers, crispy wings, Hawaiian sliders, popcorn shrimp and jerk fries for $6 each. You’ll find oyster (99 cents each), craft burger and beer ($14.95) and taco ($2 each) specials, plus happy hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at Rusty’s andseafood-tastic daily special at Fish Tale Grill. Two Meatballs in the Kitchen has happy hour specials at the bar from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and neighboring Stones Throw celebrates with some sweet deals — $8 goat cheese pillows and tuna poke nachos for $10 are high on our list — from 3-6 p.m. at the bar and on the patio.

The Dive has happy hour specials from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (!!!) every day, while Ralph's Place has happy hour on drinks from 4-7 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Check out The Dek for early bird, afternoon and evening happy hours (all day on Monday!) or head to the Tiki Hut at Dolphin Key Resort for happy hour drinks and food specials daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Barunch brings out the drink ($3 beer, $4 house wine, $5 wells, $7 classic mimosas) and food specials from 3-6 p.m. daily, while the Monkey Bar goes all out every day for its happy hours — noon to 8 p.m. on drinks (including $3 domestic drafts, $3.25 house wine, $3 well drinks) and noon to 6 p.m. for a 15-item bar menu (think bababoom shrimp, barbecue ribs, meatloaf and fish tacos). And taco or burrito deals ($3 street or gringo Taco Tuesday and $10 bomb burrito Thursday for example) and off-menu specials have us heading to Taco Works on any given day.

This is just a small taste of what Cape Coral has to offer. Pick a restaurant, check its social media pages for the latest menu items and go. I’ll see you there.

Free pizza on May 22

While we're on Cape Coral, East of Chicago Pizza is celebrating its grand opening by giving away free cheese pizzas. Just walk into any of the three Cape Coral locations between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 22 and you’ll walk out with a free 12-inch cheese pie. One per customer, walk-in only.

East of Chicago is in NE Cape at 1260 NE Eighth St., Suite 108 (Pine Island Park Plaza), (239) 360-7342; in Mid-Cape at 1306 Santa Barabara Blvd. (Mink Retail Center), (239) 360-7365; and in South Cape at 4706 SE 9th Place, (239) 360-7259. Follow on Facebook or more.

And back to Nice Guys

The nicest people really do own Nice Guys. They’ve started a Nice Guys Book It program, giving one free personal pizza to students who reach their AR goal for quarter 4.

“We are super stoked about it,” co-owner Greg Gerhard said. “I always underestimate these things. We’ve gotten so much response. It’s great.”

Teachers need to contact Nice Guys to get the official certificates for their classes. Students then turn in the completed forms in exchange for a pizza with toppings of their choice. For details, email niceguyspizza@gmail.com. 1404 Cape Coral Parkway E, Cape Coral, (239) 549-7542, follow on Facebook.

Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: From Sage on 47th to BackStreets, South Cape Coral is happy hour happy