Entry No. 35 — the Denver file — filed under: ritual-music

The Monkey Barrel

From the corner of Tejon in Sunnyside it looks like any other neighborhood building, but inside is a music-and-arcade clubhouse: a Nintendo 64 bolted into every booth, a room full of pinball, and walls of memorabilia signed by Nirvana, the Beastie Boys, Shepard Fairey and more. It's a born-again punk bar — the original got pushed off Platte Street by a developer, and regulars rebuilt it here in 2016 down to the Wreck-It-Ralph shelf from the old spot. Denver officially named it a Legacy Business, which is the city's way of admitting the place matters more than its plain exterior lets on. Thursday open-mic comedy is usually free.

The move: Grab a booth, fire up GoldenEye on the in-booth N64 over Colorado craft beers and a sandwich, then drift to the pinball room — and on a Thursday stick around for the free open-mic comedy.

📍 Before you go 📍 It's the plain corner building at W 44th & Tejon — the arcade lives in the back build-out, so once inside head toward the mural-covered rear section. Sunnyside is residential, so plan to hunt for free street parking on the side blocks and keep the volume down on a late walk out. The in-booth N64 setups are limited, so weekends fill fast — come on a weeknight or arrive early to actually land a booth (and to sign up if it's a comedy night). It generally skews toward a 21+ crowd, though the patio is friendlier to dogs and kids — confirm ahead. Tejon's surrounding café-and-restaurant strip makes for an easy before-or-after pairing.

• 📍 Sunnyside
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 4401 Tejon St, Denver, CO 80211 (Sunnyside; corner building, arcade in the Beastie Boys-muraled back build-out)

Hours: Roughly daily 11am-11:30pm, til 1am Thu-Sat; free open-mic comedy Thursdays (sign-up 7pm, first laugh 7:30) — verify event nights

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Westword · Official site · birdymagazine.com · Yelp

last checked: 2026-06-07