Dark Horse
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Best Nights: Fri
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
16 Reviews for Dark Horse
I used to eat there every Sunday with my dad and brother. As my brother moved away after college my dad and I kept up the tradition. For ten years the only Sundays the two of us missed were for a Father's Days and one or two vacations.
It might not be a family place on a Friday night but on a Sunday afternoon after a hike in the mountains the whole family will be comfortable here. The Dark Horse became so much of our family that they were even sure to send flowers to my dad's funeral!
And where else can you get a Jiffy Burger. Mmmmm, peanut buttery beefy goodness! I know what's for lunch today!
Back in my youth....I was trike champ at this establishment!! Eating burgers for practically nothing and racing around the wood floor with a shot waiting around every turn!! Oh, the wasted YOUTH!!! It made me into the woman I am today!!!
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Ok, I might be biased because my father has his name up on a plaque in this place for being on the team that won the chicken wing eating contest MANY years back.
BUT.
The Dark Horse is a fantastic dive bar. And yes, it's a dive bar. It knows it is, and it has carefully cultivated that atmosphere. You could spend hours just wandering around looking at all the awesome junk store kitsch that they have strapped to the walls and ceiling. I seem to remember there is even a full carriage (as in horse-drawn?) hanging from the roof somewhere in the dining area.
And let me tell you, I know this is going to sound bizarre and unnatural but... three little words, baby:
Peanut Butter Hamburger.
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This is a great one. I enjoyed my time here. I recommend it to anyone stopping by in the area.
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A memorable tourist experience. We really enjoyed ourselves here! You have to walk up to a window and order, and you seat yourself. They have two different KINDS of veggie burgers, which is a First! (I have never seen a restaurant offer that before!) The fried veggies were an excellent appetizer, but there's enough that comes with an entre not to need the appetizer. Coke products and their own merchandise = even more cool points. The vibe here was dark and divey but tacky and full of music and smiling faces. What's not to love?
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This place is ridiculous. In a good way. It's the antithesis of the trendy pearl street bars in every single way. The decor is awful western memorabilia and the clientele has been known to be on the haggard side. The food and drinks are ridiculously cheap, especially during happy hour, but it's tasty. You'll always have a good time with karaoke, tricycle racing and a plethora of pool tables and arcade games. Just don't come here expecting to find a scene.
Yeah, I peed in the boys bathroom, I sure was wondering why there was a urinal type thing in there.....I could not eat here, it looked too gross.....anyway, I guess this bar is much beloved, but I'm not a college kid, was never a college kid in this town, and do not love this bar. I love dive bars, I'm not a hanger outer in "cool" places.....still, I did not love it. Go if gross, dark, uninteresting crowd is your idea of fun.
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The Dark Horse is dirty as hell! Seriously, there are weird things stuck to every surface and I guarantee they don't clean all those spaces.
For this reason, I do not eat food at the Dark Horse. As far as a restaurant goes, um GROSS!
But the bar area is pretty good. They carry Blue Moon on tap and that makes me pretty happy. It's a college hang out so you are guaranteed to see some skin and a couple of fratty jerks too.
The upstairs pool tables and the confusingly labeled bathrooms are the high points.
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I really really liked this bar. Good beer, a cozy feel...
My co-workers humored me, but wanted the flash and busy-ness of Pearl Street and thus we bailed after the first pitcher. Sigh, such is life. ;)
The Dark Horse is one of the better bars in Boulder: which given the bar-heavy scene of Boulder is saying quite a bit.
With that sort of dark-wood + crazy crap on the walls feel, the Dark Horse has some decent seating and cheap food. Vegetarian food is not so much, but hey: this is a burger place, so it's ok I understand.
They also have a starving student meal plan, which if you eat meat, you should check out.
Pool upstairs, and air hockey.
Oh, and their bathrooms at the front are hilarious to watch. They have a man pointing to the men's restroom on the door of the women's bathroom and a woman pointing the women's restroom on the door of the men's bathroom. Confusing? You bet. So just sit and watch the fun of people walking into the wrong bathrooms.
A happening place that is easy to get to...unlike many of the other bars in Boulder.
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This is what the neighborhood bar looks like in Heaven. Best burgers in Boulder, vintage decor, and Foosball and pool tables, darts and, oh yes, yes, yes, air hockey.
They've also got some decent beer on tap and make some nice drinks. When I was younger I used to complain because they'd measure the shots in my Beam and Cokes, but that's a minor complaint. Besides, they make up for it with the curly fries.
On top of everything else, they've got a collection of what could loosely be referred to as antiques in every spare corner amid a labyrinth of stairs. They've also got cool artwork on the walls.
Best Dark Horse night ever? One crowded night in the upstairs smoking room back in '98 a friend and I were vying for a spot on the pool table (I'm not very good, but my friend was). Two Chicago boys were running the table and forcing all-comers to wager on the game. One by one they destroyed everybody, ordered more drinks with their money and were generally talking all kinds of smack.
Then it was time for Jim and I to shine. We took it to the Chicago boys, and to add insult to injury, I sunk the final shot. The bar erupted in cheers as we told those Chicago boys to... well, let's keep this PG. We had hoped to order some beers with their own money, but no one would let us. Everyone was buying us drinks for sending those punks packing all the way back to Chi-town.
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I saw some fun punk bands here over the weekend. The bar itself is extremely amusing; it's covered with random objects from ceiling to floor. the drinks and food are reasonably priced, plus there's pool tables, darts, and air hockey. it's away from the main strip, which can be good and bad, but you can definitely tell it's a local landmark. if you don't like huge, insane crowds, i'd go here. slightly off the beaten path but worth the walk.
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Two words: Trike Night.
I hope they still have this famed Tuesday night staple. And yes, it involves beer and tricycles. awesome. I was never any good at the race (three times around the bar- stairs included), but boy it was a good time.
And remember, follow the pointing finger to the correct bathroom or you may just find yourself in the wrong one.
Though now I stray as a person-I-once-was-acquainted-with now lives near, there once was a time when he and I came...together, sigh. But now, I stray...okay? What?
There are lots of great decorations. Two (2!) bars. And darn good karaoke....like the time I sang "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base to my friend Jen before she moved to Washington. + once I came on a date, that didn't end well....of course. But come here for some thrills, definitely. And holy moly, true story, as we speak--er, as I write--my friend just invited me for a cocktail. Holy moly.
If cheap beer and good burgers is your forte', the Dark Horse is the place to be. Tons of crap hanging from the ceiling including the old "Big Boy" from the old Azar's Big Boy that used to be in Boulder in the 70's.
Same owners as "Washington's" in Ft. Collins. My old stomping grounds when I went to college up there in the early 90's.
Great burgers, fries, ambience.
Starving student meal got me through college.
They hold themed events there on a regular basis.
Awesome place to get shit faced out of your mind.
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