The 8 Best Watch Bars for Catching Colorado Rockies Games

Are the boys playing away? Or maybe you weren’t able to snag tickets to Coors? Heck, maybe you’d just prefer to hear Drew Goodman and catch the center field cam view. Whatever the reason, score the best seat in the house at our favorite Denver and metro area Colorado Rockies watch bars, where we promise home-run audio, outta-the-park food and drink specials, and absolutely zero chance of coverage blackouts.

Jackson’s

The only way to get closer to the action than you’ll be at Jackson’s bar and grill would be to shell out for tickets in section 130, behind home plate. Save a hundred bucks by watching across the street from the main entrance to Coors Field—where a medley of giant flat screens and projectors mean you’ll have a killer view no matter where you sit. Enjoy treats like the Outfield burger (with sliced pork belly, fried onions, bacon-infused jalapeño jelly, and spicy cream cheese) and game-time drink specials on local suds. 1520 20th St.

Tom’s Watch Bar

Dubbed the “Official Sports Bar of the Colorado Rockies,” Tom’s has no bad seating. Outside, a 165-inch screen (that’s nearly 14 feet corner to corner) is viewable, well, everywhere, and 115 other TVs wallpapered across the house mean no jockeying for position inside, either. (Also cool: a 12-screen conglomerate over the bar, so you won’t miss a pitch when you’re getting a refill.) They filter in special audio to each table, too, so you can single out Goodman’s calls over your drinking buddy’s—or mute him in a blowout.  Just a skip around the corner from Coors Field, this restaurant features crowd-pleasers like Tom’s Famous Prime Rib Dip and an array of beers and cocktails. Find a viewing schedule online. 1601 19th St., Unit 101

Sports Column

You shouldn’t have to pay ballpark prices outside the ballpark. At the Sports Column in LoDo, sip on $3 beers and $5 mixed drinks during happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. every day. And if first pitch doesn’t align with happy hour? Don’t fret: The appetizers here are renowned. A plethora of basket foods and burgers between $5 and $7 beckon hungry baseball fans (our pick: the loaded fries with pork green chile, black beans, shredded cheese, tomatoes, scallions, sliced jalapeños, and sour cream for $6.50). As for the game, more than 20 TVs (including a pair of 100-inchers and eight 95s) ensure that you’ll have a good view of the action, too. On sunny days, head to the rooftop bar. 1930 Blake St.

Hayter’s and Co. & Tap Fourteen

Like the designated hitter or getting a ghost runner in bonus baseball, this twofer is a life-changer. Visit Hayter’s for a signature Hayterade cocktail—vodka in a sugary, colorful concoction—while you catch the first few innings on one of the 16 TVs, including a pair of 100-inch projections. (If an NL West foe is in town, take said frenemy down in a round of beer pong while sipping.) Next, head upstairs to the sun-drenched rooftop bar, where Tap Fourteen features 70 Colorado drafts and the “largest selection of Colorado whiskey anywhere in Denver.” 1920 Blake St.

ViewHouse

Ballpark food this is not. But if you’re jonesing for something a little extra, you’ll swoon over the upgrades at this Rockies watch bar: prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella sticks, tiger shrimp or mahi mahi tacos, tempura-battered cauli bites, steak and frites. But just because the fare is upscale, doesn’t mean the ViewHouse is stuffy. Cheer for the boys in purple while playing lawn bowling, volleyball, or badminton, just a cornhole toss away from Coors Field. The restaurants’s LoDo location showcases in-house brews (like an appropriately named Ballpark Pale Ale) alongside the chef-driven menu, too. 2015 Market St.

Chopper’s

We’d forgive you for overlooking a bar and grill started by a (playoffs-bound) Nuggets trainer, but Chopper’s serves the Purple Row surprisingly well. Consider the Cherry Creek restaurant’s self-proclaimed “at the game” ambiance: a 165-inch, high-def video wall, 30 big screens, and the promise of baseball audio. The menu isn’t bad either with pages of gourmet sandwiches and burgers alongside flatbreads and shareable apps, and the pièce de résistance: $10 pitchers. 80 S. Madison St.

Pumphouse Brewery

True: The Denver metro area is where sports bars go to die. But consider the Pumphouse the exception to the rule. The firehouse-themed brewery showcases a flight of in-house drafts alongside guest taps and a full bar (plus a novella-size food menu) that you can pick from while ogling the Rockies on one of the 35 flat screens. Abutting the brewery, though, is the Red Zone, a baseball Valhalla of a sports bar with tall tops, booths, and enough pennants, helmets, and high-def screens to please the pickiest of suburban fans. Double happy hours (3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close) cover you for most ballgames, and a pantheon of themed daily specials (margarita Mondays! men’s Tuesdays! women’s Thursdays! mule Fridays!) mean there’s always something to soothe your pain as we lose more ground in the standings. 540 Main St., Longmont

Ollie’s Pub & Grub

Find the mountain-based Rockies Faithful at Ollie’s, where baseball fans (and their dogs) soak in the games among 30 high-def TVs on a riverboat off Main Street in Breck. Twenty Colorado draft beers and standard pub fare make for a nice reprieve before hopping back on I-70 anyway, so stick around for a few innings at the best Rockies watch bar in Summit County. 180 W. Jefferson Ave., Breckenridge