Let's talk location! It's centrally located in downtown Denver right next to Union Station with one of the largest patio's in Denver. In addition, its proximity to my office makes it an easy choice for lunch or drinks after work. The drink and food menus are both ridiculously large with something for everyone. For the food, I enjoy the Scotch Eggs, Fried Calamari, and Potato Bacon Cakes from the HH menu. They have an All Day menu, so don't be surprised to spend closer to dinner prices for lunch. I have a few issues with the libations at Thirsty Lion. First, I do not appreciate receiving day or two old slices of lemons and limes in drinks I'm paying $8+ for. When limes have a brown edge, it's obvious they were sliced days ago and the taste is bitter and unpleasant (arg!). Please, please slice garnish the day of, it doesn't take a lot of effort or planning. Second, I find it odd that I cannot order a double for any alcoholic beverage (wha?). Okay, no double, can I have a shot on the side - NOPE, I've been told that is a double! Keep getting a spiel about strict Denver regulations on booze from the staff. I do drink at other establishments in Denver (shocker) and can order a double or a shot on the side when I like with no issues - not sure what they're talking about. I have a few gripes, but overall Thirsty Lion is a good spot for drinking, eating and people watching on the patio. read more

Food was really good! However, for the price point I was expecting a little more. I ordered the classic Mac n' cheese, and while it was tasty, it was a smaller portion, didn't come with any sides, and was a whopping $13+. read more

Laughably awful. They seem to have spent a pretty penny in location, setup, and overall production, but it is all for naught. I came here with a dozen friends, looking forward to checking the spot out. We were planning on spending the entire day there, from 11am NFL games through to Sunday Night Football. We didn't last until two. The service was slow, the waitress must have been born without muscles in her face to allow for a smile, and she just seemed totally disinterested with doing anything whatsoever. She quoted me 3 different prices on drinks, brought me a beer that was not even 80% full ("oh, it's for the head" according to the staff), and just seemed out of it. The food was mediocre, expensive for what it was, and not that good. The kicker? They put on the Broncos game on a couple TVs, and then refused to add sound to the game. I looked around, and saw that of about 100 people in the room, only one or two weren't wearing football gear of some sort. We asked three different people for sound, and received three different, silly explanations. 1. "We are unable to get sound for games overheard, as we don't have the package." You have the game on, and the sound is free, trust me. 2. "We can't just choose one game to put overheard, it wouldn't be fair." You're in Denver, downtown Denver, masquerading as a place to watch football and enjoy yourself. YOU ARE IN DENVER. 3. "It would ruin the ambiance of the restaurant." Ha! Whatever. We all looked at each other, paid our tabs, and left. This place desperately wants to be a high-end, up-scale, spend-all-your-LoDo-money-here sort of place. But they just badly missed the mark. read more

Very nice atmosphere. We got all happy hour items. Waitress was super friendly and everyone working was gorgeous. Food was okay. Drinks were great. My boyfriend got the beer sampler--Love the pear cider they have, tasted like wine. The only reason for not giving five stars was just in my opinion the food was only okay- for the price. The sliders were all bun and hardly any meat and the chicken tenders were just different from what I'm used to-- everyone's tastes are different though :) Would definitely return if we come back to the area. read more

Overpriced, knowledgeable staff, and NO AUDIO FOR BRONCOS GAMES!!! Who advertises to watch the game and has game day specials if you're not going to play the audio for any of them? I guess if there's a massive crowd, and everybody wants to hear the audio, you can mob the management about it and they'll give it. They told me that their standard policy was to not. For game days, they also refused to put on the Niners vs Oakland game for me. The place wasn't packed, and there were duplicate games on a ton of TVs. It wouldn't have hurt anybody to change the channel on 1 of the 8 TVs in eyesight. The official excuse was "We don't have that game available in our package," But I'm pretty sure that they had Sunday ticket. Colts/Browns really isn't your average game to have on a local Denver broadcast either, but that's not why I went to the bar to start with. I'd be open to give this place another shot if it wasn't football gameday, I didn't care about the prices, and I felt like getting my drink wrong 2 out of 3 orders that landed on my table. read more

Great sandwiches....we had the Cubano and Turkey Club. Awesome Wasabi Bloody Mary. Could use a little more personable service ie asking office we enjoyed our lunch....but we would be back if we lived in the area! Two yums up!! read more

I was extremely fortunate to be invited to one of the preview nights. My buddy and I went and enjoyed our meal. The menu is huge, and has such a large variety of different foods. The preview menu was very small. You basically had an option of Pizza, Orange Chicken, Chicken Sandwich and some tri tip dish. We tried the pizza and the orange chicken. .The Italian Sausage on the pizza was fantastic, but I feel like the pizza was a tad bit undercooked. My friends orange chicken was very good, and the dish was presented very well. We also got an appetizer, ahi tuna sushi. I thought it was very good! The beer list is quite extensive. I tried two mixed drinks, the mojito and the moscow mule. Both were good, but I am not sure how 'strong they were'. The most important thing was, the service was fantastic. The space is HUGE and they had plenty of people working. All of the servers we saw (though at times were confused) were very friendly and always came to check on us. I really look forward to dining here again and trying some of the other items on the menu. I will update my review at that point. read more

I would give this restaurant ten stars of I could. I had the Irish whiskey french toast wow every bite was better than the last. The syrup has a whole shot of whiskey which the waitress told us. This is the best french toast I have had. It was light and had a crunchy texture and buttery flavor that made every bite melt in your mouth ate it very slowly to savor every delicious flavor. The kitchen was an open concept and the bar had anything you could ever want fully stocked and then some. What a great way to start a Saturday. Love the food,want to come back for more. read more

Thirsty Lion - Irish whiskey french toast!!! - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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We stopped in here for a drink or two before an Elite Event, I've had it bookmarked for a while so I finally had the chance. It's a large and dimly lit place with a massive selection of booze. They have great happy hour deals on a daily beer and the food is between $4-5. It's easy to see why it was so busy at happy hour. All the bartenders were great, but special props need to go to Zane. That guy took great care of us, seemed genuinely interested in interacting with his customers, and had us feeling good the whole time. He's a damn fine bartender and should be recognized! I'd come back here for sure, the food looked good and were I not on my way to dinner I'd have tried some. Cheers! read more

We took a bunch of clients here and the waiter insulted our guests. Unbelievable. We dropped hundreds and this place pissed our customer off. Thanks for nothing thirsty lion. Never, ever again. read more

The fact that the Thristy Lion is called a Gastropub kinda made me think this place was going to be fake and pretentious and just not that good BUT I was very pleasantly surprised. Shannon G. and I came after a ride on the Platt trail. I was just planning on getting a beer an a cheap appetizer but the apps turned out to be almost as much as an entree so I ended up eating dinner. I am really glad I did. Here you go guys, here is your take away. BACON. Yup bacon. Bacon, bacon bacon. I know its been a little played out lately but damn does the Thirsty Lion do bacon right! I got a chicken club that had bacon on it and it really raised the volume to 11. The sanny would have been fine without it but, really, wow, so good with the sweet smokey salty bacon. Ommmmm. I think this is a solid 3 and a half star joint unless they get some more fun and local beers on tap. Sure you have 50 beers but in a town like Denver where there have to be close to 50 breweries why are so few of them local? Of course the Bottington's I got was fresh and perfect so I am really not complaining too hard here. The waitresses were in short skirts and the music was a bit loud which along with the prices is a bit of a mishmash. Is this a nice pub/grill or a tilted kilt eye candy show, but I have faith the Thristy lion will find its stride here shortly. Until then I think I am going to go and order some bacon with a side of bacon oh, and a beer. read more

First time I went I was totally impressed. Today not so much and sadly I took clients there. The staff were nice and one of my clients enjoyed his ribeye. His wife felt the salmon was ok. I had the fish and chips, and the fish was definitely overcooked. It was tough, kind of chewy, and tasteless, which was surprising given that this apparently is one of their top dishes. Their son order nachos and there was barely any cheese on there, so we sent it back to have more cheese put on. They were just as stingy with the cheese the second time around. It was so disappointing for this 11 year old kid who's growing and was starving, but ended up not eating much of the food at all. Not impressed Thirsty Lion. Might be a while til I even venture back if at all. There are better places to hit in the area. read more

Despite the good food, the service left a bad taste in all of our mouths. After being seating we waited 20 minutes before having to chase down a server to get their attention. Once service began the meals came out very quickly but we were not visited again until our checks were delivered. Also, the servers attire went straight past "sexy" all the way to skanky. The entire female wait staff looked like they were told to wear the shortest black item they have. read more

I had the Morrocan meatballs and a local apricot beer, and my partner had their burger and a Gryhound. We loved it all! The Greyhound was made with freshly squeezed pink grapefruit, the burger was thick and had thick grilled onions and candied bacon, the meatballs were from scratch with hummus and tzaziki for dipping, and I can't remember the brewery but the apricot ale was well-balanced in flavor and had a great creamy head. Service was friendly and reasonably quick on a Sunday evening. I would seriously consider scheduling a long layover at Denver's airport just to come here again. read more

Rather than thirsty lion, I would much rather call this place hungry lion. It took 40 minutes for the burgers to come out! We were starving by the time the food finally arrived. Our server also looked as if she was all over the place...she took a drink from another table and gave it to us rather than place an order with the kitchen! My table had a good laugh about it but still finished the drink. Other than service, food was so-so. I had the sliders and it was nothing phenomenal. The patty was dry and the sliders looked miserable. The other people in my lunch group enjoyed their burgers that included a generous serving of fries. I don't think I will come here again unless their service gets better! read more

Opening weekend Friday night was quite busy as you can imagine. As expected, the waitstaff was in the weeds for a good part of the evening we were there, but thats okay in your first few weeks I think. The ambience was great. Its a modern pub, large in size, with TVs, a horseshoe bar, and a plethora of seating options: outside patio, bar, window booths, 4-8 chair tops, and 6-seater high tops. My 3-star rating is for the food itself and I hope to up to a 4-5 in follow up visits. Overall I felt the food was a little spicy. We tried the chicken tenders off the appetizer menu. Chicken was cooked well and juicy. The crust had a spice kick to it and a little over fried for my tastes. We also shared the ahi tuna salad. The salad was more like a coleslaw you'd find on a fish taco. Frankly I didn't read the menu description and just took the servers advice for her favorite salad. The ahi itself was cooked perfectly, but the thin blackend wasabi crust was too much. Lose the blackend seasoning, leave the wasabi, and I think I'll like it. The beer menu is extensive, 52 on tap with a little over half of those local Colorado breweries. The Colorado beer selection is almost a "best of" collection of the top sellers from Left Hand, Oskar Blues, Great Divide, etc. You won't find anything out of the ordinary. The non-Colorado drafts are again top selling internationals with a few domestic diversity picks sprinkled in. Hopefully they rotate taps often. Bottom line, go try it out. The location is in the newly renovated Denver Union Station. The patio will be tough to get a spot on come summer, but the 8,000 sq ft inside should get you a table. read more

This place impressed me with the size and decor. It is my kind of spot. Huge venue and seating both inside and outside. The offer valet parking but since the street they are on was just completed, the city hasn't had time to put in meters yet so utilize the free parking in downtown while you can! The waitress took our drink order and wrote down each of our names. Not sure if that was just something she did or if that is what all servers here are supposed to do. Seems unnecessary to me but whatever. It took quite a while to get our drinks. We came on a Friday evening but the place wasn't super busy and we all ordered pints of beer so one would think the orders would come out quick. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The food we ordered came out pretty fast and wow, my enchilada was amazing! A lot of cheese and the chicken inside was very distinctive and flavorful. The enchilada is a signature dish of this place and I see why. There are many ingredients but all are distinct. They don't all blend together and get overpowered by the cheese as is common in many places. They also come with beans that are mixed with bacon! I also liked that they had beers from Ska and Funkwerks as those are some of my favorite breweries. Absolutely worth the trip. read more

Love this place. The atmosphere, the location, and the food all earn top marks. Especially the beer cheese soup! If anything has been slightly inconsistent in the half-dozen times I've been here it's the service. Sometimes it takes awhile to be served and I've had more than one "less than friendly" server. Possibly a culture issue? At any rate, I still recommend a visit, but perhaps not if you're in a hurry. read more

Took a group here for business. The place was huge, cavernous, but ridiculously noisy. It's a nice setting with the union station right there, it's a nice place to take folks who you want to show Denver. Sit outside! It would be much quieter. The beer list was really good. I had the kung pao chicken which was satisfying, an appetizer of bacon wrapped bbq shrimp which was delicious. I loved the fact that they do beer flights. That's how I like to drink my beer. Lots of small samples. Our waitress was just flat out rude and elitist. She brought me the check without even asking if we were finished or wanted dessert. One of the person in my group was russian and it was clear that he was struggling a bit from a language perspective. I found her to be not only unhelpful, but a bit condescending. read more

A people watchers paradise, Thirsty Lion sits off the 16th Street Mall next to Union Station and all the shops that go along with it, you could sit for hours watching all that Denver has to offer. On nice days, sliding doors / windows open for an indoor/outdoor concept that's not only inviting, but allows for an ambiance other restaurants in the area can't match. We were there with a large birthday party, and while I would initially be worried about the quality of service that entails large parties, I was relieved to see only about 50% of the tables full. To my dismay, our service was incredibly slow - no joke, it took 20+ minutes to get refills on drinks. Not just a one-off, it was every drink, the whole dining experience, took 20 minutes each time. Additionally, we had been seated for more than an hour before our waiter finally came around for our entree orders. I ordered the steak salad, medium. The steak came out medium-rare at best, some of the larger pieces were border-line rare. Portion size was decent, though it was served in a tiny bowl which made not only tossing difficult, but just eating the salad a challenge. No steak knife was given, so cutting these under cooked pieces of steak with a butter knife in a small bowl quite the task. My husband ordered the caprese chicken sandwich, and I was jealous. Generous portions of mozzarella oozed, grilled chicken glistened, and the garlic pesto sauce dripped off the ciabatta bread like this was some sort of commercial shoot. He said it was possibly the best chicken sandwich he's ever had, which is saying something. If we came back, I'll be getting chicken sandwich, though the terrible service seems to be a theme at this chain of restaurants, as the Tempe Marketplace location has the same lack of service that makes this dining experience lackluster. read more

Best happy hour around and the food is very good. Love the chicken tender as they are crisp, crunchy and good quality chicken. Service can be slow if they are busy so be sure to get there in plenty of time before the happy hour is over. Enjoy!!! read more

Wanted to do a Tues night happy hour for 14 and what a mistake coming here. First of all the hostess was so stressed out trying to find us a table (the place was 80% empty) and it didn't help that she would sigh and roll her eyes at us like we were such a big burden (you'd think they'd want our business)? Service was a joke. Took forever to get first round and appetizers, then longer to get second round. Tried to order from the bar but they refused and told us we had to wait for our waitress.... what waitress? we had different waitresses so weren't sure who to order from and they didn't both to check with us we so we had to literally flag one down. How do you forget about a group of 14 sitting at a table with empty glasses? When she finally showed up she looked surprised that we would want another round of drinks... really? When we finally got our second round the order wasn't correct and it took 20 minutes to get a missing drink..... at that time most of the group left so they wouldn't miss their buses (2 hours later). read more

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood? Afternoon happy hour on a Saturday. So should be in a good mood? Manhattan was disappointing - for $9.50 it should be decent liquor - and heavy on the bitters. Also, annoying for that drink to be in a martini glass. Esp when the glass is dirty. Artichoke dip was fine, and would have bred decent if the cook hadn't fallen asleep and fried them four shades past crunchy? Too many better places. However, staff and service is great (except for the sleepy chef). read more

Their happy hour has amazing food selections and delicious drinks! Wanna do girls night the right way to do it, their margaritas! Winning

Tons of TVs and good drink. Nice spot to watch the games. The downside is the food. Despite having a huge menu, they really only have lots of really heavy dinner food on the menu. The vast majority of their options such as filet mignon, salmon, reuben, orange chicken (?), mac and cheese are all great, but are really not what I'm interested in when I walk into a sports bar. Even the salads here - smoked chicken waldorf, brussels sprouts, quinoa, chicken, seared ahi, etc. - while great & healthy and all that, are just a little fancy for my taste, and hard to eat while watching football. When I'm at a sports bar, I'm looking for some quick and easy eats. And outside of getting the burger (which I had done already twice before coming in during the previous 24 hours), or getting pizza (which I ended up getting), this place doesn't have too much in the way of good bar food. Which can be a problem, if you're at, well...a bar. Nice spot though. read more

My fiancé has a rare medical condition. One of the few things that helps her medications absorb is hot drinks. She was having a hard time this evening so we got her a hot chocolate to help ease her pain and help her medication take. We went to the Thirsty Lion to find a place to sit and eat something to see if she could feel better. The hostess refused to seat us because my fiancé had her hot chocolate cup. We tried to explain that we weren't trying to sneak in alcohol (alcohol would likely kill her if she drank it) as the hostess had accused us of. We left as this type of treatment towards guests should be unacceptable to anyone that values the needs of others. I understand policy, but this is heartless. TL should be ashamed of themselves. read more

The food was fine, nothing special. I'm giving Thirsty 3 stars because the drinks were excellent. I got the Lion Lemonade and it was really great. For food I got the Rueban and it was soaked in dressing and the slaw was very sweet - I don't recommend. However the person next to me got the Salmon Caesar salad and it look phenomenal!! my friend ordered the burger and I hate judging a place based on the burgers because it's so standard....no dessert. read more

Thirsty Lion - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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This is one of my favorite restaurants in Union Station!9 out of 10 times, it's a great experience. I always get the Romano Herb Crusted Chicken with extra lemon beurre blanc sauce! It is the perfect blend of creamy, lemony and savory flavors to go with the chicken and the fun spiral noodles! The last couple times we've come for brunch, I've gotten the chilaquiles, which are always good! I hate cilantro so they sub their scallion sour cream for me (instead of the cilantro sour cream). Yum! Perfect spot to grab a bite before an Av's game or concert at the Pepsi center! read more

I came in with friends before taking the shuttle to Red Rocks. It was very convenient to be able to eat and have drinks before a show. The food was great and our server Jason was excellent. The hosts were very helpful, although they seemed a bit overwhelmed by the number of people lining up at the door. read more

Disappointing. Stopped here starving after our flight. The hostess seemed irritated to help us. She sat us at a table with food on my seat and all over the floor, the table was so wobbly I would be afraid to put a beverage on it. We were sat a booth with a table that mostly wiped off. Our waitress came across very snarky. Our food came barely 5 min after receiving our app. Broccoli was overly seasoned, my Rueben was dry, my water glass had a chip in it. The restaurant seems fairly dirty, I wished I had not picked up the plastic sign on our table. read more

Color me surprised, this place is pretty decent. Come for the tv's, specials and food, not for the service though. We came here around 330pm on Saturday afternoon because they have happy hour every day from 3 to 6. I don't work downtown so when I find somewhere that has happy hour during the weekend, I'm in. We found a seat at the bar and they were right in the middle of a shift change so it was a bit hectic among the bar staff. They have $4 wines, well drinks and draft of the day during happy hour along with a food menu. I got the Tuscan kale salad ($5) and Pear and Proscuitto Flatbread ($6) and it was amazing. Who knew they would have a killer kale salad and creative flatbreads? Yeah, the name has Gastropub in it but Thirsty Lion seems more like an upscale bar than anything. The two dishes were enough for early dinner than night plus lunch the next day. I will definitely be back for the happy hour specials again and hope it's a little less hectic next time around. read more

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This is a good place to catch a nice bite to eat prior to boarding the train to the airport at Union Station. I've had the fish & ships twice and it is delightful. I both need to try some other menu items and also go for dinner in the evening, relax and enjoy some beers or wine. I've only sat at the bar and the service has been good both times. I think I'll be back again this coming week (8-11 July-19). read more

Food was rather bland. Service was fair. Atmosphere was sleek and stark at the same time. Its like... A modernized Chili's... If Chili's called itself a gastropub, had a mediocre beer selection and wanted to give me the impression of walking into a newer hotel's lobby. In Vegas... I think that's the best way to describe my impression of Thirsty Lion... read more

There is an old saying in the food service industry that states; "When a customer has a good experience they tell 1 other person. But when they have bad experience they tell 10." I am going to tell anyone that will read this review. The restaurant itself is aesthetically pleasing, with a good deal of space and a fair number of TVs. In fact the beer list and menu are both solid. Based on these facts I would have given the thirsty lion 4 stars. That being said the the service is inattentive, bordering on rude. Although our waitress was friendly, we waited 10 minutes for our drink order to be taken. Said drink order may never had been taken had I not talked to the hostess. When I politely (I worked in restaurants for 14 years,) attempted to inform the hostess of our dilemma her demeanor and tone, made me feel as though I was bothering her. Furthermore, I had a similar experience with a server in my 10 quest to attain ketchup. I find this to be egregious behavior from individuals in the service industry. In closing, this place has great potentially but I will not return until I am convinced that they have amended these issues. read more

Overall a great and quick place to stop in. Pub style, sit outside if you can get a seat. We had drinks and apps which were all great. They have a reasonable beer selection yet the cocktails were meh. TL's staff is top notch, fun, helpful and relaxed. read more

As a disclaimer I live down the street and this has become one of my regular spots. The reason for that is the outstanding service at the bar. Zane, Munch, Sofia, Jamie and Chrissy are all amazing bartenders with outstanding service. They remember faces and what you drink and are always attentive even when it's crazy busy. Everything I've had off the menu has been good if not great, and the one time I ordered the Black Bean Quinoa burger I almost converted to the vegetarian religion. I can't speak to table service quality because I'll always sit at the bar. I've met other regulars here and we've become fast friends. I've seen other reviews upset about game time audio not being blasted overhead... Go to sports column... That's not this place. Some of is can watch without the chatter telling us what to think... Thank you. ok I'm completely docking a star because of the music. First of all I like chick pop as much as the next straight white guy, we've all had wives or girlfriends blasting it until you realize subconsciously you're slightly jamming out and had no idea... But we're not going to talk about that. How about this: let's see who's playing the festival scene for the year, maybe mix that in with ol school music ( like 90s 2000s) hot hits that frankly, we know. And then after nine mix in a bit of oooold school hit hop. Stuff everyone can get behind. I've closed my tab early here at least a dozen times because the chick pop was melting my brain. read more

FOOD POISONING!!!!! I have been to this place 3 times. 2 times for beers and once for food. Let me just start by saying our male server was insanely rude. He would talk over us and rush us. We had to wait long for him to take our drink order.. Get with it bro you don't have that many tables and it's Halloween no one wants to wait for you to talk to your coworkers. So after we noticed this long wait we had tried to order our food while we ordered our drinks.. Apparently that's not acceptable at this establishment lol he was all like ugh no let me go put these on first.. Like 10 mins goes by and he finally comes back with 3 drinks! My mimosa was gross lol the nastiest OJ and no champagne. Finally our food comes!! Out burgers are a little pink and the chicken strips slimmy. Whatever shit happens. We are hungry, we eat it. To continue out of experience I then ordered a vodka cranberry.. It was like all vodka. Whatever lol So my gf tipped the server less than a dollar and by bf tipped him a dollar lol he came outside to give us our change back. The entire time we were there he made us seem like a bother to him and he was just so rude. But yeah I got fucking food poisoning!!! Disgusting and awful! read more

Terrible service!! We stopped in there tonight for a quick dinner. The waitress walked by our table multiple times without even noticing us. Finally the bartender came over to take our orders. The waitress came to deliver our food and muttered sorry. Then, she disappeared again. read more

We love this place. We go here often and I often get the fish and chips. It is honestly some of the best I have had. They are super tender and cooked perfectly. I always get the fries extra crispy or they do come out a bit soft. Great beer selection. read more

Popped in for dinner. Filet mignon was cooked to request (rare!). Light rub and butter. Asparagus had nice grilled flavor, crisp but tender, mashed potatoes tasty. Friend had salmon risotto and loved it. Warm brownie and ice cream was a winner! Staff friendly and helpful. Easy seating on Mon. night. read more

Thirsty Lion - Filet. Salmon risotto. - American Near Me - Denver, Colorado