White Horse Lounge

I am by no means a regular but I have been here a few times over the course of the year. Despite the bad reviews the owner is a very friendly man and has always welcomed us with a smile. We went in last summer and 3 months later he remembered our names. After taking our pup on a walk he allowed us to bring in pup. Pup ended up being a hit and I have never encountered disrespectful people there. The jukebox is the best and had old school country and some good old tunes from the 60s to the 80s. Good little place. I have never seen more than maybe 5 people there at one time. Chen it out. It’s good.

Stopped in on a slow night. Staff were very nice.
My comrades got some good deals on beers and shots, but my mixed wells cost $ 5 a pop, which is way overpriced for a dive bar.
A good dive joint should have some no-​name bourbon in the $ 3 range. It might not seem much of a difference at first, but a regular visitor could save 15% or more on drinking with Geico (or other bars).

May we dance wiff yo dates?
Is what I overheard entering the White Horse Lounge.
It is a biker bar with some guys that look like they’re straight out of prison. They got a kick out of my friends and I walking in wearing northface jackets and designer jeans.
Non-​the-​less, they were buying us round after round of Whiskey shots, and my one friends made the mistake of sitting in one of the regular’s barstools. The guy’s name was Beast, no joke.
Anyway when Beast started rubbing my friend’s head for good luck, I decided it was time for us to make a quick departure. Thinking on my toes, I pulled out fourty bucks from my wallet gave it to the bartender and told him to buy a round for the whole bar.
It’s really two stars, but three stars for the good story. I’m only writing this review because I’m 1200 miles away.

There are dives… and then there’s this place. I have no idea what any of the other Unilocalers are smoking, but read below for an accurate account of this place without a hipster spin. It’s not charming and it won’t make you feel nostalgic for anything.
A few pals and I made our way into The White Horse after chowing down at a steakhouse on Federal. I had long known of The White Horse but had never been in. All I had heard about it was that it used to be an Indian bar, and it used to be one of the scarier bars in Denver (at least according to Mark the Garbage Man, RIP, a friend of a friend).
We entered at around 9 PM on a Friday, expecting the place to be crowded with regulars. Wrong! The place was dead silent; no music, and hardly any sound of conversation could be heard. The place was like a damp, dark cave. At the bar, a young man with a tattoo covering half of his head sat with a young female. He gave me a not-​so-​welcoming, uncomfortably long stare. And by not-​so-​welcoming, I mean the crazed, possibly homicidal look you might get from your cellmate upon arriving at the state pen. At the far end of the building, a small group of young people played pool, watching us as we entered. The smell of urine could be detected. The floors were ripped up, with different pieces of paper-​thin carpet covering the concrete. The décor was at least 40 years old — which is fine — but it didn’t really feel well-​maintained. Behind the bar, Denver’s oldest bartender stood, blankly staring at his new patrons. This guy looked to be over 80 years old and was a dead ringer for Topsy from King of the Hill. Five seconds after walking into the building, my body was sending me powerful fight or flight signals. We stayed.
«Do you have anything on tap?» my buddy asked the bartender as we sat down. «Nope! Bottles only,» was Topsy’s response. That was the most he ever said to us while we were there. We collected our Coors Lights and went to a foosball table. After a couple minutes, the place cleared out. It was just six out of place guys and Topsy in this dark hole. We paid to play a song on the jukebox, finished our beers, and got the hell out.

There’s something charming to me about this dad’s den enclave. Behind the bar, they have a picture of this place from 1961 with a group of patrons outside. All white folks nicely dressed.
TImes have changed indeed, but the interior has not. On my Firday night here, I found the bar filled with fun Latins, covivial and friendly. Obvioulsy regulars, because RIch, the old time bartender gave two ladies, roughly 28 – 35, some money for the jukebox and they played Rich’s favorite. Everyone was singing to that old Charlie Rich country song «Have you Happened to see the Most Beautiful Girl in the World». This song came out in about 1972, but all these folks who weren’t even close to being born yet, we’re singing in unison in their best drunk voices with passion and ernest.
When a bar crosses cultures and eras with such ease, its a good thing.

I drive by this place almost every day and have always been curious. The parking lot is almost always empty and the location is definitely weird for a bar this size. For my 30^th birthday I decided to bring all my friends here to see what the place was like, and to my surprise, this was probably the best birthday ever!
Rich and Gary are the bartenders/​owners. Rich bought the place 40 years ago and has been running it ever since. They both are excellent people who care a lot about the business and the experience their customers have. They even let us bring cake and ice cream into the bar and share it with everyone! When it came time to sing, Rich got on the intercom to sing with everyone and wish me a happy birthday. It was marvelous!
The place is clean, with Foosball and pool tables as well. There is also a lot of seating and plenty of room at the bar. They also have a jukebox which is incredibly cheap and has some great, old music, mostly country. Five bucks gets you 30 songs!
The drinks were reasonably priced, but the selection of top-​shelf alcohol was not. Though, I am not sure anyone would go here expecting to drink the best of the best in terms of brands. As long as they have the ingredients for a Colorado Bull Dog, all is well in my book.
The White Horse is also a historical landmark (or should be) in Denver. It was opened in 1926 and was one of the first ten bars to obtain a liquor license in Denver. The one pitfall to this place is that it is a cash-​only bar. They do have an ATM though… if anyone still knows their pin to get cash at an ATM! If you are looking for a joint to bring your friends and just have a good time without the annoyances of most bars, this is definitely a great place. I plan to become a regular patron!

Gary is a great bartender. The jukebox has The Railbenders (Denver country music), and a great selection of Soul, Oldies, Country, and some hilariously campy music like Cher and Mariah Carey. It’s not normally very crowded and so it’s a great place to relax and just have a drink or two. Three pool tables and a foosball table help round out a great old time Denver bar.

I giggle just thinking about this bar. Walking into this bar is like walking into a time machine and being spewed back out 40 years earlier. I instantly fell in love with the jukebox that plays only old country (there is a Cher album!!), owner/​bartender, and all the memorabilia hanging on the walls.
A little unknown fact about this place is that it is one of the first ten original bar establishments in the city of Denver (and liquor licenses). This bar has been there since the 1920’s! It has had the same owner since mid 1970’s too which I found pretty cool.
Be warned that they are a cash only bar though. I think that the best part of this bar is the fact that they serve tequila rose. I don’t know why I like that stuff, but I revert back to a young college kid at the thought and could drink it like soda pop!