Run For The Roses — Restaurant in Denver

If you visit Run for the Roses, here's what you can expect. As you arrive plan to stand outside the bar for 10-30 minutes before the hostess will let you in. It appears they do this as a way to create an "exclusive" environment, but that feeling is dashed since the walls are glass and you can see the restaurant is at half capacity and the hostess is simply ignoring you. After the lengthy check in process, which involves giving names and having photos taken of everyone's ID in you party, you're finally let in to the half empty bar you've been looking at through the glass. You'll notice the menu is a bit unique, being printed on playing cards. As you thumb through the cards you may notice the joker is a "make your own" drink kind of thing. According to our waiter, we could just say what flavors we like and they'll craft us up something awesome. My wife: "I really like berry flavor." Waiter: "We don't have that." My wife: "Well I also really love cucumber drinks." Waiter: "We don't have cucumber either. How about we just make you a mojito?" Okay so now you get your drinks! All the waiting, the rude hostess, all the fumbling through cards, all of that for this moment. You take your first sip and it is the most average drink you've ever had. You sit there, realizing this has been 50 minutes of you life you'll never get back, so you ask for the tab. You pay and the waiter bring back a receipt with 5 drinks on it for over $117. It appears to you he didn't even glance at the tab to see if it was even remotely correct. But not to worry! You go talk to him and the waiter confidently says, "Oh my bad. Like, you should be paid back soon. If not just, like, give us a call." If spending most of your night waiting in line just to have an average drink you don't want because they're out of everything, then being massively overcharged sounds like a fun time to you, then I can't recommend Run for the Roses enough. If you like a warm inviting atmosphere, and really good drinks that are made quickly and at a fair price, then I recommend you run for Deviation Distillery right...

Walking into the upstairs lobby to get the elevator was interesting, you follow the black rose stickers on the ground to the elevator. As you walk in the lobby, to your right there is a nice small bar, and to your left is a door usually open to a busy kitchen full of chefs cleaning and cooking if you get there early enough and usually cleaning when you leave later in the night.

The service was excellent, you are treated like an exclusive VIP guest. My friend brought me and it was my first time going. After we each ordered a drink and some delicious cocktail shrimp, they gifted us both mini cocktails from their seasonal menu, both as a thanks for trying them out and to congratulate me as I mentioned I had just landed a new job. I felt listened to and appreciated. This bar has cheap cocktails that are under $15, then they allow you to go all out with cocktail getting close to $100 thanks to their wide range of top shelf spirits. If you are indecisive, fear not, as they provide you with this cute set of cards to help you randomly generate a cocktail, it can be cheap or expensive top shelf but I can guarantee it will always taste good, as the bartenders know what they are doing and I can tell they actually give a crap about your taste buds and pallet. Can’t recommend this place enough, I’d say it’s even worth an hour + drive to experience. You could get away with spending $10-20 or 100+ per person, depends on how bougie...

This venue itself and cocktail list are really great. It's a unique atmosphere. The drinks are phenomenal and they're always willing to make some off script cocktail or play bartenders choice. I don't find the prices outrageous (really good old fashioned for $15-20).

Edit: While I appreciate the owner's reply, I'm not going to nickel and dime over an extra 20-30 bucks. I simply do not like that automatic tip. And sure, the receipt reads "additonal tip," but in a group where you're on the move and you're in a dimly lit room, it's very easy to overlook. And even a staff member with the best intentions can let it slip their mind.

So why the low star rating you might ask? The automatic 22% gratuity along with an additional 2% charge for some dumb reason with no mention of this by any staff member. One person paying part of our bill didn't notice it and added gratuity like you normally would. I pointed this out to him, and we agreed to never come back. How many people go here and add a tip unknowingly and wind up leaving 40%+?

I would rather pay an extra $2-3 per drink if you really feel the need to pay a higher wage than be forced to pay a higher than average tip regardless of experience.

So two stars for phenomenal drinks and atmosphere but count me out going forward for misleading...