I went to Tarantula for the first time two weeks ago and have already been back twice. I love this place! Free pool on weekdays is amazing and the drinks are strong and super good - i had a cosmo that was amazing. The bartender is always nice and the vibes are always good. I've never had to wait for a table to open up and only later in the night did anyone play close enough to us to risk bumpin elbows. Anyway yeah. Love it here. read more

Tarantula Billiards - freeeeeee poool - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Seriously impressive bartenders! Thank you Trista and Eva. They were literally working so hard, and doing a great job. Super fun dive in Denver and I'd def come back next trip. read more

Tarantula Billiards - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Terrible staff, especially the doorman this particular night.... Was nothing but a complete jerk. Followed by other Insufficiencies...I wish I would have enough time to list read more

Friendly staff ,easy going laidback ballad ...close by 16th street & other restaurant & other places read more

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At first glance this place looked chill, kitschy, and pretty welcoming. The music was not bad, there was decent space between the tables and we were so happy to see such a great shuffleboard table! In good shape to boot! Those are oddly hard to find. The paintings on the wall imitating the originals are overall good (except Venus, it was done horribly). ;) the ambience is what you would expect and a bit better than I imagined it would be. The drinks weren't horrible and the bartender was ok. Overall it's exactly what you expect in a dive bar trying to appeal to hipsters. It was fine for what we wanted and no real complaints. Nothing special but certainly not bad. That is until........ I looked down to find the puck for our shuffleboard game on the side of the board and saw tons of mice droppings! A lot!!!!!!!!!!!! I was horrified. The only thing that I could think of was that I just touched something that was literally on top of mouse feces and that hand has touched the glass I am putting into my mouth! Needless to say we shoved the drinks away, paid the bill quicker than I've ever paid any tab in my life, left to delouse our bodies and never looked back. If there are mouse turds on the shuffleboard table, just imagine other places those mice have been........ sad too because otherwise it would've been an ok place. I uploaded a picture just in case someone that works there would prefer to have a place that isn't a health hazard. Seriously. read more

Tarantula Billiards - Mouse droppings! - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Cheap drinks, pool, and other types of games to play. Pool is paid by the hour. For drinks, I recall drinking $6 Long Islands and $3 PBR. A solid place to grab a drink with friend while hanging out Downtown. read more

Before a show at the Bellco we stopped in here and really loved the atmosphere and overall vibe. Cheap drinks and looks like they had a pretty decent menu too but we had already eaten so didn't have anything here. Great place to play some pool, watch a game and have some drinks, the bartenders were super attentive to, so that's a plus! See you when I'm next in Denver! read more

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Came here three times in two days while we stayed downtown at Aloft. Each time the bartenders were friendly and prompt. They had daily specials and one of the times we came here the billiards were free. I think it was Friday afternoon. They have a large selection of beers in bottles, cans and on draft. There were a lot of people in there each time we stopped in. We sat on the patio and had a beer in the sun until someone came by and put our umbrella up for us. That was nice. Good place for people watching. read more

Tarantula Billiards - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Staying in the downtown Denver area for a couple days and stumbled upon the Tarantula. So glad we did !! our bartender Brian was absolutely the BEST! Super fun "dive" bar. We made a point to stop in and have a couple beers every day! read more

Our party of three headed over here for some Friday night beers and it was close to our hotel. Easy to find, large neon sign out front. When entering you instantly see pool table after pool table. Since it was still rather early in the evening, most people appeared to have just gotten off work. We didn't come for pool, but came for the shuffleboard. After ordering a few beers, we gave our ID to the bartender for the shuffleboard pucks. She told us they didn't have any extra sand, so whatever on it was what we had. Also, one of the lights on the table was busted, so we were shooting in the dark on one end of the table. And the scoreboard was broken too, so we didn't even keep score, just decided to shoot for fun and have beers. While the service was good, the shuffleboard was in a bad spot- we were constantly having to move around for staff pushing trashcans, waitstaff coming by with new glasses, people heading to the bar. It was just very tight, but I guess this place is known for the pool tables and could care less about the shuffleboard table. After finally deciding to just give up, we grabbed a booth by the front and finished our beers. Stop by and grab a brew, and play some pool, but don't visit here if you are looking to kick ass at shuffleboard. read more

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I wish I could give this place no stars, I just moved to downtown and was hoping this was a cool bar for the weekend and was terribly mistaken. We had all just moved here and the bouncer bent my friends ID who has lived here longer than I have and graduated college with me. They offered no reasonable explanation for why they took the ID or bent it in half. Bar tender and security were terribly rude. 7/9/22 between 3-4. My friend now has to get a new ID because of this. Will never come back or recommend it to anyone that lives near me. read more

Good option if you're looking for food late at night. It takes a while but there aren't too many choices from what I could find in the area past midnight on a Friday night. read more

I like to try new places, and have driven by Tarantula a bunch of times, and figured what the heck... Pluses: - Cheap cocktails and beer. Love that! - Free pool as long as you are drinking Minuses: - Nasty mens room - A pickpocket bum dude was floating around looking for shit to steal from us. Other than that, it was a pretty nice visit. The bartender was very pleasant, and the overall feel was warm and inviting. read more

Asked for a coors banquet and this bartender went off on me. I already gave 35% tip. I'm disappointed in her sass. I liked this place until the. I'm from the Midwest and try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but haven't faced someone this standoffish since 2019 in South Dakota. It was the waitress with the bull ring btw. read more

So- I've always wondered about Tarantula Billiards sitting at the traffic light while headed to somewhere else-- until last night! The "official" portion of our Yelp Drinks Denver mini-crawl broke down after our amazing food, service and cocktails at The Corner Office (see review here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-corner-office-restaurant-and-martini-bar-denver#hrid:a2aCXN-d6XaD_vpQsCO4qQ I somehow convinced our amazing Community Leader Laura, Wanda and two Steve's to go for a little beer and check this place out- see my VLOG here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lHeWHHnCx0 Very cool ironwork on the front door- the door handles form the shape of a Tarantula when closed. VERY STEEP STAIRS!! I'd imagine a lot of drunken people having a little tumble down after enjoying their stay upstairs. I must mention how helpful the two young girls behind the bar were for us! Stephen K.'s phone was completely dead when we arrived. We ordered a Bud Light Pitcher ($10 ) to watch our Colorado Rockies lose a heartbreaker in 14 innings while Stephen's phone was being charged safely behind the bar-- THANKS AGAIN whoever you are. The design of this place is a loft- I really hope they had a freight elevator to get all those pool tables upstairs btw.. Not upscale in any sense- Tarantula is still a great relaxed place to play a little pool, have some drinks, chat and people watch read more

Tarantula Billiards - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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This place was 4/5 stars however then they allowed people to smoke right outside of the garage door. This made the experience horrible and dropped it down to 2/5 read more

What takes this place from a 2 star to a 3 star spot is that in the last year or so they've made the pool playing free. Yup: free, nada, niente . . . that's what you'll pay to play pool on any one of their dozen tables. Now the bar's kinda grody; the linoleum's kinda torn up; the bathroom's kinda seen a better day; and several of the patrons will be outright, rip-roarin' plastered, in that falling down, "hey, can I shoot some goddam pool with your wife, buddy" kinda way, but what the hell, the pool is FREE! And if you drink enough you're sure to fit right in. read more

Went to Tarantula on New Year's Day as it was one of the few businesses open in Denver for the holiday. They had probably 10+ pool tables that are free with drink purchase. When we got there in the late morning, we had our pick with only a few others at the bar. It's a little dive-y as to be expected from a pool hall but has nice big windows toward the front of the bar. Our friends ordered wings that took a long minute but otherwise all was good. Would happily trek back to this part of town when looking for a fun activity as long as there aren't too many people on the waiting list to play. read more

Tarantula Billiards - Free pol until 7 - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

While staying in LoDo, I visited here twice to play some pool. Plenty of tables (free during the week when you buy food or drinks), great bartenders, and cool dive environment. I only had the wings, yes, both times, as they were lightly breaded with a great taste. Bring your own cue or use one of the house cues. read more

Tarantula Billiards - Order of wings with hot sauce. - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Pros: Great location, nice bar, friendly attentive bar tender, really good food, free use of the many pool tables, booths, big TV's, tables & outside seating... Cons: Parking is on street, and hard to find, (parking garage is 2 doors down but not cheap), abundant pool tables are free, but a bit worn/stained (but very usable and free). The men's room was nasty ( - one star, ). Overall a great place to have some fun, and we will be back, but will hope to find cleaner restrooms next time. read more

The young blonde bartender with glasses was by far the rudest bartender i have ever encountered first she made the drink wrong but insisted she knows everything about bartending. She continued to pick a fight when i came back for another drink at first refusing to make another one the right way B52 Kaliu Bailey's Grand Marnier read more

Free pool while you drink! Nuff said! You get a lot of city folk here. If you can't handle the city riff-raf then leave by 8pm. I stayed til close... several times. This place is downtown Denver so you WILL find undesirable people outside. But inside it's great. I had the Italiano sandwich? Awesome pastrami with cucumber and tomatoes! I travel alot! My spot in Denver is this place! I'll be back.... read more

Good luck getting any service here if you aren't a regular. The woman bartender with the "Karen let me speak to the manager" haircut paid us no attention. We waited for nearly 20 minutes before leaving. read more

It was our first time in Colorado for a conference. This bar had a convenient location and very good prices for drinks. The music was decent, good mix, and everyone was friendly. However, it was very hard to get s drink. I NEVER bring up race but I did feel discriminated today. I am hispanic, majority of the customers were white. The bartender looked me in the eyes a few times and obviously knew I was waiting for a drink. I waited patiently for 15 mins before leaving. It was not that busy, yes there was only 1 bartender before 2 other girls showed up at 430, but she had served new comers before me after realizing I had been there before them waiting patiently. I finally left. I'm sure it would have been a good time but I could never get a drink. Hope that changes for future customers. read more

I asked for no straws and the bartender responded by grabbing a handful of straws and fitfully throwing them in the trash. We watched one guy get kicked out and they chased him down the street, but then there was this other guy who seemed like he was harassing the woman bartender and the bouncer WOULD NOT kick him out, instead putting him in a timeout chair by the door. He kept trying to talk to us and we watched him get up four or five times to try to walk back to the pool table and the bouncer kept physically grabbing him and putting him back in timeout. They eventually got into a full-on fight outside on the sidewalk and then called the cops on him. It was actually hilarious. Why they didn't just kick him out immediately, I have no idea. The prices were okay, not great. read more

Super fun chill atmosphere! Great drinks and specials! Shuffle board and pool available to play! read more

Tarantula Billiards - Chips and salsa is amazing! Beer and the French toast cereal shot is the best! - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

I stumbled upon Tarantula Billiards on Yelp because it was late at night and we needed to find a cool place in downtown Denver to hang out. Tarantula Billiards was definitely popping and we found ourselves in here for a few hours Saturday night. It was super busy inside but the service was keeping up just fine. The pool tables were pretty busy and we managed to snag a table after waiting 10-15 minutes for one to free up. Meanwhile we drank tons of tequila and vodka lemonades in the process. Drink prices were reasonable and it was our friend's birthday so he did get a free drink from the bartender (very nice of her). The pool hall has plenty of TV screens and bartenders willing to take your order. We ended the night with me tumbling back to the hotel. What is it with me, billiards, and alcohol? I remember like I was 21 again. (Let's not go there...) Highly recommended and will return! read more

Horrible service from bartender Eva Cohen I voiced my concerns about the service instead of correcting it she mocked me as if she did not care they have lost a regular read more

Great service! Friendly and nice place to hangout and enjoy your time with some friends! $6 Long Island! I was happy all night! Let's talk about the Wings! I mean I have been a lot of places but these wings were on point! I hope that they just don't come out of a bag! If they do I need to know what bag that is! Lol Great and quick service , nice and clean bar! read more

The restrooms here were filthy. That being said, your boy still took care of business.

This place is pretty cool! TVs for watching sports, decent selection of alcohols, smoking area with tables and chairs outside, and decent pool tables/sticks. The bartenders are very friendly. 4 stars because their idiot busboy wipes down the pool tables with a wet rag. read more

The drinks are very reasonably priced with a decent selection of beer. Great place to go on week nights since pool is free (they just hold your I.D.) the food isn't anything special but it's pretty decent bar food. Overall, nice getaway from the typical 16th street crowd. read more

Tarantula Billiards - Excellent billiards bar - Pool Halls Near Me - Denver, Colorado

The klutz in me is very glad that Tarantula moved across the street into a space where I don't have to walk up those gnarly steep stairs. I had never fallen down them, but had I fallen up them? Oh yes, did I ever. The new space is flat and I can walk right in the door with no fuss. With a cute wraparound patio and plenty of seating both inside and outside, this place is the tits. There are still lots of tables left where you can kick ass and take names. They are in pretty good shape, and most are spaced out with enough room so that you don't bump into the person next to you (which I hate, and which I have done many a time. Always on accident though. Mostly.). Usually, you just have to give your ID to the bartender in order to get some balls. Drinks and pool prices are reasonably cheap, and the bartenders are nice. Food is decent, nothing to brag about. It is typical bar food, but when I need something to eat after a full day of playing pool and slugging drinks, it gets the job done. So thank you Tarantula, for moving to a spot where I don't have to trip up the stairs and I can enjoy myself on any day or night of the week in a chill spot. read more

Service sucks !!! Bartenders act like they are doing you a favor by serving you. I was in town for work staying across the street at the Marriott so this was the closest place to have a beer. Next time I'm here I'll go somewhere else read more

Pretty chill place. Friendly staff. But all in all just a basic little hole in the wall bar will billiards. I love to check it out at night. read more

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I had my reservations about this place at first but honestly this is a bar that I had one of the better times at in Denver. Super chill and down to earth, cool people, tons of pool tables and a really shoddy shuffleboard which was still a ton of fun to play on. The beer was good. The decor was cool. The music was great. Everybody was friendly. The only problem is that they pool tables were too close together or rather were too close to the shuffleboard and we had to keep on waiting for pool players to take their shots so we could play. Other than that I totally enjoyed my time here. read more

Was thinking this would be my regular hang out. The first two bar tenders I met were friendly and respectful. Then on Sunday 29 May, I met the most impolite, tyrannical, disrespectful bar tender. She spoke to me rudely without letting me speak. I wanted to ask why as the next person in line I was not allowed to have one of the TWO empty tables. I got frustrated trying to get any answer and was told that I would not allow me to play that night. When I asked for a refund for the drink I just paid for but had no time to even take a single drink she refunder my money and told me I wasn't welcome to return to that bar. She said I was hostile and aggressive..... I'm 74 years old...how aggressive can I be....lol... As I was leaving a regular customer stopped me and told me the reason I could not get a table was that she was saving them for her friends.. Very disappointing... so I went to the Zanzibar and was treated with politeness and respect. read more

Haven't been here in over a year. Nobody distanced, nobody wearing any masks, female bartender was rude, and the atmosphere was terrible. There are better pool halls and hang out spots to go to. We would have spent a few more hours here and money, will never be back. read more

Came with my two brothers to have a few beers after watching the Broncos lose to the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Shooting pool wasn't part of our plan but what the heck, if we build up our liquid courage enough we might 'cue up' for a game or two. Plus, this joint was only a block away from the hotel so Tarantulas it is. Walking in through the 1st of 2 doors I notice some guy sitting with his back to us eating pizza at a table just off the 2nd doorway. After entering the second door, the guy startles me as he reaches over and tugs me by the arm. He then sternly asks to see our ID's. I pull out my wallet, show my ID and then proceed to ask, "Are underage kids sneaking in a problem?" His apathetic response, "We ID everyone." After half-heartedly checking our ID's he returns to his pizza. As a road warrior, I have found myself at many-a-bars in many-a-cities and can say this is not common. But then again this is Denver, and I'm unfamiliar with the rules, so I take it at face value. Yet, I would make the following suggestions: 1) Post clear signage stating "Be prepared to show your ID." 2) Don't allow the doorman to eat while on the job 3) Caution the doorman, there are people out there who might punch him in the jaw if he were to tug them by the arm The whole exchange had me thinking if the doorman behaves this way I wonder how the rest of the staff acts. Well, they did not disappoint. From what I saw there were only 1 bartender and 1 busboy working, so service was excruciating slow. After one beer we decided to leave, it just wasn't worth it. My advice to out-of-towners is to skip this joint there are many nice bars within walking distance from your hotel. read more

Nice place but shifty bartender i liked this space overall, nice casual place, a break from the generally shitty area of downtown which these days is populated by either annoying panhandlers or corporate geeks attending conferences. I'm giving this place just 2 stars though because the bartender ripped me off. I somehow got charge $9 for a double of a drink that was on special for $2. Ok, ok, call me passive/aggressive for not disputing at the time but I'd had enough conflict that day to dispute it. I'd still go back, it was a nice mix of people. read more