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7514 Grandview Ave. Arvada, CO 80003
303-432-7463
http://www.12volttavern.com Nestled in the quiet, small-town charm of Old Town Arvada is this gritty hole-in-the-wall rock club with no frills or fuss, just good music, cheap drinks and plenty of local and national touring acts to keep your ears ringing for days. More >>
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1550 Court Denver, CO 80202
303-626-2582
http://www.16mixdenverdowntown.com Housed in the Sheraton Hotel, the upscale 16Mix cocktail lounge is an ideal spot for people-watching both inside and outside, since it has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the 16th Street Mall. A step up from many other downtown hotel bars, 16Mix is visually stunning and has a first-rate crew of bartenders who can whip up anything from an old standby to any number of the lounge's signature cocktails, like the Green Haus (gin, ginger simple syrup and lime juice) or the Key Lime Pie (vanilla vodka, pineapple and Rose's lime mix). Quite a few local brews are on tap, and 16Mix serves small-plate items that include pot stickers, calamari, shrimp quesadillas, burgers and sandwiches. More >>
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1925 Blake St. Denver, CO 80202
303-779-6444
http://www.the-1up.com Opened in March 2011, the 1Up is an arcade, bar and restaurant. Located just a half a block from Coors Field, the place features more than thirty vintage arcade games, all from 1985 and earlier, like Pac-Man, Tetris, Galaga, Mortal Kombat and Tron. The 1Up is one of a kind in Denver. Named after the green mushroom that you earn in Mario Brothers when you get the free guy or when player one is up at the start of a game, the 1Up has two lanes of Skee-Ball, eight pinball machines and a display case full of vintage home-game consoles. The bathrooms are tricked out with vintage arcade art, and a mural behind the stage area was done by Jason Garcia, one of the live painters with STS9. More >>
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821 22nd St. Denver, CO 80205
720-325-6511
http://club2200.webs.com After a long stretch as the second incarnation of the infamous Muddy's Coffeehouse, the building has been home of quite a few different dance clubs over the years, including Club Evolution, the Loft, Club Ra and Gallery 22. As 2200, the club is a hot spot for house music and hip-hop. The two-level venue has a decent sized dance floor on the first level and a smaller one upstairs, and there are usually has DJs on both floors. While not quite in the thick of downtown or LoDo, 2200 is something of a destination spot, but it does have free parking across the street as well as having one of the best patios in the area. More >>
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1416 Market St. Denver, CO 80202
303-888-0655
http://24k.lotusclubs.com 24k, owned by Francois Safieddine (Suite Two Hundred and Chloe), is decked out with gold furniture, chandeliers and huge, back-lit photos of a girl painted gold and wearing a platinum wig. It's located above Oak Tavern, with an entrance in the alley. While the intimate 24K primarily caters to the bottle-service crowd, it's a bit different from other bottle services around town, with lychee, mango, guava, passion fruit and pomegranate liqueurs thrown into the mix. 24K is open Thursdays through Saturdays with rotating resident DJs -- Pat Allen, Sound Supreme, and DJ Squirt -- spinning house and dance music. More >>
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2690 28th St. Boulder, CO 80301
303-990-9975
http://www.28thtavern.com Opened in 2009 on Super Bowl Sunday, the 28th Street Tavern has become a locals' favorite, with an impressive list of continuing specials. During the weekday evening happy hour, 28th Street offers everyone's favorite -- the buy-one-get-one -- plus free pool. And don't let the front room fool you: The bar counter extends nearly thirty feet back and opens up into a large pool room stocked with high-top tables, foosball and a small stage for local acts to play on. Outside is a small fenced and heated patio with seating and a wall-mounted television so you don't lose track of the game. More >>
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717 E. Colfax Ave. Denver, CO 80203
slated to open early June More >>
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60 S. Broadway Denver, CO 80209
303-777-7352
http://www.3kingstavern.com First it was Zu Denver, then 60 South, then the South Park Tavern, then the Cherry Pit. Then it was a vacant, smoldering hole. But in January this year, months after a fire demolished the insides of the Pit, the 3 Kings Tavern rose, phoenix-like, from the...well, you get the picture. What no one really expected, though, was for someone to pump some real life and character back into the room. But co-owners Jim Norris, Jeff Campbell and Martin Kilorin, along with promoter and soundman Ross McAfee, have done exactly that. With a punk/rock/metal bent that perfectly complements the rest of SoBo's varied hipster establishments, 3 Kings offers enough great sound and cheap drinks to carve something special out of Denver's crowded club scene. More >>
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333 Main St. Longmont, CO 80501
303-776-3336
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3014 E. Colfax Denver, CO Denver, CO 80206
303-981-9720
http://www.thirtyfourteen.com If you didn't already know about it, it would be easy to overlook 3014's best asset: the upstairs patio. Sporting a full bar, benches and umbrellas, it's one of the most inviting spots in the city. But the main part of the bar is nice, too. Even though it's on Colfax, 3014 (formerly Senger's) feels more like an upscale LoDo bar. More >>
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1524 N. Academy Blvd. Colorado Springs, CO 80909
303-829-2000
http://www.40thievesonline.com
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1808 Blake St. Denver, CO 80202
303-292-2229
http://www.the9thdoor.com When the 9th Door opened in 2005, veteran chef Michael Wahaltere was called in as a consultant, and he created a menu of Spanish favorites, meant to be mixed and matched and made into a meal. To go with this inviting lineup, the cavernous spot was decked out in coppery hues and dark woods, with a plush red banquette along the wall and a bed in the middle of the dining room, gimmicky enough to make you feel like you've entered some adult theme park. The decor remains; the chef does not. Today's board keeps a lot of the original Wahaltere creations; the menu is divided between hot and cold tapas, all of which combine such traditional ingredients as olives, ham and Manchego and goat cheeses, with varying levels of complexity and success. The best time to stop by this restaurant is during happy hour, when the bites and beverages are a steal. More >>
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11964 Washington St. Denver, CO 80233
303-955-5660
After a long run as the Golden Cue and a brief stint as Chasers, the owner of JR's Silver Bullet in Thornton and England native Rob Kirk opened @ Cheers in March, 2011. While the place still hangs on to some of its charm when it was the Golden Cue (yes, there are still plenty of pool tables), this spacious bar in a Northglenn strip mall was remodeled and cleaned up when @ Cheers moved in. The live entertainment was also stepped up -- local rock and hard rock bands play on the weekends and the bar hosts karaoke on Thursdays. More >>
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1109 Walnut St. Boulder, CO 80302
303-443-8600
http://www.boulderabsinthehouse.com After a thirteen-year run as the Foundry, new owners took over this spot in 2010 and turned it into a bar that looks like it dates back to that day almost a century ago when absinthe was banned, but with an updated feel. Since the owners also run the Green Fairy absinthe bar and two restaurants in Summit County, they already had a handle on the absinthe market, so it's not surprising that Absinthe House boasts the largest selection of absinthe of any bar in America. The front part of the space is a restaurant that serves lunch and dinner; the back is a 6,000-square-foot nightclub with DJs spinning European electronic music six nights of the week as well as theme nights throughout the week. More >>
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501 E. 17th Ave. Denver, CO 80203
Opening fall 2012 More >>
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1216 Washington Ave. Golden, CO 80401
303-279-9043
Ace Hi Tavern is a Golden institution: Residents of the sleepy foothills town have been living it up at this Washington Street bar for half a century. The cushy booths are just the thing for sinking into if you don't feel like perching on a bar stool, and the tavern has plenty of distractions for drinkers, including a pool table and television. There are bound to be several other people in the bar no matter when you walk in -- but on weekends, during happy hours and on beer pong nights, expect it to be packed. Ace Hi serves hot dogs out of a wire rotisserie for $1, plus the usual array of chips to help balance out the booze. The decor is Western-themed and Colorado-proud, with maps of the state and "Native" signs adorning the walls, and old-fashioned steer horns fancied up with Mardi Gras beads stationed above the cash register. The tavern features DJs on Fridays and karaoke on Saturdays, and when there's no live entertainment to be had, you'll find plenty of hard rock on the jukebox. More >>
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204 S. College Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-482-8300
http://www.aggietheatre.com Fort Collins's biggest live-music hall is a converted movie theater retrofitted with two bars. The Aggie sports a broad, multi-leveled floor that ensures a good view from anywhere, although a brutal chain-link fence separates the aged from the under-aged. More >>
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7576 W. Jewell Ave. Lakewood, CO 80232
303-987-5959
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5151 S. Federal Blvd. Littleton, CO 80123
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8300 Arista Place Broomfield, CO 80021
303-635-2000
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/index.html
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535 16th St. Denver, CO 80202
720-932-1700
http://www.appaloosagrill.com When you stumble off the 16th Street Mall and into the Appaloosa, a cheerful, independently owned spot, odds are good that you'll hit a happy hour. Because the Appaloosa's happy hours are very, very expansive -- almost as expansive as its booze is inexpensive during these times. And you can often down your drinks while listening to live music -- a rarity in this part of town. More >>
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10625 W. Colfax Ave. Lakewood, CO 80215
303-462-1782
http://www.facebook.com/ApplebeesColorado
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1417 Krameria St. Denver, CO 80220
720-287-0584
http://www.aqualoungedenver.com Talk about your 180s: The Mozart Lounge long held a place in the hearts of dive-bar diehards, serving cheap, early-morning beers to workers just off the job at nearby hospitals and late-night cocktails to the riff-raff and bikers who might grace those same med centers later in the evening. But now the space has been completely reinvented by the owners of the Barker Lounge as a slick, H2O-themed cocktail lounge, complete with sleek leather furniture, live entertainment, a VIP area and dim lighting. It might seem a little out of place on a block sandwiched between Colfax and one of the busiest King Soopers in the state, but Aqua Lounge is making it work. And even those Mozart regulars might be lured back by the four-hour happy hour Aqua offers each day, plus the karaoke on Thursdays and pianists on Fridays and Saturdays. More >>
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3360 Navajo St. Denver, CO 80211
303-480-9435
With its padded orange fiberglass booths, old stools and checkered floor, it seems like not a lot has changed at the Arabian Bar since the '60s. The aged and small dive (a pool table takes up almost a quarter of the joint) feels lived-in and comfortable, which might be why it attracts its fair share of colorful regulars. There's not a whole lot to choose from -- a few kinds of bottled beer and maybe a dozen different kinds of liquor -- but it's always cheap drinking. Just remember to bring cash, because that's all they accept there. More >>
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840 Lincoln St. Denver, CO 80203
303-837-8921
http://www.armidas.com Karaoke was, of course, brought to these shores by way of Japan, so it's not every day you find a Mexican restaurant that has drunken people singing words off of a screen. Enter Armida's, which is packed with people every night, all doing it their way. But karaoke isn't the only draw here: The booze is cheap, and you can enjoy it on a patio that overlooks Lincoln. The menu hinges on standards like burritos and fajitas, but there are also some specialty items that could be playing your tune. More >>
