6 bars in Las Vegas where you can sip outside this spring
Springtime in the desert is almost mocking in its brevity — a brief respite between chilly and blistering. As a result, the temptation to ditch life’s responsibilities and simply enjoy the great outdoors, even for a few hours, can be irresistible. And while sunbathing poolside may be the preferred lethargic indulgence for triple-digit temperatures, alfresco cocktails with friends is a nice alternative in more moderate weather.
Everyone’s criteria for a great outdoor drinking spot are different. A few themes, however, are universal: view, the ability to hang out as long as you like and, of course, beverage selection. With those things in mind, here are a few places to welcome spring with a drink in your hand.
Umami Burger, SLS Las Vegas
In addition to burgers and bites, the restaurant’s Strip-side beer garden offers 52 beers in bottles, on draft or in 64-ounce towers. There’s a rotating tap takeover program in which five of the 20 taps are given over to a featured brewery (Founders Brewing Company through the end of April), and on Tuesdays those selections are two-for-one. With a dozen plasma TVs on the patio and a satellite William Hill sports book in the main restaurant, it’s a great place to enjoy a game. Or challenge your friends to beer pong, foosball or cornhole.
Beer Park, Paris Las Vegas
This party spot’s second-floor rooftop location has an incredible unobstructed view of the Bellagio fountains. As you take in the water show, choose from more than 100 beers, 36 of them on tap. (But be warned beer snobs: this is a partnership with Budweiser, so there are quite a few Anheuser-Busch products on that beer list.) Food is classic barbecue fare, with a smoker burning beechwood. Entertainment ranges from Jenga, Connect Four, billiards and foosball to DJs and dancing at night. For a change of pace, the downstairs sister establishment Alexxa’s offers nine varieties of sangria on its patio.
Foundation Room, Mandalay Bay
Its prime perch atop Mandalay Bay, at the south end of the Strip, gives this secluded hideaway’s large outdoor patio one of the best views in town as the sun goes down and resort lights come on one by one. The décor inside is that of a super-cool lounge combining artifacts and antiques of the Far East with lush English fireplaces. There’s also no cover if you come early, and you’re free to stick around for the late-night club atmosphere. If you get hungry, snacks are available on the bar/club side of the building, and there’s a full restaurant on the opposite end of the tower.
Jammyland, 1121 S. Main St.
The Arts District’s new reggae lounge offers a large outdoor space fronting the hippest stretch of Main Street, where patrons can sit around a fire pit and sample an impressive selection of rum, whiskey and agave spirits, or dig into innovative spins on classically-based cocktails. The bar team here knows its stuff, and it shows. And things can only get better when the Jamaican kitchen starts serving food, and a back alley patio, cigar program and live bands are all added to the mix.
Red Rock Resort
You’ve got to hand it to the designers of this Summerlin resort: Five of its restaurants have outdoor drinking spaces: Hearthstone, Libre, Masso Osteria, Yardhouse and T-Bones Chophouse. (The Cafe also has outdoor dining, but it’s not the kind of place you’d generally go just to drink.) If you’re heading over after 4 p.m., none surpasses the patio at T-bones, the only one overlooking the pool and as close to the water as you’ll want to get without changing into bathing gear. The space has a gorgeous fire pit, its own outdoor bar and piped in music from whomever is performing live just inside the doors. If you want to do some day drinking alfresco, however, head to Yardhouse, the only one of the five that’s open during lunch hours.
Beerhaus, The Park
The outdoor patio of this beer drinkers’ gathering place in The Park, which, as the home to the T-Mobile Arena and the Bliss Statue, is the closest thing the Strip has to an urban plaza. Just like inside, bar games and over 60 craft beers (about two dozen of which are on tap) are the primary attraction for those enjoying the weather. But because of all the extra space, some of those games are considerably larger — like the Jenga Giant setups that are almost big enough to do some damage when they tumble.
Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter.