6 minute read
Cover story: Peeking inside some eyecatching Vegas bars
IN THE DRINK DETAILS
FROM PUNK ROCK REALNESS TO CRYSTALLINE DECADENCE, THESE VALLEY BARS HAVE A WHOLLY UNIQUE LOOK
Think back to last year, when we were all stuck at home and dreaming of the day we’d be able to drink together in public again. How did you imagine it? Did you remember what it was like to enjoy drinks in a place with character, a place where the furniture, decor and general vibe was as intoxicating as what was in your glass? These Las Vegas Valley bars are those boozy dreams personified—and they’re waiting for you now.
THE GOLDEN TIKI
The Golden Tiki isn’t subtle. When you serve drinks with umbrellas in them, you need to go big with the decor, which this Chinatown hot spot emphatically does. Look around at the rock fountains, the carved idols, the starry ceiling, the black velvet paintings, the halfshell Instagram backdrop, the cabinet of celebrity shrunken heads and more, and try not to let your head swim. It’s a deluge of tropical kitsch, and you’ll need that umbrella to weather it. 3939 Spring Mountain Road, 702-222-3196, thegoldentiki.com.
D R I N K I N T H E D E T A I L S
REBAR
ReBar owner Derek Stonebarger loves many things, but in his Arts District spot, two in particular stand out: He loves making friends and making deals. Is this place a vintage shop that includes a bar, or the other way around? Whatever it is, you could walk in and buy a cheap (but premium!) beer, a vintage bike, an Olympic Garden neon sign—or even none of that; you could just hang out—and ReBar will live up to your every expectation. 1225 S. Main St,, 702-998-8777, rebarlv.com.
MINUS5 ICEBAR
Las Vegas’ summers are getting hotter and drier, but this Mandalay Bay spot is keeping a cool head about it. To be precise, minus 5 degrees Celsius/23 degrees Fahrenheit. With its tables, chairs, decorations and even glasses sculpted from 90 tons of ice, Minus5 Icebar looks like nothing else in this city—and little else on this planet. Once you’ve put on your heavy coat and stepped up to the frozen bar, you feel like you’ve entered a fantasy world. The experience continues with slightly different locations at the Venetian and Linq Promenade. 3930 Las Vegas Blvd S., 702-740-5800, minus5experience.com.
CHANDELIER BAR
You frankly haven’t lived until you’ve enjoyed a cocktail inside a chandelier that’s 44 feet tall and approximately 75 feet in diameter, a three-level design marvel strung with some 2 million crystal beads. Even in the midst of a busy weekend night, this David Rockwell-designed casino bar retains its elegance and serenity. The Cosmopolitan has no shortage of swank extravagance, but the Chandelier Bar is next-level stuff. It’s a glittering prize. 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-698-7000. D R I N K I N T H E D E T A I L S THE SILVER STAMP
There used to be a bar in North Las Vegas called Pogo’s. It had wood-paneled walls, old Budweiser neon signs and a Midwestern Elks Lodge vibe. It’s long gone, but that’s OK, because in the last year, beer lovers Rose Signor and Andrew Smith opened an Arts District bar that looks almost exactly like it. The wood paneling, the string lights, the wall of obscure beer cans—it all combines into authentic, warm and comfortable Americana. 222 E. Imperial Ave., 702-5271784, silverstamplv.com.
PIONEER SALOON
The building, prefabricated by Sears and Roebuck, is 108 years old. The wooden bar is even older than that. It’s not a showy place; aside from the pressed tin ceiling tiles and the photos on the walls, it’s actually quite modest. But it’s the things you can’t see—the memories, the ghosts—that give Goodsprings’ Pioneer Saloon its wholly-earned character. Countless cowboys have bellied up to this bar; Clark Gable mourned Carole Lombard on one of its barstools. Close your eyes and take it in. 310 NV-161 (Goodsprings), 702-874-9362, pioneer saloon.info. D R I N K I N T H E D E T A I L S
DOUBLE DOWN SALOON
This nearly-30-year-old dive isn’t decorated so much as it’s layered in picturesque sediment. If you were able to take a core sample of the Double Down—drill down into its aggressively psychedelic murals, spectacular jukebox, heavily graffitied bathrooms and even the sign advertising shots of “Ass Juice”—you’d be able to read the entire history of this town’s punk counterculture. No other Vegas joint has visibly accumulated quite so much character over time. 4640 Paradise Road, 702-791-5775,
FIRESIDE LOUNGE AT PEPPERMILL
It’s the inside of a genie’s bottle. No, it’s what the cover of Duran Duran’s Rio would look like serving punchbowl-sized drinks. No, wait, it’s a lounge from the future that’s here to save humanity, and it’s trying to blend in with modern-day Vegas lounges. Whatever it is, we love every bit of Peppermill’s Fireside Lounge—the low-slung booths, the perpetual sexy-time lighting, the flames erupting from the water in the conversation pit. Wish we were there now. 2985 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-7354177, peppermilllasvegas.com.
THE LAUNDRY ROOM
You could easily miss it. From the street, it looks like an abandoned storefront, covered in stickers and graffiti; its entryway, from Commonwealth, could be a storeroom entrance. But once you’ve been inside the Laundry Room, with its deep earth tones, newsprint-papered ceiling and Victorian bric-a-brac, this slender speakeasy will loom large in your mental picture of Downtown. Drinking here is a gift—a rare visit to the frontier gambling town Vegas once was and should always be. 525 Fremont St., 702-291-7389.
LOST SPIRITS
Technically, this newcomer isn’t a bar, but a distillery and tasting room serving up rums and brandies. But “room” should be in quotations; in actuality, Lost Spirits is a hive of tasting rooms, some themed to the past, some to the future and some to places we’ve only imagined. It’s a dream world of theatrical sets, lab equipment and holograms, all in the service of some terrific house-distilled booze. 3215 S. Rancho Drive, 702-213-4888. FEATURED ON THE COVER!
PLUS: More on Lost Spirits’ drinks and tour on Page 34
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