Tavern 13

This is easily the best bar in Denver. I’ve been coming here for a year now, and everything has been amazing. Very friendly staff, great patrons, and a great atmoshphere. Still one of the cheapest places I’ve found. The new location brings the old dive feel to the great new updated and uplifted look. A stop that shouldn’t be passed up if you are in the area.

It was a tough few months while my favorite local bar, Tavern 13, was closed. They finally opened again just down the street from the old location and the move was worth waiting for. The new location is in a cool historic Denver building, long and narrow with lots of character. I envision myself spending many hours on the shaded flag-​stoned patio come spring. It feels like the old tavern took a shower. Anyone who remembers that place knows what I mean and that it needed one. The upstairs pool-​room has the feel of a private clubhouse or your highschool friend’s rich dad’s basement. The staff is great and the place small enough that you always get attention when needed (unless you’re playing games upstairs, in which case you have to navigate the stairs for a refill). While other joints may have more and bigger televisions, there is no better place to watch a Bronco’s game with a crowd of dedicated and knowledgeable fans, and they pour a shot for everyone in the bar whenever the Bronco’s score a touchdown! The internet jukebox gives you 3 credits for a dollar and pool is only 50cents. Drinks are cheap too.

You never forget your first… This place took my karakoke cherry 5 years ago (damn you White Chocolate Bear!) and I have never regretted it. Natalie is the greatest bartender on the planet. See, I don’t drink (really) because I hate the taste of liquor, but that woman made a kamakaize that made me realize how people can get drunk (It was delish!!)
Divey in all the right places, people watching at its best, Alex slanging the tunes (or laffing when hes not).
My complaint — it really needed karaōke 7 days a week (and Natalie or her sista to marry me… my wife gets the joke even if you dont LOL).
RIP Tav… I will miss you.

I wasn’t going to write anything about this place since it had closed. However knowing that they are working to re-​open soon, I thought it was time to give my 2 cents on what I feel about this place. Not all that long ago I went down to have a drink with a friend needless to say he was a male friend and we received decent service, mind you I’m with my guy friend at this point. As the night progressed he had to leave to meet his girlfriend and I decided to stay back for awhile.
Natalie was working, if you consider getting wasted and leaving patrons at the bar wondering where she is, working?
Needless to say I got sick of waiting on her to come back to the bar to fill my drink and went outside on the patio for a smoke. While I was out there talking to one of the regulars Natalie comes flying around the corner of the back door and announces to tto me in front of the entire patio that I have to leave! O.K. why?
You were hitting on my boyfriend and your 86’d. Ahhw nothing worse than girl drama and now it’s coming from the bartender good god. I explain to her that I know who he is. he plays in bad with a friend of mine but I’ve never been one of his fans, the guys a scrawny alcoholic with zero going for him. So I leave not willing to contiue feeding the drunk beast. Although it gets better. I had left my credit card at the bar since I was in such a rush to leave and when I went to pick it up in the morning Natalie had taken it upon herself to settle our disagreement with my tap. She charged me 35.00 for 2 drinks. So needless to say I wasn’t sad when their roof caved in due to bad matinence, feel like they desevered having patrons walk around home depot buckets that caught the water dripping from the ceiling. But now they are planning to reopen.
Word to the wise, skip this place it will be closed as soon enough again.

This place RAWKS! I’ve been going to there for Karaōke for over 5 years. The drinks are strong and very affordable. Natalie is totally awesome. Tavern 13 is moving to a larger place just down the road and it will be even more RAWKIN’!

This is a great little hole in the wall with attitude. Friday nights they have karaōke, there isn’t much for the way of seating for tables, but you are guaranteed to have a great time. The bartenders love to pour strong drinks, have a pin up feel to them, and treat all the regulars with respect. I’m a huge fan of dive bars and this is right up my alley. Head on down and grab a drink or 10.

Walking into this place, I wondered if I’d gotten the wrong address. Yeah, this is it. It’s next to a bizarre mattress warehouse and Pasquini’s on South Broadway.
This is where they are — all those extra cast members from the Twilight Zone the Movie. A grungy, rad Lakota DJ named Alex is busy setting up the karaōke for the night. Tanqueray and tonic is only a few bucks.
I think I got drunk before I actually got drunk. The ambiance is something else around here. A few guys clear the bar and ask me to sit down.
Cathy walks up to the mic. The older, plump and happy lady that she is. I had no idea she’d be like Frank Sinatra reincarnated as a woman. Man, her voice is a real treat to hear after a long day of work.
I don’t fit in. Everyone’s calling me «pretty girl.» They love the hair. I love the fact that my social circle just got inverted and wrung up to dry on a clothes rack setup outside the window of a trailer home. It’s not trashy. It’s definitely not where LoDo folks would ever feel comfortable, though. No Gucci-​Express bullshit here.
This place is genuine. It’s a real break. It’s how Denver really is.
I tell the DJ I want to sing «Bohemian Rhapsody.» I’m a little nervous. I don’t fit in, and everyone’s still calling me «pretty girl.» I drag my friend Lee up to the empty, worn-​out space at the front of the bar. Everyone’s watching. Smirking. Wondering what the fuck a girl like me and a punk like Lee are doing hanging out in a joint like this.
Two minutes later I yell, «I CAN’T HEAR YOU!»
The bar bursts out singing. Beers fly into the air as everyone’s in cahoots with Freddie Mercury’s spirit.
The song ends. I put the mic back on the stand and sit down. Lee walks over and gives me a drink from the bartender, Natalie. It’s on the house.
This is one house I’ll definitely be coming back to.

Well helllllloooooooo, divey awesomeness!
I had the fortune of accompanying my bff to their Friday karaōke night session and I had a total blast. This is such a cute little neighborhood bar tucked in right next to Pasquini’s on South Broadway and it has all of the winning attributes a dive bar should have.
1. Small, narrow layout. Check. There are two larger 8 top bar tables, a reeeeally long bar and then two smaller tables in the back. Not a place to go if you get claustrophobic.
2. Weird, yellowish lighting. Check. If I was a bar moth (pretend that exists), Tavern 13’s lighting would be the flame I like best.
3. Décor/​styling from 1960 – 1978. Check. With the exception of the video poker game on the end of the bar, this place feels like it hasn’t changed in decades.
4. Tough, but friendly bartender. Natalie, the bartender AND owner is more friendly than tough, but she’s got an edge. Suffice it to say, if we both walked into an alley together, I would probably be limping out.
5. Great people watching. Check. Check and Triple Check! This is a really diverse bar, with some old folks and younger people as well. The great part is that they are almost all regulars and they all know each other. If you’re fortunate enough to come in with one of the regulars, they will instantly treat you like one of the family.
I highly recommend going on Friday nights for karaōke. It’s a great crowd that has fun and doesn’t take it *too* seriously.

If you love tiny hole-​in-​the-​wall bars with an eclectic crowd, Tavern 13 is definitely your scene. And let’s be honest, it’s my scene too. Because I’m cool like that.
ANYWAY.
Natalie is the owner and main bartender, and she is so RAD. Chances are that if you go to Tavern 13 more than once, she’s going to remember your name *and* your drink. I’ve been going here for over a year now, and within one minute of walking in the door, she has a beer in front of me.
Wednesdays and Fridays are karaōke nights, and Alex is your amazing karaōke DJ. How many other karaōke DJs are short, Native American dudes with hair down to their ass? None that I know of. Alex is great about putting everyone into rotation and not favoring any singers, even if he knows you and/​or thinks you’re cute (*ahem*). The exception might be if you take one of Natalie’s $ 2 house shots with him. Just saying.
My one major qualm about Tavern 13 is that there’s not really any food available on a regular basis. Natalie’s parents have started doing a little breakfast burrito bar on Friday nights, and it’s not a bad snack for $ 2. However, those aren’t always veg-​friendly (though Nat’s dad’s salsa is spicy and delicious).
All in all, Tavern 13 is a totally rad place to go drinkin’ and singin’. So you should do it.

This is flat-​out a great place to get your drink on. They’ve got cheap drinks, happy hour specials and fun people. My tip is to BE FRIENDLY and you will find your kind. There are not many places to sit away from everyone else so it’s good to be social. Enjoy the patio, but know that it’s for smoking and Broadway watching. If you try to order a martini or act pretentious, you will be laughed out of the place. I have seen it happen! It’s not that hard though: Just look behind the bar, pick your poison and pair it with something simple or shoot it. It’s.That. Easy.
Gotta love their bar shots every time the Broncos score (I know that wasn’t much this season) and their bar shots just because they like you sometimes :)
They know how to do Halloween – awesome costumes and décor, complete with a contest. And during Broncos games, it’s a regular family gathering complete with a buffet of burgers and such.
I have to admit it took me a while to understand why some friends called this place their second home. They are a close group and the regs are very regular, so it can seem a bit intimidating at first. But then the Tav happens; you laugh, you yell, you sing, you stay til last call and you love it. I’m sorry I haven’t been for a while (it’s not safe stumbling distance) but I know I will find myself here again someday and be more than A-​OK with it.

3 stars for giving me the Total Dive Bar experience. Went there to buy time before heading to pasquini’s. There weren’t too many people in there but it was still early. The staff was attentive but the crowd was a little strange. Could have been an off hour/​night but I’m sure it is a local hangout where you could get to know some new people in the area.

I’m a fan of this place. I dig bars who have that worn look to them. The first time we came here my friend and I were asked if we were undercover cops by a really drunk woman who claimed she worked there. After countless encounters with her we signed a little bar napkin as a contract that we indeed are not undercover cops. She walked saying that this is a legit contract. This kinda of shit cracks me up. From that night on we always stop in when we can. They also have cheap drinks and Lone Star beer in a bottles. Nothing like a cold Lone Star after a day of fighting crime.

Uh… ummmmmm… I might still be drunk from this place…
Ok– So I don’t know how or why I got talked into going here last night, I don’t even sing Karaōke…
So we get there and I walk in and –see several of my friends (who I guess go here???) which was nice to have some familiar vibes in a place that looked a bit creepy to me at first sight, I had no idea they went here.
They had 1 pool table… lame.
The bathroom was not as bad as I thought it would be
I was lucky enough to get free drinks all night and don’t really know why…
The one time I did ask for a bud light bottle, I think the bartender just put it on someone else tab, because I didn’t pay a gosh darn thing.
I left a $ 5 on the bar just incase…
patio is nice, small
Maybe try this joint again…

Perhaps my two visits to Tavern 13 haven’t done it justice, but oh my, not my favorite bar in Denver.
The BF and his friends really dig this place, so I’ve visited a few times. A bit dirty and slightly creepy, T13 certainly does dive bars justice. It truly reminds me of hometown bars in Northern Wisconsin. The drinks are strong and cheap as hell. Decent karaōke night. Fun, albeit weird regulars at times.
Sure I’ve had a few laughs and some fun at T13, but it simply isn’t the atmosphere I’d choose for a night out.
If you like dive bars, you’ll love Tavern 13. If that’s not your style, keeping on heading down Broadway!

This place is alright. I didn’t see any dog, matter of fact I only saw 1 person in the place. Kinda small, has a pool table and a bowling game. lacks the needed pinball machine small «dive» bar should have.

I first came to this bar in 2004 and hated it. It was loud and full of obnoxious people. I avoided this place like the plague. Five years later, I got dragged back to this place by a guy I was dating, and what a difference time made. They really cleaned up.
I love coming to this cozy bar for karaōke. They have it on Wednesday and Friday nights and have a good selection of songs. I go on Wednesdays if I don’t go to trivia. The sound system is pretty good. The drinks here are stiff and cheap, most of the patrons are decent and not icky, and they have a smoking patio. Natalie is an awesome bartender! She remembers your name after the first time she serves you and is always nice and friendly. She also partakes in karaōke. If you find yourself bored, read the signs posted behind the bar. They’re a riot!
I remind you that this place can be truly divey. One night, I walked into the ladies room and there were two dudes doing lines off the toilet seat. When I told them that this was the girl’s room and I need to pee, they offered to face the wall while I did my business. Uh, no thanks! I shoved them both out of the bathroom and threatened castration when they gave me lip.
I love this place and will keep coming back.

If you love dive bars, this is one of the best in Denver. It is cheap to drink and the all female bar staff are fast and knowledgable… not to mention hot.

Cheap…
Who’s freaking dog is always in here! Nothing more annoying than playing catch with a pup while your trying to get your drink on.
Dirty
weird crowd
pool table was broken that made me sad…
its a dive without the cheers feel.

This is a decent place, it would make a good stop on a pub crawl. They have Blue Moon on tap and lots of bottled beers. When I was here the pool table was in a separate room and it was all screwed up. They either had some water damage or the room was under construction.
It’s next to Pasquini’s so you can have dinner there then drink here, or if it’s fairly early, vice-​versa.