The Thirsty Lion is solid, I've been there a few times as it's a local haunt. The Spicy Chicken Sandwich is a clear several levels above what you'd get at a fast food joint, but be warned it isn't particularly spicy. The ambiance, especially the patio is good too. That said, I was excited to see they had Corn Beef Hash on their brunch menu. However, when I tried it, it was hands down the grossest version of Corn Beef Hash I've ever had by a mile. I had to knock them down a whole star for that given CBH is my favorite breakfast. Picture below, honestly, what the hell is that? I'm still giving them 3 stars though, the toast was good still. read more

Thirsty Lion - Corn Beef Hash? Er, you did it wrong. - 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

I was expecting a small, intimate gastropub but it's a giant, Cheesecake Factory type of place with a huge & varied menu selection. Not necessarily a bad thing but important to know what it is. My son and I had an excellent meal (fish tacos). The service good. The cocktails were meh. I would focus on the beer. read more

One of our group's favorite restaurants on our trip. It's a place that has great versatility. Although we had kids with us, also found it suitable for happy hour or to catch a hockey/baseball game. We were there around happy hour times so they had some nice specials. It was nice that their menu was extensive because was able to satisfy a group of five. Sushi, impossible burger, pizza, mac n cheese, and chicken caprese sandwich were some of the items we ordered. All items were great. I enjoyed that you could get a side salad instead of fries with the chicken sandwich. They had fancy rootbeer in bottles. They have a large beer selection and able to get flights. Server was super friendly and efficient. Highly recommend if you are near Union Station. read more

The food was delicious. Our waitress was very nice. Loved all the black and the quotes. Menu has a good variety. read more

Thirsty Lion - Menu - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Amazing service and amazing food just as I remember from working at Thirsty Lion in Tempe AZ years ago! Chantel T was great!! Thanks guys for a great experience! read more

Great service and hospitality, we watched the Super Bowl here and it was amazing. The food was amazing and being from Houston the host very helpful with things that were asked. read more

The pork ramen was terrible. The meat was way overcooked, the noodles were gummy and the vegetables were undercooked and hard. Overpriced, bad tasting food. read more

I'm not sure if I already left a review, but I'll leave another one just in case. The Thirsty Lion is always consistent with flavor, portions, etc, and all I ever do is order delivery for our law firm on Blake. I appreciate when I ask for ranch to be added to our fries it is always there as well. it's the small things. :) If I get this kind of service when I only order for delivery, I can't image how awesome it would be to go sit and be served. Thanks for the awesome service! Top Notch all the time! read more

They add a 3% surprise service charge to the checks and then they ask for 22% tip. What the hell? That is false advertising and I deducted the service charge from the tip and left less because this was not fair dealing. read more

We originally planned on having brunch at snooze, but their wait was over an hour long! We decided to try out Thirsty Lion since it was next door and zero wait time. Oh my gosh we may have found our new favorite place. Our waitress was hilarious and over the top nice. The food and drinks were so yummy. My kids are still talking about how yummy the cheese curds were! This will be our place of choice next time. read more

I'm confused by 3.6 stars Thirsty Lion has. I'm here visiting from California for a work trip and I came down looking to get out of my hotel and stumbled upon Union Station. I was on Yelp and saw Thirsty Lion and thought the stars aren't enough for me since I'm just visiting. Everything else in the area was getting to close and so I made the walk over to Thirsty Lion. All the team members here are so kind and I'm writing this review after finishing the most delicious Cheese Curds and sipping on an exquisite blood orange margarita. Wish I could have taken a picture of the cheese curds, alas, they are all gone. Waiting for my Wagyu Burger and I am very expectant for a delicious burger. Update. It was Soooooooooo good! Great spot, upbeat music, and a friendly team!! read more

I did not initially realize this was a chain - it appears they have about 9 locations in Arizona, Oregon, Texas and Colorado. The Denver location is ideal - right off union station with a patio overlooking some of the downtown Denver activity. We enjoyed sitting outside, ordered a couple of appetizers and nice entrees as well. The food was fresh and well seasoned - the menu is large and would likely cater to many different tastes. I sampled one of their seasonal cocktails - some sort of spicy margarita which was average in my book, but they have a large beer selection, with the options of flights as well. All-in-all, a great and reasonably priced option in downtown Denver! read more

Classic Caesar NOT Classic If you order the "Classic" Caesar, do not expect romaine lettuce. Mine was FULL of stringy arugula. Now, I like arugula, just not for a Caesar salad. And it was very stringy. There was also another purple bitter lettuce within the salad as well. Very disappointing. Otherwise, the other guests' food was good. The service was great! Our server was very nice and helpful. read more

Tried to walk in at 9:30pm following an Avalanche game and were turned away because they "decided to close early." Kind of a weak choice for a "sports bar." Probably won't return due to the poor hospitality. read more

Stopped in for lunch with a friend. We sat outside on the Wynkoop side. The umbrellas do fairly well to keep you in the shade, but there are spots of exposure. It is great to be outdoors in the spring, summer and fall! I had a poke bowl that was delicious. The kitchen was slammed so the lunch came out a bit slow - but not an issue for me and my friend as we had much to talk about. The poke bowl was well balanced and enjoyable. I would have it again. The menu runs deep - yet for vegans, or a flexible vegan like myself, you must choose carefully and wisely. Not any different than almost all other venues - other than those dedicated to vegan and:or vegetarian. read more

Yes! Got salads through DoorDash at the convention center and what an excellent choice! Southwest salad was spot on with a lot going on. The Brussels sprout salad was tasty - the currants went really well with it and the dressing was tangier than expected and ultimately a great flavor combination. Highly recommend! read more

I've been here for brunch and lunch a few times and I've always enjoyed my food but it smells like sewer inside every time:(

Got a ciabatta French dip sandwich and my brother got a $40 steak. Both were weak, really weak. Panera bread bodies this sammy I had. Also Drake was playing when I walked in... should've known better smh read more

I enjoyed myself dinning al fresco on the cafe near Union Station. Best part was charming service from Sidney. Running short of pear cider she suggested apple, which was an excellent choice with the Cubano sandwich, the SIGNATURE Sandwich. Sadly disappointing, especially for a "Signature" sandwich. Incredibly dry meat. Jerky? Perhaps Anyway, Sidney earned a nice tip, but the Thirsty Lion only gets three stars read more

Thirsty Lion - Cubano sandwich paired wonderfully with Crispin Apple Cider - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Came here on a Sunday! Twice! The food was extremely tasty the first time, which is why I came back the same day a second time. Also, spots. The Lakers were playing to win the championship for Kobe. If I would have came here once, I would have given the place four stars but coming back a second time made my review dip. 1st time around: Service was slow, I get it, COVID... maybe they don't have enough servers. The food was 5 stars. We opted for the Southwestern Chicken Salad and the Fried Chicken Mac N Cheese. Both satisfied all of our cravings. The salad had all of my favorites; avocado, chicken, corn, etc and the Cavatappi Mac N cheese more than met my expectations. We decided to walk around downtown Denver and come back to watch the Laker game. So we made a reservation online to come back at 5. We were sat at the bar. If I make a reservation let me tell you I don't expect to sit at the bar or in the bar area. What's the point of making the reservation. I might as well be a walk in. Any way, the bartender comes over eventually and takes our order. She doesn't bring us water. First time we came the first thing that was brought over when the waitress introduced herself was water. So I look around and all the tables have water, yes I pay attention to small details. Only because I really enjoy water between my drinks. We came back and got some appetizers off the social hour (happy hour) menu and they were good. The chipotle Mac was spicy! Any way. I just think the service is not consistent. Also all of the tables are now six tops which is awkward for small parties of 2. At least separate the tables. The place is just ok imo which is why it got three stars. The food is good. read more

Thirsty Lion - Bar Area - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

After looking at so many mixed reviews and not so pleasing pictures of food, we decided to try this place. We wanted something close by to where we were going to be at and we chose this place. We were a party of 12 and were seated quickly. Ambiance is nice and modern. It's not extremely loud but busy enough with the TVs. I like that the food and drink menus are not overwhelming which makes it easy to choose something. I ordered the Gochujang BBQ Pork which was really good. My friends ordered different things and they all were pretty tasty. HOWEVER, the food was so spicy. I love spicy food. To me, habanero is candy but this was beyond spicy. It was almost unbearable. I looked up and my friends were all sweating. My husband was suffering! On the bright side, I also ordered a Pear Martini and that was delicious! I tried the other drinks we all ordered and they were pretty good. I recommend! Service was pretty good. Servers were nice and attentive. Nothing out of the ordinary. I would probably go back to try other things. What stops me a little is the price. I feel like it's nothing that that special but maybe that's just me. Anyway, I would recommend it because they have a unique mixed menu and delicious drinks. read more

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

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LOVE Thirsty Lion! I made a reservation a few days ahead of time because I wasn't sure what the wait time would be at any restaurant in Denver due to Covid restrictions. We arrived about 30 minutes early but the hostess was able to seat us right away. The space is HUGE which allows for plenty of social distancing. The beer menu is endless - there has to be something on the beer list for EVERYONE. Also, take advantage of the cheap flights! We tasted 6 beers for $12. For an appetizer, we went with the chips and queso (even though it had mixed reviews on Yelp). It's definitely a different type of queso and not the typical kind you would find in a Mexican restaurant. Not sure I'd order it again. For dinner, we both ordered a version of the mac n' cheese entree - I went with the spicy sausage mac n' cheese and my boyfriend chose the fried chicken mac n' cheese; both were great, the fried chicken was probably the better of the two. Service was fantastic. The restaurant was clean. Highly recommend! ...side note, I typed in Thirsty Lion into my Uber app when getting a ride there and was accidentally dropped off at the OLD Thirsty Lion which was 10ish minutes away from where I needed to be. Make sure you have the correct address to the NEW location if you don't know where you are going! read more

Thirsty Lion - Side Caesar Salad - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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After walking all around Denver, we were ready to sit down and have a beer. It was in the afternoon, so lots of tables were available. They had a nice selection of draft beers. We both chose the Nitro Milk Stout by Left Hand Brewery, one of our favorites, and were not disappointed. The service was good! Next time I want to try their food. read more

Thirsty Lion - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Dropped in for dinner before hitting up a Rockies game and was SO glad we did- how delicious!! We only had a few items- the summer civiche, fish n chips and the carnitas bowl salad and they were all tasty, but especially the pork bowl!! I added one tortilla on the side to get my "taco" fix, and it was perfect. Highly recommend!! read more

Great atmosphere, good food! Waitress was very friendly and helpful when it came to ordering with food allergies. Got the steak salad and the kitchen staff was wonderful at changing and making substitutions. Steak was medium rare and fantastic! read more

Thirsty Lion - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Soooo many great options for food & drinks at the Thirsty Lion! I'm not sure if you can go wrong. I started out with the blood orange margarita, while my boyfriend got one of their many beers. We also split the crispy cauliflower app and it was sooo good. Truly some of the best fried cauliflower I've ever had. For entrees, I got the poke bowl while my boyfriend got the tuscan chicken. Both were delicious! And of course we ended the evening with dessert: the skillet brownie was toooo good. I wish I had taken photos because everything was presented so nicely, plus it was all so tasty. But go, enjoy, and pick whatever sticks out to you on the menu (it worked well for us) read more

Great Jalapeño Burger, good calamari, good Mac n Cheese (kids menu, a little pricey for the portion), and good service. The beer was average, but the burger was so good it earned a 4-star. read more

Thirsty Lion - Jalapeno Pepperjack Burger - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Great location and atmosphere in Denver! We stopped for a quick appetizer and drink. I had the blood orange margarita and it was fantastic. We ordered the queso cheese and it was a big thumbs down! The cheese was gritty almost like over cooked powdered cheese. I wouldn't recommend ordering it, however the staff was awesome and I will for sure give it another try. read more

Thirsty Lion - Blood orange margarita - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Our service was not the best, but the food was amazing. The cocktails we ordered were great too. The restaurant is loud so be prepared for that if you're trying to have conversation. read more

This was pretty good. We all started off with a beer and they had a good selection to go from. Appetizers were brussel sprouts. Yes believe it or not. Unless you cant stand brussel sprouts do not pass on them. I had the Cubano. The bread was a bit tough but the meat was very good. Candyce had the French dip. And she enjoyed all of it. Good place for a pre game bite and drink. read more

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Slower night great food. My wife had the sliders which were a little better than standard bar food fare. I had the green chili and avocado chicken sandwich. It was absolutely delicious a little spicy but not hot at all but the flavors were very good. Memorable for a chicken sandwich. read more

I loved this place!! It looks like a regular restaurant/sports bar but holy wow their food and drinks are completely on point. Drinks- Grapefruit & Basil Martini- The ingredients used were seasonal and super fresh. The flavor combo was on point. I ordered a few and deeeelish!! Food: Ahi Poke Stack- amazing! The tuna was so fresh and the flavor combo was wow1 Bacon Wrapped BBQ Prawns- I was not the biggest fan of this dish but my friend loved it. Caramelized pear & prosciutto flatbread- Didn't love the gorgonzola pairing with it I think a ricotta or goat cheese (maybe even burrata) would have been a better option. But the candied hazelnuts were delicious and I loved the crunch of arugula on top of it. Garlic sesame edamame- this was my absolute favorite!!!!! I ended up dipping everything into the sauce. I wanted to come back the next day and eat here again just for the edamame. Overall- this atmosphere was super lively, our waitress was super friendly and the food was spectacular. read more

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This Gastro pub is generally pretty busy and offers the typical American bar food. I had the artichoke spinach dip which was incredibly delicious although the tortilla chips seemed a little bit low in quality. I had a pineapple cider that was surprisingly refreshing and sweet which I enjoyed and my boyfriend had a barbecue burger with fries that he was very happy with. During the hot summer days we've been having in Denver, the air conditioning in this restaurant/bar felt incredible. read more

Well, it started out great. But didn't end well. Couldn't get service, and we were sitting at the bar.

Thirsty Lion is a great place to catch a game, grab a local beer or two, and to eat a meal that is a step above normal bar food. I was in a bit of a bind because some of my friends came into town last minute and wanted to watch a Caps game. It was hard to find a place that would play the game, let alone a place for 6 people (including 2 small children). Thirsty Lion was very helpful and set up a table in front of a tv with the game on plus they provided kids menus with activities. It took a long time for us to put in our orders, and receive our food, but they were pretty busy and we came in last minute. Just a heads up that a good portion of the food is a little spicy. I enjoy spicy food, so I was happy with this. The edamame was pretty good and had a slight kick to it, and the spicy chicken was very crispy with a great jalapeno marinade. Both dishes were good, but not amazing. I plan on coming back to try some other dishes and to post another review. read more

Thirsty Lion - Edamame appetizer - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Great bar and grill located in the downtown area of Denver. Had a chance to stop by here for dinner and the meal was great all around. The cocktails and flights of beer had us more than satisfied. And the beer battered fish n chips were one of a kind. Definitely recommend! read more

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I've gone to Thirsty Lion several times and have always loved it! Daniella has been my server, and she's wonderful - she's made great suggestions for vegetarians in my group. Highly recommend! read more

Nice place and decent menu choices. Location was great as it was right next to Union Station. Food tasted pretty good, also. Definitely a lively environment so be ready for that. I didn't factor in the Denver Nuggets were playing shortly after we left so it was probably a larger crowd than normal. Still good though read more

Thirsty Lion - Calamari - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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I was visiting Denver for a long weekend and hitting up all the touristy attractions like Central Market, Union Station etc.. Situated next to Union Station, Thirsty Lion serves upscale pub fare in a lively atmosphere. There's plenty of seating indoors, with a huge bar and numerous TVs and an awesome patio. With gastropub fare, 52 beers on tap, eclectic cuisine, the food is both craveable and bold (hello spicy mac and cheese!!). At the bar, 28 of the 52 taps are from Colorado, offering a beer for ever palate and every plate. Cocktails are crafted with fresh fruit purées, juices, while wines come in 25 varieties. Lets move on to what is important, food and service - both great! Service was attentive and friendly and food was very good. Our bartender was super attentive, even though place was hoping on a Saturday night, letting us try some local beers before ordering Food - SPICY SAUSAGE MAC: Chipotle cream, roasted red peppers, spicy sausage and a four cheese blend, toasted with bread crumbs SMOKED PULLED PORK SLIDERS: House smoked Newcastle BBQ pork topped with Napa slaw and garlic aioli GRILLED SALMON & ASPARAGUS RISOTTO: Sautéed with fresh asparagus, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, shrimp fumé, braised leeks, roasted garlic butter, shallots and Reggiano cheese The restaurant is open but not too load and the staff was prompt, friendly and attentive. The food was very good and the selection of beers and wine was very nice. I would definitely go back next time I'm in Denver read more

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