Love the Pioneer -- it's my neighborhood bar, a good place to grab a beer after work or good eats later. The food is surprisingly good, love the fish tacos, and the rest of the mexican food is above average and pretty original. Friends rate the burger and nachos highly. The atmosphere is pretty divey, and it can get way too busy when the undergrads are out in force or there's a hockey game at DU, but it's comfortable and works for me most of the time. The service is typical bar service, so sometimes you have to be a little proactive about grabbing someone, but usually it's good. Some interesting moments have happened there, so we'll always have some good stories about events at the Pio...
Review Source:The first time I visited this place was decent. The second time; not so much. I had just finished a mid-term for graduate school and I had a friend in town from Wyoming. I live a few blocks from The Pioneer, so we walked over to have a few drinks and unwind. After waiting to be served, we ordered a couple beers. We were immediately answered with "Show me some ID." Rather blunt and direct, especially considering we are 30 and 28 years old, respectively. I moved here from Texas a month ago, so my Texas driver's license has a bunch of holes punched in it because that's what the Colorado DMV did to my license when I applied for a Colorado one. When the bartender saw my drivers license, he said "Show me some paperwork". I told him I leave it in my car, because it's big and bulky and the license, although expired, still shows I am 30 years old. I also have a Texas concealed handgun permit; he was not interested in that either, although it is a viable form of identification according to Colorado law. I guess the bartender did not remember that from his TIPS class. Whatever. So, I walked back home and got my temporary license, my passport, and a Transportation Workers Identification Card (issued by the Department of Homeland Security), and my university ID. I didn't want to there to be any confusion as to my identity or my age this time around. We went back to The Pioneer and I presented the bartender the various sorts of identification. For some reason, this irritated him and he very rudely shook his head, uttered some sarcastic comments and went on about how "it's the law" (which as I stated above, he was incorrect). Once again, he seemed to only be interested in my Texas driver's license and the Colorado temporary permit. He spent nearly 30 seconds meticulously checking every bit of the Colorado temporary permit. I asked him if everything was checking out okay and his reply was "No. Leave." We then went somewhere else, and didn't have a problem. I'm not sure what the business model The Pioneer follows, but it's rather short-sighted to harass customers instead of catering to their wants. It saddens me that I just moved here, and the closest place to have food and drinks employs this type of wait staff. It is hard to build a relationship with  potential long-run clients by acting rude about something so simple as age verification. I had planned on not visiting this place again, but after some reflection, I believe that the bartender in question was simply being a jerk. Maybe he had a bad day? Maybe was unable to significantly please his significant other because of inadequate sized genitalia; which gives him a prickly demeanor. Perhaps he was jealous of my charming personality and approachable good looks. I really don't know. I guess I will try this place again when I get a Colorado driver's license.In the mean time, I'll just find a server who isn't a jerk.
Review Source:I absolutely love this place. I try to go regularly, at least once a month, if not more. The chicken nachos are SO good. Once I ordered the chicken nachos, I stopped ordering anything else. The margaritas are also very good.
The staff is very friendly and attentive. Prices are very good. It's a nice break from the outrageous prices downtown.
Love this place - I am irrationally attached to it. And it is close to my house.
It is no fancy restaurant but darn is it good.
Order chips & salsa - so worth it. They take whole tortillas and fry them. Bomb.
Their burritos are my favorite. Big, delicious and satisfying.
The staff is friendly, drinks are good and they know how to pour a beer properly.
I'm a college student here at DU and I have been to The Pioneer a countless number of times. So here is the real inside scoop: Do not go here.
My friends and I have gotten sick from their food every time.
Their staff is incredibly rude. I've never had a friendly waiter, waitress, or bartender there.
Overpriced meals and drinks compared to other places around campus
Horrible atmosphere to watch sporting events
Many DU students and myself strongly dislike this place and strongly suggest you go elsewhere, there are much better places around DU with a friendly staff, safe food.
Another installment from The Little Pub company, The Pioneer about lives up to all the others I've visited (except Don's Club Tavern -- that place blows goats [personal opinion]). Â The Pioneer's focus is Mexican food and margaritas, Â However, they still have a pretty standard selection of beers and a full bar, so if you're not into limey sugar with tequila, there are other options.
Unfortunately, chips and salsa do not come for free here; they're $1.99 per order. Â Nice profit margin, y'all. Â That said, I get that DU students could probably eat their weight in C&S (especially when drinking and/or smoking the reefer), so it makes sense. Â Chips and Guac can be yours for $5.99, no salsa included (boo).
This place operates the free-for-all staff model -- meaning anyone and everyone (who works there) can be your server. Â This works when everyone is on the same page and you need another drink and oh hey a server just happens to be walking by. Â It does not work, however, when you order "chips and guac to start" and they come out after the entrees do. Â Wahn waaahn.
With that in mind, the chips are quite tasty. Â They're full mini-rounds of corn tortillas, fried up fresh and crispy. Â The guac was basic: smashed avocado, jalapeno, and cilantro with a sprinkle of pico atop. Â Went well with the chips I 'spose. Â For our entrees we got the Mushroom & Poblano Burrito and the Mushroom & Poblano enchiladas. Â Basically the same thing, only the ench's are corn torts (unless you request to sub flour), and strangely there are no rice and beans with the enchiladas. Â The vegetarian green chile had a nice kick to it; the burrito was definitely enough for two meals (chips+guac or not).
During happy hour (from 3-p-7p), house margs are $3. Â I suspect a general (read: pre-made) margarita mix is used as the base, but they claim Hornitos as the house tequila and at $3 a pop they got the job done. Â Overall, for four drinks, chips+guac, and two entrees it was pretty reasonably priced. Â If nothing else on-par with the other Little Pub entities. Â I'm rarely in this area for anything but if I am and I need a marg or HH or a Mexi-food fix, I'll know where I can go for A-OK fulfillment of said need(s).
Fine, not great. Stopped by before a DU Hockey game and was surprised that this is definitely not a college bar, as most patrons were above 30 years of age. A decent amount of TV's to watch sports and a really well priced happy hour. The chicken tacos were not bad, but not great either. Has a small bar area, but a pretty good patio for when the weather allows. A nice neighborhood joint, but nothing special.
Review Source:Normally, I'm not a fan of college bars. Â However, The Pioneer has a good mix of old/young patrons and fun bar staff. Â I just started coming here on Wednesdays for Geeks Who Drink trivia and haven't been disappointed yet. Â If you plan on playing trivia, I suggest you get here early to get a spot. Â The venue is small and seats fill up fast. Â
The only thing off the menu that I've tried is their guacamole and chips. Â I have no complaints, the guac is better than most places and I believe their chips are made in-house. Â As for drinks, I stick to my basic gin & lemonades and get a good pour. Â Everything is moderately priced.
Parking can be sort of an issue, but they do have their own parking lot. Â If you're lucky, there'll be an open space available. Â If not, you'll need to find street parking.
We are currently preping for a move from the Cap Hill area to a house just South of DU, major life changes that will go down much easier if we know that we have a good bar within walking distance. Enter The Pioneer. I was worried that The Pioneer was just another college bar that would be packed with undergrads, so when the fiance suggested we check it out I was a little hesitant. Â Turns out my fears were for nothing and this place is pretty fantastic.
We ended up going in on a Tuesday evening, they have a $5 burrito special and happy hour runs til 7. It is a seat yourself place, but the second we sat down we were greeted by a waitress. Turns out we must have looked new, she gave us the run down quickly and grabbed our drinks. Throughout the evening the service was great, our waitress stopped to chat with us every chance she had, telling us about the neighborhood and really selling us on the place. At one point she even offered us Rockies tickets that someone had just dropped off at the bar.
The food itself was also very tasty, nothing spectacular, but delish for the price. I ended up with the $5 burrito special which is huge, I ate way more than I should have. We also got the chips and guca which were really tasty, the chips had been made fresh in the back.
I was happily surprised by my experience and can't wait to go back, I am feel much better about the new neighborhood.
For a bar next to campus with great beers and great beer specials, great American and Mexican food, a decent dining room and patio, and cool waitstaff - you don't see it packed with college kids often.
Pioneer is a great place to grab a quick lunch - the burrito specials on Monday and Tuesday are awesome at only $5. Or if you have a group of friends who want to relax and drink away the tension of the week, Pioneer has your back - but if the place starts hopping (Thursday night and weekend evenings), then you may have to wait. The servers are awesome and work their tails off, but it seems sometimes they are short staffed. Still, it is always worth a return trip.
The Pioneer is one of my favorite DU area gems. Not only are the margs amazing, they are at an amazing $3 during happy hour. If you arent a tequila person, they also offer great beer and well liquor specials as well.
The boyfriend and I come here often, and not only for the cocktails. The food is amazing! If you are a fan of garlic, get the chili rellenos. They have bits of garlic in them and are just flat out amazing. They have vegetarian chili and pork chili to smother their burritos. I respect a place that carries a vegetarian option for those who can't eat pork(me).
The service is friendly but can be hit or miss. Sometimes they seem understaffed and frazzled, but overall it's great!
They have Geeks Who Drink trivia on Wednesday nights and various tvs for sports. The Pioneer is always a great time.
So close to 4 stars, except for a couple of annoying things. Â For one, the parking situation is mediocre at best. Â Also, unless you are into PBR, there's no real 'deals' here outside of the happy hour, and I'm a 'deals' kinda guy - especially on the menu. Â You know how sometimes your having a couple of drinks, and you look at a menu and think, "I'm hungry, but I'm not $11 bucks for tacos hungry..." Â It's that. Â
Other than that, the staff is quick, friendly, and responsive. Â It's a college bar with a college bar feel, so that can be taken as a plus or minus, depending on your druthers.
I jokingly recommended stopping here and Mustard's with a friend on Super Bowl Sunday. Â Unfortunately, they obliged. Â And, we wound up there forever because other friends showed up. Â
Anyway, this is a great, divey bar with good prices on drinks, super friendly bartenders and awesome regulars. Â They were running a bit short on some of the liquor, (it was a Sunday after all) but they were also able to find good quality replacements in case we cleaned them out. Â
If I were closer, I'd stop in here quite a bit.
This is my neighborhood bar, but I don't come here just because it's convenient, but because they make an awesome margarita, offer a great happy hour, and tasty food (their salsas and nachos are the bomb). Â Great staff, these guys are super fun and engaging. Â By engaging, I mean they'll never turn down a shot. Â :-D
Try the Pioneer salad, if you're looking for a healthy treat...goat cheese, pumpkin seeds on fresh greens, topped with agave lime dressing...beats your usual bar food by far.
Yes it looks like a dive college bar, yes you can routinely hear "shots, shots, shots" yelled in the background. Â Is that all bad? No. Â The food is surprisingly delicious (salads, queso dip and wings are all must-trys) and the service is so very friendly.
Remember your friend from college who was always stoned, never shaved but could always be relied upon to make a killer drink? He mostly likely works here now, and all their staff routinely treat you like a good buddy.
If you have little kids, you'll feel at home between 5-7, when the place seems to briefly turn into Chucky Cheese and is overrun by young families that live around DU. Â Before and after that, the bar seems to settle into the type you'd expect close to a college campus. Â If a beer and nachos are what you are looking for, this place can't be beat.
The Pioneer is muy damn bueno.
Travelled to DU to hear a bass trombone quartet.  I didn't think such a thing was legal in Colorado.  I assumed four bass trombones  playing at once must surely mark the start of the apocalypse, so I figured I might as well see the end of all existence in person.
Anyway, we heard the Pioneer had awesome burgers, so stopped in for a Last Supper. Â
Instead, got sucked in to the Mexican food. Â Great chips and salsa. Â Chips clearly homespun... The shape's a giveaway... you'll see. Â Good carnitas, very good green chile.
And damn good house margs. Â Yeah, Â "house" is too often code for "crap tequila and Kool-aid we can get away with selling you" but these were truly worthy. Â Decent selection of mexican beers too.
And they were playing some seriously laid back R&B. Â Bonus points.
In the end, the trombones didn't end the universe, though I heard a crack in the time-space continuum. Â Thusly surviving another day, Â I'll be back.
Okay. Â Disclaimer time. Â
At the outset, I have to say that, despite my lousy rating, I love this place. Â I love the chips and guac. Â I love the battered cod fish tacos and the carne adobada tacos. Â I love the potent margs and the Guinness on tap. Â And I ESPECIALLY love the queso dip with crispy/spicy/salty/delicious chorizo sausage. Â
Now then...the REASON for my lousy rating....
The last time my wife and I had the hankerin' for some Pioneer yummy-ness, we didn't get to actually EAT OR DRINK anything. Â Yep. Â That's right. Â See, the service was so miserably bad that we found ourselves shlepping our son back across the parking lot before I could even sniff a margarita....or, the chorizo queso dip.
We had wandered in at 6-ish last Friday and the place was jumping. Â Cool. Â Good for them. Â Lots of families with kids and a few college die-hards, getting an early start on their nightly drinking.
Ahh, how I miss those days....but, I digress.
Anyway. Â We staked out a table that had recently been vacated and proceeded to wait....and wait....and wait....and wait....and wait. Â No-one came to bus the table, pick up the check sitting invitingly on the edge, or take a drink order...or, an order for chorizo queso dip.
Someone that, despite her server apron, I vaguely suspect wasn't actually a waitress, finally stopped by and asked if the half-slurped margarita on the table was ours, to which we responded, "no...we're just waiting for our server." Â So, without a word, she snatched the glass and disappeared...never to return. Â She didn't bring any chorizo queso dip, either.
And thus we resumed the long wait...
In short, after 30 minutes of waiting, we finally decided to seek our dinner elsewhere. Â And I didn't get any freaking chorizo queso dip, damnit!!! Â
Now, I would normally just chalk this up to a bad night or an unexpected sick-call by a staff member and leave Yelp out of it, but I talked to a buddy of mine who told me that, two weeks ago, he walked out of The Pioneer after waiting nearly an HOUR for service. Â And then my sister told me that last month when SHE Pioneer-ed it for a meal, she waited 45 minutes for the check!
That's three instances in less than a month...which, to me, denotes a pattern of miserable customer service. Â As such, The Pioneer's failings in this regard deserve to be plastered on the inter-web for all to judge.
Seriously, Pioneer, your chorizo queso dip is worth putting up with a lot, but if you're THAT damn busy hire more freaking waitstaff!!!
Damn, Pioneer, I totally underestimated you!
Lots of fellow grad students I know hit up the Pioneer on a fairly regular basis (usually beginning of the quarter, before we're swamped, then in the midst of the quarter, when we're trying to dull the stress), but I haven't had the inclination or time to go yet.
FINALLY... after finals, I went on a Tuesday night with my study (now drinking) group. OMG I'm so glad I don't live close enough to go on a regular basis! So good!
Highlights-- the chicken nachos are INCREDIBLE. Individually covered nachos, coated in cheese, chicken, beans. There may be avocado on it too, or maybe that's on the side. Anyway, I don't eat meat, but after scraping off the chicken and listening to my friends' reviews (the friend who ordered it + our meat-eating buddy), we all agreed the $10+ was worth it for these nachos.
The margaritas-- strong and cheap, just like my men (har har har...)
I had the mushroom, cheese, and avocado tacos (they're not called them but that's what was in them) which were super filling and tasty as well.
Everyone in our group enjoyed our meal, and while service was slower than I would have preferred, it was a Tuesday night after finals so we weren't in a rush. Plus, the place was packed, so I can understand. Friendly service and they were accommodating when we told them we needed to split the check 3 ways. Score!
We walked from my friend's place, but parking here is a cinch. There's parking in the front, on the side, and behind the Pioneer, and parking on the street if it's super packed.
I'll be back sooner than finals week, for sure!
Cool divey place. Â Heard the nachos were good and so we ordered them --- tasty. Â Our server was fast, helpful and really cool. Â There is a covered deck area where people can congregate and/or smoke. Â I don't smoke so I avoided it, but imagine it will be nice in the summer when it's not enclosed.
Down to earth, solid food and drinks, only issue was limited parking but oh well --- I'm not new to having to McGyver myself a spot somewhere.
Looking for a college dive bar?
this is the place to be!
After hearing awesome things about The Pioneer, Anna R and I decided to check it out on a spontaneous happy hour outing and were surprised to the following things:
1. No college kids. it was happy hour, and pretty much NO one under the age of 45 was there. what's wrong with that picture?
2. Awesome happy hour specials. for 3 beers, we paid $4. epic.
3. A friendly [and attractive, i might add] wait staff. all very attentive and interesting to talk with.
A place i would like to return to, maybe just not on a thursday afternoon! ha :)
This place has the best happy hour of any bar in the area, and really, the best of a lot of bars I've been too. Between 4-6 and 10-Midnight, draft beer is "2 for 1"...translation: you can get New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, and more great craft beer for for $2.25!
The staff is very friendly and conversational...I've never had a bad experience.
They have a great patio...the one issue I have (and the reason to take a star off) is that this is where smoking is allowed...so if you want to enjoy it, you enjoy it full of cigarette smoke (no offense smokers). Still, there's a pool table on the patio and it's open during the nicer months and insulated/heated during the colder ones, so even in December you can comfortably enjoy your beer on the patio and play some pool.
Bottom line is, this place has great deals, great staff, and a very nice set up. Just know what if you want to hang out on the patio, it's incredibly smokey.
The Pioneer has become our go to for happy hour proceeding work on  Fridays.  Not because it is convenient as hell, as there are tons of other bars in walking distance to the University, but because of the awesomely priced happy hour offerings.  Their happy hour and food is far superior to any of the other campus bars.
By no means should you be detered from this place at the idea that it is a college bar.  Not that there is anything wrong with college students, as I once was one and many of my friends are current graduate students, but  much of the clientele seem not to be college students.  Families come for dinner and alumni meet up to watch DU hockey games.  Considering the limited space around the bar, it is best that the clientele does not primarily consist of unruly college students. If that's what your looking for, I would hesitantly direct you to The Border or The Stadium. Â
In addition to the awesome hh which consists of half off on drafts, wells, and wines, the very social and attentive servers, and decent food offerings, they have plenty of TVs and a nice front patio to accomadate for the increased crowds.
Good: Happy hour. Â $3 margaritas, cheap food. The nachos are amazing. Â
OK: Tap list has a couple of decent microbrews, but only a couple.
Bad: Â Two people staffing the bar on a Saturday night is not enough. Â I get them being busy, it's Saturday. Â But to stand there for ten minutes and not even be acknowledged is too much. Â We left and went to Illegal Pete's. Â
Extra: No menu on their website. Â Lame. Â Or, if it's there, it's hard to find. Â Lame.
Here's what you need to know about me. #1, I love a comfy, casual bar with cheap drinks. #2, I really love me some tacos. So when I stopped by the Pioneer this past week, well, lets just say it was love at first sight.
I wouldn't categorize this as a dive bar -- it's a college bar. Nothing fancy or pretentious, the place focuses less on being trendy, and more on being comfortable. When you step inside you'll think it's been around forever, even though I think it's relatively new.
We stopped in for an early weeknight dinner, trying to escape the rush hour traffic on I-25. It was happy hour which meant half-off drafts, wells and house margaritas. I had a few margaritas, which were very tasty. They were pre-mixed but still surprisingly delicious. We also got chips & salsa which were house-made and very good. For dinner I choose the pork carnitas tacos. Three tacos, with some delicious, smokey, shredded pork on soft corn tortillas. They were so good! My hubby had the carnitas pork sloppy burrito, which was made with the same pork, mixed with rice and beans in a burrito, all smothered in chili verde. Delish! I usually try a bite of his (for the sake of Yelp, of course), but this was so good I kept on nibbling!
Bottom line, a surprising good Mexican joint hidden in a college bar facade. Great food and drinks will have us coming back.
No way Jose.  In my opinion, food was a  total fail.  Queso dip was oddly thick, semi warm, and not at all picante.  I was not imprssed at all with the tacos.  But service was pretty friendly, albeit a little slow.  And did the margaritas have minute maid orange juice in them? Â
Probably a good, friendly place to get your swerve on, but skip the food.
Sambuca and Coke is disgusting. Â It's right next to Crown Royal and Red Bull or the Rusty Nail as far as bad drink ideas go. Â But it's not the Pioneer's fault, it's not like it's on their menu or anything. Â If you order a bad drink they're happy to pour you one just like any decent bar would. Â
Their Margaritas were decent, I had a couple of the Originals and they were not too sweet or anything. Â Just Tequila, Lime, Salt, Ice and maybe just a couple of other things. Â That's exactly the way I like Margaritas. Â
I really liked their Tacos. Â I can't believe that there's been a decent taco place so close to my house for this long and I just finally made it in there. Â I tried both the Carnitas and the Al Pastor but the Al Pastor was the better of the two. Â
They make some pretty solid salsas that are not at all watery, although  the spicier one tasted like it had quite a bit of dried red peppers in it giving it that distinct slightly rusty slow burning flavor.  They also had a pretty good Guacamole which left little doubt that someone had been hacking away at fresh Avocados in the kitchen. Â
Their chips were the size of small dinner plates, so you have to break them down into manageable chunks, but they're yellow corn which makes up for the inconvenience. Â
All things considered, I'll definitely go back the next time I'm in the mood for some good tacos and a drink or several.
Can I just call this a college hangout? C'mon, it is a bit of a dive. Any place that has plastic surrounding the porch falls into that category for me.
But that said - the food is fantastic! Me and crazy.sexy.cool sought this place out the other night for some later-than-usual eats and it was packed, but we managed to grab a table by the door. I was surprised by their menu selection - lots of taco selections, and we settled on tacos al pastor and the carnitas. I thought the al pastor was tastier, topped with a citrus salsa. Mmmm. The guac was ok and 2 salsas were addicting - one was spicy, the other chipotle - accompanied by ginormous tortilla chips. And yes, it's annoying to pay for chips and salsa, but it was good enough that I can't complain. And the margs? Deceptively strong. Watch out.
I would def. come back to The Pioneer to try out some of their other tacos, enchiladas, and burritos.
Amazing Amazing Amazing tacos.
I have just returned from 2 years in Austin, Texas and thought I would never have a taco as good as I had there.... (shoutout to TacoDeli)
The Pioneer's are equally as good.
I went for lunch, so I don't know anything about the drinks, but I would say the reason to go to The Pioneer is the food menu. Â They're the caliber of tacos I just can't find anywhere else... The Al pastor, The Adobado (YUMMMMM)...
I'm not surprised that people are saying the drinks are a little pricey, but the food is so good that it's worth it.
Of course, parking sucks (but I had an easy time at lunch).
So the other reviews on here seem to go back and forth between calling The Pioneer a Dive Bar and Not a Dive Bar. Â The truth is, it's delicately situated between the two. You enter, and it feels like it should be a dive bar, but the floors aren't sticky and there's no trace of vomit to be found anywhere. You expect the service to be a bit slow, and the manner of staff-to-guest interaction to be a tad surly -- but service is prompt, and friendly. Â The decor screams "I'm almost a dive-bar! Â Almost!" and it is, almost, a dive-bar. It will be in a couple of years, but for now it's clean and tidy and it lacks the necessary dive-bar clientele of "the one guy who is always there, and always piss drunk because he's angry at something but is trying a little too had to seem happy" or TOGWIATAAPDBHAASBITALTHTSH for short.
Most people are right, it's a little spendy. It's higher priced than you would expect, but the food is tasty, the drinks are okay (a little overpriced -- $7 for my ladyfriend's cucumber cooler, and The Pioneer Margarita was on the weak side.) I had a carne asada messy burrito, and the ladyfriend had the veggie one -- both are solid burritos. Tasty, enjoyable, Â and large. Think Chipotle + a few ounces.
We missed happy hour (though I'm not sure when happy hour actually is) but it's supposedly less spendy, with half priced drinks. At half priced and 50% more liquor, I could see the value. However, just cheap is always a draw as well.
It's worth noting that parking around here is horrendous. Â It's the DU area, after all -- finding quality parking within a 20 block radius of the DU campus is more difficult than swimming to the moon. So enjoy your three mile walk back to your car in the one non-1hour parking spot you happened to find.
Good food, pleasant staff. I must mention, my favorite part about being there was that at the end of the meal, I was able to just...talk with my ladyfriend. No interruptions from the server or staff -- they wordlessly cleared our plates from the table, and just kind of sensed when we were ready for the check. They did this flawlessly, and it's hard to do! They didn't pester us with trying to get us to order dessert, just kind of knew when we were ready to go, and gave us time and space to chat and enjoy digestion (my 2nd favorite part after ingestion!!) So kudos to the staff for that.
A total bill of $49 w/tip was a touch higher than I had anticipated, but it was worth it to try a new place. Â I'll be going back, but it's a little expensive for me to be a regular (regular eater anyway.) I'll just have to make sure next time my fat derriere graces the Pioneer with it's voluminous and soon-to-be-burrito-filled presence, I'll have to go during happy hour!
I'll admit to having a bit of a crush on this place. Not quite love, but definitely infatuation. It's a comfortable place to grab a drink or three and/or a casual dinner that far surpasses typical bar food. The Pioneer also hosts Geeks Who Drink pub quiz on Wednesdays and it's a lively crowd - no library vibe here!
I was very pleased to find my favorite kind of chips and salsa - nice, crispy tortillas, fried up whole and ready for you to crunch into chips. They come with two kinds of flavorful salsa. The Mexican-based menu offers a vegetarian (mushrooms and poblano peppers) option for the burritos, tacos and enchiladas. I thoroughly enjoyed the tacos and will be back for more. The guac was perfect. Although the prices seem high at first ($8 for the taco plate), the quality of the food definitely justifies the price. When I think of all the mediocre, greasy, uninspired bar food that I've spent at least $8 on, I'm even more impressed.
The specialty drink menu had one offering I couldn't resist and I'm glad I didn't. The Cactus Colada is a mixture of tequila, pina colada mix, and pineapple juice. All blended with ice and topped with grenadine (two out of three times - oops) it made for a delicious cocktail.
I've taken off one star for a few, minor issues. Parking is tight and not very well planned. The enclosed patio is immediately adjacent to the main dining/bar area and the smoke pours in, even reaching the back of the restaurant. And our waitress was friendly but forgot us a few times and even forgot to bring some of our drinks once.
I wouldn't call this a dive bar at all. Â It's actually really, really fancy for being marketed as a college bar, but still doesn't come close to being a "date spot." Â And that basically defines the Pioneer.
The food is very well done--tacos and dips have almost a fusion feel to them by blending some bizarre ingredients together, margaritas are good and varied, the place is incredibly clean (okay yeah it's new) and the wait staff is incredibly friendly. Â On the other hand, it's kind of out of the way, rather expensive and doesn't have a die-hard following like the rest of DU bars. Â
It's good for a celebration, but probably not for a hangout.
It's good stuff.
A great happy hour after class/work, and another late one. Can't beat half price drinks.
I guess they make up their profit in food prices. It's delicious, but damned expensive.
Avoid the turned up noses (and business students) at Jordan's, the drunks at The Stadium, the kiddies at The Border and head to The Pioneer.
Tacos and Margaritas!
You've got my attention. Located near a university, now you've got me headed your way.
Nothing I like more than cheap college food.
The location is great, the atmosphere is good . The outdoor seating is always a nice attraction. They've done a nice job converting from a Chinese restaurant. This place has great potential to be the college hang out.
Unfortunately, at this point, the prices are way too high for what it is. 3 tacos for $8-9 is a little pricey. Simple economics work in college towns. Sell lots for cheap, instead of less for more. Â Their house margaritas are decently priced however at $5.50 and half price happy hour after between 10pm and 12am on weeknights really makes the margs worthwhile. If they don't change their food prices, just hit up the Wendy's value menu, down a block before you hit up "The Pioneer" margaritas.
You can see that this is the first review of "The Pioneer'. This bar is still working out some kinks but has great potential to be one of the best bars around DU. Hopefully a slight change in economics will grant this place huge success. I plan to be back after they've had a few weeks to get into the flow.
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