Pubs are great. We all love a good pub. Hooray for pubs.
Sometimes, though, the standard Denver pub vibe — TV sports, Golden Tee video games, hot wings — gets stale. Kraine Station provides a much-needed change: A regular, friendly pub suffused with fierce Ukrainian pride.
Sitting in the middle of a quiet block of Blake Street, Kraine Station looks from the outside like a doppelganger of every other downtown sports bar. Exposed brick? Check. Neon beer signs? Yep. The blue glow of big-screen TVs displaying athletic events? You’d better believe it.
Once through the door, it’s the details that hint at the bar’s true nature. One large painting depicts a coat of arms with the Tryzub, the Ukrainian trident, flanked by a lion and a man in traditional dress. A stage at the back is decorated in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. And above the bar is a glorious selection of Ukrainian beers, all cheerfully described by the bartender.
Belly up to the bar with an Obolon and drink in the music: A Ukrainian pop hit plays for every English-language tune that comes on the sound system. On Friday and Saturday nights, Kraine Station doubles as a raucous sing-along piano bar, too.
A few unexpected surprises hide upstairs. A collection of old-school video games creates a miniature arcade, complete with another bar and a pool table. The selection is familiar to the vintage gamer: Donkey Kong, Centipede, Ms. Pac-Man and a few other classics. A change machine keeps the quarters coming without bugging the bartenders.
The game room is adorned with black-and-white photos from Coney Island, which makes sense because Coney Island has a boardwalk with lots of games, too. Think about it a second longer, though, and it fits right in with everything else at Kraine Station — Coney Island is home to large Ukrainian and Russian communities.
Kraine Station does the pub thing well, stocking all the requisite beers and providing the proper sporty ambience. Anyone looking for a standard night out in LoDo will be satisfied. But adding that Ukrainian twist just makes it a little quirkier, a little more worldly and a little more, well, fun.
The tip:
In addition to a menu of Ukrainian specialties, Kraine Station began the “Kansas City Meat Parade” this week: Every Wednesday, the kitchen will serve up smoky Kansas City barbecue, including ribs, pork chops and Kansas City strip steaks.
KRAINE STATION The Ukrainian-themed pub in LoDo is open from noon to 2 a.m. daily — though it may close earlier on very quiet nights. Happy hour: 5-7 p.m. daily; $1 off Eastern European beers. 1434 Blake St.; 303-825-4501;
