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You can play with your food, or you can play while you eat—a much more enjoyable prospect. Eatertainment venues, where you can feast on everything from jerk chicken to chorizo empanadas and down craft cocktails while mini golfing, tossing bocce balls, or throwing darts, are popping up around the Mile High City. That’s because competing in inflatable obstacle courses while nibbling on prickly pear cheesecake beats the whole ho-hum seated dinner thing by a long shot.
Here, some of the Denver metro’s newest restaurants and bars that offer games, activities, and other entertainment—and whether the vibe is better for kids or adults.
Beat the Bomb
- Location: 3863 Steele St., Unit 1273, Denver (Clayton)
- Best for: Kids over seven and adults; everyone will need to be tolerant of slime.
The shtick: Beat the Bomb is a collection of mental and physical challenges for teams of four to six. You’ll work together to win memory games, dodge obstacles with your body, and ultimately, dismantle a “bomb” before time runs out. If you don’t, prepare to be sprayed with paint, doused in slime, or covered in foam. (Even winners typically choose to get dirty.) Don’t worry, you’ll don a hazmat suit and face mask before they unleash the paint bombs.
The food: Choose from snacky bites like hummus, wings, and dips. Save a full dinner for later, you won’t want to get weighed down before contorting your way through the laser maze.
Bounce Empire
- Location: 1380 S. Public Road, Lafayette
- Best for: Kids and adults. Bounce Empire markets to adults by bringing in DJs and hosting late-night events, while kids will enjoy climbing the inflatable kraken.
The shtick: So. Many. Inflatables. There’s a lot to climb on, race through, and slide down at this indoor inflatable amusement park. We suggest launching your friends into the ceiling on King of the Mountain (which is reminiscent of a water blob) or tackling the warped wall. But there’s also an upstairs VIP adult lounge with massage chairs, a bar, and a sprawling terrace when you need a break from all the bouncing.
The food: Adults can refuel with garlic-maple-miso chicken skewers, flatbread pizzas, and loaded nachos, while the kids’ menu includes upscale mac and cheese and Kobe beef sliders. All the fare can be eaten at multiple seating areas throughout the venue.
Chicken N Pickle
- Location: 14225 Lincoln St., Thornton
- Best for: Kids and adults. If the grown-ups don’t want to subject their kiddos to the kind of competitive behavior that pickleball can bring out, youngsters can play giant Battleship, pingpong, cornhole and other low-stakes games.
The schtick: The name says it all: expect chicken and pickle(ball). The newest of metro Denver’s eatertainment destinations, Chicken N Pickle rides the current wave of pickleball popularity with six indoor and two covered outdoor courts. Beyond the rhythmic pock-pocking of paddles against balls, the indoor-outdoor space offers a rooftop patio, beer garden, and reservable dining areas for large groups.
The food: Did we mention the chicken? There’s wood-fired rotisserie chicken, chicken and waffles, fried chicken sandwiches (including a pickled chicken sandwich), chicken salads, chicken Caesar wraps…okay, you get the picture. Also find lots of shareable snacks, burgers, and racks of ribs. Wash it all down with house cocktails, mocktails, wines, and local beers.
Puttshack
- Location: 2813 Blake St., Denver (RiNo)
- Best for: Kids and adults; the space is massive and includes multiple courses to please every group.
The shtick: Puttshack might be the coolest mini golf course you’ve ever played. The holes are bright, interactive, and unique, with some involving answering trivia questions, playing a giant pinball game, or navigating Tetris-like obstacles. Bonus: The balls have sensors to record your score, so you can walk around with a drink in hand instead of a scorecard.
The food: This is not your typical theme-park menu. Granted, most putt-putt golf courses don’t have a menu at all, but the lamb skewers, chorizo empanadas, and Korean-style barbecue bao buns on Puttshack’s menu stand out. The venue also has an Art Deco–style bar and a burger that has no business being so good, especially considering it’s served next to a beer-pong-themed putting green.
Flight Club
- Location: 1959 16th St., Denver (Union Station)
- Best for: Adults. There are lots of sharp things on scene, and you’ll need to be 21 to enjoy the libations.
The shtick: Flight Club is a classy venue for darts lovers, offering multiplayer digital games, semi-private playing areas, an extensive food menu, and fancy-schmancy cocktails—all in an upscale British-carnival-inspired setting decorated with antiques and memorabilia. (Haven’t you always wanted to go to a British carnival?)
The food: Choices include lobster elote dip, mini poke tacos, and profiteroles (cream puffs), so yeah, this isn’t your typical pub. There’s also a bottomless mimosa brunch and $6 cocktail and beer happy hour if you need a little swing, er, fling juice.
Holey Moley
- Location: 1201 18th St., Denver (LoDo)
- Best for: Adults and kids, but it’s adults-only after 8 p.m.
The shtick: The 27 jazzed-up miniature golf holes at this LoDo fixture—which was once an Old Spaghetti Factory—have video game themes, skateboard-style ramps, and, of course, the requisite windmill.
The food: Holey Moley serves pizzas, burgers, and salads, but also more interesting (at least for a mini golf spot) dishes like Korean-style barbecue pork skewers and French onion poutine. The drinks steal the show, though, with cocktails served in glasses shaped like bathtubs, trophies, and unicorns.
Lob
- Location: 1755 Blake St., Denver (LoDo)
- Best for: Kids during the day and adults at night; it’s 21-plus after 8 p.m.
The shtick: Lob is played on greens like mini golf, but instead of putting your way to the hole, you lob bocce balls toward a pin. It’s a fun refresh of the pastime, because really, why don’t we play more bocce?
The food: The menu includes barbecue classics like pulled pork, jerk chicken, and brisket. Lob has a nice range of zero-proof drinks, and several of the cocktails (mai tais, margaritas, Negronis, and vodka-spiked punch) are available in carafes for sharing.
