This week's It's a Date request comes from a woman who says her ex used to call her Google Bar because she used to be so knowledgable about local goings-on. "Since I bought my house in Aurora, I’ve sort of lost my touch with the 'scene,' so I’d love some fun, new ideas! I love seafood, sushi, high-end Mexican and hand-crafted cocktails," Jenna writes. "I’ve never been to Meow Wolf but I love immersive art and exploring new things and cultures. I’m athletic and enjoy adventure-type experiences as well. My budget is $100-300 depending on the date/kind of experience."
Here's a pro tip, Jenna: You can regain your Google Bar status by reading Westword's Things to Do posts; we have ongoing lists of free activities around Denver as well as events worth the price of admission.
But for now, try out this itinerary of flavorful and immersive options:
There’s no better spot for a cocktail than Ok Yeah, a tiny cocktail bar tucked away in the back of restaurant Hey Kiddo, located on the third floor of an unassuming apartment building.
Jeff Fierberg
4337 Tennyson Street
A standout on our list of Things to Do in Berkeley is Ok Yeah, a cocktail bar tucked in the back of restaurant Hey Kiddo. What stands out most is that there is no menu — cocktails are created on the spot to suit your mood. Offer the bartender a list of ingredients or types of cocktails you've enjoyed, and you'll be rewarded with a concoction of something entirely new. Online reservations are available.
Whole roasted fish is one of three large, shareable dishes on the menu.
Lucina Eatery & Bar/Instagram
2245 Kearney Street
For dinner, try Lucina, Westword's Best Latin Restaurant in the Best of Denver 2024. The restaurant opened in Park Hill in 2022 and combines influences from a variety of Latin countries, including Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The team is always adding something new to a vibrant menu that lists dishes like mussels con chorizo, paella and pear congelada. On a date with a picky eater? Lucina has a burger, too.
Immerse Yourself
Denver has many immersive options; in fact, it's put itself on the map as an immersive destination. Sure, Meow Wolf is always a good gateway into the immersive (and possibly another realm), but there are other options:
Spookadelia: The Fracture
Spectra Art Space, 1836 South Broadway
Tickets: $22
Spookadelia: The Fracture is the latest iteration of Spectra's perennial, immersive, ever-morphing exhibit, and it's a creep-fest with everything from sagging cobwebs to grinning skeletons and bubbling potions. It's a whimsical creep-fest, though. Like being in a dream. The exhibition is spread between indoor and outdoor areas and teems with critters, contraptions and characters. April is also the last month to catch Spookadelia before it goes away, and we'd definitely recommend it!
At this real-life video game equipped with censors, lasers and projections at York Street Yards, a paint, foam or slime bomb explodes if you lose.
Beat the Bomb
York Street Yards, 3863 Steele Street
Tickets: $51.95, but must be bought in groups of at least four
New immersive group game Beat the Bomb just opened in Denver, and if you like video games (and group dating), this is for you. The game takes you through multiple rooms of lasers, projections and censors where you must work together to complete various tasks. And the stakes are high: If you lose, a paint, foam or slime bomb (depending on which mission you choose) will explode on you. No, it doesn't hurt. But people can watch — the bomb explodes in a glass room looking out onto a beer garden, where you can celebrate or drown your miseries when you're done.
Titanic: An Immersive Voyage
Exhibition Hub Art Center Denver, 3900 Elati Street
Tickets: $30
If you can wait until May, the newest thing at Exhibition Hub Art Center Denver is Titanic: An Immersive Voyage. The exhibit is designed to make participants feel like they're literally on the Titanic — iceberg and all. And if the iceberg isn't enough, there is also a virtual reality option that takes you 2.5 miles beneath the sea to the wreck site. If you have a morbid fascination with the Titanic, recurring nightmares about shipwrecks or just an interest in naval history, we'd also recommend you check out the Molly Brown House Museum's new Titanic exhibit, which opens Thursday, April 10.
Would you like us to plan an itinerary for your next date? Send a note with your price range, general interests and location preferences to It's a Date at [email protected] if you want to keep this feature going.
