Lion's Lair has been a Colfax staple for decades — though it's gone by many other names in the past, including the Playboy Lounge. A call from Hugh Hefner changed that, but not much has changed inside the bar over the past thirty or so years. But things are changing outside of it, putting its future in danger. The Bus Rapid Transit construction project on East Colfax Avenue has hit the business hard. According to co-owner Tony Meggit, all of the street parking has been blocked, and sales are already down 20 percent. Now, the Lair is facing months of work on the sidewalk that will block the bar's front entrance.
In the heart of downtown, the century-old watering hole officially named Carioca Cafe but better known as Bar Bar remains closed after a series of challenges. In June 2024, the Bar Bar Facebook page posted a photo of damage caused by a blaze early that morning along with this caption: "Somebody burned her. They burned our bar. Fire department told us it was arson. They had to use forced entry on all the doors and there’s structural damage. It’s getting boarded up. Don’t know if or when it can be fixed."
The damage was significant, and Bar Bar was still closed when a wall collapsed last week, further delaying its reopening...if it ever reopens.
Bar Bar is among a shrinking number of true dives in the metro area — spots that remain off the radar and haven't become part of local chains, no matter how respectful of the bar's origins (think Don's Club Tavern), or classics that rise above the dive designation (such as My Brother's Bar).
While we wait for the return of Bar Bar, here are our favorite no-frills places to imbibe in the metro area (listed in alphabetical order):
12 Volt Tavern
7514 Grandview Avenue, Arvada
303-432-7463
Just when you think Olde Town Arvada might be turning a little too precious, you stumble into the dark and down-home 12 Volt Tavern, a dive that harks back to the days when factory workers would stop in for a shot before heading home. Today, it's a true rock-and-roll joint with a good jukebox, cold beer, drink specials, friendly pool games, live music, theme nights...and better bathrooms than you might expect. Stop in for a jolt.
Ace-Hi Tavern
1216 Washington Avenue, Golden
303-279-9043
Since alcohol put Golden on the map, it’s not surprising that one of the area’s best dive bars is located in this town. Bar fans have been living it up at the Ace-Hi since Leo Stillman purchased the old Opera House restaurant on historic Washington Avenue and opened the bar back in 1961. Today it’s run by Leo’s grandson, Sid Stillman, and it’s still a place where workers getting off their shifts at Coors Brewing plop themselves next to Colorado School of Mines students preparing for a tough day of classes. The place 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.
Dr. Proctor's Lounge
4201 East Mississippi Avenue
303-756-1665
A Glendale strip mall houses a true dive: Dr. Proctor's Lounge (aka Bar and Grill). Behind its nondescript facade, it's been cranking out comfort food — burgers and burritos for lunch and dinner — as well as pouring good, stiff drinks for over forty years. Happy hour runs from mid-day through early evening on weekdays, and there's karaoke later in the week. Most of the time, though, you can find locals knocking back brews and knocking billiard balls around, keeping the good doctor in business. Lakeview Lounge
2375 Sheridan Boulevard, Edgewater
303-238-2149
At the break of dawn on the last day of Daylight Savings Time, regulars gather at the Lakeview Lounge — which opens at 7 a.m. — and toast the new day as the sun rises over the Denver skyline, Sloan’s Lake and Sheridan Boulevard. The sunrise service is a time-honored tradition at this weathered dive that time otherwise forgot — even though the bar got new owners, Eugene "Geno" and Jill Martinez, shortly before the pandemic hit. The pair managed to keep the place going, though, and it remains an ideal place to come for stiff Bloody Marys in the morning and mystery shots in brown paper bags late into the night. They're best enjoyed from a bar stool that's worn its own hole deep into the linoleum, or perhaps from one of the picnic tables out front.
Lion's Lair
2022 East Colfax Avenue
303-320-9200
The low ceilings and even lower bar top at the Lion’s Lair make you feel like you’re knocking back beers in someone’s basement. And when the music fires up, you’ll feel like you’ve stumbled into band practice in that basement, with a guitar neck or mic stand only inches from your head. It’s a living piece of Colfax history — although one facing new challenges because of the construction outside its door. Otherwise, even though the ownership group changed in 2023, this bar never does; it keeps pouring out cheap drinks and great live music and we hope that will continue for years to come.
The Nob Hill Inn is a survivor, and nabbed another Best Dive Bar award in the Best of Denver 2021.
Scott Lentz
420 East Colfax Avenue
303-860-7557
If there was a love song to the Nob Hill Inn, it would be played on a steel guitar. The song would have some twang to it, and it would be sad and satisfying and honest. The Nob Hill Inn has been a drinker's paradise for over seventy years — serving everyone from Bob Dylan to politicos who used to make deals over the phone in corner booths — but this down-and-dirty watering hole on Colfax almost dried up entirely during the pandemic. Without a kitchen or passable alternative, the place closed for months while it sold pizza and to-go drinks out of the back door and regulars hosted fundraisers. "We've had hard times before," said John Plessinger, whose father bought the Nob in 1969 and put it in his name. "But nothing like this." Still, this great dive survived and has even been immortalized in LEGO form by one loyal patron. PS Lounge
3416 East Colfax Avenue
303-320-1200
Like most great dive bars in this town, the PS Lounge is a place we’d never want to see in the daylight — but at night, the Lounge commands a special place in our bar-loving hearts. It has its quirks: The cash-only establishment won’t let you keep a running tab, for instance. But where else would the bar's owner — Pete Siahamis, in this case — send you a round (or two) of Alabama Slammers, a sweet, Day-Glo-orange concoction made of sloe gin, SoCo and orange juice that tastes more like Tang, just to show his appreciation for your patronage?
Sarah James
6801 Leetsdale Drive
303-322-6401
While hipsters have discovered many of Denver’s iconic bars, we’re betting you won’t find a single hipster at Sam’s Bar & Lounge, a watering hole that opened on Leetsdale Drive in 1954. The place has weathered some hard times recently, but you can still grab a seat at the big four-sided bar — there are a few comfy booths, too — and chat it up with the bartender, who pours stiff, inexpensive drinks. As so much of old Denver disappears, the neon sign of Sam’s shines like a beacon.
Twins Inn
5201 Ralston Road, Arvada
303-422-2786
Double trouble! The Twins Inn is as bare-bones as it gets — with a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in years and no website — but the space is clean, the jukebox is good, the beer is cold and the regulars are very, very friendly. The Twins Inn has been pouring beer on this corner since 1961, and there are even a pair of pet birds named Pretty and Bitch that add to the action. This is a great place to roost.
Cheers!
