Cheap, cheap drinks. $2 wells, $3 cal drinks, and $2, $3, & $4 beers depending on the type. Ridiculously cheap. $18 tab when I left? Im from Chicago and that sounds like a tasty drink and a half at a nice place.
Mind you, the stench of stale beer took me a half hour to get used to...once your nostrils have adapted, I really enjoyed the vibe. Bartenders were, a local at the bar (and not a creepy you need to find a job and teeth one) gave us some great advice. Tons of games including pool, table tennis, Â and air hockey--all a dollar.
Jesus Christ, Boulderites, this is not "dive" bar. Dive bars  have crusty Vietnam vets and signs that say "No Fighting" or "No Gambling on the Pool Tables".  They are full of guys who are regulars solely because they've been kicked out of every other bar within walking distance of their section-8 housing block. Dive bars also have strong drinks, because that's why people are there: to get drunk.
Catacombs is not a dive bar. No one has ever tried to stab me at Catacombs, and they generally seem to frown upon my open consumption of cocaine. The two dollar cocktails sound like a great idea until you have to drink thirty of them to get drunk. Seriously, that's not a Dylan Thomas-esque boast: I once drank thirty of those things and left feeling no more invincible or irresistible to women than when I came in. At least the paint-thinner they serve at "dive" bars will get you hammered...
This bar has quickly become my go to place since moving to Boulder. Get college wasted for $5, fun people, ping pong, pool, karaoke, and 80's arcade games! Free popcorn during happy hour which is 4-8. That's all you need to know because they have numerous specials and you will always find something you like for under $4. And from 8-close the other drink specials are in effect, just look around for the poster. Beware the Long Island- it comes pre-mixed and is poured over ice with a splash of coke so it's not a super classy version but for $2, what the hey. During happy hour you can order food from the hotel kitchen upstairs and it's actually delicious.
Review Source:Came here for a gimmick: $1 prime rib sliders on Fridays. They weren't sliders, since they weren't burgers. They are more like slices of roast beef in between burger buns. They were good nonetheless. And they came with horseradish cream. This place also has a decent selection of draft beer, and one of the best arcade games ever: Turtles in Time. Although, beware, it only the slot on left took our quarters. All the other slots are them.
Review Source:Definition for dive bar:
Per Google:
A drinking establishment is a business whose primary function is the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises..
Per Urban Dictionary:
A well-worn, unglamorous bar, often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele.
Per Jeff:
a casual and cool place that serves real beer, real drinks by bartenders that know what they are doing. Â It could be a little scary or a little dirty, but you know you are going to get a good drink at a good price. Â A place where you can hide out for a while from the real world.
Catacombs fits the bill - on all fronts.
Staff there is usually a little intimidating, but always friednly once you say hello.
Another nice feature is the various areas and rooms (thus the name). Â
- You don't like karaoke? Â fine, go to another area.
- You want to watch the game on the TV? Fine, go to the area with the TV
- You want to play a video game? they have an area for that.
- Looking for a dark corner to canoodle with the person you just met? I'm sure there is a spot for that too.
So I am sure just about anyone can find a place in The Catacombs that they like. Â Well, maybe not my parents. Â But they will be upstairs in the Corner Bar of the Hotel Boulderado having a nice glass of Malbec.
I discovered a secret meeting. It's called Karaoke @ the Catacombs on Wednesday night and it's AWESOME. Only the brave would attempt to sing. These guys are about three levels higher than any other Karaoke gig on the planet. Just go and check it out. It's well worth it.
On, there is a downside. Thursday morning hangovers
Dropped in for a couple of beers early evening. You'd think it was a shady dive bar, however, upon entering it's got a nice speakeasy sorta feel. Being from Texas it was comforting seeing Shiner sitting on tap.
What reeled me in was the ping-pong tables. Who needs pool or foosball when I can slap the hell out of a plastic ball and drink everytime I miss a point.
I absolutely love this place - it's the best kind of dive bar. Compared to the sketchy-as-hell Downer, Catacombs just feels cool.
Yeah, it gets crowded on the weekends (who doesn't love $2 wells on a Saturday?) when the PBR-drinking hipsters show up early, but the scene eventually 'evens out' and it seems like everyone has a fun time here.
If you're not in the mood to be crammed around the bar check out the games in the back - a nice reprieve from the main area.
I just really love the atmosphere at Catacombs and it's perfect day drinking spot on Sundays.
I don't know this bar's secret to cheap drinks, but one of these is much needed in Los Angeles...preferably just down the street so I can stumble home or pass out unnoticed in the small dance floor cavern. Â As one of the several bars I visited on my first trip to Boulder, it definitely has that divey, college vibe with trashy lezzies and neighborhood alkys. Â Arcade games were pricier than the drinks, if I recall. Â $2 long islands/amf's = ugh.
Review Source:If this bar was in Denver, I would probably  live there.
We went on Sunday night. $1 well drinks. Yes, I said $1 well drinks. How do they make money, you might ask? I have no idea. And these weren't the week, watered down drinks I've become accustomed to at cheap bars- they were strong and poured well. Moving on. $2 microbrew pints. Whaaaa? Again, yes, this is for real.
See also: free popcorn. See also: 90's hiphop on the stereo. See also: cheap yet delicious food from the hotel restaurant upstairs. To top it all off, the service was great.
I'm going to go cry in a corner now and contemplate ways to afford living in Boulder just so I can go to this bar.
Catacombs was the only bar I went to on a recent trip to Boulder. I had never been to Boulder before (LOVED the city while I was there for the weekend), I don't know the bar scene, so I can't compare this place to other bars on Pearl Street. I can just review this place for what it is...and I liked it.
I actually kind of liked the atmosphere. Divey, lots of space, pool tables, dance floor (for those who are into that), arcade games, and booze. And CHEAP booze at that!
I had just gotten off a plane and met some ladies here for the tail-end of a bachelorette party. Now I'm usually not above drinking well liquor, but I decided since it was near the end of the night and I was only gonna be having a drink or three I'd go with Absolut & soda and they were only five bucks! Well vodka drinks were only two bucks! I bought the bride to be a shot of Maker's (her fave), and once again...five bucks! The bartender also had no problem serving her, in her penis shot glass!
There was actually kind of a douchey crowd when I was there, and to be honest a BIG reason why I liked this place was the cheap booze (if it wasn't for that this place might only get three stars). Cheap alcohol is the equivalent to service with a smile in my book. It makes up for shortcomings that a place might have...
If the person that opens the door to an establishment is rude to potential patrons...do you enter? And come to find out it is the manager...WOW! If your under 25 and don't know any better on how an establishment should treat you than you might like this place.
If you want your business to feel appreciated...there are so many other bars in Boulder that make you feel welcomed and actually want you to spend your money there.
I wonder if the owner of Catacombs knows the manager has a chip on his shoulder and turns business away when there's not a single soul in the place?
Hmm...I would think twice about entering this DUMP.
Catacombs might be one of the only decent bars in Boulder. It doesn't have as much of an attitude issue as some of the other establishments. The patrons seem to be a little more grounded than some of the other Pearl Street bars.
It offers enough space that you can either go play pool, hang out with friends or dance. The drinks are very reasonable and the staff are pretty nice. It lost a star just because my waitress kept bugging me about not drinking that night in my group, sorry I drove that night.
It use to be so much better as far as the crowd goes. Being from out of town this was the spot to hit up but this year all I saw were a bunch of wanna be hipsters/urban outffiter kids, so LAME.
The price on drinks are great here, plenty of seats + tables, and pool tables.
If you don't want to spend a lot of $ and if you don't care about the hipster crowd then you should come here.
Recently a few friends from out of town went barhopping with me in Boulder for the night. We hit up the usual Boulder haunts- Conor's, Mountain Sun, the Pub, and as the night was drawing to a close I decided it was time for Catacombs. After kicking back with a few rounds of wells drinks in the super-comfy booths and playing a few games of pool, my friend picked up the tab and said... "IS THIS REALLY ONLY $17?!?!"
This could only happen at Catacombs.
He immediately decided that he was moving to Boulder.
I really recommend this place as a way to end your night- while $1 wells are great, you want to appreciate the price. This place is really a dive, but a very Boulderite dive with a great mix of people. However, I beg you, if you start your bar-hopping night here, realize you'll probably end it there as their deals can be dangerous to your liver... (never go in the bathrooms late at night)
As grad students, we need to let off steam during the week. Thirsty Thursdays is how we do it.
Thursdays we've been trying the local Pearl Street Pub scene, and we went to catacombs last night. We chose it for the cheap well drinks (some as low as $1.50), pool and thursday quiz night.
Early in the evening it is pretty dead, which is nice for playing 10 games in a row of pool. The tables' felt is pretty beat up, and the cues are thrashed however, so don't expect it to be a pretty game.
We also enjoyed pingpong and sitting on the huge leather couches they have in the ping pong room. Once we were kicked off the ping pong table, and we got settled into two teams (we had 14 people), we played quiz night.
Despite the projector breaking and few other starting hiccups, the quiz master is pretty fun and quiz night was a blast. Definitely something we will be doing again.
I like this place!
As a recent Boulder transplant from SF, I've been looking for a place to fill that "a little sketchy but cool" place in my heart that the Mission used to do so well. I agree with other yelpers that if you think this is a dive bar, you've been in Boulder for too long, but for Pearl St I think it's divey enough.
Last time I went, they were bumping some sweet dubstep and the crowd seemed to be digging it. Plenty of space for the dancers to do their thing, the alcys to do theirs, and the rest to take a table and chill out.
Love this place. Friendly staff, cheap drinks, air hockey, and silver strike bowling. Turns out all I really need is the bowling machine to be happy but if you have friends (I don't), or want to interact with people (i don't), then Cats is a good place to hang out. There's plenty of hipsters to watch and they do a good karaoke night as well. Trivia night with Mike is a hoot but don't bring your iPhone.
Review Source:I used to hang out in Catacombs a lot when I lived in Boulder. There were a few reasons for this. The first is they have fast Ms. Pac-Man and air hockey in the same room. This equals hours of entertainment for me. Second they had drinks specials that seemed to be aimed at getting me good and drunk for a fraction of other bars' cost. Third, it was dark and divey and kind of grimey. I'm a dive bar girl at heart so between this place and the Sundowner I was set in Boulder.
We went back recently and Pac-Man and the drinks remain the same, but Catacombs is all bright and redone so it looks kind of respectable. While I appreciate the owners making what can only be seen as improvements in most people's eyes I shed a little tear for the old Catacombs. I doubt I'd spend half as much time here if I lived in Boulder now. But, it's still a good college bar.
The theme of catacombs is cheap drinks. Â Each night of the week is a different special but it is all a variation of "whoa, did they make a mistake? Â Why is my tab only $10?!? Â
Catacombs is by no means a dive bar. Â If you think this is a dive bar, you have lived in Boulder too long. Â It is a college bar, totally packed on the weekends, but a great place to chill with friends on a weeknight. Â Somehow it seems less sketchy without the smoke haze, but I am glad to see nothing else has changed over the years. Â Also a great place for pool and old school arcade games.
You don't have to be a college student to enjoy this bar, but it helps. But even if you're not, if you like dive bars you'll love Catacombs. This is my favorite bar in Boulder, and I'm somehow in my late 20s and always end up at this place on the weekends. The drinks are CHEAP here, sometimes there's a DJ, but there's always fun music on (think 80s or pop hip hop- good bar dancing music), there are several rooms with pool tables, air hockey, dance floors galore, tables and booths everywhere.... it really does feel like a tomb being that it's underground, it's dark, and you can kind of get lost in there. Leave your pretentiousness at the door when you walk in here.
Review Source:I stumbled into Catacombs after a few other bars and I'm not sure if it was the booze talking- but it was a-ok! Nothing spectacular, but I was diggin' it. Some reasonably priced drinks, questionable patrons and a pool! What more can you ask for? i liked the divey feel and wasn't expecting too much so I think that enhanced the experience.
Review Source:Catacombs!
I have to say I was in Boulder for 1 night, and school was not in session, so this review will be biased away from a normal night. My buddy and me wandered around the dead Boulder Downtown for a couple hours, before turning to the YELP application on my Iphone which brought us to the catabomb bar. I swear, it was the only place in town with more than 5 people.
Having lived in New York, San Fran, and LA for the last 7 years, it's nice to travel around the country and find cheap drinks. 1 dollar domestic drafts ALL NIGHT, lots of good looking young people, zero pretension (except for the 3 hipsters sitting at one booth in the corner) and lots of hidden rooms with pool tables, foosball, air hockey and the like make for a fun yet hazy evening. Good luck!
So, I read a bunch of reviews about "dive bars" in Boulder. Â This is FINE on a thursday night. Â But i'll tell you what, we went on a friday night and it was the WORST! Â There were so many people there, i couldn't even see the bar. Â My friends and i really stood around with our jaws dropped about how packed it was in there. Â I mean i know it's a college town- but jeez these people all go to this bar. Â that might be good for some, i on the other hand- prefer a good "dive bar." Â with a small amount of interesting folk in there.
Review Source:Catacombs? What the hell kind of name is that for a bar????
Oh wait.... I get it now..... All you have to do is set foot in this place and you know there could never be a better name for this space. It is seriously cavernous with multiple rooms splitting off from the main entrance hall. Side rooms house air hockey, pool, and other such amusing things while the back area is strictly for the alcoholics like myself. It reminded me of some cave I'd drink in off a hiking trail while underage, which seems quite appropriate for a college town like Boulder. Whatever, the jukebox was passable and, most importantly  - the drinks were only $2 for mixed and $1 for beers because it was a Sunday! Now those prices combined with my strong liver could make me love any bar. If you had asked me that night, I probably would've given this place 5 stars thanks to cheap drinks, entertaining company and the nostalgia of it all but my sober head shall prevail and 3 stars it shall be as I try to remind you all that I'm much classier now than I was in my college days.
I was almost disheartened by this place the first time I went. I came for beers with my dad and his high school buddy a while back on a Friday. I seem to recall that they had $2 beers so we stayed for a while and, mistakenly, delved into talking about politics and the current presidential race. See, my dad and his buddy are both registered Republicans; I am not. Let's just say that I quickly became tired of the two-on-one political slug fest that I found myself in, as well as the chain email talking points of my company.
So I forgot about Catacombs for a while, until I discovered the "Geeks Who Drink" pub quiz that's held there every Tuesday and Thursday. I've gone a couple of times now with some friends and the pub quiz is always a blast. Beer is $1.50 on Thursdays and this is a definite clincher about the place. It seems like there is always some sort of special going on with drinks at this place too.
I really enjoy how the place is laid out with several separate rooms. I feel like this is conducive to a dual "laid back"/"party hardy" setting. You can experience a crowd at the bar or go to one of the back rooms or booths and engage in a reasonably, hopefully apolitical, conversation without shouting over blaring music.
One final note: I haven't had any food here yet, but someone told me that the food (nachos recommended) comes from Q's, the classy Boulderado restaurant that is upstairs.
This was one of my home bars when I lived back in Boulder, and every time I return, one of the first places I go. Good drink specials, and plenty of places to smoke. Pool tables, air hockey, a jukebox in the back, and plenty of dark booths to gather around while you and your boys plan your attacks.
Yes it's dirty, but that's what makes this place so right.
Catacombs is dark and dirty and makes me want to take a shower just about as soon as I walk in the door. Or maybe give the whole bar a shower, of bleach.
Beer never tastes quite the same at Catacombs as it does elsewhere. A friend of mine has a theory that they can do their super cheap happy hour prices by buying just-expired kegs. I suppose it's a possibility.
Not bad; beneath  the ground, actually.  The cavernous stone decor will be the cherry on your Sunday.  The bartenders are fast and efficient.  There are chalkboards in the female bathroom stalls so you kan  put your thoughts here.  Then, you kan play pool or something like that if you're into that.  Like anywhere in Boulder, you will probably see someone you know.  Now it is time to have some fun, but be warned, no one else will be drinking tequila and it is a little darker than where you normally would.  And of course, no one wants to have too many shots of Patron so now you must switch drinks.  G + T, like I said.  OH WAIT, it was vodka tonic, and I must say, it made for a very good night.
Review Source:The Catacombs....
Before I came here, it brought up dark images of cavernous rooms connected by maze-like hallways filled with drunk people (maybe a few gnomes), who get lost.
Eh. It's really just a bar that spans several rooms in the basement of a building on Pearl street.
Still, this place as a bar, is pretty cool. They have some pool tables in one room, air hockey in another, and hosted a free poker tournament which was cool. Furthermore, when I went they had some serious drink specials, which won me over. $2 Steinbocks....nice.
So, all in all, I had a good time at this place. It wasn't really crowded, which I was surprised about given the somewhat tight-quarters and had a good vibe to the place.
Also, 21+ only allowed inside...which I actually liked. (Sorry all you underagers...you better have a damn good fake, they check under black-light)
Still, watch out for crazy old drunks...they can ruin a date, the bastards.
It's dark, it's dirty, they have a giant plastic bull that moos when you punch it!! Â I love this place because there's about 10 different rooms in the bar, some with pool tables, some with video games and all with excessive amounts of booze within them. Â
They also had one of the best happy hours in Boulder, $2 you call its on Thursday nights! Somehow I managed to rack up a $150 bill on a Thursday night....just hope they weren't all mine!
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