Entry No. 49 — the Durango file — filed under: basement-bar

Wood Ear Whiskey Lounge & Noodle Bar

The bar at the center of this basement room is hand-carved from walnut and extinct white tiger pine and hasn't moved since the 1880s — the Roma Building was simply built around it. Descend the stairs off Colorado Avenue and you're in a candlelit cave with 150-plus spirits (heavy on Japanese whiskey), steaming ramen bowls, and the faint sense that nobody upstairs knows you're here. The Texas-meets-Japan menu sounds like a dare and reads like it won.

The move: Drop into the basement mid-afternoon before the dinner rush, split a bowl of ramen at the century-old bar, and work through the Japanese whiskey flights while the mountain light fades outside.

📍 Before you go Basement entrance off Colorado Avenue — a few steps down from street level; no dedicated parking lot, street parking on Colorado Ave or town lots nearby.

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

Where: 135 E Colorado Ave, Telluride, CO 81435

Hours: Added 2026-06-21 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-21