Happy Hour: $7 Smoked Negronis and oysters aplenty at Harlowe

Name of the bar: Harlowe

Happy hour: 5 to 7 p.m. daily at the newly opened 1933 Group bar in West Hollywood. Happy hour bites are all priced at $5 and include cheese puffs made with cheddar, whipped ricotta and caramelized onions, market oysters, bruschetta piled high with caponata, yucca fries served crisp and tender with smoked ketchup and charred Brussels sprouts tossed in a tangy tarragon sauce with halved grapes and capers.

New York bar veteran Dushan Zaric designed the cocktail program to be a selection of updated takes on classic libations. The bar’s four draft cocktails are priced at $7 and include a smoked Negroni, an Old Fashioned (made with Olde Forrester 100-Proof Bourbon, demerera sugar, housemade bitters and orange peel), the Paloma (made with tequila Cabeza, house-made grapefruit cordial, lime and carbonation) and a Moscow mule. Surrounded by patterned tile floors, old paintings and teal green chairs fit for a golden era brasserie, you’ll feel like a tipsy starlet from old Hollywood when you’re sitting at the marble-top bar sipping an Old Fashioned.

Best bang for your buck: Any of the $7 cocktails, regularly priced at $12. And three oysters for $5 is always a good deal, served with plenty of lemon and mignonette. Wednesday night’s selection included plump, sweet Fanny Bays.

What are you drinking: The smoked Negroni made with Boodles gin, Martini Gran Lusso, Campari and bits of charred and smoked cherrywood. It’s the smooth and bitter classic summer cocktail you crave with a hint of rich smoke.

Who’s at the next table: Two men dressed in sharp-fitted suits walk through the restaurant’s glass doors and saddle up to the bar like regulars. Both order smoked Negronis and take exaggerated whiffs of the deep orange drink before sipping. A couple at the other end of the bar marvels at their order of funnel cake balls, and an older pair of diners sitting at a table behind the bar reminisce about when the space was the old West Hollywood staple Crown Bar.

Service: Friendly, knowledgeable and attentive.

Uh-oh: If you’re a wino or a beer fan, you’ll be paying full price. The happy hour menu only includes a small selection of cocktails.

Info: 7321 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 876-5839, www.harlowebar.com/.