Best booze for your buck: The Corner edition
We’re broke. We’re thirsty. We’re Wahoos. Check out this handy guide to find out what, where, and when to drink at bars
As ideal as it would be to just traipse around the Corner spending as much money on alcohol as we want, we Wahoos are on a college budget.
Whether you’re paying for your drinks with your own hard earned cash, or your parents’ monthly allowance, here the best deals at each Corner bar, bar none (lol).
Mellow Mushroom
Seemed fitting to begin and end this night with an awesome pizza place. I’m having flashbacks to last Pint Night.
Learned something new (because I don’t read menus, apparently): if it’s raining, it’s happy hour.
Ditch your umbrellas and wait out the storm with two-for-one beers.
When to go:
Happy Hour here has some nuance to it, but let’s be real. Tuesday and Wednesday nights are the time to be here. If there’s something UVA loves more than drinking and Jefferson, it’s showing off our ridiculously pretty brains.
Drink cheap Tuesday on pint night ($2.50 a pint), and then show off that knowledge during Trivia on Wednesday.
Cafe Caturra
Hadn’t been in this building since Toro’s bit the dust. Obviously I’m behind on my drinking.
If you haven’t either, check it out – especially the upstairs, where they’ve put in a fireplace and super comfy lounge.
When to go:
Caturra really has something for everyone. Their rail vodka is Tito’s, which makes their daily happy hour a great deal.
They keep a Sommelier around to manage their rotating wines, sourced from all over the world.
Friday brings half price wine night.
With specials like this, all you need is a date. Or you can take me. Please take me.
Caturra also does a weekly cocktail, which they design themselves and will set you back around $8. This week’s selection was a Kentucky Mule.
They also make a mean Sazerac with their own twist: orange bitters. It isn’t on the menu, but you’re an insider now. Their Woodford Reserve runs only $7, making this a solid place when you’d like a whiskey cocktail.
Boylan Heights
Ya know, it’s Boylan. Eat a burger and drink a Wahoo, dance a little, watch some sports.
When to go:
I like Boylan for Game Day. It’s packed, but the $5 Wahoos will get you where you’re going. While they run the same special on Wednesdays, I find it tough to drink that much blue curaçao and still make it to my 2pm on Thursday.
College Inn
While they’re not really a bar, they deliver beer till 2am. ‘Nuff said.
Plus they do brunch until 3pm, proving they understand our sleep schedules.
Michael’s Bistro
I love this bar because the stairs are basically a trip to the gym, so when you get to the top, you really deserve the beer.
Plus they have board games.
When to go:
Those $3 Thursday shots include tequila, so if Sauza’s your style, march up the stairs. Just make sure you can get back down.
I like their local bucket, and their standard happy hour (which starts at 3pm) takes $2 off a draft. With their beer selection, they’re a great refuel stop on your way back from class.
St. Maarten’s
Oh, St. Marteen, you beautiful turtledove. This bar has been around forever – if you’re a legacy, you might be able to find your dad’s mug. Unfortunately, you can’t just use theirs – you’ll have to earn your own.
When to go:
Any time you feel like drinking up some history or doing specialty shooters. They also do a Tuesday trivia, so if your brain is feeling particularly attractive, you can hit up Maartens before hitting up Mellow the next day.
This is the Batman. It’s dark on the outside, but sweet on the inside… just like the Dark Knight.
The Batman with my off-menu favorite, the Shannon. Spoiler alert: there’s some 151 involved.
If anyone’s ever had Sex With Aliens, let me know how it was in the comments.
Finally, the hollandaise on the Eggs Benedict: this brunch special beats out College Inn and Pigeon Hole and has the added benefit of a Screwdriver option, but it’s only around on Sundays, so mark your calendars.
Trinity
Loud music, sticky floors – sticky people, a cult following. Yik Yak rumors abound about late night Trin, but in the cold light of day you’ll find me gobbling chips on the patio.
When to go:
Thursday. Steins for pints, and $3 cheeseburgers. Otherwise, hit up the dance floor – but be careful. We don’t know how much truth there is to those rumors…
Eddy’s Tavern
This Poe themed pub has found a niche in the space left by Three.
Hit Eddy’s up for live music, arcade games, pool, darts, custom corn hole boards, open mics, and the cheapest Fireball and Rumplemintz on the corner.
When to go:
Mondays for martinis, or stop in Saturday night for $3 Fireball and Rumplemintz. Or Sundays – for all drink specials, pretty much all day.
They also hold a pretty insane survivor hour Thursday and Friday.
The Wahoo White is on tap there right now, so wander over for a Monday through Friday happy hour.
‘Tis a happiness to drink – Edgar Allan Poe. Probably.
The Virginian
Virg was swamped, as usual, so they couldn’t give a run down on their drink calendars.
But you know the drill: they do $4 doubles and grad students dance on tables. It’s loud, it’s wooden, it’s a corner staple, and we all love ‘em.
Sometimes they do tap takeovers.
Coupes
Coupe’s is another haunt left over from the olden days. Rumor has it the guy who started it collected Cadillacs, and that’s where the Coupe’s name comes from.
When to go:
Tuesdays for dirt cheap Natty and dollar sliders.
And apparently Peyton Manning met his wife here, so maybe every day. All the time. If Peyton can do it, so can you.
Kuma
(Image taken from Facebook with owner’s permission. Thanks, Steve!)
Kuma is the only place on the corner to get a Sakebomb, and their strawberry Sojutinis will knock out the worst of hangovers. We’ll be revisiting them to talk about their food, because if I got started this article would be longer than my thesis.
When to go:
Drinks wise, everything sits around $5, so even though they don’t run a lot of specials, they’re a solid odd-hours place to drink – which makes them a great option for a boozy sushi lunch.
Hangovers healed, plus you get the added bonus of hanging out with this guy. Isn’t he handsome?
The Biltmore
Biltmore isn’t allowed to talk to us about their specials, but pictures are fine.
Hit ‘em up for survivor hour and all the yummy things you see on this board. Plus, they have hammocks.
Crozet
By the time I made it to Crozet, my phone was dead and so was my liver.
So here’s the short list on Crozet: specialty drinks are pretty standardly priced at $5-6, and they’re delicious.
Get a peach jar and ask for extra cherries. This is also the place to get the Fresh Zen, which is the cousin of Michael’s Original Zen. And pizza. All the pizza.
Stay thirsty, my hoos.