14 JULY 3-6, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | YOU’RE GROUNDED! While rooftop bars can provide a great Rocky Mountain high, sometimes you want to keep things closer to the ground. That’s when you want to get down at one of our favorite patios, including these six mainstays and a very welcome newcomer. Bon Ami Bistro 295 South Pennsylvania Street 303-862-4959 If you’re looking for a more relaxed patio atmosphere, head to Bon Ami. The intimate French bistro has a shaded outdoor seating area where you can gorge on crepes, escar- gots, mimosas and more. We’d consider this spot more upscale, so don’t expect to fi nd any beer-chugging bros or loud music. Bon Ami is where you can have a full, delicious meal with great happy-hour wine deals outside in a peaceful atmosphere, which sends us straight to France. It’s a perfect spot for tak- ing visiting family members, a chill brunch with the girls, or fi rst dates. Bon appétit! FIRE Restaurant & Lounge 1201 Broadway 303-572-8000 If you’re feeling fancy, look no further than the FIRE Restaurant & Lounge at the ART Hotel, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this summer. You don’t have to be a guest at the hotel to enjoy its year-round, four-fl oor bar equipped with plenty of fi re pits for ambiance and warmth in the chilly months. Enjoy fi ne dining, drinks and fresh air all day while you look out over Broadway — the open terrace is made of fl oor-to-ceiling glass windows, and the restaurant serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, snacks and dinner. We recommend the plate of cheese and cured meats, which comes with pickles, crostini and spread. Joy Hill 1229 South Broadway 303-954-8784 Take a friend to Joy Hill, and there’s a good chance you’ll run into that friend on your next visit. Take a seat on the elevated back- yard patio during the sunset, and it’s a virtual guarantee. This South Broadway pizza joint has a welcoming two-level interior and fan- tastic menu of drinks, salads and sourdough pies and appetizers, but a seat outside makes the experience (and view) addictive. As you order pepperoni rolls or a green goddess salad, split one of Denver’s best pizzas and enjoy dessert with a creamy pistachio sour cocktail — all while sherbet skies highlight the Rocky Mountains — you’ll realize that you’re on the ground fl oor of something spe- cial, while sitting two stories above the street. My Brother’s Bar 2376 15th Street 303-455-9991 Although the name has changed and some- time during the last century and a half the building lost a second story, My Brother’s Bar just keeps getting better. This is the oldest continually operating bar in Denver, having opened in 1873, somehow survived Prohibi- tion, and then fended off developers eager to grab its prime corner near Confl uence Park. Along the way it’s been patronized by every- one from Neal Cassady (Jack Kerouac’s Beat inspiration who may still have an open tab) to working-class folks in the ‘70s to a new generation that’s discovered its cool historic interior (no TVs!) as well as its secluded patio in the heart of the city. Fair warning: There’s no sign on this bar, but it doesn’t need one. Platte River Bar & Grill 5995 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton 303-798-9356 Who needs a beach when you have an out- door patio like this one? Platte River Bar & Grill’s sprawling patio is dog-friendly, with frequent events and plenty of TVs for those who don’t want to partake in live music or trivia. The lunch specials are a deal, but the real draw here is happy hour and then the hours beyond, when people come out to play and party. And yes, there’s even water nearby, although you’re better off wetting your whistle than plunging into the Platte. Schoolyard Beer Garden 1115 Acoma Street 720-292-2333 Class is in session every afternoon and evening at the new Schoolyard Beer Garden — which is just what the Golden Triangle needed, even if we didn’t realize it. Since opening in April, this expansive patio outside the renovated, historic Evans School has been packed, draw- ing neighbors as well as people from around town who fi nd it a convenient place to meet (think Racines). You order your drinks and snacks inside, then take them out into the beer garden, where you’re bound to run into some- one you know. Or many someones you know: This is a great place to make connections and celebrate community. Or just enjoy some classic Colorado craft beers and cocktails. Ultreia 1701 Wynkoop Street 303-534-1970 Want to get a real taste of Denver? Head to Ultreia, the charming “gastroteka” inside Union Station. The intimate interior is lovely, but we go straight for the patio, a perfect place for downing a gin tonic or three, en- joying dishes off the tapas menu, and doing some major people-watching as you drink up all the sights and sounds of the city. While brunch is always a treat and the paella nights are prime in the summer, happy hour is our favorite time on this patio. All aboard! Odell Brewing Sloan’s Lake 1625 Perry Street 303-376-3777 On the south side of Sloan’s Lake, just over a mile from Joyride, is another brewery rooftop, this one mere feet from the park’s waterside walking paths. Odell opened at this location in the spring of 2021, and it boasts ample space, quintessentially Denver views of the lake, and a delicious variety of beers that are brewed beneath your feet. It’s also the fi rst Odell loca- tion to offer housemade dining options, including pizzas topped with seasonal ingredients. Palenque Cocina y Agaveria 2609 West Main Street, Littleton 720-245-0195 Downtown Littleton often gets overlooked by those who live closer to the city, but it’s home to a number of rooftop patios where you can enjoy the slower pace of a town- turned-suburb that happens to be packed with locally owned draws. Exhibit A: mezcal mecca Palenque, which originally opened in 2018 as a second location of Adelitas but took the Palenque name after former co-owners Silvia Andaya (who still runs the original on Broadway) and Brian Rossi cut ties in 2020. Five years into its new iteration, there’s no better place south of the city to learn about — and sip plenty of — a well-curated selection of agave spirits and cocktails than the upper level of this Main Street eatery. Pindustry 7939 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village 720-712-7467 For years, not much changed on Arapahoe Road near the Denver Tech Center, but a big push to revitalize the area kicked off in 2021 with the opening of Pindustry, the fi rst major addition to what’s now called the Arapahoe Entertainment District. The two-story restaurant complex can hold up to 2,300 people, and besides the bowl- ing and arcade games on the main fl oor, the biggest draw is the 16,000-square-foot Sky Deck with Rocky Mountain views, its own bar, and activities like giant chess and cornhole. Game on. And a chaser: Stellar Jay The Populus, 420 14th Street 303-256-6381 If you like feeling on top of the world — and all the peons drinking on the ground level — this rooftop restaurant and bar at the Populus is for you. The hotel topped Esquire’s Best New Hotels in the World list this spring, and Stellar Jay helped propel it there. You’ll need to check in at the hotel’s host stand just to go up in the elevator to the top fl oor, but once you’ve arrived, you’ll be stunned by the views of Civic Center and downtown. And if those don’t bowl you over, the tab will. But some experiences are priceless. People have said the Populus looks like a cheese grater, and you’ll defi nitely feel like a big cheese up here! Email the author at [email protected]. Cafe continued from page 13 Schoolyard Beer Garden gets top marks. Party on the patio at Ultreia. MARC PISCOTT Y ULTREIA
