I definitely recommend the happy hour at Thirsty Lion! It's right by Union Station and they play great music so it's such a great vibe. The queso and the sliders are so good!!! The happy hour selection was great. read more

Thirsty Lion - Social hour menu! - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

We love coming here and do once a week. Kori is the best bartender and great at food suggestions!

It took over 45 minutes to get one round of drinks. The waiter was extremely rude and just absolutely did not care. He told our group that we could get drinks to go. We asked for to go cups and he informed us that it was only certain drinks and the to go did not apply to the drinks we ordered. read more

This has become our go-to neighborhood place. Good food. Friendly staff. And today a big shoutout to Anastasia for making a hard day much better. We really appreciate her service. read more

I was wandering downtown with some visiting friends and we stopped in Thirsty Lion for Happy Hour. I'm so glad we did! They had lots of happy hour food choices for reasonable rates. The calamari could have been fried for another minute but it was still tasty. The scotch eggs were very impressive! Our appetizers came out lightning fast, less than 15 minutes. The mojito was mighty tasty but kinda weak, we couldn't taste any alcohol in it. But we found the margarita to be well-stocked with tequila. Maybe they were made by different bartenders? In regards to COVID, the staff were all wearing masks. They offered indoor and outdoor seating. All of the menus are virtual. The seating indoors was all spaced out well and we felt comfortable removing our masks at the table. read more

Thirsty Lion - Crispy Calamari, Traditional Scotch Eggs - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

After skipping breakfast and wandering around Denver all morning, I was rapidly approaching hangry status. This place was the next restaurant we happened upon, so we went inside. I had a pulled pork salad chock full of rice, black beans, grilled corn, jalapeños, lettuce, jicama, pickled onions, and delicious pulled pork. The salad was a delicious blend of flavors and textures and it really hit the spot! My boyfriend had the spicy tuna roll which was mostly rice and a hearty helping of cilantro, which he hates. Not the restaurant's fault as it was in the description, but the roll could have had more tuna. Service was prompt and efficient, though not super friendly. I'd be back if I was in the area. read more

Thirsty Lion - Pork carnitas salad. - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Average food and environment, friendly staff. It's not a bad spot if you're in the area and can't get into another restaurant, they have ample seating and a variety of food options. My food was good, but it's not a must visit spot in my opinion. read more

We came here for lunch on a Friday around 12 and were seated right away. Service was good and friendly. We started off with the scotch egg. I really enjoyed it and the egg was cooked perfectly. The Green chili chicken avocado sandwich was awesome. Great flavor. My friend was also raving about the ahi bowl/salad. The guys enjoyed their beers and food as well. Definitely a Gastro pub vibe and some good people watching since it's right next to union station. The patio is nice but we chose to sit inside because it was so hot. Definitely a cool spot to stop for a quick beer, lunch, or dinner. read more

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I came here for lunch and was able to get seated at the bar right away. The bartenders were very nice and almost got me to give this 4 stars but at the end of the day, it was just a regular experience. The ambiance is what you would expect from a bar. I ordered one of their lunch specials, the Mediterranean burger. It came out relatively fast within 15sh minutes and it was good. It came on a flaky ciabatta bread which I liked until the dryness of the bread got stuck in my throat and made me cough up a storm. I'm not blaming the bread but it's just something that happened to me that may be worth mentioning. The fries were less than average. It was kinda overcooked and hard so it was almost like I was eating potato chips versus fries. The price was ok relative to the center area. Overall it was ok. read more

Thirsty Lion - Mediterranean burger with fries - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Sporty and casual atmosphere. Casey was great! The manager even stopped by and checked on us. The food was delish and my burger was cooked perfectly! I asked for medium rare and it came out a medium rare. Whoa read more

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This restaurant and bar provides great service and wonderful food options. The staff and management are friendly and knowledgeable

Average food with decent bar. Good beer selection. Inattentive service. Crowded seating although very few people. Not a bad spot to grab a beer and watch a game. read more

Id have given them five stars with the exception that the music selection is teeth gritting

Great place for a party of 10 where we made a reservation in advance. Fresh, local food - great salads, sandwiches, appetizers, burgers - bar food plus some Asian and other influences. Great service! read more

It smells like you're a tourists if you're in here. Cool name but meh, being a local I won't come back again but if you're in the area it'll do! read more

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Thirsty Lion is pretty decent! I've been here a few times and it's a dependable spot to find decent food and the environment there is fun. Love how close it is to Union Station but on that same note parking is either non-existent or really expensive so plan for that! I had the fish and chips this time and they were pretty good, nice and crispy! The place smelled kind of bad like vomit walking through past the bar so that was a little off-putting but thankfully it wasn't bad back where they sat us. Service was alright as well, just a little slow even though it wasn't that busy. But the server was nice so that evens out. read more

Thirsty Lion - Fish and chips! - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Thirsty Lion used to be a good HH/sports bar option, but the smell inside is unbearable. We won't go back until management fixes it. Why would anyone pay money to eat food in that environment? read more

This place is amazing!! The service and food were both excellent. We told them we had a severe food allergy in our party and then immediately were willing to work with us. We spoke to the chef and the manager and they said they were able to make anything work. Our server was a fabulous communicator and everyone there is super nice. 10/10 would recommend. read more

Got a reservation for 4 on Saturdays at 5:30 before the Avs game which was really great. Service was pretty fast, though once we got everything we weren't checked on. Understandable, due to the location it's so busy in there. We enjoyed it! Fun vibes, great food and drink selection, and happy hour ran until 6 which was great. Happy hour specials were ACTUALLY specials - items were $3-4 cheaper than the regular menu, but still the same size! The California roll was good - as expected, nothing special but hit the spot. The ahi tuna stack was so good. So much tuna and avocado. The wonton chips were really good. I loved the soy ginger and siracha aioli. Also had a glass of Prosecco. Others at the table got the chicken tenderloins and fries and enjoyed their meals as well. Would definitely go back. Great spot for before a game or event at Ball Arena! read more

Thirsty Lion - California roll and ahi poke stack - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Friendly and fast service. Decent good. Large booths good for a group and an overall fun atmosphere. Met a group for a quick weekday lunch and got to see an interesting variety of menu items. From the soft pretzel appetizer (two please!) to several salad variations (Brussels sprouts with salmon!) and even a bowl of ramen. Probably easy to find something for everyone here. read more

After a full night of galavanting around town, we decided to come here for 1 last hurrah for the night. This is a rather large place right on the same block as Union Station. They have a huge indoor dining room as well as an expansive outside area. There was a lot of people here too on a Friday night but we were seated right away. Several large tv's around where you can watch a game and grab a drink. Our waitress was really cool. Great communication skills and did a really good job helping us out. Food was so so. Drinks were ok. And their coffee was trash. I ordered their spicy garlic edemame as well as their poke with chips. Edemame had a great taste to it. Also had a little bit of heat which was nice. Poke was somewhat mushy. It was a very odd texture. Chips cooked well. But our waitress comped us for the failed poke dish which was really nice of her. Our coffee was also comped in that she gave us a sample of it. So overall service was amazing. Food was so so. Ambience was great. Bill was reasonable. A great place to sit back and people watch. read more

Thirsty Lion - Poke with chips - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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It's low end bar food. Mostly frozen food, nothing fresh about it. Ordered calamari which was the Costco frozen rings that came out soggy still, nothing fresh nor crispy. Also got artichoke dip and chips--also not freshly made. The chips were clearly cheap. Then we got the chicken sliders and well it's fried so can't go too wrong with that. Ordered a blood orange and ginger tea which had an odd aftertaste and with every sip, you get a mouth full of orange rind. Overall. It was bad and only good thing about it--tried this place out at happy hour prices!! read more

Recently been enjoying the Baja tacos with shrimp and of course the Reuben and fish and chips. One are that would be nice if it were improved is the soft pretzel. It looks great but it just doesn't have that special pretzel density, chewiness and maybe buttery flavor? Just kinda dull bready flavored with salt, which all things considered when combined with mustard isn't the worst thing I've had, it's just not really up to par for a really good bar soft pretzel. I want it to be excellent and would order it more often with a tweak to the recipe. read more

Thirsty Lion - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Food was bad, can't believe this was made by an actual chef. Looks like something I would quickly make at home. And I paid 23.95 for this *SIGNATURE ITEM. Here is the description "Pan seared with pecorino Romano, lemon herb beurre blanc, balsamic marinated tomatoes, garlic Parmesan noodles, fresh basil and seasonal vegetables". Great writing, bad food. read more

Thirsty Lion - Tuscan Romano chicken - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

The Thirsty Lion is huge with a large patio and an equally large bar area. We sat over by the window and could see all the people hustling and bustling around Union Station. It's a bit loud but not over the top. I ordered the Ahi Poke Stack and my dining companion ordered the Impossible Burger, which is a plant based burger. We ordered drinks which arrived in good time and chit chatted while we waited for lunch to arrive. My Ahi was amazing, meaty and fresh, flanked by avocado and ginger. The accompanying wonton chips were light and crisp, the perfect dipping tool. I even tried a bite of my friend's burger, which to my surprise was pretty good. I also noticed they have HH everyday at 3-6p and a late HH at 9:30p-close. With such a happening vibe it's a great place to have drinks. They have everything with an excellent draft beer and wine selection. Definitely felt the party vibe but also a fun place for a bite to eat. read more

Thirsty Lion - Ahi poke - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Went on a Sunday morning for a group of 12 for Birthday party and watch Broncos game. Service was just okay, server forgot a couple of items. Some what over priced even for downtown Denver. Fish and chips was good but small portion for the price of 21.95. Cobb salad was small for 18.95 and bacon hard as a rock. Chicken was over cooked dark dark brown and very hard on the outside. They add 3% service charge to all orders. read more

Really fresh healthy food. Nice combo bar and restaurant vibe. Servers are really nice, welcoming, and attentive. Came here on a Sunday night around 830 and was seated and served immediately. read more

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Fantastic food. Good beer selection. Good service. We came in for dinner before a show at The Ball Arena. It was extremely busy and it took a while to get our beverages and order more. But, they had a good selection of beers available and even some unique ones you don't often see on tap, like Son of a Baptist. The food was fantastic. The Carnitas Bowl was delicious and was a great mix of flavors and textures. Really well put together. The Fried Rice with the Pork Belly was wonderful as well. I didn't have high expectations, expecting pub quality food. But, I was pleasantly surprised. read more

Raspberry drop martini was tasty but strong (nothing wrong with that). I got the Astro burger which was very delicious. Staff was super nice and attentive, food came out super fast. Coleslaw was 5/10 and that was the only negative. They have a long cocktail/beer list and close to union station and the main attractions down town. read more

We visited Thirsty Lion yesterday for brunch, and it was a great place to bring our party of 9. First off, I feel like they have a big enough menu for everyone to find something they like. We all shared the Cheese Curds, Spanish Chilaquiles, Spicy Fried Chicken and Waffles, Adobe Pork Benedict, Chicken Sliders, and Lions Breakfast Burger. Everything was properly cooked and came out fresh. We all really enjoyed everything. My FAVE part of the visit was the Bloody Mary and the Blood Orange Mimosa that each served 4. They were so delicious. We had a great server too! We would definitely visit again on our next trip to downtown. I'm bummed that I was too hungry to take pics. Next time! read more

Everyday the Thirsty Lion has happy hour which was a pleasant surprise. My husband and I planned to just grab a drink but there was no seats at the bar. We ended up at a high top table. I ordered the raspberry drop martini which the rim was drenched in about 1 in thick of sugar. The drink was way too sweet for my liking. My husband ordered the bourbon old fashion and equally not impressed. Service was slow but we paid after one drink and left. read more

Thirsty Lion Gastro Pub We attended a family function in Denver this past weekend. During our stay in Denver we had two dinners at the Thirsty Lion Gastro Pub. We had a group of 12 and seating can be an issue at many resturants. Not so at the Thirsty Lion. They have lots of long tables available. Service was good, food good, and very reasonably priced. They have an extensive menu, something for everyone. Their beer menu is also extensive. Feedback was so positive we returned the following evening. read more

If you're looking for a great meet up location with options for you and your crew, Thirsty Lion is one of the downtown restaurants that is open late and offers a variety of food choices in a pretty big setting (e.g. bar, high tops, standard tables and booths). Some things to note is that it's noisy - which can feel alive for some annoying for others - and the service can be hit or miss when it gets busy. Here's a tip: try their brunch offerings since they can seat you fast and have a similar menu to other places. read more

Thirsty Lion - Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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The Thirsty Lion is pretty cool restaurant & bar that serves as a home base to bar hop from. read more

Thirsty Lion - Fried Chicken Mac & Cheese - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Kendall was one of the best servers I've ever had. E went before a shuttle to Red Rocks. Food and cocktails were excellent and Kendall was amazing! read more

Came in with my coworkers for lunch recently. this gochuchang bbq pork kimchi fried rice was surprisingly so good coming from a gastropub... looking forward to trying a new dish next time or maybe even get this again read more

Thirsty Lion - Gochuchang Korean BBQ Pork & Kimchi Fried Rice - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Specifically, I'm a fan of their chicken and waffle. It seems like restaurants have a hard time being consistent with having both the chicken and the waffle being flavorful without getting too crazy with different iterations. This chicken and waffle was perfect in all ways. - Tender, well-seasoned chicken - Light, fluffy, and slightly sweet waffle - Topped with jalapenos (yum!) and soft butter (double yum!) - Syrup on the side which I drizzled on but realized didn't need I would definitely order this again. The menu here is fairly extensive, the space roomy, and the service pretty darn good. All in all, it's a great location right by Union Station and near the hotel we were staying. It was a perfect choice for us since we weren't sure what kind of cuisine we were in the mood for. This menu has a little bit of everything to satisfy all. read more

Thirsty Lion - Order this and be happy. Not necessarily in that order. - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

A couple of additional visits, and we found the french dip sandwich and the spicy fried cauliflower. The beer list is great. Pls change your fries? Our service lately has been great. Comfortable vibe for travelers. Nice, false sense of security in crazy Denver. The restaurant has healthy, living plants surrounding the patio. Except for the increased prices and smaller portions, it's as nice as when Trump was in office! read more

Downtown for a bite and stopped in, party of 7. Here's the feed back from my group. Spicy shrimp ceviche- fantastic. Wagyu burger cooked medium-rare was outstanding and juicy. Fish tacos were perfectly seasoned and fresh tasting. Pepperoni and 4 cheese pizza was really good, tasty with a slight crunch to the crust. Table service was perfect. Presley did a fanatic job. read more

Thirsty Lion - Pepperoni and 4 cheese pizza - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

This place isn't about fancy, artisanal dishes--it's your standard American fare. Expect the usual lineup: burgers, wings, and sandwiches. It's not a sports bar, but there are a few TVs if you want to catch a game. I find the "gastropub" title interesting. The food is just average, nothing really pushing boundaries, and the beer selection is decent but not exactly impressive. And, well, this is the Midwest, so occasionally you might run into situations that aren't ideal. Today it happened to involve an older white woman. 1 in out of 4 visits so far--could be worse, I guess. At the Bar: Most of the servers and bartenders have maintained their professionalism, and I've had good interactions overall. However, there was one disappointing experience where either I was ignored because I'm Black and/or male, or Nick just isn't that great at his job--though I doubt the latter. Management was great, though, and I guess can't complain overall. Just a bit disappointing. P.S - Their Hostess/host are the best part of their team. Solid. Victor King read more