u/AChappyHours

Chez Frites at The Ocean Casino

Happy Hour

Thursday through Monday

4-7 pm

New happy hour in town... $8 for a mini martini or $21 for a flight of 3. I was enthused with the fact that a true “Last Word” cocktail was on the HH menu & made with actual Green Chartreuse.

There are many positives here: 3 hour HH window, far removed from sounds & hustle of the casino (on the lobby level for when you need a break), discounts on both food and drinks, the $21 flight is a great deal based on cocktails available, and it’s a beautiful bar/space.

Suggestion: $10 for 2 oysters is not a deal. Make it 3, maybe 4, or more oysters and then we’re talking. Poor bartender kept having to tell everyone the oysters were only 2 count. I switched to deviled eggs after he gave me the warning.

1st Annual HH Oyster Report:

Times are tough, but we still want to treat ourselves & we may as well do it as frugally as possible. See above for oyster prices around AC. It looks like Cardinal has the best deal at $1.25 during happy hour (bonus that you can also get them at their late night HH too & same price for "dressed").

If I missed a spot that offers a good happy deal on oysters (in Ac only) please let me know. I purposefully skipped The Palms at the Tropicana because their oysters are $4 each at happy hour which seems unworthy.

https://achappyhours.com/

Started our one day/night trip off with The Seed beer on draft & cans on the beach. Best brewery in NJ? Close tie with Troon? Regardless it’s a damn treasure.

Checked in to the Tropicana (comped room from playing those bubble craps machines) & walked over to Angeloni's Club Madrid for a quick repeat of their new happy hour menu. I think it’s Knife and Fork / Doc’s level happy hour. I hope they allow it beyond the bar area in the future if it gets too popular (ie when there’s people waiting in line at 3:30 to get in). When is that $7 mini Manhattan happening.

Then had an exquisite dinner at Il Verdi at the Trop at sunset.

Took a taxi to the Deck at Golden Nugget to see the B Street Band (Springsteen covers).

Ended the night at Tony's Baltimore Grill to haphazardly watch soccer, take in the lighting, and drink the oddest (but possibly best) “city wide” I’ve ever had. I’m used to it being some sort of cheap lager and low brow whisky. Tony’s “AC City Wide” was an ipa from the Seed and a shot of Fernet-Branca. Wild.

Slept like crap, then was flabbergasted by the line of people to get to the parking elevators at the Trop so took the nasty ass stairs.

Hit the Chelsea (adult only) pool at the Trop.

AC, you aren’t for everyone, but you are the one for me.

Final thoughts on Tropicana Happy Hour Passport:
Alright, I did it. 14 happy hours at the Trop within a year. Let’s start with the positives…just the fact that they offer this promotion is great & whomever came up with the idea is clever. It’s engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed the hunt/trips I took. Providing a year to complete is very doable. Allowing stamps to be earned during regular operating hours (in case you missed the happy hour window) comes in handy. I also like the fact that’s it’s old school paper passport program and not an online stamp or QR code initiative. The minimum of spending $10 at each HH is reasonable (especially if you have a friend with you).
The negatives…to be honest most of these happy hours are not great & I would only recommend a few. The hours/days were rarely consistent with the posted HH information on their websites. There was a running theme of just nasty sticky bar tops throughout (especially the restaurant bars). I live an hour away so every time I was at a Trop place I was neglecting my usual favorite “local” happy hours (like Knife and Fork, Cardinal, etc), but that’s a me problem. The prizes could be tweaked a bit. Pint glass is whatever, but only having L and XL shirts for the t-shirt prize was a letdown. Now, the big ticket item is that you earn a free room upon completion. I’m the idiot for thinking this would be a truly FREE room, but it’s not. It’s a weekday only room (with blackout dates) and the kicker is you have to pay the resort fee ($39). A bit of a bummer when I handed in my passport.
So, is it worth it? Financially no. I mean even if you low ball it and only spend $10 at each place and your an ass and don’t tip you are spending at minimum $140 to earn a pint glass, a t shirt that may not fit, and a room you will have to pay for. I typically spend more than $10 and always tipped so it probably was $200 for me to complete. If you don’t care about the financial aspect of it then I would say it’s fun and if they offer it next year go for it.

Top 3 HH for me at the Trop:

1. Il Verdi
2. Cuba Libre
3. Chickie’s & Pete’s

(Chelsea Five as honorable mention)

New Happy Hour in town (just opened a few weeks ago) and I had a chance to try it with some friends last night.

The Iron Room is a reboot of the original Iron Room (which was an incredible speakeasy/wine shop back in the day) with the same chef & bartender in a new location.

We tried the truffle udon Mac & cheese, the deviled eggs, and the Oaxacan meatballs (all 1/2 off the prices in the menu in pic). Also, had a stellar Manhattan made with Sazerac 100.

To find this little gem walk into Bar 32 and head out their backdoor.

Highly recommend a visit especially on a summer night paired with a few other Orange Loop joints.

https://achappyhours.com/

Tropicana Happy Hour Passport Update:

I tried the Palm HH (4:00-6:00) & just had a $9 Manhattan. I don’t eat meat and the seafood specials aren’t thrilling ($4 oysters and $5 per shrimp doesn’t sound like a deal at all) so skipped food.

Then headed over to Wild Honey BBQ for their HH (4:00-6:30) and had a $5 Yuengling & the biscuit/cornbread combo. The lighting in the place is like Walmart, but the cornbread was legit.

I’m only one away from finishing the passport (14 Tropicana Happy hours in one year). I have some thoughts (a lot actually). I’ll save it for when I’m done. For those that are unaware of this program Tropicana will award you a pint glass, a t shirt, and a free room if you spend $10 or more at 14 different happy hours throughout the casino. If curious see this website for more info: https://www.caesars.com/atlantic-city/guides/news/ultimate-happy-hour

Ran the 5 mile boardwalk run too the next morning.

I love AC. My happy hour website is not for profit & just for fun/information.

https://achappyhours.com/

From Trop: "Stamps can be earned now through Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 11:59 PM."

***Respost*** (Created new Reddit account just for sharing ACHH)

The new Angeloni's Club Madrid Happy Hour menu is legit. I just updated the https://achappyhours.com/ website to include the new changes.

I worry it’s too good and won’t last, but let’s stay positive. I tired the garlic cheese spread with fried bread, the ricotta w/ focaccia, and the bucatini cacio e pepe, a mini martini, and the $2 house wine.

The $2 house wine is only if you order the pasta. (Normally just $6 I believe.)

The bucatini pasta was (fill in your own expletive) incredible and a steal at $8.

Sure, some may argue that a $7 mini martini is about what 1/2 a martini should cost, but I think this is a great deal...just the fact they offer a smaller martini is a plus when you are drinking at 4pm and maybe just starting your night, and the drink itself was superb.

And the goddamn lighting, bathrooms, music, decor, etc are always on point. This continues to be a special place & a must do.

My happy hour website is not for profit (no ads) and I run it just for fun and hopefully to be informative.

Up next...I have to finish that Tropicana passport before July (3 places left). Then I have a local's passport idea I need to pursue after this year long Tropicana adventure.