The Downtown Las Vegas Bar Crawl
It’s a scientific fact: The last time of day or night that anyone had a hard time getting a drink on the Las Vegas Strip was way back in 1961. That man was the legendary Joe E. Brown, and the only reason he couldn’t get a drink was he couldn’t stand up.
Joking aside, Vegas has always been a fine place to whet your whistle, but times may be better now than ever. Because now, the quality and variety of things to drink have made a distinct upward climb.
Take downtown for instance—The Fremont Street casinos always had bars, naturally. But even though Fremont Street became a pedestrian zone over ten years ago, you still had to go into the casino to get some juice. Not today. Take an evening stroll through Glitter Gulch and you can take your pick of outdoor bars with frozen drinks, flair bartenders, cheap beers, whatever you want. Talk about your festive atmosphere.
Want to take things a little more seriously? At the West end of Fremont, you’ll see the huge glass dome over the entrance of the Plaza hotel. Inside is Oscar’s, the steakhouse owned by former mayor and mob lawyer Oscar Goodman, and if there’s a better place around these parts to get a serious martini or Manhattan with a fantastic view, well, I wouldn’t believe it.
From there, amble back down Fremont to Third Street, take a left and walk two blocks past the restored neon. You’ll see the Mob Bar on your left, a gorgeous 20’s style café with the kind of cocktails even a made man would appreciate (if you like things a little rougher around the edges, next door is the unabashed biker bar Hogs N Heifers. Dress down, way down).
Back on Fremont, go left again, or East, until you hit Las Vegas Boulevard. Here, on one side, you’ll see Hennessey’s, a pretty straightforward college town style Irish pub, but across the street in Neonopolis is another world altogether, the home of Drink & Drag, a former bowling alley turned campy drag queen bar, where all are welcome. Not to be missed.
East of the Boulevard are several more of Downtown Las Vegas’ most interesting watering holes, each different from the next. Start with the enigmatic Downtown Cocktail Room, where some of the best sips in town are shaken and stirred. Then on a whole ‘nother tip, try Insert Coins, the classic videogame-filled club. Also on the block, The ski-lodge style Griffin, artsy Vanguard, Broadway piano bar Don’t Tell Mama and indie band haven Beauty Bar.
Think you can find the right vibe for you? If you can’t, I guess there’s only one choice: buy a bottle at CVS (also on Fremont, open 24/7), take it back to your room, and start your own party.
Eric Gladstone contributed heavily to this piece as he did most of the drinking as I talked to the servers about breast feeding and baby strollers. I'm a father with a young family, what can I say? I'm keeping it real.
