(Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems.)
Even in a city like Denver, there aren’t many bars like Bar Max.
Along with cocktails -- both alcoholic and spirit-free -- and snacks like charcuterie and cheese boards, Bar Max also has a selection of board games and hosts events like movie nights and gatherings for local writers and creatives. (Beth Rankin/The Denver Post)
Nestled across the street from the Carla Madison Recreation Center on East Colfax, this cozy, plant-filled oasis is a haven for cocktail lovers, cinephiles and bookworms — the Sie FilmCenter and Tattered Cover are a block away — and board-game lovers who raid the bar’s game stash or bring their own.
It was one of the first watering holes in the city to offer a robust non-alcoholic drink menu and includes a Choose Your Own Adventure option that lets drinkers select from a 100-option flavor wheel so the bartender can build a custom drink tailored to individual palates.
The cocktail menu is broken down by flavor profile and alcohol level — with categories like Savory, Sparkling and Sweet-ish — and includes a few local beer options, wine and snacks such as charcuterie and cheese boards. Astrology fans will even find cocktails catered to each star sign.
Impeccable service and warm, candle-lit vibes aside, Bar Max — named a Denver Legacy Business in 2024 — is a place that wears its values on its sleeve. A rainbow flag flies above the bar even outside of Pride month, and the menu touts discounts for educators (the owner is a teacher himself), health care workers, artists and abortion-care workers. During the most tenuous moments of the pandemic, it became one of the first Denver businesses to require a COVID-19 vaccine in order to imbibe there.
The menu denotes which spirits are made in Colorado or come from businesses owned by women, people of color or members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The bar recently launched Community Tuesdays, a weekly series with events ranging from movie nights to open mics and storytelling events.
Bar Max is the kind of place that can be whatever you need it to be: a cozy bartop to sip solo and read a book, a spot to host your next Boggle and bourbon game night, or a pit stop before or after a movie at the Sie or dinner at Sap Sua.
Everything this bar does, it does well — and with a sense of purpose and community that sets it apart from other Denver cocktail bars.
Bar Max, 2412 E. Colfax Ave., barmax.co
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