Yacht Club — Restaurant in Denver

I arrived at The Denver Yacht Club not by invitation, but by inevitability. I met an old friend. Someone who’s known me in other lives, in other moods. We spoke in the shorthand of shared history, the kind of silent fluency earned through time and tolerated eccentricities. But let’s be clear: our paths may have converged, but the drinks were my own.

I began as one should, with the Lipton Cup. Elijah Craig bourbon and Appleton rum, joined by Madeira and the whisper of apricot. It wasn’t a drink, it was a smuggling operation, sneaking warmth and memory into the bloodstream. The lemon and mint didn’t garnish the experience; they complicated it, like a charming lie told at a funeral.

Next, the Laughing Bones. Which sounds like something you'd find scrawled in the margins of an ancient manuscript or whispered at the edge of a dream. Mezcal and Manzanilla Sherry wrestled in the glass, while green pineapple and celery conspired with curry leaf to produce something that felt less like a cocktail and more like a séance. I didn’t sip it, I communed with it.

Finally, Seasons of My Heart. A drink that sounds like a Hallmark card dipped in bitters and fire. Sake met biological pineapple whatever unholy process gave birth to that term. There were hops, there was rhubarb, there was smoked grapefruit that tasted like regret and enlightenment had a baby and dropped it in a volcano. I drank it slowly, like someone decoding a message written in citrus and sorrow.

The space itself? A seafaring hallucination without the burden of actual boats. The lighting: moody. The soundtrack: curated by someone who’s either been heartbroken recently or has impeccable taste. But the axis of the entire experience? The short-haired bartender. Her name, tragically, escapes me. But not her presence. Efficient, intuitive, and possessed of that rare hospitality alchemy: she could read a soul based on the way you held a menu. I trusted her immediately.

The Denver Yacht Club is not a bar. It’s a test. A tasting menu of psychological depth, served with garnish and occasional smoke. My friend and I came to reconnect. I left with the suspicion that the drinks knew me better than they did.

Five stars. Because measuring this place in stars is like measuring a storm...

Stepped in last night for a friend’s birthday. I was excited because I had never been here before. I mistakenly walked into the lovely restaurant next door. I should have stayed there. Once I sat down, it was so dark I couldn’t see the menu. The birthday girl was sitting in a seating area with a speaker over her head. After maybe 20 minutes the volume of the music was noticeably turned up. When the waitperson arrived to take our order, we asked if the music could be turned down just a little. Besides the fact that we were shouting at each other, it just wasn’t good music. They said, “I don’t know. I’ll try.” 🙄 Ok.

The music was never turned down, and the music got worse. The wait person couldn’t understand us to take more orders because they couldn’t hear our orders. When I got up to use the facilities, I was surprised to find out that the music was better in the restroom! Nice wallpaper too! 🦩I don’t know what bartender took control of the aux, but you can listen to that music at home. Play music that keeps people in a good mood. We came there to connect and celebrate. Can’t do that there. Sit in the dark and drink your drink.

There was also an issue with a belligerent customer. Staff and customers had to get involved to wrestle this man out the door. I’m sorry y’all had to deal with that. I wasn’t aware that they served food, so I ate before I arrived. I wasn’t able to access the food menu from the website. Other folks in our party said the dogs were good!

Play better music at a reasonable volume. Turn up the lights. Let people have the opportunity to connect without...

We were really hyped to stop in at Yacht Club while we were in town, especially after all the recognition their bar team has received so far in 2023. Sadly, we were pretty disappointed and left after our first drink. The vibe was pretty much what we expected - a "cozy," neighborhood dive bar. They were relatively busy, but not overwhelmingly so. Most guests were being helped by just two bartenders, and the bartenders had a good chunk of downtime between drink orders. That said, we got little more than a "hey" and a couple of menus upon our arrival. We ordered a couple drinks, "cheersed," and took our first sips. Our drinks tasted similarly overpowered by bitterness. That was the extent of our interaction with the bar team. From there, we observed a little interaction between the staff and some regulars. There was also a noticeable amount of "hands on ingredients," while also a lack of handwashing. Maybe we were in on an off night, or their core team had already headed off to Tales of the Cocktail. Regardless, our experience wasn't what we were hoping for, and I don't think we'll make the trek back over the next time...