It used to be that you had to go to two different places for your morning java fix and happy hour cocktail. But this is 2022, where you can drink your coffee and your cocktails in the same café/bar. Meet two coffee shops-by-day, bars-by-night that take care of all your drinking needs.
The Wild, from the team behind Hudson Hill and Lady Jane, is so bright and beautiful that it would be a shame to limit it to either just day or night hours. Luckily, it’s open during both, pouring Middle State coffee drinks in the a.m. and an expansive menu of lavish wine and cocktails in the p.m. (Or have an a.m. cocktail; definitely no judgment over here.)
Just how expansive is The Wild’s cocktail menu, you ask? Frozen piña coladas bump up against a classic Pimm’s Cup and the super unique The Heat is On, mixed with aloe, raspberry, habanero and mezcal. The Union Station café/bar will feed you, too, with a pretty broad menu of Black Box Bakery pastries, charcuterie plates and snacks. All of which are just as tasty at 10 a.m. as 10 p.m.
Whether it’s day or night, the first thing you’ll notice at Queens Eleven is the ethereal, larger-than-life wall mural behind the bar. It was custom painted by acclaimed Spanish artists PichiAvo, who were flown in to create something spectacular for the space. Spectacular it is, and so are the drinks at this day-to-night café/bar, which serves coffee blends from a local roaster and super sleek cocktails to cap off the night.
Inside RiNo’s The Hub development, Queens Eleven opened in late 2019, a warmup for the team’s next bar, Room for Milly, which debuted just as the pandemic struck. The two bars share that same design-driven atmosphere that smacks you in the eyes (in the best possible way), but where Milly veers a little more luxe, Queens Eleven goes cozy. Whether you’re ordering a cappuccino or a sweet and smoky mezcal and beet juice cocktail, you’ll most definitely find something interesting to look at while you sip.
Queens Eleven: 3603 Walnut St.; QueensEleven.com
The Wild: 1660 Wynkoop St.; TheWildDenver.com