Bar: Twins Inn Tavern
Address: 5201 Ralston Rd, Arvada, CO 80002
Score: 8.2/10
During my Wheat Ridge/Arvada bar crawl, Twins Inn was the last bar I added to my list, but fortunately a follower kept pushing me to go. When they say “save the best for last” Twins Inn is a prime example of this as it was the last bar on my crawl. Twins Inn surprised me for many reasons.
The first was the parking lot. I went around noon and the lot was packed to the brim. Before I walked in, I was almost certain that people were parking from other nearby buildings, but I’ll dive into that in a minute. The next thing that shocked me was the massive patio right as you walked into the bar. The patio had a ton of seating, the seating itself looked like it had seen better days, the seating was torn to shit, adding even more to the dive element of the bar. The coolest thing by far on the patio was the giant fireplace. Super curious if this is operable or not, would be lovely for the harsh Denver winters.
As I walked inside the bar, this place was packed out the ass. Seriously, from all the seating at the bar, I was fortunate to grab the last chair. Due to the location of the bar not being around a ton of other buildings or happenings, one can only believe these were all regulars and if so, damn what an army they have of loyal patrons. This was pretty cool for me to see. Due to the nature of visiting and reviewing a ton of bars on these trips, typically the earlier the better. Less street traffic, easier to navigate around in cities, etc… For this reason I miss out on some of the best parts of these bars: The people. This was not the case at Twins Inn. Everyone was as friendly as can be, which goes a long way for me. This place had a nighttime atmosphere during the middle of the day on a Thursday of all things.
While the atmosphere was impressive, the decor left more to be desired. The walls had mediocre decor. The star of the show was the massive moose antler set. This was centered on the back wall of the bar. Pretty cool to see up close. Moose are some big bastards, that is for sure. Other than that, the bar featured minimal neon signs, other bar signage. So if that is your thing, this category was weak. Another thing that surprised me was the lighting in this bar. Yes, the fact there was actual lighting was surprising for a dive like this.
Past the decor and the patio, this bar had some of the usual suspects you’d expect to see in this type of spot, carpet so old it tells the story of the bar, drop ceilings, and even more bar top seating with separate tables, cause why not? I will say for the space they had, they utilized it to the best. With the inside and out, tons of space available.
Now onto the drinks. Something I have only seen one other time, was BOGO drinks. I saw this in Nola at a bar called the Three Legged Dog. At Twins Inn, they have an everyday BOGO deal for your first beer. Simply, buy your first one and you get an empty Jell-O shot cup (that is what I got at least) and then you trade it in for your second beer. It makes the $4.50 price point a tad easier to $2.25 for your first two ales. I rarely drink liquor. I opted for a drink at this bar because I was dragging ass and needed a vodka RedBull. This pour was so incredibly strong let me tell you. No need to worry about a light pour at this spot, they will treat you right.
Whether you are looking for a quick beer, want to drink on a patio with a glorious view of some tires (not sure what backed up into the patio but it appeared to be a tire/junk yard of some sort), or just want to day drink with a decent crowd, this bar may be for you.
Price: BOGO first beers, $4.50 for a Miller after that
Decor: Very underwhelming decor, but can’t win all the categories
Service: Real good service, you could tell the bartender was the star of the show. Very personable lady.
Atmosphere: The best category. A place packed around noon on a Thursday, sign me up.
High Life Bottle?: Yes they had it
Bonus Points: Cash only