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One of the Best Happy Hours in Downtown Denver: Panzano
If any of you know me, you know that I absolutely LOVE a good happy hour. And I’ve been to a lot of them. There’s probably not a place downtown I haven’t tried for happy hour. And one of my favorites has always been Panzano. It’s somewhat of a downtown institution — having been around for years.
I just love the variety of always-changing cocktails they have, as well as the extensive happy hour food options. You can easily have an entire dinner here during happy hour — and I often do. Plus, happy hour is 7 days a week (which is awesome if you’re looking for a weekend option) — and it starts at 2:30pm (sometimes you just need to get away a little early).
Happy Hour: 2:30pm-6pm, 7 days a week
- $4 draft beers
- $5 glasses of wine, or $12 carafes
- $6 cocktails (these are absolutely fantastic and a must-try)
- $9 barrel-aged cocktails (if you’re looking for something fancy)
- $4-$8 eats (I love the extensive selection of Italian small plates)
- See the menus
Make sure you get here by 5pm though, because the entire HH lounge is usually packed by then.
The Cocktails
There are tons of fantastic cocktails you can get for happy hour — and they’re just $6 (all the options in the left and right columns). I also highly recommend trying one of the barrel-aged bourbons if that’s something you’re into, since Panzano has a whole back room where they age liquors in mini barrels.
One of my personal favorites on the cocktail list is the “R and R” (Grey Goose vodka, raspberry liqueur, muddled raspberries, rosemary, splash of soda). It’s not always available, but there’s always something similarly refreshing.
Another really great option that’s perfect for summer is the “Cucumber Mint Mule” (Bombay Sapphire gin, lime juice, ginger beer, muddled mint and cucumber).
The Food
Holy crap, look at all those food options! I mean really, this looks more like a full menu than a happy hour menu. This is what I mean about easily being able to have dinner here — all for happy hour prices.
These Cavolini di Bruxelles (brussel sprouts) come with an apple cider reduction, pistachios, rosemary salt, and sliced green apple. And despite the lack of bacon, they taste fantastic.
The plates below were 2 of favorites here (sorry for the smartphone photo — I’ve been here multiple times, and not always with my SLR). It’s the lamb ragu and veal scallopini, but I think they’ve been switched out on the latest version of the menu. Not to worry though, there’s now a tortellini bolognese with ground veal short rib — as well as a braised lamb and polenta ravioli. So decadent, meaty dishes will always be a staple here.
What I do wish they’d bring back though, is the Capesante (pan-seared scallop, spinach, ricotta gnudi, spring vegetables, basil leek nage, saffron pecorino, fried shallots, and mint).
