This place has earned it's poor rating. Don't get me wrong- the food is awesome. It's some of the best Mac and cheese I've had in Colorado. But the customer service is so incredibly bad. I get it's a hipster spot, not cool to be too friendly. But my bartender ignored me for 20 mins, only helping the man sitting next to me. I almost left, I felt embarrassed. Then the other bartender, a woman, refilled the guys drinks, asked how it was, didn't even look at me. There were 3 people at the bar, and wait staff ignored me to the point of making me feel bad. Come on, now. I had 1 bloody Mary. I've never been treated so poorly. For management purposes, in case you're interested, I was here at 1215 on May 28th. read more

I've been going to this bar for years, and while it's still a decently cool atmosphere, I realize it's not as great as I once thought. The paltry amounts of sitting room; the bar which gets crowded immediately and makes it almost impossible just to order anything; the music being not too loud since that sounds like something an old person would say, but just too loud for the small space they have. The lack of bar space and seating quickly turns into people having to stand right in the space between the two, which then makes it impossible to even move through the place. However, they do have an awesome vegetarian/vegan menu and the food is seriously good. Sputniks is a fun place to stop in for a while, but you might want to move on to some of the other bars in the area after not too long read more

This place feels hipster. Haven't tried the food, but a nice place to hang with friends. Went to this bar with a friend around 1am. The environment was ambient and quiet enough for a conversation. The drinks were okay. The staff seemed pretty chill. Haven't had much interaction with em to know whether or not they are rude or nice. read more

Sputnik is a neat little hipster bar, has a photo booth, and a pretty good menu. However, the service is kinda slow and it can be a bit pricey. I usually go here for late night food or afternoon appetizers. My favorite drink is the Thor (think spicy Moscow Mule?) and for food I'm fond of the fried pickles, mac n cheese, short ribs, and banh mi. read more

Cozy dive-ish bar with surprisingly delicious food and a pretty good happy hour. Sadly, the only beer on special is pbr, in line with the super hipster vibe. I always expect and hope for better beer options in general, but they are just OK. The well cocktails are good and strong but the specialty drinks can be hit or miss, sometimes so strong that it ruins the flavor but of course has other benefits. The Mac and cheese is topped with cheese its and green onions and is soooo delish. Also, corn dogs, sweet potato fries and lots of dipping sauce choices. Can get very busy and loud but I personally love it best when I can get a booth and it isn't too loud to chill with friends. Warning: your bartender may be cooler than you. read more

Went here for breakfast this morning right at open. Even after reading some horrible reviews about the service we decided to give it a try. Service didn't suck and neither did the food. We were in and out in 30 minutes and the many vegan options were appreciated! read more

This review is solely based on the food, and specifically the vegan food. Visiting Denver one night we were drinking with friends and realized we hadn't eaten dinner yet. It was late and we were done drinking for the night, so we headed to Sputnik with our friends - they kept drinking but we were 100000% there for some late night vegan eats. Ordered the vegan mac and cheese, friend pickles and a corn dog. Everything was delicious, especially the vegan mac and cheese, and really reasonably priced. To top it all off, neither of us had a greasy-late-night-food-hangover the next morning which is always great/surprising after a late night fried food party! read more

The service and the ambiance here is spectacular. Super chill, progressive bar with an edgy vibe. The cocktails are awesome and the food is conscious bar food; almost everything can be made vegan and vege. I've loved every outing I have had here and many thanks to Diego and the man bartending last night (dont remember his name) You all were so sweet! read more

Sputnik, I love you! This is an oasis in Denver where the prices are within the reach of the average citizen. The food is both imaginative and delicious. The only thing I didn't like about Sputnik was the super grungy bar and now that has been fixed. Always good music playing. Thank you Sputnik for existing. You always make me smile. read more

This place is pretty cool. I like that the menu is not overloaded but has a good selection and they are vegan friendly! They have some good drinks too. The bar/wait staff were nice but not overly friendly, and I can respect that. The only reason they are getting 4 stars instead of 5 is because the food took FOREVER! I ordered a salad and waited over an hour. Either way, I'll be back I'm sure. read more

Lots of good vegan late night options like wings, Mac and cheese, etc. definitely a bar scene more than restaurant!

I just had a lovely visit to Sputnik. After watching some animated shorts at the Mayan I went in for a cocktail but Alexis and mike made my stay so enjoyable I stayed for two! This seems a bit too enthusiastic so far so sorry. Had a nice time. They didn't pester me. I even got a handshake on my way out ;-) I can't believe I haven't left a review for this joint yet. read more

Great place, great atmosphere to go and get a drink after work. Friendly staff, lengthy beers and ciders on tap, nice menu, the chef in the back is doing a great job! The whole bar filled up within 45 minutes of us being there, Which is great for a Monday! read more

The place has a very hipster feel to it, with the music being a little on the loud side, but not too uncomfortably loud. Being a vegetarian can prove to be tricky when going to new restaurants, but to my delight I was able to eat anything on the menu! I got the philly cheese seitan sandwich, which turned out to be bigger than what I was expecting. My boyfriend got the philly as well, but with steak and fries with the sriracha ranch, which was so good that I ended putting some in my sandwich. Both of our sandwiches could have used a little more cheese and meat, but overall the taste was good. They were attentive to us, despite the fact that they were quite busy. I would go again if I am ever back in town visiting from NC again. read more

New favorite restaurant in Denver!! The atmosphere was wonderful, and the food was even better! We went to Sputnik after a long flight, and the comfort food was off the charts! Love all the vegan options, and I also like how you can choose to make your meal non vegan!! The waitress was so sweet, and checked up on us the perfect amount of times! I am definitely goin to have to make more trips to Denver just to eat at Sputnik!! read more

One of my favourite bars in denver. I especially enjoy coming in when Joe is working. He's one of the best bartenders and incredibly nice to everyone. Actually one of the reasons I keep coming back. Also their food is always awesome, every time. Keep up the good work Joe!! read more

Sputnik is a quirky bar with awesome staff and it's a plus that they have so many vegan options! I would highly recommend going for weekend brunch because the service is super casual and authentic and the food is so good! The only downside to the place is that I've been coming for years and I always get really uncomfortable when one bartender/server is working. His name is Joe and he's nice enough, but he seems really fake. I've interacted with him a couple of times but last Thursday really solidified how much he rubbed me the wrong way. I was recently informed that he's an aspiring actor, and I am not surprised. If you want to be a fake waiter and have people fall for your creepy overacting, go work at Applebee's. It'll be better received there. Five stars for the rest of Sputnik and their staff, three stars for the, "aspiring actor". read more

I sat down at the bar and wasn't greeted for almost five minutes. It wasn't busy, the two tenders, whose names I never got, were just chit chatting. I asked for a pbr and two corn dogs. Got my pbr, then I only got one corn dog, which took nearly 30 minutes. My second corn dog took another 20 minutes to get to me. They were delicious, but not nearly an hour of waiting delicious. I wasn't asked how my food was or even thrown a quick 'sorry for the wait and forgetting to ring one in.' Keeping the front doors open all day drags in a lot of flies. I'll probably be back because my co-workers and I eat the corn dogs regularly, but I'm not impressed otherwise. read more

I am a big fan of Sputnik. It's reasonably priced and very tasty. I could eat 27 of the vegan corn dogs. I've explored a lot of their vegan choices and they are all delicious and affordable. This bar has a cool vibe, prices that won't break the budget, and tasty food. read more

Good bar eats. They're dipping sauces are the bees knees! Loud small bar at night but hey, if you're on a pub crawl this could be an ideal mealstop! read more

Went here with a few work friends and all you yelpers are *so* right. I completely dug the music though and am kicking myself for not jumping the dj to find out this one song that's been running through my head for the last month. Gotta hand it to you - the waitresses are bitchy. Ja. But the (bar) food completely rocks and it should be a requirement to order those damn sweet potato fries. I'm bringing my younger sister here next month when she's in town so I can pretend to be cooler than her. Oh, to be in my twenties again. One note: $5 minimum to run your credit card. Maybe they are collecting funds to repair the photo booth? (I've been notified this is working again.) read more

I wouldn't recommend this restaurant, the servers were extremely rude and the vegan options weren't good, we left and went next door instead. read more

Simply put: great place for vegan options, inexpensive, shitty service and dive bar smell.

This place was a real treat. Definitely a hipster vibe with ill fitting music. Although I enjoyed the Dwight Yokam. Food was overall pretty good. They know how to make Brussels sprouts and fried pickles. The soul bowl was a bit bland and the tempeh was pretty hard but easily edible. The vegan philly was pretty good but the bread it came on was was the real winner. So flakey, so chewy. I would have enjoyed a basket of that bread. And if you want a nice cocktail, get the lavender gin lemonade and relax. Service faded at our booth and were never offered another drink or checked on until we put on our coats. Seemed to be the only way to get the check. Worth a trip. read more

Hands down one of the best vegan breakfasts I've ever had and I don't say that lightly. Pretty dive bar feel, dimly lit, casual and rather hipster-ish. I ordered the "vegan stacks of power" and my wife ordered a tofu scramble, both of which were uniquely flavoured and wonderfully spiced. Hard to describe the uniqueness of the two dishes in a review, so I will just highly urge you to give this place a try. read more

Such. Terrible. Service. I will never go back. I have NEVER been treated so poorly in my life. I went in there with my mom (who is wayy "cooler" than all the blonde hipster servers) and we were ignored. The server was borderline aggressive. I cannot believe how arrogant and entitled the staff is - they will never make it anywhere in the world with those bad attitudes. Yuck - repulsed. Too bad because the menu is tasty and affordable. read more

My boyfriend and I visited this place about two weekends ago, I never pull the race card but either these servers were racist, or just plain rude. We sat at the bar, the place was not busy, there were 3 servers behind the bar as well, not one of them said hello, they carried on with their conversation after 10 minutes of sitting there 1 of them finally brought us menus, didn't ask if we wanted something to drink, we asked for waters and she hesitantly filled two cups up with water and walked right away. After waiting 15 more minutes without being acknowledged (servers still right in front of us behind the bar) we decided to get up and leave and take our money elsewhere! We went to a pizza joint instead with more than friendly service and respect for their fellow human being, what a relief! read more

We can talk more about how awesome the sweet potato fries are. We can talk about what great beer specials Sputnik has. We can also talk about the fun and entertaining crowd that shows up is. We can even talk about the best bloody mary's at the best price are at the weekend brunch. But I don't want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about how great all the bartender's are at Sputnik and Hi Dive. I frequent Sputnik in the mornings for some great coffee and conversation with Paul, who is possibly the nicest guy I have ever met. He pulls some great shots of espresso and even remembers that I like my coffee in the big white cup instead of the smaller one, even after being gone for over 2 months. And to top it off, we have some great conversations too. When night falls on Sputnik you can always expect to see the other great bartenders having a blast behind the bar. I can always get a pound and blow up from Matty C (representing the F.L.A.) and a great smile from Carrie and a 'what's up' from Aaron when I walk in the door. Caroline is awesome and nobody can deny that Maria is just plain amazing. It's a place that if you visit often enough, they recognize you and make you feel that it's your place. That it's your neighborhood bar. I like that feeling of a place that I can call mine. A place that I feel welcomed. And that is the feeling you get at Sputnik. So, you may have to deal with not getting a booth. Or standing in the middle of the bar. But it's a friendly place and the people that run it make it worth the while. read more

I just moved to Denver from Chicago and stopped in for a day bite. Banging food! One bite can take you to Phuket with stops in Myanmar and Jackson Mississippi. That probably didn't make a lick of sense. Myriad flavors is what I was trying to convey. Their sweet potato fries with the various dipping sauces will charm your taste buds so much that they won't even wait for a second date. The absent star is for the inoperable photo booth which resembles the restaurant's namesake. Also, well...you know hipster douche bags. Blah. I've come to terms with the fact that they're not going away, and they tend to congregate in pretty rad places. So Phuket! I'll keep going. You should too. read more

I've been here lots of times and every single time I've left incredibly annoyed at how rude and terrible the waitresses are. I've always tipped really well in hopes they'd remember "that one girl who comes in quite often and puts up with our shit" and at least say something other than "want anything other than water" as my greeting. Nope guess not. After reading these other reviews obviously no one is cool enough for those ridiculous snotty girls who call themselves waitresses.The food is mediocre at best and by at best I mean if it's not getting cold on their little table by the bar for ten minutes before someone decides to bring it to you. read more

Do not eat here for lunch! My co worker and I went for lunch, I ordered the pork lettuce wraps, they came out with one dime size piece of pork in the two that they give you accompanied by one sliver of a shredded carrot on top. My side salad consisted of "Mixed Greens" literally meaning- seven pieces of baby spinach, zero veggies, and zero dressing, cost $3.00 dollars. I will never, ever go back. Go to Punch Bowl or the Hornet down the street, they are little bit pricey but a least they portion out enough food to feed an adult, not a small child. read more

Sitting at Sputnik right now waiting for my food. It's been an hour and 15 mins and the waiter is an asshole.

everyone knows sputnik is great. but for my money, they have the 2 things that make a bar that extra special place. 1. amazing fries. 2. for those rare occasions when one does not want a good cheap beer, they have top-shelf scotch for those of us who know what we are drinking. yes, they have laphroaig. and at a very reasonable price. usually i have to go to sketchy yuppie bars in the burbs where i would rather not be if i want decent scotch, but at sputnik i can have my scotch and drink it also. read more

After horrible service we tipped our server very little and he came running outside after us to harass us about the tip we left. We went back in to complain to the manager and the manager was also very rude and told us that the server deserved a larger tip. I managed a restaurant and I know that the situation all around was very eye opening. Whoever is the owner of the restaurant I'm sure would be extremely displeased to hear how their staff is treating the customer. The food was dry and bland as well. read more

I just had the rudest/most incompetent service at this bar. I went in for to go food, and the blonde, very curly haired bartender didn't say a SINGLE word to me OR look me in the eyes once. She dropped the menu in front of me without even acknowledging my presence. I had to flag her down after ten minutes of sitting at the bar top of eight people, and I HATE flagging servers down. It just feels so rude on both our parts. She ended up transferring me to the other bartender so she could talk to her friends two seats down from me. And when she transferred me to her coworker, instead of being discreet, she kept pointing at me and laughing. I didn't go into this establishment, expecting chain restaurant, over the top perky service. I am very familiar with Sputnik actually and frequented the bar when I was in my 20s. However, acknowledging patrons is just common courtesy, and using discretion when talking about guests...well, that's just basic professionalism. I haven't left a 15% tip in almost AGES. I'm super understanding of most bad service because I worked in restaurants for 7 years. I get it. Really. I do. Bad days happen to the best of us. However, never in my life have I felt so neglected as a customer. She didn't even ask if I wanted a drink...at a bar. I really wanted a glass of wine while I waited, but she ran away so fast after I ordered food that I couldn't tell her my drink order. The sad thing is I'm an amazing tipper, even with mediocre service. Had she at least said hi to me ONCE, she would have made bank off an easy to go item. And she most DEFINITELY was not in the weeds. I saw her working on her side work/opening duties, and she literally twiddled her thumbs for five minutes. Needless to say, I will NOT being going back to this establishment. I kind of having been drifting from this place anyhow for various reasons, but this definitely solidified it for me. I understand that this bar is a super hipster place, but ignoring and degrading your patrons just isn't cool. I don't get worked up this badly about bad service because, well, I have a life and much better things to get butt-hurt about. Yet, this was the epitome of bad, and I feel a little insulted by how this stranger treated me. The even sadder part is that I actually used to frequent this bar BECAUSE of the good service. Seriously, Joe and Spencer made me feel like I was part of a big, drunk family. They took the time to learn my name and say hi, even on extremely busy Saturday evenings. What happened to that quality service?? I really hope you take this review into consideration, Sputnik. While I don't want to see the young woman fired, she needs to be written up by a manager and retrained. Maybe having her work as a bar-back on a shift with some of your more experienced bartenders might be beneficial for her so that she can watch how others employ their customer service and guest relations skills. Or maybe you can just sit down with her and explain that one-top to go orders are also paying guests and worthy of being treated as such. Thank you for reading this review. Edit: I should also note she got my order wrong. Maybe actually talking and listening to me could have prevented that one. Edit 2: I REALLY need to stress that I used to be a regular at this bar. I'm familiar with their service standards, and several years ago, most of the staff knew me by name. For me to complain about this woman should say a LOT. I also want to stress that this is my first yelp review...EVER. I've avoided yelp like the plague, but she should not be working at a bar like Sputnik. And she DESPERATELY needs retraining. read more

Yay Sputnik! Nice loooooong bar, good art on the walls, decent snacking menu, and a hip atmosphere. You should meet friends here, especially out-of-towners; they'll be impressed with how cool you are living in Denver. read more

$1 Pabsts served in a pint glassand sweet potato fries! Can't beat that. I'd give it 5 stars but the photo booth was broken and I heart photos. read more

Not a big fan of Sputnik. Went here on Halloween, and while I commiserate with the bartender who had to work rather than go out, I must point out: you're making money while everyone handing you cash hand over fist is spending it, so don't be a jerk. Toward the end of the night, I went to settle my tab for two drinks and stopped to talk to my (really inebriated) friend. The bartender pointed at her and said, "Are you going to pay for her drinks, too?" while handing me her tab AND mine! I guess she had forgotten to pay for her drinks and he expected me to pay instead of asking her to pay! I was not impressed. read more

one of denvers best kept secrets sputnik reminds me of the kind of place youd find in chicago or new orleans. perhaps its the retro atmosphere or the " dj of the night " playing some quirky tunes? the food is fantastic and pleasing to vegans & carnivores alike. the tea & drink selection is as impressive as the unusual menu choices offered. try the arepes, grilled mac & cheese, or egg sandwich. make sure to ask for some of their unique homemade sauces. super cheap prices for eats at late hours & sweet happy hour deals. check out the oldschool photo booth & monday night bingo. be prepared to have a " dance off " if you tie with someone. also dont miss out on seeing the cooks " bra tattoo". its legendary. sputnik favs: * late hours * atmosphere * menu choices sputnik dislikes: * often not enough seating * to few servers * no dessert on menu read more

The food is mediocre at best and the staff is a crew of derelicts. I've never wanted to stand up and walk out of an establishment more than I did here. I was a server for many years and if I had treated guests as I was treated this evening I would have been fired. Disgusting. Despicable!! I will NEVER go back. read more