Don’t let the location of Smug’s Bar & Grill—a stone’s throw from DU—give you the wrong impression. Sure, it’s close enough to the Pioneers campus that even the drunkest of college students could likely navigate their way to the pub with relative ease, but labeling Smug’s a “college bar” does the joint a disservice. It’s a locals’ place.

Within minutes of sitting down at the bar and ordering a “Smug’s Brew”—Rolling Rock disguised by a homemade-looking label—I watched the bartenders go three-for-three nailing names and drink orders as people walked through the front door.

Bud Light and a double shot of scotch for the quiet middle-aged guy with a laptop. PBR for the professional with a five-o’clock shadow. The bartender didn’t even check with the young blonde who walked through the door; just whipped up a cocktail and plopped it in front of her. It’s the kind of service every bar-frequenter dreams of.

Halfway through my second Smug’s Brew—er, Rolling Rock, which approves of such marketing—I had already talked poker with the PBR-drinking regular next to me, stumbled into a conversation with one of the bartenders about the specifics of rules barring pilots from drinking before flying, and heard three of my favorite songs by The Doors, Joe Cocker, and Led Zeppelin.

Combined with a few pool tables, a dartboard, a foosball table, a respectable fried-food menu, and flat-screen TVs positioned within eyesight of every seat in the bar, Smug’s is a good spot for any casual happy-hour-drinker to walk in to—not just the regulars.

Happy hour at Smug’s runs from 4 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight, daily. Specials include $5 Patrón and Grand Marnier, $4 top-shelf booze, $3 microbrews, and $2 domestics.

1135 E. Evans Ave., 303-862-5275