The Den

Atmosphere is nice. It seems like this place is trying really hard to be a club even though it isn’t really there yet. Perhaps it is also that it is at the same time trying to be upscale without the consist crowd that such a place would need. The drinks feel overpriced for what you get. And the music is super loud, don’t try to have a conversation here.
They do some pretty cool things with drinks though. Over all not a bad spot for a drink or even a bit of dancing.

This place is closed on Saturday night. It looks like skylight has taken all of there business. Oh well I did not need another club that was going to be like the others I have been at since coming to New Mexico. I wish I could find some upscale lounges like Casa Escencia in ABQ. What stinks is that place is only open on Fridays.

Potential I say but you guys shouldn’t run out of main booze on a Friday at 9:30pm. I tried to order their Ginger Lemon Drop which was on the menu… I also had to point out that your «one» bathroom needs to be re-​stocked with hand paper towels… The first DJ was awesome then at 10:30pm the mixing was a bit overdone for my taste.
Drinks were good and $ 26 for 3 drinks… standard ClubLounge price range.
The décor also looked nice but perhaps the lighting could improve, I don’t like seeing the wear and tear of the carpet or furniture, seems like a spot light was highlighting it which made it look a bit tacky.
Having TVs in a Lounge showing Sports late Friday night to me dooesnt put me in the clubbing kind of mood, why not have something else on, like shadow dancers or music videos?
Possible some folks love the sports featured TVs… I don’t.
On the upside, the bartender went to the bar upstairs to fetch a Campari of which they ran out of (?) so my hubby could have the drink he wanted and he also was restocking the paper towels immediately after I pointed it out.
Not sure how long the Den has been open but perhaps they are still working out a few kinks.
Overall I definitely recommend it as it seems to be pretty much the only place of its kind around downtown and it had a decent vibe with great Electronica music at least in the earlier hours.
The other plus was they had Hangar Vodka which is one of the best brands in my opinion.
The menu was lid which made it easy to read without blinding ones eyes. Thanks for that:)

Standard dance club reduction in expectations for this review, but even then only 3 stars. I’m hoping my and my wife’s experience was not normal. If it was, this place could be worth repeating.
We went early on a Friday night (meaning 9:30pm) and stayed till 11pm, which is about when the crowd and music turned too far downward, so that’s when we punched out. Other notes:
— Music: was great from 9:30 — 10:30pm when they had these 2 DJs (never seen 2 DJs working the same sound board at the same time before) inter-​mixing at the same time. Started more-​or-​less upbeat lounge and shifted to a danceable pop/​EDM blend, which is what you’d expect at a dance lounge vs. a club. Took a serious downward turn with the next DJ, who couldn’t read the audience (here’s a clue: play what makes people dance and stop playing what makes people stop dancing), couldn’t stick with one genre for more than a song, and kept going back to hardcore hip-​hop every chance he could (which is usually when people, meaning girls at this time of the day, stopped dancing). So I’m sure he thinks this is his art and we should all deal or leave, so we left.
— Environment: looked like a place that was just closing (trash on floor, dirty carpets, no hand towels in bathroom, dirty bathroom, etc.) rather than just opening. The manager should be tossed for opening in such a condition. Better to turn the lights way down and hope no one notices, but the place was actually way too bright in the central area that doubles as a dance floor. The rest of the place was fine, more-​or-​less; there were attempts at making it look upscale, which I appreciated. It’s not a big place, and it gets onlookers from the street staring at people in the club, which was a bit weird, but the décor makes for a decent lounge. I’d also suggest turning off sports on the TVs when trying to be a club, girls usually don’t like it and it makes the place too bright, but maybe one of the workers had money on the Australian-​rules football game. And fix the digital fire above the bar – it is a cool idea, but it was hopping and stuttering every 3 – 5 seconds, which made it annoying to look at for anything more than a passing glance.
— Drinks: $ 26 for 3 top shelf drinks, which was fine for us because we live in downtown San Diego. Also and like my earlier comment, they were already out of key alcohols and ingredients (like they had already been open all weekend and ran low; oh, wait, it was FRIDAY). Apparently someone missed an inventory check. Hard to be offer craft cocktails as someone mentioned with a very limited area in which to store alcohol (basically, just in the wells) and being out of several basic ingredients. Thankfully, the bartender got a fresh bottle of Campari from upstairs so I could have one of the drinks I wanted, but why just get the last missing item and not the first one? At least they had Hangar Mandarin vodka and my Negroni was excellent. Oh, don’t expect to get many ideas from their very limited drink menu or by looking at bottles – there are none to look at.
— Crowd: standard no-​dress-​code mix of well-​dressed (usually girls) to gangsta (usually guys). Folks seemed pleasant enough, but people tended to come in clusters (all women, mixed, all men), so the crowd morphed every 15 minutes. We left before the crowd could go truly bad, which is unfortunately what often happens when the music goes hardcore hip-​hop and the crowd goes mostly male, which is where it was headed by 11pm. Usually hip-​hop clubs turn ugly around 12:30am, so hopefully just an off night.

I need some tribal tattoos and a boyfriend that has a serious case of being a douchebag if I ever plan on enjoying this place. It’s dark, there is one pisser for the ENTIRE joint and the bro-​dudes walk around in tshirts tighter than I wear to workout in and I’m 105lbs. It’s the kind of place that has to enforce a dress code for guys so you keep out the gun toting testosterone looking to roofie some poor girls drink, losers out… or to Dillards to buy a shirt that fits.
Next please.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! It is small, yet intimate and it’s easy to make friends with! I visited here on my birthday and the bartender, Aaron, made sure it was a memorable one! Flaming shots were impressive! When we went outside to smoke he saved our spot at the bar. The DJ was super nice and took all of my requests… naturally :) This is one of the coolest places I’ve been to– laid back, but classy, great music, mixology on point, pyrotechnics and unmatched service!

The Den has pretty much taken over the downtown night scene since the Rouge Cat closed its doors. When my boyfriend and I got there around 11:45 on a Friday, the place was packed but lo! no cover charge, yay! The drinks were a little on the pricey side ($ 18 for a tequila sunrise and a tumbler of Jim Beam) but what do you expect from a club? Someone else in a previous review mentioned them setting shots on fire. Next time I’ll try one. The music was a good blend of current pop hits and 90’s classics, all with more of a house – rather than techno – mix. The atmosphere was good, the people were, for the most part, friendly and willing to take turns resting on the several couches that lined the walls. Overall, not a bad place to party and dance or just sit sipping a drink and people-​watch.

They light shots on fire.
I was sold on that alone. I’m not THAT hard to please.
Also, cute bartenders and fancy backlit drink menus.
It’s a bit small, and there’s a fair amount of seating (couches/​ottomans [ottomen?]) and hostesses so if you get there early enough you can have a couple drinks and let the party develop around you.
Not much of a dance floor, more like an extra wide walkway between the couches and the bar where people are dancing and standing around.
It’s a cool spot though. The club scene in Santa Fe is pretty dry aside from The Den.
So if that’s what you’re looking for, this is as good as it gets.

Having lived on Santa Fe for most my life, I am wholly converted as until this night, I thought there was not much of a night life after 11. This place was bumpin. (how bumpin was it, you ask???) It was so bumpin that when I shouted my order of a soda and a Margarita and got a beer and some potent orange drank instead, I didn’t even complain. I just felt grateful that I could even have alcohol after midnight and thought about all those poor people outside who were just now sobering up, or sitting down to watch tv at home. Hell, I’m flattered the bartender even noticed me at all with such an attractive looking crowd moshing between barstools just to get a glance. Everyone there was really friendly (knock on wood that it stays that way). The average age was probably 25 but ranged from 21 to well… to about old-​ass me…(the sophisticated 30 something wearing a sportcoat and cufflinks and watching my wife take a sip and practically spew that horrific orange drank all over them). I’m hardly exaggerating when i say, everyone was there. I don’t know anyone in Santa fe anymore and i knew four people.

Great place for a craft cocktail. The bartender/​owner has a lot of really cool ideas and has done a lot of research coming up with his recipes. They also utilize a lot of cool little tricks and tools for a unique cocktail experience.
The menus are backlit which is neat. He has a lot of unique infused liquors… they have a cotton candy machine for making cotton candy that incorporates itself into a few drinks…
They utilize those cool spherical globe ice cubes, a smoker/​diffuser, flavor «sprays», whipped cream makers to make cool foams out of interesting things… liquid nitrogen, etc.
The vibe is a little bit strange as it is supposed to be kinda like class/​club-​like atmosphere but like MMA fights were on when we were there which was weird. Also there is not free wifi which kinda stinks because i had no phone signal at all there.
wish this was in albuquerque! Definitely somewhere to check out for cool inventive drink.

Coldest Martini’s in town… try all the delicious drinks these guys have to offer! They even show football during the day, awesome sauce!