12 Best Bars in North Strip, Las Vegas

Pining for a genuine taste of retro Las Vegas? This kitschy and shagadelic lounge that dates to 1972 remains one of the town's truly essential nightspots. Just north of Encore, this evergreen romantic getaway serves food, but what you're really here for is the firepit—a sunken area with a raised pond with flames shooting out of the center—and signature cocktails such as a classic, 1970s-classic Harvey Wallbanger and the lethal, 64-ounce Scorpion. Happy hour's from 3 to 6 pm daily.

Nowhere else in Vegas furnishes you with the four Ds—dining, drinking, dancing, and drooling—in quite as alluring a mix as this multilevel (and multimillion-dollar) playground. The ground floor and mezzanine levels are exquisite enough (you almost tumble into the women in rose-petal baths before you're in the door), but once you get off the elevator at the top floor, where an army of dramatically lighted stone deities greets you, the party truly begins. Chinese antiques, crimson chandeliers, and a so-called Opium Room set the mood. It's still one of the best dance clubs in Vegas. In spring and summer, Tao Beach opens with daytime pool parties.

Ayu Dayclub, part of the opulent outdoor oasis that is Resorts World’s pool area, is designed to bring to mind the islands of Southeast Asia. The 41,000-square-foot space features music from a variety of genres, including EDM, hip hop, R&B, and new wave, from artists including Tiesto, Cash Cash, and Louis the Child. The DJs curate special playlists for big-event weekends.

Bleau Bar is right there in the middle of things, surrounded by casino action on all sides. The showpiece of the space is a massive chandelier made of thousands of long (long!) geometric crystals; look up at the end of one and you’ll see each is shaped like the resort’s iconic bow tie. Bleau is a cigar-friendly bar; you can bring your own or choose from the cigar menu. And maybe indulge in a Lucky Heist, with Mount Gay Eclipse rum, cassis, lime, guava, and soda water. Bleau is open 24/7.

After a long schlep from the airport—or even just the parking garage—you can duck into this bar, which is right off the resort’s lobby, for a little pick-me-up in the form of a classic cocktail. Booths are cozy, the piano music’s live, and Esquire magazine was sufficiently impressed to name it one of the best bars in the country for 2024. 

Definitely not your father’s cigar bar, this sexy lounge filled with sexy people (and known to attract a few celebrities) has a custom-crafted humidor, popular and limited-edition stogies, and a drinks menu tailored to the smokes and designed to foster relaxation.

The sleek, sophisticated Gatsby’s is known for its vintage and rare Champagnes and classic and artisanal cocktails, including the Champagne Bubble Bath for two (on the secret menu), which is muddled blood orange with Aperol, gin, sparkling wine, and strawberry and rose syrup. And it comes complete with a rubber ducky. Every first Friday brings the Return of the Gatz, a 1920s-theme party with music and dancing.

“Enter a hidden world of sin,” implore the operators of Here Kitty Kitty, a speakeasy tucked away in a “secret” spot in the Famous Foods food hall. The sin is tame by some Las Vegas standards, limited to specialty cocktails such as One Night Stand, which is Don Julio blanco tequila, lime, strawberries, Firewater bitters, and Tajin. Can’t decide? Name a spirit, and one of the talented bartenders will surprise you. There also are extensive collections of tequila and mezcal, Scotch, bourbon, and Asian whiskey.

The big new resorts would be nothing without their dance clubs, and Fontainebleau fills that niche with this one that comes straight from the Miami Beach original, now crowned with a halo of Sin City lights. Headliner DJs might include Tiesto, Dom Dollar, or David Guetta, and the club hosts special events such as a viewing party for the Big Game—or Super Bowl, for anyone who’s not a Las Vegas casino.   

This buttoned-up, "not-so-well-kept secret"—at least according to the Fontainebleau—does indeed evoke the opulent living room of an eccentric stranger. With coffee service until noon, the drinks come online. Far be it from us to divulge the surprises promised, but know there's live music beginning nightly at 8 (9 on weekends) from the likes of locally famous Mikalah Gordon and Nieve Malandra. 

Cocktail bars in Las Vegas have lots of varying vistas, but few can equal this one, which, appropriately, overlooks the Wynn resort’s Lake of Dreams. The interior is elegant, with draping fabrics that seclude it from the adjacent casino, lots of wood grain, crystal lamps on the tables, and a ceiling with ornate moldings. It serves all the classic cocktails, plus a large list of innovative ones from resort mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, that are designed to appeal to all five senses. Try the Hudson, an amber-hued blend of blanco tequila, grapefruit liqueur, thyme, and pink grapefruit bubbles.

Zouk is, as you would expect from the vibrant-in-color-and-spirit Resorts World, a pulsating, throbbing bazaar of more than 2,000 dancing bodies, bright big-city lights, strobes, and lasers in what the operators say is the most technologically advanced club in town. Expect to see big-name artists, such as Kaskade, Tiesto, Ludacris, DJ Snake, Lil Wayne, Zedd, and Slander performing.