DENReview
Federal Bar & Grill
Walk into Federal Bar and Grill, and you might feel as though John Taffer and his band of Bar Rescue juggernauts were just there. There’s a strategically placed popcorn machine designed to increase your thirst quotient by 33.4%. There is ping pong and Trivial Pursuit on hand to ensure the average customer buys 1.4 more rounds of beers while in the heat of competition. Even the staff plays the blue-collar, down-on-their-luck, but clearly possessing a heart-of-gold, role.
Three straight weekends watching non-stop Spike TV neither confirmed nor denied this origin story but we don’t care - Federal Bar & Grill is damn good.
Take a quick look at the menu and you will see this isn’t a bunch of dumb- downed munchies administrated by a hack cook (with a heart of gold) who can’t work the fryolater. Thought was put into the food, and the execution is commendable. In fact, we’re comfortable saying Federal Bar and Grill fits into the “better than most bar food but not quite as good as Fruition” category we just created.
Its location is also key. The Mile High/Jefferson Park-area is starting to see Highlands-like rent, but places to walk to and have a good meal are still few and far between. That’s changing with additions like Sarto’s and Federal Bar & Grill. So you better buy in this area now, and by that I mean someone please make me an offer on the house I bought 7 years ago nearby. I need an exit.