Cool places to hang out downtown?

Going to LV in November and staying at the GN. Looking for some fun places to hang out where the music doesn't blast. Thanks.

 

Mike,

In my opinion the absolute coolest downtown vibe is at The Griffin. While the fireplaces do run year-round, they do make more sense in November. The music is not insanely loud and it is pretty fun/eclectic. Another plus, tap beer selection is much better than average. Healthy mix of older as well as younger patrons, younger being college age...

Commonwealth is also a very hip and cool spot but a bit too hip for this old guy (51). More of a mixology place so, depending upon your age, it might be cooler for you than for me. http://commonwealthlv.com/venue/ It's also just a few doors down from The Griffin.

Don't Tell Mamma is loud and fun and my not be your speed. It's a piano bar where bartenders and wait staff sing and patrons are encouraged to join in. Also near the Griffin...

Beauty Bar is right next door to Don't Tell Mamma and it's more alternative. Karaoke was insanely fun when the wife and I went, younger crowd but they didn't mind 50-somethings.

Park on Fremont is across the street. They do have a good selection of tap beer but I was not overly impressed. Cool, meh...

Atomic Liquor has become kind of cool. It's a bit further East on Fremont but I like the place. It's still more edgy than the closer to the canopy bars but I like that.

Gold Diggers at Golden Nugget is also worth a shot, as long as you do not have to pay a cover.

 

Thanks Xmarkxs, great info, I'll remeber that too

 

Gold Diggers hands down is a must. They usually have peeps giving free entry passes outside GN so you may want to just ask at the concierge.

DCR was a very cool lounge we went to when there in July. Music is more of a Chicago house/jazz vibe. Couches and tables with a very small dance area. Maybe 150 tops is the max capacity.

 

Is there a bar at GN that specializes in beers? I think there was one but it may be gone now.

 

If you like cocktails, you must go to The Laundry Room.

 

Johnny, none of the Golden Nugget bars are good draft beer bars. Grotto, as I recall, has some okay stuff. It's worth a walk to go to 777 at Main Street Station for their microbrews.

 

Thanks, I like the 777 beers, especially at the Boar bar. I just checked their lineup, Octoberfest, Hefeweizen and a Saison. It would be great if those are on tap when I get there!

 

Just wanted to warn you, I'm over 50 also and visited the bars that xmarksx visited. While the atmosphere is mellower (and not as loud) in the early evenings, the places that he mentioned (griffin, don't tell mama and beauty bar) music got louder as the night progressed. Early evenings many of those places were almost empty so I didn't stay. I returned later (after 10 pm) in the night, heard the loud music and saw the crowd and walked back out. IMHO, most of those places (esp the commonwealth) was geared more for the younger crowd so it depends on how old you are and what kind of atmosphere you are looking for.

there are some restaurants outside the neonopolis (one is called drink and drag) where you can relax and enjoy music as you watch the crowds passing. Not sure how they are now that they are working on the zip line (there are also some restaurants in neonopolis in addition to the gay bar upstairs).

As someone mentioned, Golddiggers might be a nice place to hang out (try to stay away from the speakers if it gets too loud). There is also a bar across from the neonopolis that might be good if you sit in the open area (hennessey's tavern). then you have the usual open areas near the GN where you can sit and have a drink. 777 at MSS is good to relax and have a beer at.

 

Crap I'm old and don't know what the correct terms are, but isn't Drink and Drag a transvestite bar? Not that there is anything wrong with that. :evillaugh

 

could be, I'm so oblivious that I didn't realize that drink and drag meant......:evillaugh

 

I think Drink and Drag is shutting down..

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/economic-development/troubled-las-vegas-nightclubs-denied-licenses

 

I think makikiboy may have confused Drink-n-Drag (some of the bar employees were men in drag) with Park on Fremont, across the street from Neonopolis. I had a beer at Park last trip and it was, "meh". A good selection of beers but I was not overly impressed. I think Park tried too hard, they have artwork and stuffed animals all over the place that are mating, okay, I get it... whatever. The taps are all the same so you have to use the beer list to order. Another thing, they serve the beer in funky mason jars, again, whatever. Just give me a good beer in a thick pint glass! A plus about this place, nice waitress uniforms, very nice.

Hennessey's does have a deck upstairs and you can watch the panhandlers, drunks and others while you sip a beer. Never been a huge fan of Hennessey's because it gives me the feel of a tourist trap and it's kind of dirty as well as stale beer stinky. That being said, I have had more than a couple of beers at the place, especially when they are handing out coupons out front. They sometimes have karaoke but it's marginal at best. I have also been there when they had a DJ. Every time I have gone, the upstairs is always dead. If you do go, don't let the downstairs band dissuade you from taking the escalator upstairs, it's sometimes pretty quiet up there.

 

Just had a very sad moment of clarity. I know waaaay too much about the downtown bars! Who cares, I am going back in less than two days...

 

Which bars downtown have any of the following:

a) pool table (bar size or regulation)

b) bowling lane

c) mechanical bull


Just curious for my December trip as well.

 

One downtown place I have not tried is Backstage:
http://www.backstagebarandbilliards.com/

As for bowling, Drink-and-Drag was the only place that I am aware of that had it downtown (now closed). They actually had a few lanes that were once part of Jillians.

Mechanical Bull - Closest that I am aware of, to downtown, is Gilliey's on the Strip. I believe Toby Keith's may also have one.

 

Don't remember seeing one in Toby's when we went in July.