5° of separation

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Denver is evolving, and with it the nightlife is starting to grow some serious legs. Our geography tends to set us back, usually not catching up to the latest trends until long after the fact. However, the time lapse allows club owners to piecemeal concepts from several successful entities, creating an amalgam of both coasts; slowly building an identity for the Denver market.

François Safieddine and his Lotus Concepts is one of the key players in the manipulation of the landscape. While Suite 200, Monarck and 24K have become the slick hipster hubs of the city, around the corner 5° has really thrust the boîte-going crowd into walking upright.

Food: Bar food doesn’t exist in the club world. People paying $9 a-drink don’t want peanuts. Club owners around the world realized long ago you cannot just put forth a night of carousing— you must provide a complete experience. With that several partnerships formed by melding the culinary world with the night crawlers. Safieddine is one of the first in town to truly grasp what it is to provide everything at one place.

He enlisted restaurant consulting firm W Design and entrenched Amuse by Michael in to 5°. Amuse is renowned Chef Michel Wahaltere’s brainchild, taking simple European dishes and filling them with flavor, but still keeping things light overall— nobody needs a food coma before a night out. Many plates are designed for sharing, revving the energy for the night to come; interaction is the name of this game. The prices are reasonable, but the best bet is to opt for several appetizers— you’ll get more bang for your buck while tasting more of Wahaltere’s wild flavor combinations.

Décor: Wahaltere and Safieddine worked with Denver-based designer Jeffrey Elliot to create what they describe as a “timeless and naturally elegant,” space. That might be close, but most importantly they created something that was versatile. The dining room is small, making it intimate for dinner and not intrusive when the cocktails start taking over. The main room uses a lit wall of bottles as its ocular focal point, and provides a comfortable seclusion even while the large windows look out over the busybodies on 15th Street. The place to be though is the outdoor patio, even on colder nights (they have heaters). The bar is a little chinsy but it does its job. Occasionally a Denver diva will get things moving a little bit in the open air, but by no means is this a dance club.

Drinks: An extensive wine selection is available with dinner, but this is a mixed drink crowd— Grey Goose and martinis are the norm. Bottle service will get you a guaranteed seat and a little notoriety to boot. Drinks run around $9 and bottles go on an average of $175.

Vibe: Once you get past the beast of a doorman that is rather impressed with himself, the night should be solid. As stuffy as the ape at the front gate is, it might be a necessary evil as it weeds out the riffraff. It is very obvious what kind of crowd 5° wants inside, and perhaps this front is purposely in place to deter beer-bonging frat boys ready for a round of Jager bombs.

Sexy can often be confused with pretentiousness, everything in 5° is the former. The crowd, the cocktail waitresses, the bartenders and the design– all gorgeous. Dinner can be a little more lax than the night, but as the sun goes down, the appeal goes up. You won’t see a lot of people over-imbibing either, as this place brands its elegance, not inebriation. That said, it’s not for everyone. But if you are looking for an upscale experience, from dinner to late night socializing, 5° is the answer.

Insider tip: Go for a late dinner, that way you have already staked your claim on a table as the lounge takes shape. Seating can be tight otherwise without bottle service.

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