It took a month to research and nearly cost me a relationship, but here it is. I've pinched pennies at a score or more bars and watering holes around the city to whittle it down to this list. Is it definitive? No. Is it exhaustive? Also no, but it was definitely exhausting. Personally vetted and individually checked, here are 15 places with happy hour promotions that don't suck. That should be enough for like a month or so? Yeah. Leave your favorite place to get horizontal on a budget in the comments (I hear The Rooster's has won some kind of award?) and maybe I'll get to it in another edition. Once the replacement liver arrives from Switzerland. *

1. Abbey Road's Super Hour

: Taojiang Lu sequel to one of Shanghai's most popular summer venues, named after driveway up to Downton Abbey or something? Ample patio seating, cheap beer on tap and lots of (at times unfortunate) classic rock, this bar/restaurant is the ultimate expat venue. Abbey Road's menu includes mostly Swiss fare interspersed with some American. What's The Deal: Two hours of free-flow wine, beer and cocktails for 150rmb, every day. Why It Doesn't Suck: Feel like that's pretty self-evident.

2. Birds of Paradise Tropical Happy Hour

: Recently opened, Shanghai's only modern tiki bar is what happens when Austin Hu (Heritage) and Yao Lu (Union Trading Company) team up again. Evidently they've both been harboring dark, secret cravings for spam, palm print shirts and drinks with little gardens growing out the top. Tiki classics like Mai Tais, Missionary's Downfall and, obviously, a Zombie, as well as Yao's own interpretations. What's The Deal: 50rmb select cocktails from 3-8pm everyday. Why It Doesn't Suck: Because it's on every day for five hours, the cocktails are normally 100rmb, they're very, very good. The Frozen Pina Colada is the headlining act but the Starboard Cooler and the Six Pence Hot Pot are also excellent. Go take advantage of their newly-opened generosity.

3. Colca's Happy Hour

: Eduarda Vargas cooking the food of his heritage: Peruvian. It's a nice place. Sort of South American via Shanghai chic. Mode d'emploi: Cocktails at the bar before and / or after dinner with your sit-down meal the main event. Busy, busy fusion cuisine meant to be shared across several courses, with an excellent central outdoor patio that, for a change, isn't surrounded by skyscrapers. What's The Deal: The happy hour is 5-11pm on Tuesdays, 5-7pm Wednesday to Sunday, on select cocktails, including Mojitos and Sangria for 38rmb. Why It Doesn't Suck: They're potent. Not many places you can get a Pisco Sour for 38rmb, but go for the Spanish Gin Tonic, served in a balloon glass that looks like a fishbowl. Efficient way to get horizontal by 7.

4. El Bodegon's Happy Hour

: A casual Argentinian steakhouse with a focus on grilled steaks and Peruvian ceviches, tiraditos, and antichuchos. Some of the best value meat in town. Also sangria, house wines, rum and coke, vodka tonics, and other select drinks are 30rmb all day. Good atmosphere, and the staff is attentive and multilingual. Unpretentious atmosphere, good environment for some serious drinking. What's The Deal: It’s happy hour all day, everyday, with drinks for 30rmb, including: vodka tonic/cranberry/orange, sangria, Cuba Libre aka rum and coke, Quilmes beer, and house red or white wine. Why It Doesn't Suck: Does it even count as a happy hour if it's just all the time? 30rmb drinks for all time is firmly in "too good to be true" territory but nope, it's real. I checked. The sangria's a little weak (but again it's like 30rmb so...). I'd stick to vodka cranberries or rum and coke or that Quilmes beer, and pair it with the 110rmb steak deal on Mon-Wed.

5. First Round Happy Hour

: Boxing Cat's hard-to-miss roadside bar on Dingxi Lu. Beer is all Boxing Cat and food is general nibbles such as chicken wings or mini-pizzas. First Round has the very instagramable 'reverse pour' which sends the beer up through a valve in the bottom of the glass. What's The Deal: It's 30rmb on 500ml pours, every day from 4-8pm. Why It Doesn't Suck: That's pretty cheap for a Right Hook Helles. Spend the savings on some nachos or the spicy Korean wings.

6. Homeslice Half-Off With A Slice

: Smash-hit pizza spot, serving up excellent and massive New York style pizzas with a sourdough crust. There's some difference in offerings between the two spots open at the time of writing, but this happy hour is too hot for Found 158. It's only valid at Zhongshan Park. What's The Deal: Buy a slice of pizza and you get half-off on a beer or a spritz, 25rmb. 4-7pm Mon-Thu. Why It Doesn't Suck: Do you need an excuse to get Homeslice? You don't.

7. Kartel Rooftop Happy Hour

: Fairly down-to-earth frenchified bistro bar that's been around for ages. Key selling point is the rooftop, which we regularly laud in our Patio article. It's great. Spacious, wide-open, with a 360 degree view of a part of the city you don't often get. What's The Deal: Every day 6pm-8pm you get 35rmb wine, prosecco, beers and cocktails. Plus two complimentary glasses of wine with selected dishes (cold cut platters, burrata, etc). Why It Doesn't Suck: Because it's happening on that great, great rooftop. Get on that, if you somehow haven't already. The music is a little questionalbe and the spirtz are a little watery for my taste, but at 35rmb, it's hard to complain. Sangria's real good though.

8. Morton’s Filet Day

: Renowned high-end steakhouse chain from The States. In addition to premium steaks and chops, the Morton's in IAPM serves up a variety of seafood, like imported lobster, crabs and oysters as well as salmon, tuna and the like. To go with all of this, of course, is the standard selection of steakhouse side dishes and a voluminous tome of a wine list. What's The Deal: Their daily Happy Hour from 5-7pm sees half-off on beer, wine and select cocktails. Additionally! Monday and Tuesday, small steak sandwiches are 8rmb each (plus 10%) from 5-7pm. Maximum 12 sandwiches per person. Why It Doesn't Suck: Martinis and steak, 2/3rds of the Wall Street diet, at a bargain price! The place is empty at 5pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, so the sandwiches come out lickety split.

9. Specters Happy Hour

: It's a dive bar. A trash bar, where the air is thick with regret, stale alcohol, rock classics and skater shit so shallow you could skip a stone off it. But like, with soul! Or something that looks like it at 2am. "WE DON'T SELL SYMPATHY" is written behind the bar in what I hope is whiteout. What's The Deal: 30rmb on beer, 40rmb on mixed drinks, 15rmb on shots, starts at 8pm (if they open on time), stops around 10pm. Why It Doesn't Suck: 30rmb Tigers served in plastic cups because the glassware's broken. Hey, do you want to get trashed off cheap booze? Family Mart's selling 16rmb Irish whiskies, but if that's too bourgeoise for you, try Specters.

10. St. Regis's Exquisite Moment Free-Flow

: The hotel bar for the erudite, be-bowtie'd five-star St. Regis Hotel, as the name might suggest. The ground floor features big red leather couches, tall ceilings heavy in gold paint and a long bar backed by something like 100 different whiskies. It's bespoke. It's high-class. It's designed to dull the jet-setting lifestyle's abrasive edges for their well-dressed clientele. What's The Deal: Unlimited (selected!) cocktails, sparkling wines, wines and spirits for 188rmb per person (net), every day from 6.30-8pm. Why It Doesn't Suck: Not often you get to drink yourself into a stupor in a five-star hotel, but here's your chance! Cocktail selection is limited: Moscow Mule, Screwdriver or Cuba Libre. Stick the Screwdrivers or just Chivas 12-year and mixer maximize efficiency and consumption. Make a nuisance of yourself. You might have to refer to it as the "Happy Hour" before the bar staff brings out the menu. "Free-flow" is not on the fancy hotel bar vocab list.

11. The Cut Rooftop Happy Hour

: An upscale casual dining lounge thing aimed at a young professionals crowd. Good spot for an after-work drink if a) you work nearby and b) you go for the happy hour. The menu's a sort of "too big to be tapas, too snackable to be a sit-down meal" territory. One of the nicer terraces in the city, right in the CBD and overlooking Xiangyang Park. Plus they've done it up like a cabana bar! Hilarious! What's The Deal: Everyday happy hour from 5-8pm, up to half-off on their sizeable cocktails (from a set list). On Thursdays, it goes from 5 til close. Why It Doesn't Suck: Go for the GnTs. The selection isn't as good as it used to be, but they're still good and served in generous proportions. Plus, that rooftop and view from the top of IAPM onto Huaihai Lu can't be beat.

12. Urban Thai's Weekend Be My Thai

: Urban Thai is a small spot offering a simple menu of Thai staples like fish cakes, green papaya salad, and curries. Neighborhood diner atmosphere with tasteful decoration. What's The Deal: Weekend happy hour from 2-5pm, including Urban Thai Lager, Chang Beer, Thai Iced Tea, and Mango Sticky Rice for 20rmb each. Why It Doesn't Suck: Right on the tail of the busy, busy weekend free-flow brunch window means it makes for a nice final nail in your coffin. The sticky rice is good. Wouldn't necessarily recommend pairing it with the beers on offer, but here's a good option to extend the weekend day drinking. It'd be even better if it was on during the week.

13. VSpot's Enjoy 69 Time Happy Hour

: Sex-positive and queer-friendly, VSpot is part sexshop, part pole-dancing studio, part rope bondage performance space, part sex education workshop. Bright, kinky and liberated. It's not much of a bar, basically one of the shop-counters converted into a little backbar and a wine fridge, but there's decent lounge-space towards the back. Think like a way less rowdy Roxie, plus nipple clamps for sale. What's The Deal: BOGO on select beers, cocktails and wines, averaging 80rmb, from 6 to 9pm (nice). Why It Doesn't Suck: The drinks are mostly high ABV and weird: try the Orgasmic Shirley. 80rmb for two is average for a happy hour, but you're coming for the liberated environment. It's a safe space to talk the tawdry tango. Two drinks in and all of a sudden everyone's got an opinion on prostate massagers. Some nights it's empty, some nights there might be a workshop about mutual orgasms, rope bondage, or a drop-in poledancing class.

14. 1515 West Chophouse "New" Happy Hour

: The Jing'an Shangri-La's spare-no-expense steakhouse, set above Nanjing Lu. Don't let the leather, wood and two-story wine fridges discourage you, it's not as dark and serious as it appears at first glance. To drink, there are all the requisite bold red steakhouse wines, of course, but what sets the place apart is the extensive whiskey selection and masterful cocktails. What's The Deal: From 5-8pm every day, drinks start at 40rmb each (net, thank God) and they all come with two free Angus Beef Sliders. Why It Doesn't Suck: The 40rmb drinks are just spirit and mixers, but you can get an excellent mojito or a negroni for 60rmb off the same happy hour menu. They're good, but you're here for those sliders, man. They can be a bit slow coming out, unfortunately, and sometimes they're a little lukewarm, but it's a testament to their quality that it doesn't really matter.

15. Zeitgeist Gutbuster

: The result of a couple of German dudes and a roughly 5-day window to convert Bubbly Nation into a genuine Bavarian pub, they serve beer. They serve German food. They've got shelves of beer steins. They don't have lederhosen or Alpine hats hanging on the walls. They haven't tried to make it look like it's a ski lodge or anything. The beer selection's decent, and the food's homey and down-to-earth. Solid spot for the Teutonophiles in Shanghai. What's The Deal: Daily happy hour from 3-7pm on all draft beers, house wines, prosecco, spritz and on all Gin & Tonics. Why It Doesn't Suck: 30rmb on a half-liter of Schloss 1886 is already pretty great, but pair with the pork knuckle or schnitzel or steak night deals and you'd be hard-pressed to find a cheaper way to pack your gut with Bavarian goodness. * For 50+ more options, check out our Happy Hours section on the deals page. If your favorite one isn't on there, get the bartender to submit it.