If you’re visiting Breckenridge and looking to save on dining, happy hours can be a great option. Actually, even if you could care less about saving money, Breckenridge happy hour is a great dining option. Many restaurants offer amazing deals on food and drinks, so it gives you a chance to sample more of their menus for less. On a recent visit we took advantage of Breck happy hours almost every night we dined out. Some we felt like we should have ordered more, as the portions were pretty small. And others were full sized meals that had us leaving completely full. Most of the happy hours in Breckenridge end at 6:00 PM but there are some that offer late night happy hours as well. We don’t mind eating that early, and we have two young kids so we didn’t take advantage of the late night deals.
The following Breckenridge restaurants aren’t meant to be a complete list of Breck happy hours. These are places we’ve personally visited and are willing to recommend. In our opinion they are some of the best Breckenridge happy hours available. We know there are many more than this and we’ll update as we visit them. But we promise you won’t be disappointed with anything you find below. We truly had better food and service during happy hour at a couple of these restaurants than we’ve had at places we paid triple the price for.
One last thing before we get to the Breck restaurants. Our food photography is a work in progress and not always easy to do with hungry kids at the table. And honestly, sometimes the food looks so good we just forget to snap a photo before we dig in. We promise, our lack of food photography skills doesn’t affect the flavor of these amazing dishes. Now on to our favorite Breckenridge happy hours.
Aurum Food & Wine Breckenridge Happy Hour
This list of Breck happy hours isn’t meant to be from our favorite to least favorite. It absolutely isn’t that since we really think they’re all great. With that said, we had to list Aurum Food & Wine Breckenridge at the top. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in a very long time. Aurum was a fine dining experience with a laid back and comfortable vibe. A level of service on par or above some of the best restaurants we’ve ever dined at. The kind of food that puts a smile on your face with every bite and at times might make you say “holy sh*t this is amazing”. And yes, that is true. Those words might have come out of my mouth on more than one occasion.
We Came for the Burgers
It’s true, we went to Aurum for the burgers, but more about them in just a little bit. We actually started our meal with a shared plate that wasn’t on the happy hour menu. I know, this is supposed to be about Breckenridge happy hours, but we just couldn’t resist the Korean Beef Tartare. Scallion, Furikake Rice Puff, Ginger Cream, Miso Egg Yolk and Kimchi. Nope, we had no problem drifting away from the happy hour menu after seeing that. Hendrix (our youngest) can’t eat egg, so he missed out. But the rest of us were in heaven at the start of our dinner.
No, that delicious looking steak isn’t on the happy hour menu, but our kids ordered from the Aurum kids menu so we thought we’d share. Now this isn’t what you would expect from a kids menu. Hendrix got this grilled hanger steak, and Addison (our oldest) got the seared trout. Both dishes put every other restaurants kids menu to shame. Now obviously we can’t really say “every” restaurant, but surely any we have ever been to. And we’ve ordered a lot of kids meals in the last eight years. They both finished everything in front of them and Hendrix was proud to show off his “happy plate”.
Oh Yeah, That Burger
I have to start out by saying, we love burgers. If you’ve read other posts on our site you’ve probably seen it mentioned. Or if you follow us on Instagram you’ve probably seen them pop up in our stories from time to time. We’re a burger loving family that always seeks out the best when we travel. We know a good burger, and we’ve had a lot of really good ones. The burger at Aurum Food & Wine Breckenridge was the best burger we’ve ever had. Not best burger on this trip, or even this year. It was the best burger of our lives. Nothing even comes close to the French Onion Burger on Aurum’s happy hour menu. The burger itself has Caramelized Onion Jam, Roasted Garlic Aioli, and Gruyere; pretty simple right? Don’t let the small list of ingredients fool you. Everything works perfectly together to make what could seriously be the best burger in the country. It also comes with a side of fries (lemon parmesan or bacon fat), lettuce, tomato and a house pickle.
This is a burger with a normal price of $28, which we would have no problem paying. However, during happy hour it’s only $16. Yes, you read that correctly. For only $16 you can have a complete meal that features the best burger you will ever eat. The taste is amazing, and for that price it’s probably the best Breckenridge happy hour deal you’ll find.
But Wait, There’s More
We don’t always order dessert, and like the Korean Beef Tartare it wasn’t on the happy hour menu. But, how do you skip dessert at a place that has already served you such amazing food? Also, just because we’re visiting during happy hour it doesn’t mean we need to stick to just that menu. You take advantage of the deals on some great food and you explore the rest of the menu as well. We ordered the Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreo Mud Pie and a Sorbet. Hendrix had the sorbet all to himself and the rest of us shared the other two. All were good, the chocolate chip cookies were our favorite. Warm and soft, they were just cookies, but again an item that made you smile as you ate them. Paired with Milk Jam, Cookie Dough, and Whipped Cream; they were the perfect dessert to end a great meal.
If you’re visiting Breckenridge, Aurum should be on your list of places to dine. A lot of places don’t take reservations for happy hour, but they do. Be sure to plan early and make a reservation. Aurum Food & Wine Breckenridge fills up fast and you don’t want to miss out on this amazing Breck happy hour. We know we’ll be back every time we’re in town.
BoLD Breckenridge Happy Hour
Another one of our favorites, and not our first time here; BoLD Restaurant and Bar has an outstanding happy hour selection. We discovered BoLD during our Last Minute Colorado Skate Trip last year and made sure it was our first stop this summer. With happy hours between 2 – 4 p.m. daily, BoLD has one of the earlier Breckenridge happy hours. So it tends to work best as a late lunch after a morning of activities. We think it’s the perfect place to relax with some good food and drinks after a long day on the mountain.
What We Ate
BoLD’s Breckenridge happy hour offers burgers, sandwiches and wraps for $12. They also offer discounted appetizers, shared plates, and drinks. This visit to BoLD was a lot like our visit last year. In fact, I think everything we ordered was exactly what we got last summer. It’s not that we don’t like trying new things, because we absolutely do. But, we were so impressed with our first visit that we wanted to do it all over again. After all, it had been a year since we ate any of it, so not like we repeated a meal from the same trip.
Like our previous visit to BoLD, we started off with the charcuterie board. A mix of cured meats, cheeses and a jam that had us asking if they sold it in jars. Everything on the charcuterie board is good, but the jam they serve with it steals the show. It’s seriously good and pairs perfectly with everything else. For our main dishes we went with the BoLD burger, Mediterranean steak sandwich, and a couple items off the kids menu. The kids menu items are good, but it’s closer to what you would expect from kids menu items. They weren’t some generic kids meal, but weren’t the hanger steak we had from Aurum. They fell somewhere in the middle and and there were no complaints from either kid. Plus they both end up stealing from our plates and sharing the appetizers, so they’re never just dining off the kids menu.
The BoLD burger is good, but after eating the Aurum burger it will be hard going back to it. That’s not meant to be a knock on it at all, because we really did enjoy it. So, if you’re dining at BoLD it’s worth trying. Just don’t eat the Aurum burger first, because everything else after it just won’t compare. The real star of our meal was the Mediterranean steak sandwich. It really does look like a hot mess in our photo, but it explodes with flavor in every bite. Shaved beef sirloin, roasted peppers and onion, chimichurri sauce, and Swiss cheese on a toasted garlic amoroso roll; this sandwich from BoLD is a must try.
Final Thoughts on BoLD’s Breckenridge Happy Hour
Overall, BoLD’s Breckenridge happy hour delivers. Price wise it’s not the most amazing happy hour deal in town. What they might somewhat lack in savings, they more than make up for in flavor and quality of food. BoLD is one of our favorite Breck happy hours and we’ll continue to visit them anytime we’re in town. If you’re looking for a really good place to eat you shouldn’t think twice about giving them a try.
Hearthstone Restaurant
For Breckenridge happy hours, Hearthstone is both hard and easy for us to write about. This will take just a little bit of explaining, so please bear with me here. On the day we decided to visit, Addison had spent most of the day at the Breckenridge skatepark. After skating, all of us walked around Main St. for a while. That was until it started raining and we needed to find somewhere to go. We had the great idea to make this the day we visited Hearthstone. When we arrived, the staff thought we were there for dinner service and not happy hour. Our mistake, because we didn’t mention it and didn’t know happy hour was served in the lounge. We ended up in the main dining room. A very fancy main dining room. Remember that girl that skated all day and the rain that started falling? Well, needless to say, we were well underdressed for the area we were in. The happy hour area ended up being full, but instead of making us order off the dinner menu the staff served us happy hour in the main dining area.
So, the hard part of writing about this Breck happy hour is we can’t really speak to the service of the Hearthstone happy hour area. We experienced a happy hour that many probably don’t get to. Now the easy part to write about is the service we did receive, and the food we ate. Both were outstanding, but the service really stood out. We aren’t going to lie; we felt a little embarrassed sitting in that room with how underdressed we were. I’m not saying we looked gross or anything, but we were wet and pretty casual. There was literally a couple in a wedding gown and tuxedo at the table next to us. But even though the Richardson family was casual as can be, the staff didn’t treat us any differently. In fact, after apologizing to our server for our mistake and our casual appearance, the manager of Hearthstone personally came over to assure us we had nothing to worry about. This made us feel a lot better and got our focus back to what we were there for, the food.
Our Hearthstone Happy Hour Selections
The happy hour food at Hearthstone is all small plates. But that’s okay, it allows you to try a range of items off of their menu. Just don’t go there expecting to order one thing and get a full size meal like other places. Go there with a plan to sample a few different items. We weren’t planning for a big meal so this worked out perfectly for us and we were happy to try multiple plates.
All of us shared the small plates except Hendrix. Beef tenderloin tips off the kid’s menu were his choice, and they were on the same level as the Aurum kid’s meals. Again, this was something you don’t find on many restaurant menus for kids. His options are often limited because of an egg allergy, but this kid felt like he was eating like a king at these restaurants.
While Hendrix was enjoying his high-end kid’s meal, the rest of us dove into our shared plates. Our selections included a spicy fish tostada, Navajo fry bread with prime beef tips, beef tip steamed buns and grilled watermelon ceviche. Everything was presented beautifully with a taste that matched the amazing presentation. We do have to apologize for not having more pictures of the food. With our situation mentioned above, we were doing our best not to attract more attention to ourselves. Plus, it was the kind of food that looks so good it’s hard to remember to snap a photo before digging in. You’ll just have to trust us on this one. Nothing we ordered disappointed, and all of us had our own personal favorites. That’s actually one of the great things about these small plates. We had the chance to enjoy everything while each person had one that really stood out to them.
Hearthstone Breckenridge Final Thoughts
Our happy hour visit might have been a little different than most, but the end result was the same great food. We look forward to visiting Hearthstone again next time we visit Breckenridge, but next time we’ll make sure we sit in the right area. When you combine the extraordinary service, delicious food, and great views from the restaurant, it’s impossible not to recommend a visit to Hearthstone Restaurant. This is another place that can get very busy, so be sure to plan ahead, but make sure you give them a try. The more we think about it we might have to visit twice next time. Once for the happy hour and another to try what looked like an amazing dinner service.
Is That All The Breckenridge Happy Hours?
This certainly is not all the happy hours available in Breckenridge, and it’s not all that we’ve ever visited. It’s the beginning of a list of our favorite Breck happy hours. Some just weren’t worth putting on the list and there are many we have never been to. We visit Breckenridge often, so as we find new favorites we’ll be updating this post. And if you have some favorites of your own please feel free to share them in the comments below. We’re always looking for suggestions on great places to eat in Breckenridge.