Punch Bowl Social Preview

With a 360-degree bar, eight bowling lanes, private karaoke rooms, and a celebrity chef–driven menu of original cocktails and southern-inspired recipes, Punch Bowl Social has a little something for everyone. The Denver-based restaurant with additional locations in Ohio, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, and Oregon opens here tomorrow, sporting a décor described as “dirty modern” by CEO and founder Robert Thompson. The interior mixes industrial, Victorian, and mountain-lodge designs for a space that’s trendy and appealing to the masses. And because Punch Bowl Social covers 23,000 square feet (of the former Nordstrom space inside Circle Centre), the masses can fit inside Punch Bowl Social comfortably. “Punch Bowl was designed in such a way that we can host multiple private parties at once,” Thompson says.

One of the signature spaces inside the restaurant is the Holiday Lodge, an inviting space with a fireplace and leather chairs and sofas.

Other notable features include two Bocce ball courts, multiple ping pong and pool tables, and eight bowling lanes.

A Bonzini foosball table was imported from Italy.

Private karaoke rooms get the party started.

Thompson calls the 360-degree wrap-around bar the “Ferrari engine of the restaurant.”

Beverage director Patrick Williams oversees a roster of craft beverages, local artisanal spirits, specialty cocktails, and housemade punch bowls like The Bachelor’s Bowl, made with bourbon, elderflower liqueur, pineapple guava tea, and lemon juice. The El Macho cocktail is mixed with tequila, cucumber, and fresh-squeezed lime juice, and the Beets Me contains bourbon, beet syrup, Fuji apple tea, and lemon.

The food features recipes created by celebrity chef Hugh Acheson, a judge on Top Chef and Punch Bowl’s designated culinary partner. “We really wanted to showcase the simplicity of southern food,” says Acheson. “This type of food is often built for speed or shortcuts, but we want to make sure it’s not. We want to focus on the content of the food.” Dishes include a crispy chicken biscuit with spicy honey sauce and butter pickles, a pimento cheese platter that includes toasted Pullman bread for dipping, and confit ribs with house red barbecue sauce, coleslaw, and  fries.

Punch Bowl Social open its doors September 24; click here for more information.