3 Best Bars in West Side, Las Vegas

This classic mid-century tiki bar might remind you of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's. It's part of a crazy-busy strip mall in Chinatown, with a cocktail menu spilling over with nostalgic classics. Cautiously sip a Dole Soft Serve Float or jump into the deep end with a Blue Lagoon or Painkiller. Hop a rideshare back to your hotel after a Navy Grog with three rums. The roomy decor is full of surprises if you look around, including such treasures as an animatronic skeleton of the mythical privateer and legend behind The Golden Tiki, William Tobias Faulkner. A tiny stage and dance floor host occasional DJs and live bands. There's a happy hour from 4 to 7 pm, a limited food menu—mostly sliders and wings—and a Sunday "Captain's Brunch" with waffles and burritos.

You want Polynesian tiki-bar culture, Vegas-style? You want grass huts, carved wooden furniture, and cocktails such as the "Green Gasser," the "Thurston Howl," the "Lava Letch," and the "Bearded Clam"? You'll get it all here, and more, 24 hours a day in this small, windowless but thoroughly charming tiki bar that is utterly committed to its theme. The tiki mugs are all original, and if you love yours (and trust us, you will), there's a "merch hut" where you can buy one to bring the spirit of aloha home with you.

Classic cocktails are the name of the game at this bar off the Strip near Palace Station. Each cocktail comes with a story and quite a show while it's being made. Crack open the menu to learn the history behind each libation from the Prohibition era. This is the place to rub elbows with bartenders from other joints, who often visit when finished with their shifts on the Strip. An appetizer menu includes shrimp cocktails and mussels, and if you stay for dinner the kitchen under-promises and over-delivers on their claim to make "pretty good steaks."