Top 10 Denver Pickup Bars and Restaurants According to Yelp

Last week, in noting that Yelp has a ranking for just about everything in Denver, we shared the site's picks for the best Denver bars and restaurants to meet older women.

But that left out significant parts of the population.

With this in mind, we checked out Yelp's list of best pick-up bars and restaurants in Denver. And it turns out there's only one repeat appearance from the previous roster — albeit the number-one choice according to users.

Check out the top ten below, featuring links to the Yelp items for each venue and the top recent review. They're illustrated by Westword photos that include links to our full-service location pages.

Number 10: Steuben's Food Service
523 East 17th Avenue
Denver, CO 80203
303-830-1001

Top recent review:

Holy smokes Batman! This restaurant will stick with me in my thoughts and dreams for some time to come. It's already like a high school...really enjoyable while it was happening, but becoming better and better as I have time away from it.

We were visiting Denver and staying near 17th and Grant. Yelp suggested Steuben's, so we decided to give it a try. The food was just amazing. The menu has lots of popular choices, but we ended up going with the herb chicken plate and the mac/cheese with bacon. We also started out with a beer and glass of wine.

As far as the beer menu goes, I was very excited to find the graham cracker porter on the menu. My wife had a glass of white wine and was happy with it as well. While they do not have an extensive beer menu, there are more than enough choices to satisfy your proclivity.

Onto the food.. I started with the french onion soup. Very good. A unique flavor twist, but great cheese and onion flavor to the soup. One of the better French onions I've had.

From there, we dove into the main courses. The mac and cheese was so incredible I feel like I have had a moment of awakening. The cheeses used were unlike any version of this I have ever had. So creamy and tasty was the dish that I could not stop raving about it while I ate it. Having the option to add bacon was just icing on the cake..or bacon on the mac in this case. My wife had the herb chicken, which was also splendid. I tried someone, and was very happy with the flavor as well as the complementary vegetables. It is not your average baked chicken. The spices and cooking style made it taste better than any other similar chicken I tried.

At the end of the day, we tried multiple places in Denver on our trip, but no places affected my thoughts and memories like Steuben's. I can't wait to come back to Denver so I can eat here again.

Number 9: The Greedy Hamster
323 14th St
Denver, CO 80202
303-623-2818

Top recent review:

What a find! We are in downtown Denver for a conference hoping for the impossible: a cozy restaurant and bar serving excellent food, great wine, IPA on draft with reasonable prices in a warm, romantic atmosphere. The Greedy Hamster made our dream come true and then some!

Nestled into an unassuming brick building just around the corner from the big chain restaurants (The Yardhouse, Hard Rock Cafe, etc), this gem is worth seeking out if you're looking for soothing ambiance, amazing menu, great prices, and the friendliest staff in Denver.

We will return here again and again and recommend it to everyone we know.

Number 8: Kinga's Lounge
1509 Marion Street
Denver, CO 80218
303-830-6922

Top recent review:

I just recently visited Denver and this bar was right across the street from our hotel so we decided to check it out. It was super chill and I absolutely LOVED the staff. They have all kinds of really cool infused vodka's and we were experimenting with different flavor mixes (try the Chocolate/Strawberry mix and the Pickle/Pepperoncini mix... you're welcome). We were in Denver for 3 days and ended up hanging out here for hours each day. Definitely a fan - next time I'm in town this will be the first place I go to!

Number 7: Stone Pony
1301 Santa Fe Drive
Denver, CO 80204
303-398-8885

Top recent review:

A good friend of ours brought is over after grabbing brews nearby at a brewery. What a find!!! We happened to roll in on Sunday and their all-day happy hour specials are more than enough to keep the crowd happy.

Food was surprising very good. We got a pub burger (nice grilled bun and juicy beef patty), the spaghetti meatballs (real, freshly shaved parm on top and real basil), and chili cheese fries.

If you need a bite and great value, stop by. Service was great! We will be back.

Number 6: Las Margs
1521 Marion Stree
Denver, CO 80218
303-361-2137

Top recent review:

Popped in for dinner and was greeted by friendly staff, and luckily made it just in time for happy hour and lucked out on some cheap house margaritas. I had a few different tacos, but my favorite was the poblano with the corn salsa, it was super delicious. The staff was great about coming and checking for what we needed.

Continue to keep counting down the top ten Denver pickup bars and restaurants according to Yelp.

Number 5: Baker St. Pub & Grill
8101 East Belleview Avenue
Denver, CO 80237
303-577-2790

Top recent review:

Baker Street is excellent. Why you ask, lets talk about it!

1) It's right in DTC and features a large parking area. No fighting to park or street parking here! Hooray!!

2) The ambiance is great. I love the decor, it's all British themed and even features a bright red call box outside the entrance. I have been here a couple times when it's been fairly crowded, but just mill around a bit and a spot will free up.

3) They mix some great drinks and pour up some excellent drafts! They aren't super expensive either, so you wont break the bank in coming here.

4) The food... Yes the food. I have tried the cheese board and the chips. I'm sure there have been other items but those are the two I recall. These were both great, but it looks like they've changed their menu up a bit. Looks like it's time to swing by again!! :)

5) They often have live music and some great specials.

Plus, they have a large patio area and a fire pit that just tops off an already great place!

Thanks Baker Street for being so great! Can't wait to come by and check out those new-er menu offerings and do some people watching!

Number 4: Williams & Graham
3160 Tejon Street
Denver, CO 80211
303-997-8886

Top recent review:

This place is easily on par with the best cocktail bars my wife and I have been to, comparable to Noble Experiment in San Diego, Trick Dog in San Francisco, and Dead Rabbit in NYC. We shared four cocktails here, all from the winter menu. They were all delicious. Old Man Winter was easily our favorite, with a nice initial flavor and many complex lingering notes in the finish that made us want to slow down and enjoy each sip. We also enjoyed Dem Apples, Sloe Down, and La Belle Helene. We also shared an order of fries.

Definitely recommended!

Number 3: Barracuda's
1076 Ogden Street
Denver, CO 80218
303-860-8353

Top recent review:

SO I know what some of you may be thinking, 5 stars for Barricuda's? This is a perfect example of judging a place based on what you want and what you expect.

Now you're not going to go to Barricuda's for fine dining... but the dining is more than fine! This is my go to Denver brunch with a big group (well, not huge, but usually about 6). There is rarely a wait, which is a huge factor (I like SAMs, but man, am I tired of crowded places. We always pick a table in the back corner, and we get served by either Jules or Scuba Steve. Both are complete sweethearts, do a great job with all of our wonky orders, do their job with a smile and are completely personable with their patrons.

The place is pretty dimly lit (THANK GOD) for any rough Saturdays or Sundays. The have bottomless mimosas, full bar, and bloody mary's that aren't so thick that you feel stuffed from just one.

It's GREAT diner-esque food, and with the lack of a wait, the food pricing, and the bada$$ staff, I will continue to go back. It's sorta becoming a tradition. OOOOOOH...Barricuda!

Number 2: The 1Up
1925 Blake Street
Denver, CO 80202
303-736-2230

Top recent review:

Ok so being an out of towner, many people were giving us tips of places to go and things to do. One of the best recommendations we got was to check out 1Up Bar. This place is a block away from Coors Field and is so cool.

This place has tons of pinball machines and retro arcade video games. Pinball is $0.50 and the video games are all $0.25. The games all line the wall and in the center is the bar, which had cheap drinks and some good drink specials.

Talk about a blast form the past, but even better because now you can game AND have a beer while doing it! We ordered some cold ones and got $10 in quarters and played a ton of pinball. They have all of the arcade classics too, like Xmen, Ninja Turtles, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Blitz, Time Crises and a bunch more. The most popular game seemed to be this 4 player table top Pac Man. It is really fun, especially with 4 people, as it's Pac Man but every man for himself. Really simple game, but super competitive which makes it a blast!

We actually came here twice during our stay, once in the aftrenoon when it wasn't that busy, and another at night, when it was pretty packed. Both times had a really good time, and next time we are in Denver, will for sure be coming back.

Number 1: The Thin Man
2015 East 17th Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
303-320-7814

Top recent review:

Best bar I've been to in Denver, hands down. The Thin Man was our last stop of six destinations on Halloween night and it is the most charmingly, fantastically, endearingly weird place. Like, sci fi movie weird. I know it helped that it was Halloween, but the giant paper mache skulls bouncing around to the beat, the pink light bathing the crowd, the dance floor roiling with happy, eclectic people just having a great time, and the delicious drinks meant that we fell head over heels for this particular Man immediately. The DJ was awesome as well.

We loved it so much that we went back the next day and bought the t-shirt. Seriously. If you like kick-ass check-your-pretension-and-judgment-at-the door bars, this is the place for you.