Apologies for waltzing in without a reservation or checking in w/doorman. Didn't understand the local rules/restrictions thanks to another establishment not observing ANY restrictions and leading us out-of-towners to believe this was the norm. Next time I'm in Denver I'll stop by and likely have a better review. read more

Haven't left a review on yelp in years but figured a horrible experience with a poorly managed, rude, disgusting staff is worth mentioning. Bouncer and server were hostile and not accommodating . read more

Aside from the super slow, distracted service and bartenders serving themselves more drinks than the patrons, I was stopped to pay at the door when trying to leave, accused of not paying my tab. I had my card back (they keep them behind the bar if you open a tab) and I had a receipt of my payment. They ushered me back to the bar where the bartender gave me another receipt of a completely different amount. I walked out as it wasn't my bill, only to find out the next morning that they had changed my card for this unauthorized amount at 3:59am (long after we had left and 2 hours after the close). Had to dispute it with my credit card company to get it back. Awful. No thanks. read more

They play wu tang in the bathroom, drinks and foods are yummy. Need I say more? 10/10

First time here was good, 2nd was weird. Our server asked me for a credit card (sitting at a table, not at the bar) before he had even brought me my drink. Didn't bring silverware...when we asked for a knife it took a good five minutes while our food sat in front of us. When we asked for the bill...no ask of if we weee paying together or cards or cash...instead of bringing g the bill he brought my credit card slip to sign including our whole bill. My friend Venmo-d me for her part since we were actually separate bills. read more

Was visiting Denver amd made reservation to the Williams and Graham. Due to a long wait, we were directed to the sister place Occidental. Fun dive bar with a good crowd and music. We ended up staying there the remainder of the time. Highly recommended. read more

Occidental - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Tasty drinks, punk rock vibes, fried pickles, what's not to love? Somewhere between a dive bar and a lounge, Occidental is a cool, casual spot to grab a drink in the Highlands. They serve a whole slew of classic cocktails (I tried the Mai Tai and give it an A+) plus some fun house drinks named after punk rock songs, like "Pretty Vacant" and "Last Caress." Though I'm not much of a beer drinker, they have a lot of options (like, 40+) in that department. I came here on a Friday night around 7 pm and the bar was full, but not uncomfortably packed. I was surprised to see they offered table service, as the bar seems to get pretty busy in the evenings. Our waitress was cool and attentive, even while sorting through who ordered what in the increasingly full bar. Although I didn't try the food, I'll be doing so next time because #friedpickles. Occidental's sister bar, Williams & Graham, is right next door and often has a wait. Why not wait at Occidental with a Mai Tai and fried pickles? (Honestly, that sounds like a perfect night to me.) read more

Came in here with a few friends for a drink after eating dinner at Avanti. Table service was taking a while so my friend and I went to the bar to order our drinks. While the bartender was perfectly friendly, our server, Merlin, came up to us and practically shouted that he was our server and we should not be ordering drinks at the bar. We probably should have left then, but we went back to our table to join our group. Merlin followed us to get everyone else's drink order. Two people asked for water and the third was deciding what he wanted to drink, so Merlin said,"Real cool, I guess everyone's just drinking water", walked away and we never saw him again. My mezcal cocktail was freakin delicious but our server was a dick. read more

The drinks were reasonably priced, but that's not the reason for the 5 stars. The reason for the review is that when the bartender was setting down our drinks for us, one person in my party had told our friend, Justin, to "Shut the f**k up." What we didn't know was that the busser helping the bartender set down drinks, was also named "Justin". Well the bartender immediately snapped on my friend and said,"You don't say that to my staff," not knowing that we were talking to our friend. The mixup was immediately cleared up and the bartender apologized for the misunderstanding. I, along with my party, thought that it was FANTASTIC, most of us being former bartenders ourselves, that the head bartender would stand up immediately for her staff like that. Wish I could remember her name though. I believe it was Emmy or something like that? Props to you Occidental for hiring awesome people! read more

Like many others, I visited Occidental to pass the time while waiting for my name to be called for Williams & Graham next door. The place has a sports/dive bar-vibe, and they also serve typical bar food. I ordered The Rev, which is one of their signature cocktails, and the New York Sour. I liked The Rev better than the NY Sour, which fell a little flat in terms of taste. All in all, a chill place to hang out, but nothing really stood out. read more

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Edit it's still the best bar and always gets 5 stars I was a lil buzzed lol.. it's the best ny bar in Denver until they hang some lame Yankee jersey above where I piss during the playoffs Owner was a Mets fan at some point, Rangers too, is an islander or devils flag next? ..this is called busting balls eh, we are new Yorkers after all. read more

Nice chill spot with good beer selection. They sure are A-holes about smoking on the outdoor patio though.

That patio! Those cocktails! The service! Came here for drinks before heading elsewhere for dinner. (They have a very limited food menu and it's not really vegetarian friendly.) My friends were boring and ordered beer and wine but I tried the Rev and a caipirinha, both phenomenal. I often order whiskey cocktails and end up wishing I'd just ordered whiskey on the rocks but the Rev was perfect. The back patio has a great view of the Denver skyline that glows right as the sun sets. Thumbs up from me. Throw a veggie burger on your menu and I'd bump it to 5 stars. read more

Awesome cocktail bar with a great happy hour (every day and ALL day on Sunday). They've also got a couple vegan options on their food menu (impossible burger and hummus appetizer) so a great spot to grab dinner and drinks. Will definitely be back! read more

The Habit cocktail is on point! Consistently good when I come. However, friend's drink is meh. But overall great vibes. And the Shwarma tots are a drunk munchies dream come true :) read more

We came here as we were waiting for a space at Williams & Graham. It's a great laid back bar with delicious cocktails and yummy snacks from a food truck below deck. We sat outside and had a great view of downtown Denver while enjoying a gin cocktail, the South Park with a perfect combination of lemon, mint, herbal liqueur, and gin. A perfect cocktail to say farewell to summer. My hubs had a Remember the Maine rye cocktail with a spritz of absinthe. Too many of these and you will understand the power of the absinthe! We ordered a chicken taco and cheese curds to appease the hunger pains gnawing at our insides. Chicken was marinated and juicy while the cheese curds were crispy and stringy. Yum! read more

Great happy hour deals on drinks and the chicken wings are very good. Also, best bathroom music in a bar I've ever heard. read more

Occidental - Taken January 29, 2017 - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Cool atmosphere, friendly servers, and cheap(er) drinks relative to neighboring bar Williams & Graham. Also a complete 180 from sister bar W&G which can be a good thing or bad depending on what you're after. I personally thought it was a great thing. I dug the retro/punk music theme, enjoyed the absence of pretension, and appreciated the cheaper yet well-made cocktails (in particular whatever my tequila cocktail was). I would opt for this ambiance, demographic, and experience 9 times out of 10 when deciding between W&G or this bar. Having a kitchen serving food is nice, however, the menu didn't strike any chords. I'll probably refrain from eating here, but undoubtedly would be back. Definitely a neighborhood feel bar that can stand the test of time and outlive gimmicks and trends. read more

Great bar! Good drink selection, and good music (I am a punk rock fan, so).

I have never wrote a yelp review but this place is the tits. Ended up here on a Saturday night and it wasn't too crowded. The soundtrack alone had me sold on this spot. They were playing all the greatest punk jams from the late 90s/early 2000s and I was in heaven. The Guinness was poured right and the bar staff was friendly and personable. I met a dude named Ray in a Bad Religion T-Shirt and we hit it off talking about all the best punk tunes while the girls we were respectively with sat there and rolled their eyes. I actually think he wrote the review under me. Love you Ray! read more

love this place, I've been coming for years and years so I'll keep It short and sweet. A go-to location for sports, the food is good and served late night, oh and the ambiance and decor kick ass! read more

If you haven't been here, you should get a group of friends together and come ASAP! The vibe here is really great. The service is great. Our waiter was very attentive. No one had any empty glass unless they were done drinking. Their drink menu should satisfy most. There's some mixed cocktails and a pretty decent list of beer. The back patio was very chill. No one was too loud or obnoxious. It was just several tables having a great time. The view looks out over Postino. I didn't order any of the food myself but it looked and smelled great. read more

The bald bearded guy with the glasses is my spirit advisor. His lucious beard is softer than angel pubes. He farts glitter.

Excellent service, great atmosphere, and a food truck in the back paired with a fantastic view of the downtown skyline. It comes as no surprise that a bar concept brought to us by the creators of Williams and Graham would produce a unique and engaging atmosphere that is less intimidating than its sister bar next door. Worth a try time and time again. read more

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Awesome wall in the hole bar! Came here Saturday afternoon around 430 to watch the NY Rangers game and it wasn't packed yet. My husband and I sat at the bar and enjoyed their happy hour menu which runs until 6pm on Saturday's. Our bartender was super friendly and nice and even suggested a drink from their happy hour menu to save us a couple of bucks. It started getting packed around 6ish but we were glad we got a table at the bar. It's a great bar if you like east coast teams, they also play the NY giants there! We ordered their chicken tenders and it was delicious! The food items are priced for the highlands so don't expect any dish to be less than $10. Overall great bar, great bartenders, awesome vibe and we are so happy we found a bar that loves the NY Rangers as much as we do! read more

A new local favorite. I was sold the first time I walked in and saw a Bukowski quote painted on the the steel beam above the bar... "We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war." Excellent service, an awesome punk rock jukebox, and well poured drinks. The small back deck is a perfect low key spot to chill and take in the city view. They have a limited food menu tied to the food truck out back and everything we tried was tasty. The Thunder Thighs, fries and cheese curds are all worth a try! read more

Came here for some drinks and a bite after avanti had closed since it was Christmas weekend and they closed early. The bartender recommended occidental to us. Cool little dive bar on the edge of downtown. It was busy and kept getting busier as it got later which was nice since everywhere else was dead cause of Christmas. Drink prices were awesome, normal price of what a well vodka and sprite should be not $8-$10. The food prices were good too and we were hungry so we ordered a bunch. One complaint about the food is it was so so so salty, like had to wipe the salt off. I would have thoroughly enjoyed it if it was just well not as much salt. I'm not a huge fan of tots but these were really good. The bartender was super rude to us for some reason like the minute we sat down. The other girls behind there were nice though idk if she was having an off night or what. Either way will def. come back here for drinks next time we are in town! read more

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Great spot. Appreciates new customers and regulars alike. Perfect for a quick stop or an afternoon/evening with friends. Quality no bs bar. read more

In sum: Not a fan. No Happy Hour. No Food (other than food truck 'out back' which offered a handful of fried options). No specialty drinks. The waiter couldn't really tell us what the concept of the bar was. Music turned up way too loud for a Monday night and had to yell to have a conversation. Small bar and on this particular night our service was NOT awesome. Have only been once but doubt I would go back. Postino around the corner was much nicer! But this place is ridiculous. read more

Had a great time stopping into The Occidental for the first time on Tuesday night! The bar was not too crowded and the staff made an effort to great each guest by name. We got two rounds of cocktails and they were all tasty (the Paul Collins, Moscow Mule, TV something (with cherry cola) and a Bourbon/Honey/Lemon/Cranberry cocktail). Got some churros to snack on which were awesome - 5 smaller sized churros were perfect for the two of us to split after a quick game of buck hunter. Right before leaving we decided to check out the back patio and it has a great view of Denver's city lights! We will definitely be back when we need a good cocktail with some fresh air from the garage windows lining the street or the back patio. I would say that the tables are smaller so a party of up to 4 would be the most comfortable. Big TV's lining the bar if there's a game. Thanks Occidental! read more

Melissa was our server and she was amazing! So on top of her game. She was proactive with our orders even when it got crazy busy. Thanks for making our first experience at the occidental great! The food and drinks were pretty delicious as well - kimchi fries! read more

If you are a local. Probably okay. Visiting. Meh. Very average bar w average host and staff. Zero impressed. They should be lucky to be next to a super cool speak easy. read more

HIDDEN GEM ALERT! This place is unassuming from the outside but be sure to make your way in. Not only do they have the friendliest bartenders I've ever met but also great beers on tap, a quality list of cocktails, surprisingly good bar food and Big Buck Hunter for your gaming pleasure :) read more

Meh, overpriced bar food at best, drinks.... on a slow Wednesday I gave up trying to get service standing at the bar. There was a bartender, didn't seem to notice me waving, for Several minutes... We ordered food and drinks, then were asked to leave as we had a 16 month who wasn't allowed. 6:45 on a Wednesday, no kids allowed while you eat dinner. read more

Nice cross between a neighborhood bar and a sports bar. Superb seating layout. A dozen beers on tap and a friendly server who smiled. Will definitely return. read more

Good vibes. Great drinks. Big Buck Hunter. Seriously, in my opinion, you don't need anything else for a great night out. Recommend: the El Jefe cocktail. Love. A few things to come back for -- the patio (didn't sit out there this time around, but it looked great!) ANDD churros (the kitchen was still open at 11:30p when we came by, but unfortunately they did not have any left of these fried cylinders of deliciousness). Next time!! read more

With a 4 star overall rating, I thought Occidental would be able to make the mojito I saw on their menu. Wrong. No line juice and the mint was thrown in as a garnish instead of muddled. It's not that hard to make a mojito. 2 stars for the friendly bartender, who chatted our ear off. read more

Great service! Yummy food! Cool vibe!! We came here from out of town & the server gave us great pointers as to where to go hiking and hang out in Denver! read more

Awesome staff & awesome drinks. Was here from out of town & went to the bar back to back days. Relaxing spot to watch a game, old movie and perfect location. read more

Mules are great and so is the outdoor patio in the back. I like the 80s (?) rock inspired decor with cassette tapes as wall coverings in the back hallway. Never had the food, but this has been a good place to hang with friends any time of year. The music can be a bit loud sometimes, but no biggie. read more