ViewHouse

Bars & Breweries

4.2(10675 reviews)

The take

A Colorado-grown three-location chain (LoDo, Centennial, Colorado Springs) doing approachable American food on a massive rooftop with the largest LED screen in the state. Better as a place to be than a place to eat. Sunday Broncos games are the use case.

Why it's here

ViewHouse Centennial sits at 7101 S Clinton near the Denver Tech Center and is, technically, just outside DougCo in Arapahoe County, but the geography only matters to a tax assessor; from Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree you're here in 10 minutes. The Centennial location opened in 2014 as the second of what is now three (LoDo and Colorado Springs round out the set), built around the same concept: a three-story building with a wraparound rooftop, an oversized indoor LED video wall (advertised as the largest in Colorado), 35 Colorado-only beer taps, 15 Colorado distilleries on the cocktail list, an upscale-casual menu of burgers, salads, tacos, sandwiches, and shareables, and a calendar of yard games, trivia, and live music that runs almost every evening of the week.

The food is fine. The Asian chicken salad and the wings get the most consistent shoutouts in reviews. The burgers are competent, the cocktails honest if not adventurous, and the kitchen handles dietary requests without drama. None of this is the reason to come. The reason to come is the building: Sunday game day, with the rooftop full and the LED wall on the Broncos, is one of the better sports-viewing experiences in the south metro. Summer evenings on the rooftop with cornhole and a Colorado-only flight of beer is a defensible Tuesday-night plan.

This is the kind of place that doesn't show up on any food critic's list and was never trying to. It's a 12,000-square-foot social venue. Treat it that way and it works.

Know before you go

Go for

•Sunday Broncos games on the rooftop with the full LED wall
•Summer evening drinks on the rooftop with the cornhole and shuffleboard
•Trivia nights (Tuesday, check the website for the current schedule)
•Big group bookings (12-30 people) where you need space and don't need a refined menu

Timing

Mon-Thu 11am to midnight, Fri 11am to 2am, Sat 10am to 2am, Sun 10am to midnight. Weekend brunch 10am-2pm gets a wait without a reservation. Sunday afternoons during NFL season are the busiest single window of the week.

Pro tip

If you're going for a Broncos game, get there 90 minutes before kickoff and ask for the rooftop pavilion side, not the main rooftop bar. Better sightlines to the LED wall and quieter for actual conversation between snaps.

Skip / heads up

The food is mid-tier; if you came for dinner and a date, you'd be better off across the street at Snooze or driving 10 minutes to Cranelli's. Late-night Friday and Saturday gets loud and 22-year-old; if you want a quiet drink, this isn't it after 9pm.

By Nathan Boesen