The Best Downtown Denver Bars (LoDo and Beyond, 2026)

Downtown Denver is a fun drinking town in a way that sneaks up on you. You can start the night in a Prohibition-era bar that hasn't changed since 1933, walk ten minutes, and end up in a warehouse bar with arcade games and a food truck out back. LoDo, the Dairy Block, Union Station, and the Ballpark edge all sit close enough to bar-hop on foot, which is the whole point. Below is where to go, grouped by block and by what you're in the mood for. Every place here is real and worth the trip.

One quick note before you start. If your night is really about game day at Coors Field or Ball Arena, we broke that out separately in our guide on where to eat and drink around an Avalanche game. And if you want the view, skip ahead to the rooftop bars guide, because we're keeping this one at street level.

LoDo: the historic core

Lower Downtown is the oldest, prettiest part of the city, all red brick and tall windows. It's also where the modern bar scene basically started. This is the block to hit for cocktails with some history behind them.

Cruise Room

If you do one downtown bar, make it the Cruise Room. It's tucked inside the Oxford Hotel and it opened the day after Prohibition ended in December 1933, which makes it the longest-running bar in the city. The room was modeled after a lounge on the Queen Mary ocean liner, so you get red neon, art deco walls, and a martini list that takes itself seriously without being stuffy. Go early on a weeknight and get a booth. It fills up fast for a reason.

Union Lodge No. 1

Union Lodge No. 1 sits in an 1889 building on Champa Street, a block off the 16th Street Mall. The whole concept is late-1800s American bar, so the cocktails lean pre-Prohibition classics done properly. It's dark, it's quiet enough to actually talk, and the bartenders know their stuff. This is a first-date-that's-going-well kind of place.

The Passport

The Passport is a speakeasy-style spot that pulls off the trick of being genuinely good without the pretension that usually comes with the format. Strong, thoughtful cocktails and a room that feels like a secret. It carries one of the highest ratings of any bar downtown, and once you go you'll get why.

Bedlam

When you want a proper pub and not a production, Bedlam is the answer. It's a LoDo bar where locals actually drink, which sounds obvious until you've had a few nights of tourist-packed rooms down here. Cold beer, no attitude, easy to post up for a couple hours.

Wynkoop Brewing Company

Denver's craft beer story basically started at Wynkoop, the city's first brewpub, opened in 1988 at 18th and Wynkoop back when the area was still Skid Row. These days it's a big, comfortable brewpub with house beers, hearty food, and a full pool hall upstairs. It's not the most cutting-edge beer in town, but the history and the room make it worth a pint. For where the beer nerds go now, our Denver breweries guide has the full rundown.

Union Station: drink where the trains come in

Denver's restored Union Station is a destination on its own, and you don't need a reservation to hang out in the Great Hall with a drink and watch the whole city move through. Two spots inside are worth knowing. The Cooper Lounge sits up on the mezzanine with 28-foot windows and a short, sharp cocktail list, and it's the fancy option, so plan ahead for a seat. Downstairs, Terminal Bar lives in the old ticketing office and does a solid, low-key job with Colorado beers and easy cocktails when you just want to be in the room without dressing up. Neither is in our directory yet, but both are legit and steps from everything else on this list.

The Dairy Block: one alley, a lot of drinks

The Dairy Block is a redeveloped block between Blake and Wazee with a walkable alley packed with food and bars. It's a good move when your group can't agree, because you can wander until something clicks.

Seven Grand

Seven Grand is the whiskey headquarters of downtown, with 700-plus bottles on the wall and a warm, wood-heavy room on Blake Street. It sounds intimidating and it isn't. Tell the bartender what you like and they'll steer you right. Live music some nights, whiskey tastings if you want to go deep. This is your spot when the weather turns and you want to settle in.

Poka Lola Social Club

Poka Lola Social Club sits inside the Maven Hotel on the Dairy Block, and the concept is old-school soda fountain meets cocktail bar. That means phosphates, egg creams, and reworked highballs alongside proper drinks, plus a big patio when it's warm. It's playful without being gimmicky, and the couches make it a good group hang.

The Ballpark and RiNo edge

Just north and east of LoDo, the blocks around Coors Field bleed into RiNo, and this is where downtown gets a little louder and more fun. Come here for range: a world-famous cocktail bar, a jazz club, an arcade bar, and a country bar all within a few blocks.

Death & Co

Death & Co is the New York cocktail institution that opened its Denver outpost inside the Ramble Hotel at 25th and Larimer. It's regularly named one of the best bars in the country, and the drinks live up to it. This is the splurge, the place you take someone to impress them, or where you go when you actually care what's in the glass. Sit at the bar if you can.

Nocturne

Nocturne is a jazz supper club in a restored RiNo warehouse, and it's the only spot in Colorado built entirely around live jazz. The room is art deco and swanky, the cocktail and wine lists are serious, and the music is the main event. Book ahead if you want dinner with the show. Even just for drinks and a set, it's one of the most grown-up nights out downtown.

Improper City

Improper City is the opposite energy and just as good. Think craft cocktails, arcade games, rotating food trucks, and a big open room that works for a first drink or a full night. It's low-commitment fun, which is exactly what you want when the group is ten people deep and everyone's got an opinion.

Pony Up

For a full swerve, Pony Up on Blake Street is a country bar with a mechanical bull, live bands, and a dance floor that gets going. It's a blast in a group and a reliable answer to the classic downtown problem of everyone standing around not knowing what to do. Perfect before or after a game at Coors Field.

Run For The Roses

Run For The Roses leans horse-racing theme, with mint juleps and a bit of live betting energy. It's a fun, specific concept that reads better in person than it does on paper. Good for a change of pace when the cocktail dens start blurring together.

16th Street and the CBD

The 16th Street Mall itself is more chain-heavy than the blocks around it, but a couple of downtown standbys are worth pulling off the main drag for.

Ship Tavern

Ship Tavern lives inside the historic Brown Palace hotel, all nautical wood and old-Denver charm. It's where power players and out-of-towners drink serious cocktails in a room that feels like the city's living room. Come for the atmosphere and a well-made classic. It's a nice reset when the rest of downtown feels too loud.

The Wild

If you want something tropical and a little escapist, The Wild is a jungle-themed cocktail bar in LoDo with strong drinks and real bartending behind the greenery. It's the kind of place that feels like a small vacation in the middle of downtown, which is a good trick in January.

Quick picks by mood

• History and a martini: Cruise Room, then Ship Tavern.
• Serious cocktails: Death & Co, Union Lodge No. 1, The Passport.
• Big group, low stress: Improper City and the Dairy Block alley.
• Whiskey deep-dive: Seven Grand.
• Music first: Nocturne for jazz, Pony Up for a rowdier night.
• Just a good beer: Wynkoop or Bedlam.

The best move downtown is to pick a block and walk it. Start in LoDo, drift toward the Dairy Block, and let the night pull you toward Ballpark if you've got the legs. Browse the full bars and nightlife directory for more, and if you're pacing yourself on price, check our guide to where locals actually go for happy hour before you head out.