Located next to the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Denver hotel, you might think this unique eatery is for hotel patrons only, but that is not the case with Courier, a modern restaurant inside a historic building. Anyone who loves tasty food paired with delicious drinks is welcome and to make everyone feel at home, Courier offers social hour from 3 to 6 PM daily. Before exploring into the menu, let’s take a look at the location’s interesting history.

The building at 1720 Welton Street held one of Denver’s first newspapers before Colorado was even a state in the 1850s. The Evening Post began in 1882, but disappeared when the state’s silver boom went bust soon after. A year later The Post, which eventually became The Denver Post, sprang up and has been around ever since, but moved to different locations. Courier embraces its journalism past with plenty of local and national newspapers displayed when they walk in the door and old fashioned typewriters decorating the entrance. The menu items have a journalistic theme with cocktail names such as Masthead and Byline. The restaurant’s bank of floor to ceiling windows means this isn’t some dark, dreary hotel bar, but a bright, lively space ready to serve anyone from out-of-town guests to patrons of the nearby arts complex to downtown workers.

The Tabloid is a bubbly dark pink cocktail made with local Teakoe pomegranate tea and a splash of prosecco with a lime twist. Light, refreshing, but with a tart finish, this effervescent drink is a great start to washing away a hectic work day.

The Daily is a light pink botanical cocktail made with St. George Gin, lavender simple syrup, grapefruit juice, and grapefruit bitters. This single ice cube cocktail is a bit lighter on the eyes and nose than the Tabloid, but still full of flavor. A hint of gin comes through between the citrus and lavender sweet of the grapefruit and the bite of the bitters. Bartender Brandon says The Daily and Tabloid are the bar’s two most popular cocktails.

Local Edition is Courier’s version of the Sazerac with a large rock ice cube and rye bourbon whiskey. Brandon says they also coat the glass with a spray of Leopold’s Bros. absinthe, which raises the bar for this cocktail. The cocktail’s cherry scent is tempered by the rye and absinthe making for the perfect blend of booze and sweetness.

All three of these cocktails are $7 for Social Hour. They are not listed on the regular cocktail menu either, but bar staff will gladly make you one of these tasty treats any time of day (at non-happy hour prices), if you ask for one.

Something fun on the cocktail menu is the non-alcoholic Jargon, a delicious mix of the bar’s cold brew coffee served on nitro draft, fresh lemon, and maple syrup. Brandon says he is often surprised by the number of people who are interested in this drink until they find out there’s no booze in it. They don’t know what they’re missing. The nitro draft of coffee gives the concoction extra creaminess and a frothy texture while the maple syrup provides a sugary sweet to the roasted coffee and tart lemon. The lemon, maple, and coffee all work together to bring out the best in each other. For only $5 during Social Hour, don’t let a lack of booze stop you from drinking it.

For beer lovers, the bar has 12 taps of mostly Colorado craft with four rotating taps and for wine lovers, the social hour wine specials change daily so there is plenty of variety. Wines by the glass and draft beers are $5 each at social hour.

Fill your belly with tasty shareable plates during Social Hour. The $8 plate of Spiced Chicken Wings are a crunch-lovers delight. Like tiny pieces of fried chicken, lightly seasoned, these crispy wings will satisfied with a hard crunch and you can turn down any heat from the spice with a dip of cooling avocado crema.

Another dish for two is Cheesy Flatbread topped with copious amounts of mozzarella and pesto and a side of house-made marinara for dipping. Made in the kitchen’s wood-burning oven, this $6 plate is a meal by itself.

The Grilled Shrimp Cocktail is interesting because the shrimp is grilled to firm tastiness, but served chilled with avocado and radish making for a refreshing appetizer, similar to ceviche. Also with five prongs on the plate can be enjoyed by two people for $7. For those wanting to completely abandon their diets, dive into the carbo-loading, gravy and dairy covered salty goodness that is the Rib Beef Poutine, a heaping bowl of tater tots with succulent cubes of rib meat beef covered in savory brown gravy and a blend of white cheeses. Enjoy every indulgent bite for only $9 during social hour.  

Courier’s downtown location is on the corner of 17th and Welton so it’s right off the 16th Street Mall and only three blocks from the Colorado Convention Center and one more block from the Denver Performing Arts Complex. It’s less than one mile from Union Station and Coors Field. Courier also has a grab-n-go market with fresh foods and drinks that anyone, not just hotel guests, can stop in for quick lunch or something to take on the run. The market and restaurant are open from 6 AM to 10 PM and the bar is open until 11 PM Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday. 

Photos by Carrie Dow