LANCER LOUNGE
233 East Seventh Avenue, Denver
Amy Sjervan (left) and Amber Carpenter get ready to dig in at Panzano.
Abigal Timmons keeps things shaking at Dazzle.
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303-831-8989
Happy-hour hours: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 4:30-7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. daily
Happy-hour deals: 2-for-1 wells, house wine and domestics, first round; $8 pitchers
Where else but the Lancer Lounge could get away with having the Dirty Dancing soundtrack blaring — unironically — over the din of grizzled drinkers circling round the bar and pool balls knocking heads in the next room? This classic dive sticks out like the best kind of sore thumb, with a vibe not unlike an amusement park funhouse. You can actually score fake tattoos and stickers from machines near the front door. As for when to go, you'd be hard-pressed (or a chump) to show up when it's not happy hour: The Lancer's got three a day, including a classic drown hour. All together now: "I've...had...the time of my life..."
LOHI STEAKBAR
3200 Tejon Street, Denver
303-927-6334
www.lohisteakbar.com
Happy-hour hours: 3:30-6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Happy-hour deals: $2 PBR longneck bottles, $3 wells and margs, $5 wines
All of Highland is hopping these days, with worthy restaurants popping up on every corner. And at the end of the night, when industry workers want to get happy, they head to LoHi Steakbar, which features both an afternoon and a late-night happy hour when the drinks are very, very cheap. And at any hour, chef/part-owner Sean Kelly will cook up some of the best pub grub in town, including juicy steaks and amazing burgers (try the one dedicated to Tejon, with green chiles and an egg on top). We're high on LoHi.
LOLA
1575 Boulder Street, Denver
720-570-8686
http://loladenver.com
Happy-hour hours: all day Monday, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Happy-hour deals: $3 tacos, $2 Tecate, $5 coin margaritas
How do we love Lola? Let us count the ways. We love the inventive dinner specials, we love Saturday and Sunday brunch. And we particularly love happy hour — which, if we plan our brunch schedule correctly, follows seamlessly. During Lola's happy hour, you can order $3 chicken or fish tacos that are a meal in themselves (although other happy-hour specials, including the fried-chicken posole, are worthy of your consideration), washing them down with Tecate after Tecate for $2, or the town's best coin marg for just $5. And the fabulous view is free.
MARIO'S DOUBLE DAUGHTER'S SALOTTO
1632 Market Street, Denver
303-623-3504
www.doubledaughters.com
Happy-hour hours: 5-7 p.m. daily, drink specials 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
Happy-hour deals: half-price cocktails, $3.50 draft beer
The highly imaginative and very naughty Double Daughter's feels like Cirque du Soleil meeting Alice in Wonderland in the middle of LoDo. Plush red-velvet booths and dark lighting attract a crowd whose members pout suggestively at each other over the cutting-edge techno of a live DJ — and from 5 to 7 p.m., that crowd gets to drink draft Stella and vodka-based martinis at half price. When they return later that night, they can partake in daily drink specials that include oatmeal-cookie shots on Tuesdays and, fittingly, Red Bull with vodka on Fridays, when you want the party to go on and on.
MATEO
1837 Pearl Street, Boulder
303-443-7766
www.mateorestaurant.com
Happy-hour hours: 5-6:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Happy-hour deals: $4-$6 wines, $3 Stella, $5-$6 cocktails, $3-$9 bar menu
Mateo's regulars include men in suits and women in sparkling tops twisting stemware between manicured fingers, transplants from the coasts who have a good appreciation for the Colorado lifestyle. And during this bistro's happy hour, there's a lot to appreciate: French bar fare that includes decadently creamy Brussels sprouts gratin, a discounted croque monsieur or bistro burger, and a monstrous plateau provençal of cured meats, cheeses, olives and nuts. During the summer, we like to share snacks and sparkling wine on the secluded patio; winter has us posting up at the marble bar inside for bowls of brothy mussels.
MCCORMICK'S FISH HOUSE & BAR
1659 Wazee Street, Denver
303-825-1107
www.mccormickandschmicks.com
Happy-hour hours: 3-6 p.m., 9-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 3-6 p.m., 10 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday
Happy-hour deals: Drink specials $3.95 (PBR draft)-$6.95 (Caribbean martini), food specials $1.95-$4.95
When McCormick's opened twenty years ago in the corner of the Oxford Hotel, it immediately upped the ante for this town's happy hours. How? With an incredible $1.95 happy-hour menu that included a cheeseburger and fries, as well as assorted fish specials, pizzas and whatever seemed to strike the cook's fancy that season. Although the menu has changed over the years — the snacks now range from $1.95 to $4.95, with the burger clocking in at $2.95 — McCormick's remains the best deal in town. And the historic atmosphere is just the cherry in your Manhattan.
THE MED
1002 Walnut Street, Boulder
303-444-5335
www.themedboulder.com
Happy-hour hours: 3-6:30 p.m. daily
Happy-hour deals: $1 off wells, draft beers, wine, sangria, $5.50 margaritas, daily drink specials, $1.50-$7 snacks
No matter what day of the week it is, at 3 p.m., the Med's hidden patio and bar are sure to be packed with an eclectic mix that includes students, professionals, athletes, hippies, singles, couples, online daters and just about everyone within a thirty-mile radius who occasionally imbibes alcohol. Frenzied activity ensues as everyone works the crowd, forming connections and making dates over an extensive list of Mediterranean tapas and daily drink specials that range from cheap sangria to half-price bottles of wine.
