Denver Nightlife, Denver Bars, LoDo Nightclubs Party Events & Photos
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Visitor's Guide | |
Free Newsletter | |
Advertise Here | |
Ski Resorts | |
|
DENVER CITY GUIDE: TIP JAR:
DENVER LINKS!
Photos and text provide great details about nightlife and bars in Denver and LoDo.
|
PubClubbing in Denver – Bars & Clubs Guide!
When people go to party in Denver, they do it in LoDo. It's so lively that Sports Illustrated reported Denver is the favorite downtown of National Hockey League players. Perhaps they are all here on holiday now that they aren't skating. Mostly, people hang in the lower downtown area, which was revitalized in the mid-90s when Coors Field was built. Called "LoDo," it is filled with bars, restaurants and shops, most of which are located in renovated brick buildings, giving them a very casual drinking-in-a-warehouse feeling. But what's really cool is the fact that just about every bar has Happy Hours starting at 11 p.m. This section of PubClub.com's guide to Denver covers the bars, clubs, hip hangouts and even a pair of top strip clubs. For more on the Mile High City, click on the links at the left side of this page.For restaurant/bars, for instance, visit our Denver Dining Guide.
There is something for just about everyone in Denver: bars, sports bars, upscale bars, live music venues, and restaurants. Everything is within easy walking distance – 5-10 minutes – and is also easily accessible from the main downtown area via the free and frequently-used 16th Street Mall shuttle bus. While it's currently legal to smoke in bars, a non-smoking law goes into effect July 1. LoDo – Martini Bars [MAP]
One place to start is Jax, an oyster bar with 50-cent oysters from 4-6 for the after-work crowd. On nice evenings, the small sidewalk patio is full. The Rio Grande (on Blake), is a Southwestern restaurant with mediocre food and Mile High margaritas. And they will definitely get you mile high if you're not careful. They are made with pure grain alcohol and there is bar-imposed limit of three. It's even in the logo, a "3" inside of a glass. Not that one can handle any more than the quota. This is Denver's Top Happy Hour Hangout, the PreParty Capitol of the city. On weekends, the place is packed by 7 and there is often a lime, er, a line to get inside. It closes at 10, though, a side effect of those margaritas.
The 9th Door (1808 Blake St.,) is a good bar - good music & good crowd, good food - great steak and tapas WHOA! It's crowded on Thrusdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Find some space during Happy Hour.
The martini-type bars are popular after 11 because of their late happy hours. The Purple Martini (15th and Lawrence) for example, has martinis for $3. On its menu are purple, citrus and watermelon varieties. Vesta (Blake and 17th) and Samba (15th and Larimer) are two more choices, each with good-looking crowds. Lime on Larimer (below street level) is known for it's good drinks, especially what some consider to be the city's top margaritas (take the free shot of tequila served in a lime). Blue 67 has live jazz and fun bartenders. Can't make it on Friday or Saturday? Go on Sunday, one of its best nights. The Mynt (1424 Market) has mojitos in addition to martinis. The Purple Martini and Blue 67 are not to be confused with Club Purple, a club with a clear dance floor and a downstairs, ahem, viewing area??? The Cruise Room in the Oxford Hotel (17th and Wazee in the central business district) looks like an old cruise ship. The drinks are so strong a couple of them are likely to send you overboard. This is a fairly quite place, mostly locals in for a quick sail. Another cool spot for a drink in the area is the English pub in the Brown Palace Hotel. The oldest bar in Devner is My Brother's Bar. Go for the burgers; they come not on a plate but wrapped in plastic. Shakespeare's is a very cool pool bar. LoDo – Around Coors Field [MAP]
On the other end of the semi-upscale, professional-and-martini spectrum is Croc's (16th and Larimer). It's a lively cantina with a floor as sticky as some of the pickup lines. This is where young partiers go to get stupid drunk. It's a fun atmosphere, even before the University of Colorado invades around 11. Croc's can kick off or end an evening around Coors Field. There is a huge cluster of bars, all practically within sight of the Rockies' home. Much like a close call in the stadium, it's a bang-bang play to hit all the bars. And there doesn't have to be a game going on for them to be a hit. They are as basic as baseball itself with a bar area, some type of bar sports activity like a pool and dance area. Many have patios, ideal for mingling under the moonlight. Roaming from one to the other is as easy as picking up a cheap ticket to a game (as low as $5 on some nights) – there are so many options there is rarely a line to get in any place.
The LoDo Tavern (pictured) is a large, fun bar, kind of like being in a warehouse with waitresses. It, too, has an after-11 Happy Hour a tad more of a lively crowd than the other places.The rooftop patio is an awesome hangout on nice nights. The SC – or Sports Column – is a true sports bar with big screens, pool tables, etc. It, too, has a rooftop patio and features Thirsty Thursdays with $2 domestic drafts and well drinks. The SC is rustic, as if it's been here quite a while. The top sports bar, though, it Jackson's (sorry, SI, your Top 25 is wrong!) It has big screens on both sides of a long bar, a seemingly never-ending patio, an upstairs for pool and games and a lounge area in the rear where Oklahoma alums gather to watch their Sonners during football season. There's also The Giggling Grizzly, a cozy drinking spot if there ever was one. The Poor House is a down-and-dirty pub for the college crowd. It's frequently jammed.
Speaking of places to hang out and drink, the Falling Rock Tap House, across from the SC, is a really cool bar. It has a live band on a small stage (a Zydeco band was playing during our visit) and a comfortable patio. This is a place to chill out and have one (or more) of its hundreds of beers.
Direct from Ireland – really – is Fado's. It's such an authentic Irish Pub it was entirely imported from the home country. It has wood furnishings, cobblestone stone floors, murals and live music (and not always Irish; we heard a kickass rockabilly band, in fact). The crowd moves in after 10 and it's older and more sedate than the college-aged bars in the rest of LoDo. It also has the best food of all the LoDo pubs (try the Boxty, various meats wrapped up burrito-style in a potato). Located literally adjacent to Coors Field, Fado's also serves breakfast but is short on TVs, though a big screen appears for big games. Off Broadway/Dance Clubs [MAP]
Most – but certainly not all – of the dance clubs are located just away from the main downtown area in the shadows of the State Capitol building (about a $7 cab ride from LoDo). But one doesn't need to leave LoDo to dance. Rise has risen at the corner of 19th and Blake and is part Vegas, part Miami Beach and part L.A. An outdoor patio with couches and cabanas is reminiscent of South Beach, the pumping smoke and light show with performers high above the dance floor is pure Vegas and the usual array of posers is just sooo L.A. But this Denver, so the place is fun. On the down--and-dirty dance side is the Lucky Star. It's very young; any guy over 21 is the oldest man on campus. The Lucky Star has a mid-sized dance floor, is crowded, sweaty, people dance their asses off on boxes, women get in free and men pay $5-7. And there's a Poly Esther's, the 70s club with locations in most major cities that is trying to make sure disco doesn't disappear. It's a great palce to dance if you're hammered (most others there are, so why not yourself?). Away from LoDo, the coolest place is the Funky Buddha (776 Lincoln). It's two-level bar with a superb open-air bar and patio upstairs. That's where crowd gathers to talk or to sit and be approached at the big chairs by the large open windows (The view is not outside but in). This is a 30ish casual, friendly hangout. Downstairs is a quite bar with cool booths for private conversations. Just down the street is The Church, a three-level, high-energy dance club, mainly for 20s clubbers. Built in 1875, it has two restaurants,three dance floors, a cigar room, martini bar, wine and sushi bar and rooftop lounge. The place is so popular, pubbers who don't frequent clubs go there. In the same neighborhood is Vinyl, which features several guest DJs. It has a circular bar with a hole cut out to enable loungers to peer down at the dancers. Sometimes, Vinyl has under-18 nights. The Church is glow sticks; the Vinyl is for smooth grooving. For the big city, serious club scene, people head down the alley to the Alley Cat. The main door is located in an alley off the main street and the doorman is as tough as a cheap steak. Once inside, it's a real scene – people wearing black, Go Go dancers on stage, a funky band, a low-lit side room with seats and tables and a VIP room overlooking the dance floor. The crowd is funky and sexy – it's where many dancers from the Diamond Cabaret (see below) go after work. The only beer sold is Bud Lite; this is a crowd fueled by mixed energy drinks.
Strip Clubs This is hardly Vegas, but Denver has a some first-rate
strip clubs. Locals like the Diamond Cabaret for its beautiful
girls – the best in town, they say. For the wild side, there's
Shotgun Willie's. The Paper Tiger is a "nasty" strip club
and away from downtown, PT's is famous for its Flashlight Night
where the lights are turned down and the place is lit by flashlights.
|
|
In addition to the bars and clubs, Denver hosts most major
touring rock bands. The Fillmore is a live music venue but for
a real experience, Red Rocks Amphitheater is a spectacular outdoor
arena carved into 500-foot-high red sandstone cliffs. Twenty minutes
west of downtown, it has hosted bands from The Beatles to symphony orchestras
and recently underwent a $26 million renovation. This, friends, is true
Colorado.
Lo
Do basically runs from Larimer St. to Wynkoop to the north/south and
14th and 20th streets to the east/west. It is unofficially divided –
culturally and mentally – at 16th Street. To the west are the martini
bars, a hot restaurant/bar and classy Larimer Square. To the east are
the dress-down sports and warehouse bars frequented by area college
students, all within the shadow of Coors Field
The Rio's crowd is mainly late 20s and 30s single professionals.
From there, those still walking and talking head to other bars in the
area, such as the martini bars or classy drinking spots. Many like The
Celtic (pronounced Kel-tic), a large, clean pub packed with people
and their conversations. A stand-and-drink bar, it's an easy place to
hang the whole night. Josephine's is a cool, classy bar in Larimer
Square that features live bands (usually upbeat jazz).
The
Tavern Downtown (formerly known as the Soiled Dove) has cool owners
and a huge rooftop patio with the stadium in clear view just over the
shoulder. Downstairs is a gaming room with bowling lanes. The crowd is
mixed, ranging in age between early 20s to mid-30s.
