Waited way too long. It’s Thursday night. In the last hour they let in 5 people. Not worth the wait.
Anthony Vinole
What a fun spot. All drinks were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Crawford
I’m not from Denver. This is one of a few bars where I have felt welcome. The bartenders and the clientele are friendly and kind. The drinks and atmosphere are unique. I’ll be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Gallegos
I was really excited to try this place and it was so disappointing! The drinks are $17 each and it says you can order a classic cocktails and prices may vary, they are still $17 for a rum and coke or margarita. The drink was not good either, not tasty not strong definitely not worth the $17. The place is very small, they leave you at the door and say a few minutes to be seated. We waited 10 minutes and most of the tables in there were empty just the bar was full. Also took another 15 minutes just to order drinks. Try any other speakeasy this is not it.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Rose
Awful drinks, long wait for a shoe box small bar. Got yelled at for using your phone. Absolutely terrible vibe. Typically Denver tourist place. The guy that works at the bar is super rude and bitter. If you’re a local it’s boring and over priced. Again, SUPER TOURIST PLACE.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
John Bryant
Super cool place to go for drinks. The ice cream is delicious at the shop in front. Back in the speakeasy, the drinks taste wonderful and the atmosphere is really cool. I recommend checking it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jaymi Aech
Cocktails are perfectly splendid ;-)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kiki Carpenter
Was here early on a Saturday and had the BEST time. I notified them in advance we were coming in with a large birthday party group and they did everything they could to accommodate us, which was so appreciated. Once inside the freezer door/speakeasy entrance, we were blown away by the funky and fun ambiance, the attentive staff, and the inventive and delicious drinks. Not sure if some of the previous folks who left reviews about the bad tasting / smelling drinks and rude staff have ever been outside their usual dive bar bubble where it's $5 a beer and the space smells like a latrine, but I very much disagree with the negative comments I've seen about Retrograde. My group tried multiple drinks from the menu, plus a few "off-menu" drinks recommended by the bartender based on our preferred flavor profiles and everything was quite tasty. Yes it took an extra minute to craft some of the more intricate cocktails, but the staff was welcoming and communicative throughout the process...And the $17 cost per drink I saw some reviewers complaining about -- aren't we all used to that price point being the Denver standard for classy drinks with premium ingredients in a cool spot? How could these drinks cost less?Retrograde is a hidden gem and it's worth the stop!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
AuroraBoobie Alice
Awesome cocktail selection & deliciousness. Shhh.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Melony
These were seriously the best drinks I've ever had, clean, atmosphere amazing and the mixologist were . I almost don't want to post this review and leave the 5 star because i wanna keep this hidden gem to myself. Soo no one go its
It's fiiiine. The concept is fun: a speakeasy hidden through an ice cream shop freezer. But it's tiny, crowded, loud, and smells bad (they light a bunch of drinks on fire and then also have incense burning). Drinks are extremely expensive ($15+), and are very hit or miss. I had a drink that inexplicably had a smoldering stick of cinnamon in it, and it just smelled horrid.Service was slow to non-existent; after we finished our drinks, we had to wait about 30 minutes before we even saw a server again.Worth going once or twice for the novelty, but there are much better cocktail bars.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Mike R
Jake Attacked my friend’s character by loudly yelling “they were doing drugs in the bathroom” in front of other patrons. Wouldn’t allow my party in when we were completely sober. No one in our group has ever done drugs ever!! All because 3 girls went to the one bathroom together and they were walking in heels. Totally unprofessional to speak that way about someone in front of other people especially when it was completely false. We have been here many times before and seen people blacked out drunk in there so I believe the person working the front counter had something against my friends. The ice cream is good but this was completely uncalled for.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Jacob Ives
Such a cool retro spot! The drinks were pretty pricey, which is unfortunately expected at a cocktail bar downtown, but the cocktails were all creative and delicious! The bartenders were very responsive and the venue itself was super cool! The speakeasy bar is "hidden" inside the freezer of the ice cream shop and it was relatively easy to get seats for 3 on a saturday night.
Keli
I went here with a group of two friends. Our night started at a pop up Christmas bar at Union Station, but they only let you stay for so long so after a drink there we decided to go here. I had never been here before but my friends live nearby and have liked it so I was excited to go. Once we get there, my friend and I go to the bathroom to obviously use the restroom. A few minutes after we come out, Jake comes out to ask how many. We give our number of people, he leaves and my other friend decides to get ice cream while we are waiting. She is still paying when Jake comes back out, so he said he will come back in a few for us. He does and takes us to a booth. Two minutes after being seated, I was looking at their drink menu and he comes over saying we are too inebriated to be served alcohol so we can drink our water and eat ice cream but that’s it. My whole group is just shocked, we don’t say anything in that moment but waited to see if he would come back around. He did after about 10 minutes and told us there are other people waiting to come in so we had to leave. I asked what made him think we were “inebriated”, he said other staff (ice cream girl) saw us go to the bathroom together and come out looking inebriated which to me sounds like he is accusing us of doing drugs. He then says we stumbled going to our table, which we did not. Plus, we were all wearing heels so even if we did that’s not abnormal. Based on those two things he decided with his “years of experience” that this was the right choice. He didn’t say anything with a rude attitude, but what he was insinuating and his decision made no sense to me. Everyone knows girls go to the bathroom together. It also doesn’t make sense why we were even seated and let in at a table with drink menus if he intended to not serve us. Definitely disappointed with the experience because it is a cool concept but it seems staff could be better on both sides.
Service: 1
Kasey Ellison
I’ve been here a few times as I live very close. The speakeasy is a cool concept and there is nothing else positive to say about it. The ice cream is gross, the staff is rude, and the drinks are wildly overpriced.Every time I’ve been, I’ve had such weird interactions. My friends and I were refused service yesterday because “an ice cream shop employee saw us go to the bathroom and come out looking inebriated”. She needs to get over herself. I’ve never done drugs in my life and I didn’t realize going pee was a crime. Also, nobody in the group was inebriated or acting like it. We had a Christmas drink at a pop up bar before going.Our server, Jake, proceeded to sit us at a table, refuse to serve us based on something so incredibly wrong that the ice cream girl said, and ignore us for 30 minutes.He then refused to let my (completely sober) boyfriend and his friend join our party because we were “inebriated”. He also said to my boyfriend “they’re doing drugs in the bathroom so I’m not comfortable letting anyone else sit with them”. HE SAID THIS TO A MAN HE DIDN’T KNOW MY RELATION TO IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE. Talk about slander.Five people were refused service for no reason and for drugs that never existed.Jake and the ice cream shop employee both need some serious training on unconscious bias and professionalism.
Waited way too long. It’s Thursday night. In the last hour they let in 5 people. Not worth the wait.
What a fun spot. All drinks were great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’m not from Denver. This is one of a few bars where I have felt welcome. The bartenders and the clientele are friendly and kind. The drinks and atmosphere are unique. I’ll be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was really excited to try this place and it was so disappointing! The drinks are $17 each and it says you can order a classic cocktails and prices may vary, they are still $17 for a rum and coke or margarita. The drink was not good either, not tasty not strong definitely not worth the $17. The place is very small, they leave you at the door and say a few minutes to be seated. We waited 10 minutes and most of the tables in there were empty just the bar was full. Also took another 15 minutes just to order drinks. Try any other speakeasy this is not it.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Awful drinks, long wait for a shoe box small bar. Got yelled at for using your phone. Absolutely terrible vibe. Typically Denver tourist place. The guy that works at the bar is super rude and bitter. If you’re a local it’s boring and over priced. Again, SUPER TOURIST PLACE.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Super cool place to go for drinks. The ice cream is delicious at the shop in front. Back in the speakeasy, the drinks taste wonderful and the atmosphere is really cool. I recommend checking it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cocktails are perfectly splendid ;-)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Was here early on a Saturday and had the BEST time. I notified them in advance we were coming in with a large birthday party group and they did everything they could to accommodate us, which was so appreciated. Once inside the freezer door/speakeasy entrance, we were blown away by the funky and fun ambiance, the attentive staff, and the inventive and delicious drinks. Not sure if some of the previous folks who left reviews about the bad tasting / smelling drinks and rude staff have ever been outside their usual dive bar bubble where it's $5 a beer and the space smells like a latrine, but I very much disagree with the negative comments I've seen about Retrograde. My group tried multiple drinks from the menu, plus a few "off-menu" drinks recommended by the bartender based on our preferred flavor profiles and everything was quite tasty. Yes it took an extra minute to craft some of the more intricate cocktails, but the staff was welcoming and communicative throughout the process...And the $17 cost per drink I saw some reviewers complaining about -- aren't we all used to that price point being the Denver standard for classy drinks with premium ingredients in a cool spot? How could these drinks cost less?Retrograde is a hidden gem and it's worth the stop!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Awesome cocktail selection & deliciousness. Shhh.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
These were seriously the best drinks I've ever had, clean, atmosphere amazing and the mixologist were . I almost don't want to post this review and leave the 5 star because i wanna keep this hidden gem to myself. Soo no one go its
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Braindead
Restaurantji Recommends
It's fiiiine. The concept is fun: a speakeasy hidden through an ice cream shop freezer. But it's tiny, crowded, loud, and smells bad (they light a bunch of drinks on fire and then also have incense burning). Drinks are extremely expensive ($15+), and are very hit or miss. I had a drink that inexplicably had a smoldering stick of cinnamon in it, and it just smelled horrid.Service was slow to non-existent; after we finished our drinks, we had to wait about 30 minutes before we even saw a server again.Worth going once or twice for the novelty, but there are much better cocktail bars.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Jake Attacked my friend’s character by loudly yelling “they were doing drugs in the bathroom” in front of other patrons. Wouldn’t allow my party in when we were completely sober. No one in our group has ever done drugs ever!! All because 3 girls went to the one bathroom together and they were walking in heels. Totally unprofessional to speak that way about someone in front of other people especially when it was completely false. We have been here many times before and seen people blacked out drunk in there so I believe the person working the front counter had something against my friends. The ice cream is good but this was completely uncalled for.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Such a cool retro spot! The drinks were pretty pricey, which is unfortunately expected at a cocktail bar downtown, but the cocktails were all creative and delicious! The bartenders were very responsive and the venue itself was super cool! The speakeasy bar is "hidden" inside the freezer of the ice cream shop and it was relatively easy to get seats for 3 on a saturday night.
I went here with a group of two friends. Our night started at a pop up Christmas bar at Union Station, but they only let you stay for so long so after a drink there we decided to go here. I had never been here before but my friends live nearby and have liked it so I was excited to go. Once we get there, my friend and I go to the bathroom to obviously use the restroom. A few minutes after we come out, Jake comes out to ask how many. We give our number of people, he leaves and my other friend decides to get ice cream while we are waiting. She is still paying when Jake comes back out, so he said he will come back in a few for us. He does and takes us to a booth. Two minutes after being seated, I was looking at their drink menu and he comes over saying we are too inebriated to be served alcohol so we can drink our water and eat ice cream but that’s it. My whole group is just shocked, we don’t say anything in that moment but waited to see if he would come back around. He did after about 10 minutes and told us there are other people waiting to come in so we had to leave. I asked what made him think we were “inebriated”, he said other staff (ice cream girl) saw us go to the bathroom together and come out looking inebriated which to me sounds like he is accusing us of doing drugs. He then says we stumbled going to our table, which we did not. Plus, we were all wearing heels so even if we did that’s not abnormal. Based on those two things he decided with his “years of experience” that this was the right choice. He didn’t say anything with a rude attitude, but what he was insinuating and his decision made no sense to me. Everyone knows girls go to the bathroom together. It also doesn’t make sense why we were even seated and let in at a table with drink menus if he intended to not serve us. Definitely disappointed with the experience because it is a cool concept but it seems staff could be better on both sides.
Service: 1
I’ve been here a few times as I live very close. The speakeasy is a cool concept and there is nothing else positive to say about it. The ice cream is gross, the staff is rude, and the drinks are wildly overpriced.Every time I’ve been, I’ve had such weird interactions. My friends and I were refused service yesterday because “an ice cream shop employee saw us go to the bathroom and come out looking inebriated”. She needs to get over herself. I’ve never done drugs in my life and I didn’t realize going pee was a crime. Also, nobody in the group was inebriated or acting like it. We had a Christmas drink at a pop up bar before going.Our server, Jake, proceeded to sit us at a table, refuse to serve us based on something so incredibly wrong that the ice cream girl said, and ignore us for 30 minutes.He then refused to let my (completely sober) boyfriend and his friend join our party because we were “inebriated”. He also said to my boyfriend “they’re doing drugs in the bathroom so I’m not comfortable letting anyone else sit with them”. HE SAID THIS TO A MAN HE DIDN’T KNOW MY RELATION TO IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE. Talk about slander.Five people were refused service for no reason and for drugs that never existed.Jake and the ice cream shop employee both need some serious training on unconscious bias and professionalism.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1