With its new tapas happy hour, Estéban highlights the changing nature of happy hour.

There is something different about happy hour lately.

What began as an excuse for a few inexpensive drinks on a Friday has been evolving, of course. But in an era when burgers and beer for two can top $70, restaurants are putting a new emphasis on happy hour, going beyond lower prices and extended hours.

“You want the guest to know there was some thought put into this,” explains Anthony Vitacca of Estéban Restaurant in Monterey. “Everybody is looking for value.”

According to the market data firm Statista, close to half of all diners now expect more than just wings or bar bites to go with drink discounts. While the recently revised tapas happy hour menu at Estéban may be approachable – nine items, each familiar – Chef Steven Patlan does not skimp on technique.

For example, the simple plate of bravas potatoes starts with a boil in water seasoned with garlic, shallots and other ingredients. The potatoes are then fried in duck fat, rested on a bed of preserved lemon yogurt and spiked with gremolata and brava sauce.

The result is something other than mere fried potatoes. There are little piquant eruptions, bursts of fresh herbs, the clean and creamy bite of citrus – and all the while, the cushy, mellow opulence of the once-lowly potato.

Salsa brava also brings its tangy fire to meatballs formed from veal, pork and Wagyu beef, with shards of Manchego for a rich and tangy punch. It’s a noticeable departure from marinara. “Brava sauce – why not?” Patlan says.

The trend toward small plates and shared dishes, particularly at happy hour, suits the restaurant, already known for tapas. But the meatballs are prepared specifically for the happy hour menu.

“People order an array of different dishes – it’s fun,” the chef says, adding that diners can also order from the regular menu. But with nine items ranging from blistered shishito peppers tossed with za’atar (“they’re a little addicting”) to pizza with a crust from the chef’s own starter, “I feel like it’s a good variety.”

Given high food costs, the trick for happy hour menus is to balance value and quality. Patlan dresses roasted Brussels sprouts – a relatively inexpensive item – with Baker’s bacon, saba and a truffle aioli to present fine dining layers of flavor and texture at 5pm prices. Most dishes on the list at Estéban are $9.

Other area restaurants are taking a similar approach, such as the special happy hour menu at Peter B’s in Monterey or the midday cocktail lineup at The Pocket in Carmel. But the happy hour cocktails at Estéban are remarkable – unique to the 4:30-6pm period and crafted like a $20 signature drink, only for $8 each.

Get Figgy With It is an earthy, smoky, bittersweet marvel. Vitacca and his bar team prepare it with bourbon and fig jam, a few dashes of black walnut bitters and a swirl of maple syrup. One dubbed Shiver Me Timbers explores the affinity between peach and ginger beer, starting with a dark rum infused with thyme from the restaurant’s garden.

“I was hoping for $6, but it just doesn’t work that way,” Vitacca says. The restaurant, after all, still needs to make a profit.

The cost control here is clever. Chef Patlan and his team prepare the romesco, brava and other dressings in house. The cheeses on his cupping pepperoni pizza include Parmigiano reggiano. Doubling up – Manchego goes into the meatballs and croquettes, salsa brava pairs with three items – helps keep food costs down.

The equation of fine dining and mixology technique, limited menus, appealing prices and extended hours – Peter B’s and Sardine Factory in Monterey offer two happy hours on weeknights; Estéban’s tapas happy hour includes weekends – seems to be working. According to Tastewise, social media conversations involving happy hour are on the increase for each day of the week – Wednesday by 37 percent, for example.

Happy hour, in other words, is no longer just a way to unwind. It is edging into dinner’s territory.

“There are happy hour people,” Vitacca explains. “Let’s think of some cool cocktails, get people excited about coming here.”

ESTÉBAN RESTAURANT, 700 Munras Ave., Monterey. (831) 375-0176, hotelcasamunras.com.