Bars with the Strip in the window
The most memorable drink in Las Vegas is one with the whole Strip lit up below you, and there is a run of high bars to choose from. Skyfall Lounge on the 64th floor of the Delano at Mandalay Bay looks north up the entire Strip, with a DJ later on and a modest dress code; go at sunset. Rivea next door is the restaurant version. The Chandelier at the Cosmopolitan is not high but is the most beautiful bar in the city — three floors inside a curtain of two million crystals — and the middle level is the one to sit on. Ghostbar at the Palms, 55 floors up off-Strip, has the best all-round panorama and a glass floor panel that has terrified guests since 2001. The 107 SkyLounge at The Strat is the highest, at the top of the tower; the drinks are ordinary and the view is not. Eight Lounge at Resorts World and the Vesper Bar at Cosmopolitan are the serious cocktail rooms within the same resorts.
Expect $18–$28 for a cocktail at these as of 2026, sometimes a cover after 9 pm at Skyfall and Ghostbar, and smart-casual dress enforced after dark. No reservation is needed for most; arrive before sunset for a window seat.
Hotel cocktail lounges worth seeking out
Inside the resorts, past the casino bars, are lounges that would hold their own in any city. The Dorsey at The Venetian is a low-lit, book-lined cocktail bar with a proper menu. The Golden Steer, a 1958 steakhouse a block off the Strip on Sahara Avenue, has a bar where the Rat Pack drank and a martini to match. Herbs & Rye on West Sahara is a locals' cocktail institution with a happy hour that halves the prices of its steaks. Rosina at the Palazzo is a small, glamorous room with a "press for champagne" button. Peppermill on the north Strip — the Fireside Lounge with its sunken firepit — is a 24-hour 1970s time capsule and every local's guilty pleasure. Frankie's Tiki Room on West Charleston is the tiki bar, open 24 hours. Wynn's Parasol Down is the terrace over the Lake of Dreams, covered in free shows.
Speakeasies and hidden bars
The speakeasy trend arrived late and stuck. The Laundry Room at Commonwealth on Fremont East is the original — a text-for-reservation, no-photos, no-standing room behind the main bar, with some of the best cocktails downtown. Ghost Donkey at the Cosmopolitan is a mezcal bar behind an unmarked door in the food hall. The Lock is hidden inside the Underground at the Mob Museum, a Prohibition-themed basement bar with its own distillery. Mike Morey's Sip'n'Tip and a handful of Arts District bars run reservation-only back rooms that change names; ask at the bar. Most are small, most need a reservation or a wait, and none is cheap — $16–$22 a drink — but they are the closest thing to a secret the Strip has left.
Downtown: Fremont East and the Arts District
This is where locals drink. Fremont East, the blocks of Fremont Street just past the canopy, has the densest strip of good bars in the city: Commonwealth (rooftop, plus the Laundry Room), Atomic Liquors (the oldest freestanding bar in town, opened 1952, with a back-lot and a beer list), the Griffin (fire pits and a jukebox), Corduroy, We All Scream and the arcade bar Player 1. Covers are rare and drinks run $8–$14. Two miles south, the Arts District along Main Street and Commerce Street has the craft-beer and cocktail crowd: Velveteen Rabbit, Able Baker Brewing, the Garagiste wine room, Nevada Brew Works, ReBar (a bar inside an antique shop) and the Silver Stamp. It is walkable, low-key and the polar opposite of the Strip.
Get downtown by rideshare (15–20 minutes from centre Strip, $20–$30) or the Deuce bus; see transportation. Our Strip and Downtown guide has the lay of the land.
Dive bars and 24-hour institutions
Las Vegas is a 24-hour town and its bars never close, which produces a particular kind of institution. The Double Down Saloon on Paradise Road — punk, cheap, famous for the Ass Juice shot and the "you puke, you clean" sign — is the definitive Vegas dive. Dino's Lounge on the north Strip is the locals' karaoke bar. Champagne's Café on Maryland Parkway is red-velvet 1960s kitsch. Stage Door Casino, a block off the Strip behind Flamingo, sells the cheapest beer near the Strip and a hot dog to go with it. The Peppermill qualifies here too. These are the antidote to a $25 cocktail and the places to talk to people who live here. Video-poker at the bar is the local custom and the way most of these places make their money; you are welcome to just drink.
Prices, covers, dress codes and tipping
- Strip lounges and skybars: $16–$28 a cocktail, $10–$16 a beer as of 2026; occasional covers of $20–$40 after 9 pm on weekends at the ones with DJs.
- Downtown and Arts District: $8–$16 a cocktail, $6–$10 a beer; covers rare.
- Dress: skybars enforce smart-casual after dark (no shorts, hats or athletic wear for men). Everywhere else, anything goes.
- Tipping: $1–$2 a drink at the bar, 18–20 percent on a tab. Bartenders in Las Vegas are professionals and remember tippers.
- Happy hours are real and generous, especially at the locals' places and the resort lounges before 7 pm; see dining for the food-and-drink happy hours.
- Age: 21 everywhere alcohol is served, with ID checked at the door at the lounges and on request elsewhere.
Putting together a bar night
A Strip evening: sunset at Skyfall or Ghostbar, dinner, then the Chandelier at Cosmopolitan and a walk to the Bellagio railing for the fountains. A downtown evening: two canopy shows on Fremont Street, then Atomic Liquors, the Laundry Room if you booked, and the Griffin to finish, all on foot. An off-the-radar evening: Herbs & Rye for happy hour, the Golden Steer bar, the Peppermill firepit at 1 am. None of these needs a reservation except the speakeasies, none needs a club promoter, and all of them cost a fraction of a nightclub. For the full picture, return to the shows and nightlife hub.