31. the hi-dive
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (720) 733-0230
Address: 7 S. Broadway
Description: For live music, try the hi-dive for hip new bands, record-release parties, and DJs. It’s well positioned in a string of small dives just a stone’s throw from the galleries that line South Santa Drive. It seats 285 and has a killer sound system. Plan on occasional cover charges.
32. Jackson’s LoDo
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 298-7625
Description: A great place to drink while you listen to Top 40, hip-hop, and alternative music, Jackson’s attracts a youngish crowd—ages 21 to 30. Located across the street from Coors Field, it boasts Denver’s largest rooftop patio. It’s open daily until the wee hours.
33. La Rumba
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 572-8006
Address: 99 W. 9th Ave.
Description: Catch the Latin, salsa, and swing craze at this neighborhood spot, which is open Thursday through Saturday. The 14-piece salsa band is popular, as are the salsa and swing lessons that begin at 9:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday evenings. The decor is fun with comfy couches for resting between steps. The dress is classy. Cover is $5–10.
34. Ziggies Saloon
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 455-9930
Address: 4923 W. 38th Ave.
Description: Denver’s oldest blues club, Ziggies offers live music nightly in its Berkeley Heights barroom and a dance floor for those who rock. On Sunday evenings, there’s a no-cover-charge open-stage blues jam beginning at 7 p.m.
35. Herman’s Hideaway
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 777-5840
Address: 1578 S. Broadway
Description: Herman’s Hideaway is a live-music showcase with a large dance floor. The entertainment can vary from rock to Cajun. As you might expect of a funky South Broadway roadhouse, the decor is casual and the atmosphere laid-back. The crowd is 20s to 40s. Advance ticketing is advisable for special bookings of nationally known acts.
36. Lincoln’s Road House
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 777-3700
Address: 1201 S. Pearl St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Live music on Friday and Saturday nights and on Sunday afternoons makes this small but soulful joint a popular place to hear blues and rock while enjoying New Orleans–style po’boys, crawfish étouffée, and cheeseburgers. Come here and rub shoulders with the locals in the place recently named best blues club in Denver.
37. Little Bear
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 674-9991
Address: 28075 Hwy. 74 (Main Street)
Insider Pick:
Description: Even folks from the plains brave the narrow mountain roads to make the scene at the legendary Little Bear. Neither the route nor the rollicking roadhouse atmosphere is for the timid, but it’s a fine place to listen to national and local rock, folk, and blues musicians. It’s open daily, with live entertainment 6 days a week and a small cover charge on the weekends. Pizza and burgers are served daily from 11 a.m.
38. Stampede Mesquite Grill & Dance Emporium
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 696-7686
Address: 2430 S. Havana St.
Description: Stampede Mesquite also bills itself as Denver’s premier country bar and dance club, which tells you it all boils down to preference. The Stampede has a giant racetrack dance floor, line dancing and lessons, a yuppie clientele, and an antique bar. Call ahead for reservations at the restaurant, which is on a 2nd-floor balcony overlooking the nightclub and offers well-priced dinner specials.
39. Teddy’s Restaurant and Lounge
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 292-9500
Address: 4849 Bannock St.
Description: Teddy’s Restaurant and Lounge, located in the Ramada Plaza Denver Central Hotel near the intersection of I-70 and I-25, has a different musical format every night, but we love it best on country night. Genres vary from merengue, cumbia, and Latin rock to country, disco, oldies, and Top 40. Happy hour comes with free hors d’oeuvres; meals are available at the hotel’s full-service restaurant.
40. Sports Column
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 296-1930
Address: 1930 Blake St.
Description: Billing itself as “major league excitement,” Sports Column joins the ranks of Lower Downtown sports bars with picturesque rooftop patios. It has the requisite pool tables, foosball, and food. It also features five big-screen TVs, plenty of video games, and a kitchen that stays open late.
41. Impulse Theater
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (302) 297-2111
Description: This show opened in 1987 and is billed as Denver’s longest-running comedy show. It occupies the lower level of the Wynkoop Brewing Company, with performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Don’t expect stand-up. This place does skits, scenes, and ensemble comedy similar to Saturday Night Live. And customers feel like they’re attending a sporting event since they decide which “team” is funniest. Reservations are recommended.
42. Wits End Comedy Club
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 430-4242
Address: 6080 W. 92nd Ave.
Description: Wits End Comedy Club offers the comic hijinks of local, national, and international jokemeisters. The humor tends toward the clean side, but you still have to be age 21 or older to attend. Comedians are booked Thursday through Sunday.
43. Film on the Rocks
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (866) 464-2626
Insider Pick:
Description: This summer series pairs performances by local bands with screenings of great movies, such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with opening act The Flobots and headliner Buckner Funken Jazz. The outdoor setting makes it a magical movie experience. Bring something soft to sit on and rain gear, just in case.
44. Landmark Mayan
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (303) 352-1992
Address: 110 Broadway
Insider Pick:
Description: Denver’s finest art-movie house is the Mayan. This 1930s-era theater is decorated on every inch of its wall and ceiling surface with wonderful Mayan figures and other designs. Everything is classy here: the decor, the audience, the films, even the espresso and pastries served in the 2nd-floor cafe. There’s one large screen on the main level and two smaller ones above. The Landmark Chez Artiste Cinema at 2800 S. Colorado Blvd., the Esquire Theater at 590 Downing St., and the Landmark Theatre Greenwood Village at 5415 Landmark Place, are owned by the same company and offer similar independent and foreign film schedules. Discounted multiple admission tickets are available and can be used at all four locations. Be sure to buy popcorn at any of these theaters: They use real butter!
45. SIE FilmCenter
City: Denver, CO
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (720) 381-0813
Address: 2510 E. Colfax
Description: Located in the Lowenstein Cultureplex, the SIE FilmCenter brings to Denver the best of art house films with an excellent calendar of independent, classic, foreign, documentary, and retrospective movie offerings. This is also the home of the annual Starz Denver Film Festival held each November. The center is open 365 days a year.