It's five o'clock somewhere, Denver, and whether diners are winding down after-hours or stirring up a celebration, the Mile High City has happy hours to whet all appetites.
Among the half-off deals, two-for-ones, slashed prices, and snacks for accompaniment, a handful of options stand out in the discounted dining scene. Specials span all schedules, from midday to after-work and late-night, covering the full geography of the city, and a range of bars and restaurants, from dives to hot new eateries. To get the party started, here are some Denver happy hour favorites.
Note: This map is organized alphabetically rather than by ranking. If we missed your favorite happy hour, send us a message, leave a comment, or start a forum thread in its honor. We'll look into it.
Capitol Hill's vegetarian haven is eclectic and authentic. With some of the best deals in town from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., this hippie-chic bar-eatery offers $2 off everything behind the bar and a $5 food menu. From 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. it also has $4 house wines, $2 Genesee cream ales, and $2 off sides.
This dimly lit cafe-bar has a unique menu and daily happy hour. The best seats are on tree trunk stools surrounding the patio fire pits. Specials include easy $2 canned beers, $3 Ju Ju gingers, $5 white sangrias, and $5 snacks from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
At Adelitas, daily specials rotate and include $1 tacos all day Tuesday. Happy hour also runs daily from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. with $4 margaritas and $7.50 ceviche.
This indoor Aspen forest along Broadway changes its Nosh & Tails menu weekly. Cocktails run customers a cool $6 — with concoctions such as the "Violet, you are turning violet," served on the rocks with house-infused vodka (made with teas, blueberries, ginger). Wines run for $7, and drafts are $4. For fare, try one dish for $6 or three for $15.
The Kimpton Hotel Born's onsite restaurant features Christian Graves's wood-fired fare. Happy-hour combos for $7 give drinkers a glass each of rose and mezcal, or stout and bourbon, or they can order cocktails such as the brown derby with bourbon, honey, and grapefruit. Nearly 30-percent-off bar bites, served from 2:30 to 6 p.m., range from a Scotch egg with house-made fennel pollen sausage, to crispy artichokes with Dungeness crab for $9.
From brother-sister duo Paul and Aileen Reilly — also of Uptown's Beast + Bottle — this Southern Italian kitchen and bar has introduced Denver to daily rotating "spuzzulia" or small plates. The menu is designed to be shared, from Sienese peppers to tomato and basil crostini, and polenta fritters, along with wines and Negroni on tap for just $6.
This go-to neighborhood seafood bar got its start in Boulder, expanding to multiple locations including Glendale and Fort Collins. Thanks to speedy delivery, the fish is fresh and continues to reel in crowds. Happy hour features include chicken and crawfish gumbo, clam chowder poutine, and spicy ahi tuna poke. Thirsty? Try the oyster shooters, a rotating selection of Post beers, or chilled sake.
Situated in Governor's Park, this under-the-radar crowd-pleaser is known for its ease, elegance, and traditional Neapolitan pizza. Seven days a week from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 10 p.m. through close, glasses of wine that are $10 or more are half-off and glasses of wine that are $10 or less are reduced to $5. Food on special includes bacon-wrapped dates, house-made pork and lamb meatballs, zuppa, and flatbread.
The Populist offers a lot more than just a nightly tasting menu. Happy hour goes from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, serving cold snacks, lager for $3, $6 wine, and small bites such as spiced popcorn, green lentil croquettes, and chamomile cured steelhead, all $7 or less.
Sunday through Thursday, Tupelo Honey presents its Dirty South Happy Hour, complete with throw-back music and bottle service. Food items — for just $6 — include three raw or roasted oysters and Southern pakora (fried okra and cauliflower in chickpea butter) matched only by a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne.
A Capitol Hill classic, this lounge is decorated with antique cash registers and scattered religious emblems. At Vesper, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily and all day on Mondays, the bartender will fill your shoes with beer, entice you with a shot combo, or offer some snacks, such as the Vesper fries seasoned with Mediterranean spices and served with harissa aioli.
Wewatta Point recently dove into LoDo, bringing fresh seafood and nautical themes just a walk away from Union Station. For those who join for happy hour — Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. — they'll find craft beers and cocktails made with freshly squeezed juices. That's My Jam is made with blackberry jam, Licor 43, and tequila. Appetizers range from $5 to $12 and change with the seasonal menu.
Ace Eat Serve, Uptown's ping-pong bar and Asian fusion joint, recently released its new food menu with items courtesy chefs Thach Tran and Nadine Donovan. From opening until 6 p.m. daily, the happy hour includes an $11 ramen and a drink combo, $6 highballs, and a multitude of appetizers, from wings to rolls and more.
A sleek pan-Asian restaurant, Cholon offers happy hour every day but Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. until close. Don't miss the $5 Korean hot fried chicken slider, the calamari, or the beloved soup dumplings for just $10.
Shine Restaurant and Potion Bar serves plates for carnivores, vegans, vegetarians, and paleo dieters. The "magic hour" features meatballs, tacos, mac and cheese, spirited libations, and even CBD hemp oil on the menu.
Newly opened in the former Second Home location tucked inside Cherry Creek's JW Marriott, this eatery complete with a patio-side fire pit serves American bites, and spirits. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., there are small bites of truffle parmesan fries, ahi tuna, and poutine, and libations such as the dark and stormy or Scotland derby withs Scotch, lemon, mint, and chartreuse.
The latest restaurant by the Frasca Food & Wine team in Boulder brings Italian food and wine to Union Station, with a front lounge good for a quick cocktail and cicchetti (small snack) or a leisurely sit-down meal. Happy hour includes half-off cicchetti, from marinated olives to a tartine of squash, ricotta, and pomegranate, matched with $6 wine, spritzes, and beer.
This European-style market and restaurant easily transitions from day to night. From 4 p.m. through 6 p.m., Tuesday to Friday, the eatery's "blue hour" offers $2-off draft beer, half-off house red, white, and rose wines, and cocktails of the day. For eats, try the market oysters, anchovy beignets, or prosciutto wrapped breadsticks.
Capitol Hill's vegetarian haven is eclectic and authentic. With some of the best deals in town from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., this hippie-chic bar-eatery offers $2 off everything behind the bar and a $5 food menu. From 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. it also has $4 house wines, $2 Genesee cream ales, and $2 off sides.
This dimly lit cafe-bar has a unique menu and daily happy hour. The best seats are on tree trunk stools surrounding the patio fire pits. Specials include easy $2 canned beers, $3 Ju Ju gingers, $5 white sangrias, and $5 snacks from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
At Adelitas, daily specials rotate and include $1 tacos all day Tuesday. Happy hour also runs daily from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. with $4 margaritas and $7.50 ceviche.
This indoor Aspen forest along Broadway changes its Nosh & Tails menu weekly. Cocktails run customers a cool $6 — with concoctions such as the "Violet, you are turning violet," served on the rocks with house-infused vodka (made with teas, blueberries, ginger). Wines run for $7, and drafts are $4. For fare, try one dish for $6 or three for $15.
The Kimpton Hotel Born's onsite restaurant features Christian Graves's wood-fired fare. Happy-hour combos for $7 give drinkers a glass each of rose and mezcal, or stout and bourbon, or they can order cocktails such as the brown derby with bourbon, honey, and grapefruit. Nearly 30-percent-off bar bites, served from 2:30 to 6 p.m., range from a Scotch egg with house-made fennel pollen sausage, to crispy artichokes with Dungeness crab for $9.
From brother-sister duo Paul and Aileen Reilly — also of Uptown's Beast + Bottle — this Southern Italian kitchen and bar has introduced Denver to daily rotating "spuzzulia" or small plates. The menu is designed to be shared, from Sienese peppers to tomato and basil crostini, and polenta fritters, along with wines and Negroni on tap for just $6.
This go-to neighborhood seafood bar got its start in Boulder, expanding to multiple locations including Glendale and Fort Collins. Thanks to speedy delivery, the fish is fresh and continues to reel in crowds. Happy hour features include chicken and crawfish gumbo, clam chowder poutine, and spicy ahi tuna poke. Thirsty? Try the oyster shooters, a rotating selection of Post beers, or chilled sake.
Situated in Governor's Park, this under-the-radar crowd-pleaser is known for its ease, elegance, and traditional Neapolitan pizza. Seven days a week from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 10 p.m. through close, glasses of wine that are $10 or more are half-off and glasses of wine that are $10 or less are reduced to $5. Food on special includes bacon-wrapped dates, house-made pork and lamb meatballs, zuppa, and flatbread.
The Populist offers a lot more than just a nightly tasting menu. Happy hour goes from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, serving cold snacks, lager for $3, $6 wine, and small bites such as spiced popcorn, green lentil croquettes, and chamomile cured steelhead, all $7 or less.
Sunday through Thursday, Tupelo Honey presents its Dirty South Happy Hour, complete with throw-back music and bottle service. Food items — for just $6 — include three raw or roasted oysters and Southern pakora (fried okra and cauliflower in chickpea butter) matched only by a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne.
A Capitol Hill classic, this lounge is decorated with antique cash registers and scattered religious emblems. At Vesper, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily and all day on Mondays, the bartender will fill your shoes with beer, entice you with a shot combo, or offer some snacks, such as the Vesper fries seasoned with Mediterranean spices and served with harissa aioli.
Wewatta Point recently dove into LoDo, bringing fresh seafood and nautical themes just a walk away from Union Station. For those who join for happy hour — Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. — they'll find craft beers and cocktails made with freshly squeezed juices. That's My Jam is made with blackberry jam, Licor 43, and tequila. Appetizers range from $5 to $12 and change with the seasonal menu.
Ace Eat Serve, Uptown's ping-pong bar and Asian fusion joint, recently released its new food menu with items courtesy chefs Thach Tran and Nadine Donovan. From opening until 6 p.m. daily, the happy hour includes an $11 ramen and a drink combo, $6 highballs, and a multitude of appetizers, from wings to rolls and more.
A sleek pan-Asian restaurant, Cholon offers happy hour every day but Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. until close. Don't miss the $5 Korean hot fried chicken slider, the calamari, or the beloved soup dumplings for just $10.
Shine Restaurant and Potion Bar serves plates for carnivores, vegans, vegetarians, and paleo dieters. The "magic hour" features meatballs, tacos, mac and cheese, spirited libations, and even CBD hemp oil on the menu.
Newly opened in the former Second Home location tucked inside Cherry Creek's JW Marriott, this eatery complete with a patio-side fire pit serves American bites, and spirits. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., there are small bites of truffle parmesan fries, ahi tuna, and poutine, and libations such as the dark and stormy or Scotland derby withs Scotch, lemon, mint, and chartreuse.
The latest restaurant by the Frasca Food & Wine team in Boulder brings Italian food and wine to Union Station, with a front lounge good for a quick cocktail and cicchetti (small snack) or a leisurely sit-down meal. Happy hour includes half-off cicchetti, from marinated olives to a tartine of squash, ricotta, and pomegranate, matched with $6 wine, spritzes, and beer.
This European-style market and restaurant easily transitions from day to night. From 4 p.m. through 6 p.m., Tuesday to Friday, the eatery's "blue hour" offers $2-off draft beer, half-off house red, white, and rose wines, and cocktails of the day. For eats, try the market oysters, anchovy beignets, or prosciutto wrapped breadsticks.
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