Downtown Grand Has A Lot Of Good Things, Beer Is Not One Of Them

Downtown Grand Has A Lot Of Good Things, Beer Is Not One Of Them

Downtown Grand celebrated its official grand opening yesterday. But, with a soft opening on October 27, we've already spent a lot of time there.

Depending on your game, the odds in the casino are hit (blackjack) or miss (video poker) so we decided to take our excitement to the bars. Every bar at Downtown Grand is beautiful and feels very comfortable. However, this beer drinker had a few chuckles with the offerings available at Art Bar (shown above) and the newly relocated Mob Bar. Here’s the bottled beer menu from Art Bar as viewed through beer goggles:
http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2013/11/12/123218/00/vegas-travel/Downtown+Grand+Has+A+Lot+Of+Good+Things%2C+Beer+Is+Not+One+Of+Them

 

I know it's getting bad press from gamblers, but I'm seriously considering staying there in April on my next trip. I loved the vibe and I loved downtown (first time spending time there in four visits!).

 

I have to compliment a bartender there.
When I asked what beer choices they have, he kept a straight face, as he told me the selection. I asked if that's all they had. He just said yes, as any good employee should, but his body language was screaming, "I know I know. Right?"

The place has no hook. Nothing to get me to go over there.

 

Man you had me there for a second.

Thank goodness they have my favs bud and coors.

 

Considering the "type" of person they are looking for...they really have blown it with beer selection. I expect that selection from a 20+ year old hole in the wall...but a brand new casino?

 

No way anyone reading that beer selection and seeing MICH ULTRA touted as something great doesnt fall down laughing!! Ridiculous indeed!

 

Also, what about a $5 craft beer being the best price downtown? Has this reporter never been to MSS?

 

and they can't spell Newcastle?

ffs...

 

This place just keeps coming up with reasons for me not to visit!

 

Brutal. Heineken and Corona constitute "something different"?!?!

Truly hard to tell who they think their target market is, they manage to offend everyone in some way. No need to make my first trip downtown in 19 years to witness this train wreck.

 

Hopefully all is not lost, as their "Commissary" deli/canteen/diner is meant to have a wide selection of beers according to previews. No idea when it will open though.

 

In this day and age of massive beer distribution around the world, that is unforgivable. Stupid really. What if a whale likes quality beer?

Man their management just seems absolutely clueless the more I hear about them.

 

I think it's funnier that Michelob Ultra is in the "something different"...what, they think it's some super premium beer based on the name?

 

I like beer, but I am by no means a beer snob. I drink Bud Light unless I am at a beer and I can try craft beers. I love drinking the Blue Moon on tap at Golden Gate. That's how I like to start my day in Vegas before I start my Crown and Coke carnage! MSS has a great variety of beers that I have sampled a couple times. I would walk over there just for a couple of beers they offer. And they have bartenders that are extremely knowledgable about beers and will teach you a little bit. I've made a special trip over to The Pub at Monte Carlo to drink their sampler platter a couple times. Last time, one of the beers really tasted bad to me, and bartender replaced it with something else that I liked! With all the great bars in town, with the HUGE variety of beer, simply offering these major domestics is absurd. An "upscale" boutique hotel planted downtown that has no craft beers and only offers the major domestics? They will lose A LOT of the market that I think are targeting. They dont even have PBR for the hipsters trying to be "ironic". Just another thing that has not been very well thought out by these guys.

 

This disappoints me since I mostly drink beer and I wanted to try Downtown Grand in April. I'll stay there if the rate id good but I guess I'll have to go walk the couple of blocks to MSS to play and drink.

 

This is a lame beer list, I would think they would improve it? Technically the place has only been open a week.

 

Real similair to how I roll in LV. I love to try a few different beers before embarking on a good Vodka blackout. I even select spots around LV that I know have good beer on tap as my starting points. I dont get this at all, nothing "Grande" about Corona and Mich Ultra? I have not yet seen a reason to visit this place other than to say "been there, done that."

 

If it wasn't for Big Tip confirming it I would have thought someone took a picture of just a small section of their beer menu. Because even the lamest bars I've been to have bigger and more interesting selections than that.

The poster who said it looked like a list made by a high school kid nailed it. It reminds of those early days when we'd go to a friends place and say, "Wow you have Sam Adams and Heineken? This is a fancy party!"

 

Right there reinforces my point. A casino needs a hook. A draw. Something to differentiate themselves from other casinos.
Like a fountain. Or tigers. Or even the world's biggest golden nugget. Something to give people a reason, any reason, to walk into it.
The DG folks just don't get it. Maybe they think that being new and clean is enough of a hook. Well it is not that opulent.
I'm not bashing. Like has been said, I was excited for a new casino to open. Maybe this one would be my new favorite. But not only is it not, it doesn't even set a high bar for other casinos to try and keep up with.

Something as simple and cheap as having the largest scotch selection in the world would work. Buy three hundred bottles of different scotches and make a cool display. How hard would that be? I'm not a scotch drinker, but I would walk two blocks to see that.

 

I know most casinos need a draw and maybe they will find theirs at some point, but enough about the beer selections! When I'm in Vegas I drink a lot of Heineken, it's good stuff to me. If you look around, most of what others are drinking is on that menu, and if not they will go to MSS or 4Q for craft beer. I am sure in time they will upgrade their selections, but for 99% of joe blows out there they could care less!