Carioca Cafe – Bar Bar

This bar is an absolute dive. The drinks we’re warm, music was too loud, service was poor, and it was so dirty. I would not recommend going there unless that’s your forte.

Most divey of dives. Weirdest of weirds. Coolest of coolios. You have to be in a certain mood to enjoy this joint. But when it’s on, it’s on point!
This might be one of the most real bars in Denver. This is where you see the true people of Denver. Yes they might be a bit strange, and dirty, and drunk, and creepy — but who isn’t? It’s not just riff-​raff that hang out here though. Plenty of people who are down to drink stop by for a good time and a cheap libation.
Many times they have live music on the weekends which is a ton of fun. Folks start dancing and acting a fool which is always a good time. The vibe is really laid back and conducive with strong drinks and raunchy amusement.
Even if you are here during the day there is plenty of fun to be had. They have a juke box and pool tables and lots of room for groups to enjoy. It’s on a block all its own.
There a lot of history in this bar. Pictures adorn the walls, names are carved into the furniture, and the stories that come from this pub are like none other. I like the friendly bartenders who sell crazy drink specials.
When the mood strikes this is for sure the right place to enjoy some dark, dank, drinks.

Everyone should come here just for the experience. Talk about a dive bar, this place is almost exclusive towards the metal culture. At least that’s what I think they would be labeled. Seems like a bunch of racists, but I saw one black guy and an Asian person. Shit is hardcore up in this joint. Weird how this bar exists like this.

I love me some dive bars, but this place definitely had me at… uh…maybe I don’t know what a dive bar is. At least not this version! I was visiting Denver with some friends and they’d walked by this non-​descript little place and decided we should all come in here. So we did.
It’s a dive. The outside gives you a clue. The lack of signage gives you a clue. The fact that I had to look @ Unilocal pictures to verify I was checking into the right place is a clue. And cash only — ding ding ding! We have ourselves an authentic dive bar! At first our group overwhelmed the sole bartender but she was pretty quick, funny and joked with us while she served up our beverages. Pretty much all the drink selections are bare bones low shelf but to offset that, CHEAP! Someone bought my drink so the exact $$ escapes me but CHEAP was the name of the game here.
We all sat in the corner to the right of the door and unfortunately, I was super close to the very strong air freshener that stopped being so fresh after awhile and more «ohmagodheadache».
So overall it was perfect for what it was, but we didn’t stay too long as we wanted to try other places. Also, no one wanted to use the bathroom here (I saw the picture on Unilocal,and even my ‘I’ll go anywhere’ policy went right out the door).

Visiting Denver. Always like to get the local feel of places — and dive bars are the BEST way to do that.
Close to downtown — walked from our hotel.
Cheap, stiff drinks — 4 stars.
Helpful tolerant bartender — 4 stars
People watching/​interesting locals — 5 stars
Jukebox — 3 stars
bathroom — OMG OMG OMG OMG
odor — what died?
I think if you Google «dive bar» Bar Bar should come up as the epitome.
I just wish I could have peed…

Here’s something people need to know about this place: Bar Bar is real. There are people who come here because they need to. Others who come because they don’t want to be somewhere else. The drinks flow and the people just are. It’s got simple offerings for not so simple people. No frills. It opens at 7am and closes at 2am. Expect beer and liquor. Get out if you think you’re getting a Rob Roy or sazerac. I’m not kidding. It’s not that you’re not welcome there you just probably shouldn’t be there.
It has 3 happy hours and is host to just about anybody. Its unpretentious character is unlike the yuppy hipster that might wander in for a local band’s show, cue the resounding, «I love how grungy this place is!»
Bar Bar is probably one of the last places in town that you’d be able to grab a cheap drink, have a friendly conversation with the bartender, and listen to good, local music.

Come on the right night (for your musical taste) and you’ll get an awesome living room sized concert in a time capsule dive, with bartenders that are not at all shitty serving $ 3.50 beer and shot specials. The kind of place you have drinks with the acts at the bar after sets.

I don’t drink alcohol, went for a show, and the bartender was absolutely amazing he kept filling my water and asking if I needed anything and was a really nice dude and the show was really good too, lots of talented musicians. Door guy w glasses is a complete dick, for example whether or not you agree with vaping, I’m not a dick with my vape AND it got me off smoking pretty instantly, and he’s sitting there telling me that it’s worse for me… I realize it’s not better than not doing it, but 3000 chemicals are NOT being released in my body while vaping… and there are 4 ingredients in my oil… see. he’s really really dumb. so try to avoid speaking to him unless you want to feel like punching him in the face. And he admitted peoole call him a dick all thw time… so maybe you should stop being a dick then… And that wasn’t the only thing. More small little things throughout the night was the thing as to why I clearly felt the need to write this review about some idiot who pissed me off… Or if you wanna throw a punch I guess go for it. But don’t let that affect you supporting the people who aren’t dicks inside. They work hard, tip them well. Go to bar bar for a really interesting dive bar, just don’t talk to the door guy and you’ll be fine. Everyone else is rad there and really really nice. Sorry I can’t comment on drinks I don’t drink alcohol, I firmly believe it’s poison to your body. Oh because it is. Thanks for reading, now go support bar bar, and if you don’t drink like me, tip for the water, they work hard!

If you like drunk/​high/​stupid bouncers talking shit and asking for a cover that you have politely ready to go in effort to see a band that is way above the establishment, this is your spot (Black Dots 3−27−15)! After managing our 2 beer deep «drunk asses» past this bouncer, all three of us were able to navigate the ATM GUI (This stands for ‘Graphical User Interface’ in case drunk/​high/​stupid bouncer can read and comprehend this post) successfully to order some extra shitty draft beers. After consumption of the aforementioned beers, drunk/​high/​stupid bouncer kept harassing us after a smoke outside and we decided to leave.
I’ve lived downtown for 8+ years and have seen numerous acts at this place as it has gone through numerous changes including multiple bookshelves. Nothing to see here anymore unless you’re ready to be told you’re drunk by employees falling out of their seat. In short, not punk just punks.
Neighbor who no longer cares,
Graham
(Posted 3−28−15 @ 12:20am. The same night drunk/​high/​stupid bouncer was learning to sit on a chair)

Came in from Sacramento, Ca. Already 3 sheets to the wind Mike, and Zack were hella cool. Let my wife, daughter and my self paint Denver and Tag the Bathroom. Who gives a hell about the Pissers, we had fun and we will never forget Bar Bar

You have to appreciate dives to like Bar Bar. I was staying downtown at a hotel a couple of blocks from the Denver convention center for a conference but needed to get from the uptight downtown scene. I like dives, what can I say.
Bar Bar is on the wrong side of the tracks, let’s be clear. Denver has a very fine line between upscale downtown and really urban. That line is 17^th Street.
The outside has awesome character, it just looks cool. That and the neon signs are eye catching. The inside has an old school record store vibe to it. My first visit would have been even better had it not been for the one person in there not been a homeless person who talked my ear off for about two hours. I know bar management can’t really help it, but one thing that needs to change about this place is the amount of homeless who troll in looking for free drinks from paying customers. I was very surprised to see how blunt they were. Denver’s homeless are a lot more ballsy about asking for free drinks from paying customers than what I see in Boston

Crust punks are good people. They don’t want you to know that but it’s true. Their culture is basically to:
–welcome outcasts with open arms
–drink
–keep it dark
–learn shit
–make art
–fight the man
–party
That’s it. And that’s exactly what Bar Bar is about. It’s a crust punk bar/​coffee shop/​bookstore that the rest of us are just lucky enough to visit.
Atmosphere
See list above
Drinks
Badass
Sound
It’s Bar Bar. They are playing 6 inches from you. If you can’t hear that, you have bigger problems.
Bathrooms
Infamous. Truly infamous. It’s part of the Bar Bar experience though. The ladies room when it’s raining hard? You’ll have stories for your grandchildren.

Urban New Jersey/Philly/(parts of) NYC are known for their scummy ass dives and as a native of those parts and enthusiast of such environments (i.e. a committed drunk) I made it a mission to search out some of the finest such bars across the land while on an extended trip.
Bar Bar was without question the finest of the lot. A couple kickass bands, a bartender that gave me numerous buybacks while getting even more hammered than I did, and a varied clientele of serious drinkers really made me feel at home. Truly a rival to some of my favorites back home and one of many reasons to visit Denver again. Thanks!

THIS IS A DIVE BAR. There will be dirt, drugs, homeless people, hipsters, coked-​out young professionals, & there may even be something floating in your beer. But the staff is friendly and you really never know what to expect. You just have to be a fan of dives. This place has history (just look at the walls, or ask your bartender) which is what I appreciate. The crowd does always seem to be different but the vibe is the same, everyone’s ready to get f*cked up, or drink away their daily sorrows. Some nights there is a metal band, sometimes a singer/​songwriter, and sometimes you might be the only person at the bar. I’ve been there at 11PM and 11AM and have always enjoyed myself. CASH ONLY, good drink prices, good specials, NO FANCY BEER HERE.

Cash Only Dive!
Vending Machine for snacks and smokes.
I would recommend coming here already intoxicated so that the filth in this place will not bother you so much. Bathrooms are SO gross; I would rather go in the alley!
However– the service is decent and they have great local music often!
I have been here several times, and will probably come again to support my homies in bands, but it is not my fav.

It takes a certain type of person to love this place. If you like cheap drinks (cash only) and don’t mind homeless dudes «showering» in the bathroom, this is your place.
OK, I’m just joking about the homeless, but that does paint you a picture, right?
As a smoker, I like that they basically sherk the whole «smoking ban» thing.

Bar Bar belongs in a Mike Leigh film.
I once mistook a homeless man urinating in the toilet hallway of bar bar for a CU professor. Or perhaps he tried to convince me that he was a professor. Either way, I wasn’t about to hold his drink at that particular moment. Which is what he wanted.
I once (drunkenly) tried to pay for drinks with plastic. I’m fairly sure that the bartender was drunk too, I’d hand it to him. He’d look at it for about 20 seconds then hand it back to me. I’d look at it for about twenty seconds then hand it back to him. This was repeated several times. I started giggling.
In the back, by the pool tables I turned down a guy who wanted to bum a smoke. He muttered «I’ll take a picture of you, man». I just looked at him. He grinned, then oddly, he apologized. It was mystifying.
Bar Bar is the only place I can consistently find parking, directly across the street. At any time. This also presents the unique double-​edged sword of being one of the most likely places in Denver that my window would be broken out and my ashtray stolen. I have optimal parking, at equally optimal chance of a break-​in. I suppose it all just comes down to how much I want that PBR and if I’m willing to sacrifice my window and car ashtray for it.
I once was introduced to the most anti-​social drug dealer outside on the curb next to Bar Bar. I attempted to engage him in a discussion on music, but he was having none of it. I’m still stymied by how he keeps existing or gets new customers with such poorly oriented customer service.
An ex-​girlfriend once took me to see a friend play music there. The scene was hilarious. The place was packed with nervous looking hipsters, ringed by what looked like homeless bikers and every time there was an interaction between the two, the hipster would invariably, shakingly make their way back to where they were standing. It was like watching cattle being herded by predators, or ping pong balls in one of those wind-​driven lotto containers.
But somehow, if Bar Bar was to disappear, I would be sad. I would miss a part of downtown Denver.

Ah Bar Bar. I was once told that God does not see you when you are in Bar Bar. I would only hope that is true.
It is a cash only bar. You will need no more than twenty bucks to get beyond smashed. At 10pm-​Midnight if you order a drink they give you a little plastic cup that is good for another drink. So your first drink is buy one get one.
Yes, people smoke in the back. Yes, I have seen people refill their beers with ones out of their back packs. Yes you may walk in the restroom and find a homeless person bathing in the sink. It is all of these small things, that remind me that I belong at Bar Bar.
I love when they have bands there. They are literally inches from you. Yet they still bring amps… It is deafening but that is the way it is supposed to be.
So, screw the plush Lodo clubs! Take me to Bar Bar and leave me there to die. I assure you I will die a happy and very drunk man.

I went to see a friend’s band at the Bar bar last night and lived to tell about it. This joint is a dump, covered in graffiti, photographs and stink. I loved it. It was the perfect venue for a rock show. It reminded me of the old 15^th Street Tavern back in the day.
Drinks were strong and cheap, the place was full of hoodlums. There are two pool tables in a back room, full of smoke. The bathrooms make you forget about swine flu fear. There are bigger sanitation issues at hand.
The guys behind the bar were really cool, and funny. This isn’t a LoDo crowd. It was full of dirty rock enthusiasts, and a surprising amount of women for the scene. You know the type, the really cute girl with the major dirtbag boyfriend who smells funny.
They shoved the bands in a corner, and the bands blasted back. Everyone seemed to have fun. I liked it. I just need a shower.

This place is a hip dive bar. It kind of reminds me of the Lion’s Lair, but not as dirty and without the black paint. They play live music, but there isn’t a stage. The band just plays on the floor with the crowd, which always makes for an interesting concert experience.
It is cash only, however you don’t exactly need a lot of cash to enjoy your night there. Some prices from last night included $ 6 pitchers of Miller Lite and PBR and $ 3 Stoli vodkas so it’s pretty dang cheap.
A fair warning, they don’t exactly abide by the smoking ban and so by the end of the night you will be stinking of cigarette smoke.
Finally, the one fact that I must mention. This is another bar with fast Ms. Pac-​Man. However, the machine is a little out of wack, my banana was purple and my apple was yellow. But, it worked perfectly fine for what I needed.