Bar entertainment in Southwest
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Beauty Bar
Swill a cocktail, watch the weekly manicure demonstrations or just chill inside the salvaged innards of a 1950s New Jersey beauty salon. DJs and live bands rotate nightly here, spinning tiki lounge tones, ’80s garage rock, punk, funk and soul. Make sure you wear your coolest vintage threads.
reviewed
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Freakin’ Frog
College students adore this zany bar because it’s a short stroll from the UNLV campus. Beer geeks love it for Nevada’s biggest list of bottled beers (over 750 kinds at last count) and over a dozen brews on tap – ask your ‘beertender’ which ones to try tonight. Don’t miss snacking on the lip-smackin’ sweet potato fries sprinkled with cinnamon and honey either. Live jazz bands usually play on Tuesday.
reviewed
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Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville
Parrot Heads, you’ve found your very own paradise on the Strip, with three floors, five bars and hundreds of fortysomething couples spilling onto the sidewalk every night. Inside, a faux volcano explodes hourly, pushing frozen margaritas with names like ‘Last Mango in Paris’ to overflow into big blenders. As the lead singer of the house cover band sums up the raucous scene: ‘Yes, we do play Skynnard.’
reviewed
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Rumjungle
Wannabe pirates get a whole lot more than just their bottle of rum here when the Caribbean-flavored restaurant transforms into a theatrical nightclub. For those who are more curious about their firewater than day-glo dancers, take a seat at the bar and sample a dark, light or spicy rum flight from the towering selection of more than 100 bottles. (Aficionados may lament that their favorite brands are oddly missing.)
reviewed
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Red Room Saloon
A locals’ hangout west of the I-15, this slick bar is staffed by serious mixologists (just try their vodka martinis if you don’t believe us). ‘Movie Mondays’ with drinking games ($10 buy-in), First Friday after parties and a variety of DJ nights, from ‘80s rock and reggae to soul and funk, plus bartending competitions, all keep the place packed.
reviewed
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Pour 24
Finally, a bar with a gigantic list of American microbrews right on the Strip! It’s conveniently next to the casino’s skybridge entrance, so you can pop in for a quick draft pour or a bottle of anything from Abita’s ‘Purple Haze’ lager made in Louisiana to Oregon’s Rogue chipotle ale, maybe even Big Sky Moose Drool from Montana.
reviewed
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Diablo’s Cantina
While we applaud the shelves of specialty tequilas, walk-up frozen drinks bar and a Strip-view patio with a stage inside set for DJs and live bands, the whole concept of netherworld temptresses dressed in go-go boots means they’re trying too hard. For something to soak up all that booze, the kitchen stays open until midnight (low-carb lettuce fajitas, anyone?).
reviewed
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Mad Italian
Across the street from Mia’s, the Mad Italian is much loved among NAU students for its ambience and atmosphere and is one of the best local spots to drink, dance and shoot some pool. On most nights there’s a DJ playing dance music, but occasionally there is a live band. If you don’t like large, fun-loving crowds, avoid going on the weekends.
reviewed
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Art Bar
Hipsters, intellectuals, artists and other alt-culture vultures gravitate toward the neon atomic burst outside this art gallery serving libations. It’s best for a quiet drink on a weeknight. There’s a circular bar for meeting the local wildlife, retro velvet sofas for inviting tête-à-têtes and a closet-sized stage for live bands and DJs. Free wi-fi.
reviewed
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Horse-a-Round Bar
If you’re a real wild child, you can relive scenes from gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at this revolving carousel bar with dead-on views of the suspended stage where trapeze artists, contortionists and acrobats perform. Even without taking psychedelic drugs, it’s hallucinogenic.
reviewed
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Jc Wooloughan’s
This authentic Irish pub was taken apart piece by piece back in Dublin, then shipped across the Atlantic and put back together again. There’s usually live Celtic music Wednesday to Saturday evenings to accompany a stomach-warning menu of pub grub like potato and leek soup, sausage rolls and meats marinated in Guinness stout.
reviewed
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Double Down Saloon
You just gotta love a punk bar where the tangy, blood-red house drink is named ‘Ass Juice.’ There’s never a cover charge, and the drinks (try the bacon martini) are cash only. Monday is the Bargain DJ Collective night, and there are lotsa lunatic-fringe bands other nights. Play pool, pinball, Asteroids or the legendary jukebox.
reviewed
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Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill
Although ‘love’ might be too strong a word, it’s hard not to like this come-as-you-are joint, especially when it serves down-home Southern bites like jalapeño cornbread and baby back ribs. It’s named after a country-and-western music star, and DJs and live bands play here many nights.
reviewed
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Rockhouse
Unpretentious fun is the name of the game at the IP’s ultra casual bar and nightclub at street level on the Strip. DJs and go-go dancers in a bird cage arrive on the scene around 10pm. Grab a tropical drink and let loose with a quick boogie to retro ‘80s mash-ups and this year’s hip-hop hits.
reviewed
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Kon Tiki
Never mind the strip-mall setting. Once inside this tropical tiki tavern with its reed roof and palm fronds you’ll feel like you’ve apparated straight to Tahiti. Drinks look girly, but don’t be fooled: the trademark ‘Scorpion’ will sneak up on your brain cells without warning.
reviewed
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Red Square
Heaps of Russian caviar, a solid ice bar and over 200 frozen vodkas, infusions and cocktails. Don a Russian army coat to sip vodka in the subzero vault.
reviewed
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Che's Lounge
Drinkers unite! If everyone's favorite revolutionary heartthrob was still in our midst, he wouldn't have charged a cover either. A slightly skanky but hugely popular watering hole with $1 drafts, a huge wraparound bar and local art gracing the walls, this college hangout rocks with live music Saturday nights.
reviewed
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Dino’s
A true dive bar and proud of it, this spot (where you may end up doing shots with the owner) calls itself ‘the last neighborhood bar in Las Vegas.’ Monday Night Football, live bands, ‘no bullshit’ karaoke and First Friday after parties keep things jumpin’.
reviewed
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Rough Rider Saloon
If you're an early riser stop at this small saloon on the boardwalk beside the lodge for an espresso, a fresh-made cinnamon roll and a banana. Starting at 11:30am the saloon serves beer, wine and mixed drinks, as well as hot dogs and Anasazi chile. Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia lines the walls, honoring his role in the history of the park. This is the only bar in the lodge, so if you want to enjoy a cocktail on the sun porch or in your room, pick it up here.
reviewed
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Dick's Last Resort
For an adults-only, off-color good time, Dick's Last Resort is an eating and drinking place where staff dish out a heaping helping of verbal abuse. It's not for the faint of heart: diners have to wear dunce caps with personalized, obscene insults. When we say adults-only, we mean it.
reviewed
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Spanish Steps
The Strip has woefully few places to sit outside and watch the world pass by. Outside Caesars Palace, you can pick up a fruity, frozen concoction like a ‘Colosseum Lemonade’ spiked with Smirnoff vodka or an ‘Et tu, JD?’ (lemon ice with good ol’ Jack Daniels).
reviewed
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Sin City Brewing Co
Drop off anyone who thinks shopping is hell at this brewpub, then come back for them when they’re angelically soused. Not every brew’s a winner – choose from weisse, wheat, blonde, amber or stout pints – but the red-and-black she-devil logo is irresistible.
reviewed
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Rusty Spur Saloon
Nobody's putting on airs at this fun-lovin', pack-'em-in-tight country bar where the grizzled Budweiser crowd gathers for cheap drinks and twangy country bands. It's in an old bank building that closed during the Depression; the vault now holds liquor instead of greenbacks – except for the dollar bills hanging from the ceiling. Pardner, we kinda like this place.
reviewed
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Adobe Bar
- Taos, USA
- Entertainment › Bar
There's something about this place. There's something about the chairs, the Taos Inn's history, the casualness, the vibe and the tequila. It's true, the packed streetside patio has some of the state's finest margaritas, along with an eclectic lineup of great live music – and there's almost never a cover.
reviewed
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Triple 7
Sports fans and a crusty crowd of local gamblers flock to this gargantuan brewpub for Monday Night Football, happy hour and graveyard specials. Five microbrews on tap (including specialty fruit beers) and cheap pub grub sate the punters. Don’t expect snappy service, though.
reviewed