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Coolest lounge/bar we went to in all of vegas, well worth the can fare from the strip. The regular priced drinks will make up for the cab fare anyway, no BS $15 cocktails here!
I started with a Zombie which lived up to it's name, from there I had countless tatsy coconutty fruity things that made me feel like life was a ok :)
Good service and great ambiance .
Cozy and dark with the exception of the glow from the video poker machines and a few dim lights. Okay... maybe it wasn't that dark, but I perfectly dim.
Sweet frosty drinks are available if that's your delight. The drink menu descriptions deserve to be read twice.
If it weren't for being a responsible mom, I'd probably be here much more often.
I love me a good tiki bar. This place had the decor the drinks. They even rate the drinks on a 1-5 skull rating so I had 3 5 skull drinks, the first one was strong the others maybe after the first I did not notice. I was hoping Mellow was there but I think he was working at the Double Down that night since its owned by the same man.
The chairs are awesome and I found out the tiki cups are designed by locals like Dirk and some other fun ones. I collect my stir sticks and left smelling like the Double Down and I was good did not go there this weekend lol. Its Monday and I still smell the place.
The restrooms were clean here unlike the trouble down. Very nice.
Frankie's is awesome! Their decor is cool and their drinks are GRRREAT. I have a few complaints though... they overserved my boyfriend and he drove me nuts. If someone is clearly stumbling around drunk, please stop serving them! haha I know it wasn't totally their fault, but it kind of was. He had been driking before we got there and they couldn't have known that! We went here on a Saturday night and it was smelling kind of Double Down cigarette stank-ish so it would be nice if they improved their ventilation since this is a smoking bar. My best friends purse had that double down stank smell the next day and so did all my clothes, even my bra! Also, the chairs at the tables.....they look cool but they are uncomfortable and wobbly as all hell.
I like the Fink Bomb and the Zombie.
I LOVE this bar. One of my favorite tiki bars, and that is especially impressive considering this place is fairly new.
I visited in July with my boyfriend, we came early and talked to the owners for a bit. They were friendly and knowledgeable and they obviously take a great deal of pride in the bar, not only as Frankie's tiki room, but they also know a lot about it's previous incarnations.
Drinks: The menu has 20 tiki drinks, 15 of which are original concoctions. Your drink is served in a custom designed tiki mug (mostly great low brow artists like Dirk Vermin, Squid, and Von Franco). All drinks are rated with a skull system for their strength. My favorites are the Lava Letch, Kahiki Kai, and the Three Rum Scum. And you kind of have to order a Bearded Clam JUST BECAUSE.
Great jukebox, and video poker set in the bar top. This is one of my favorite places to go in Vegas, and I'm even planning on having a pre-wedding party here next March.
Frankie's, you are my dark little love cave in an otherwise scalding, brutally bright lights/big city town called Vegas. When on vacation, the first order of business is usually your vacation cocktail-many of which are concoctions made of fruits, secrets and lies, with a fun little umbrella on the side. Frankie's did not disappoint in providing me with such a list.
There's nowhere else I'd rather be at 3 in the afternoon when it's 100 degrees out than on a bar stool, watching some crazy beach romp on TV and listening to locals talk about their slots play, what's for dinner and who's doin' who.
The bar is impressive: over 80 rums, and they are generous with their pours. The take home mugs are cute, but I don't need some ceramic goddess to tell me I'm good at or enjoy tiki drinks. I'll see them again.
It's so dark in there, it takes a while for your eyesight to get adjusted...as least that's one patron's excuse for walking into the ladies room and not the men's. I guess it is hard to notice those big juicy red tiki lips on the door after a few Zombies...
They break down the strengths of the drinks by skulls, so if you don't feel like ending up pantsless in a back alley way singing Sinatra by 5pm, stick to the two skull drinks. The Green Gasser was great, and we got to sample of the Pikakae with a delightful orange liquer that is hard to come by. I also braved it and had a Zombie. I lived to tell the tale.
Every adventure, we try to find a dive or a locals only hang out to get a real taste of the local scene. Frankie's did not disappoint. Great jukebox, great staff and great patrons. I think we'll be back there one day.
Darn good tiki drinks, delicious and ranked by skulls so you don't accidentally imbibe more than you mean to. Since I was driving, I ordered a Lapu Lapu instead of the Zombie I really wanted to try (five skulls just seemed a bit much for the driver). My friend ordered the Mutiny. Both drinks were delicious, $8 each.
We brought our own macadamia nuts because Frankie's serves no food. The bartender loved it and said was a really good idea.
Now if we just knew why the girls in the old black-and-white movie were working so hard to get the shirtless hunk drunk...were they going to sacrifice him or something? It clearly wasn't for sex as he was poured into bed and the girl stalked off refusing his invitation. Ah, the joys of soundless clips on tv. Other sequences were interesting as well; dancers, soundless bands, fashion shows, and Disney's tiki attraction (who knew?) all accompanied by the bar's surf music and the crowd's chants urging others to chug. We should have visited earlier in the week so we could move around and see more of the decor, but the crowd was kind of fun.
The puffer fish lanterns are really cool!
And yeah, it is dark inside...so dark that even coming in at night, it will take a while to be able to see. It's nice that way, though.
Absolutely the best tiki drinks I've had, and that includes local SF Bay favorites like the Conga Lounge, Kona Club, Tonga Room, and Forbidden Island, and places on Oahu. Although one drink on Oahu in particular might be in the same league. The bartender/owner is serious. I mean, 80 different kinds of rum serious. You'll marvel at the selection of rums and liqueurs here.
We came on a hot afternoon, and were almost scared off by the someone having some sort of fit around the corner. I think he was on some sort of non-tiki-related drugs, but in the back of my head I thought "if this is what these drinks are gonna do, I might be in trouble." We walked into an air conditioned tiki paradise and sat down with some older locals for a drink. They were having beers, and we learned later on in our trip (at Palomino) that it used to be a regular dive bar and some of the regular patrons still go there. Great people, though. One of the best parts of Vegas is the people you meet off the strip at amazing places like this, Double Down, Palomino, etc.
I had a Green Gasser followed by a Fink Bomb. The Gasser will wake you up and get you going, and the Fink Bomb will lure you in with sweet coconut rum and pineapple juice and then hit you with a hurt bomb like one of Tyson's legendary '80s knockout blows. They rate their drinks in skulls, and if you're driving, weigh about 175, and have a reasonable tolerance, you don't want to go over 10 skulls, trust me.
Guys, take my advice and don't go through the bathroom door that has a skull with clearly defined cheekbones on it. It's so dark inside that you won't notice that the skull has lipstick on until it's too late. And by then you're committed, because the whole bar may be watching. You would think that the strong cheekbones were for men, but go to the left.
One of the must-stop places on any Vegas trip if you want off-the-strip fun, along with Double Down and Hash House a Go Go.
Frankie's is a tiki dive bar of epic proportions.
Upon first glance, I was a bit concerned about Frankie's. From the outside, it doesn't really look like much. And since I went in the afternoon, upon entering the establishment, I was completely freaked out that it was SO DARK I COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING expect what may have been a bar and some TVs. (And those TV's were playing videos of dancing 60's girlies and bands performing. How cool is that?)
BUT, once my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I ordered my first cocktail in a rad souvenir volcano(!) I was in love.
The interior was covered in bamboo, there was a thatched roof covered area, blowfish lights on the ceiling and weird, carved chairs that were not comfortable to sit in but were awesome none the less.
We have decided that on every trip to Vegas, a visit to Frankie's for strong interestingly flavored cocktails is a necessity, especially since we want to collect all the great ceramic tiki glasses that are available to buy! Themed to the cocktails! One has a naked lady on it! Another has a tiki with dice FOR EYES! How could one resist such an awesome place? The answer is, DON'T!
Go! It is worth the short trek off the strip!
I have to add this joint to my dive bar list. It may make the top three. In my last adventure to Sin City I went out one night with Molly and asked her where she wanted to go. She insisted on Frankie's. This place is something else. It is very dark inside so if you are coming out of the sunlight it takes forever for your eyes to adjust. You might not have that problem with the sunlight since Frankies is open 24 hours.
We found a booth and she had us start drinking their Tiki Bandit. It has a lot of 151 Rum in it along with Curacao and Apricot Brandy. Wow that sucker packs a punch. It was a very fun evening whatever I can remember of it.
Let's face it Las Vegas isn't exactly paradise but Frankie's IS or at least it is if your idea of paradise is a bamboo filled cave on a amazing climate controlled island filled with Tasty Drinks, Fun Bartenders, Tiki mugs and Swizzle Sticks!
What's the temperature in here 65°? Other than some fish floats and puffer fish lamps the majority of the light of comes from the video poker machines built into the bar, which is surprisingly soothing, a perfect escape from your average dreary Nevada day.
Dive bar supreme. Small (emphasis on small), smokey and dimly lit. Good place to hang with some friends. Music is a cool mix of swanky surfer tunes, old style. Videos playing on the few tv screens are odd but fit in well with the theme.
we started at the bar - very friendly bartenders, Then we moved to the tables and sat on highly uncomfortable carved tiki chairs. From there we moved to the, I guess you could call them benches, whatever they were at least it was comfortable.
The drinks seem to reign supreme here, I'm a beer drinker so didn't try any but the people I was with all said they were awesome and they do pour heavy. Take note of the skull rating on the drinks.
When the cab pulled up my friends and I got a bit nervous since there were only two cars in the lot and it's not really a location you would walk to. When we walked in there was only one other group there, besides us. But the bartender soon put us as ease and made us some kick ass tiki drinks (they literally kicked our ass, but were oh so delicious). Also, as the night went on, a lot more people (most seemed local) showed up.
I loved the authentic decor (authenticated by the tikiphiles sitting across from us), the all tiki music jukebox, and that on their drink menu, drink strength was gaged by the number skulls beneath it. I would for sure make the trek again next time I'm in Vegas.
In true Vegas style, Frankie's is open 24 hours, so were able to just drop in on a Monday afternoon. It's off-Strip and north of the Strat so you'll need a car or savvy cab driver, but it's well worth seeking out.
Stepping in from the bleached-out daylight, we could not see a thing and had to stumble around for a few minutes until our eyes adjusted to the darkness. The space is a smorgasbord of art, carvings and design features from an all-star roster of tiki artists. In the corner is a "Vice Tester" machine designed by Shag that was very amusing.
I had the Tiki Bandit, a potent concoction of pineapple rum, 151, apricot brandy and blue curacao, and it was absolutely delicious. It was like an epiphany--Wow, this is what a well-mixed drink is supposed to taste like! The drink's eight bucks on its own or twenty in the take-home slot machine-shaped mug. How could I resist such cleverness?
In short, I loved Frankie's and I can't wait to come back!
Definitely a place to go to if you're tired of the same ol glossed over Vegas Strip scene. I love this place. To me this is the anti-Las Vegas. Its a nice little dive bar way off the strip. Untouched by commercialism and corporate spoon feeding telling me what I'm suppose to like and not like with this look like they're trying too hard to be someplace cool. Me and my buddies tried this placed out for the first time because I wanted to see a different side of Vegas other than what we always see...the Strip.
This place is what it is...a tiki room! This place is dark and swanky and vintage. Just my style. Tiki decor can be found everywhere in this lounge...from the bar all the way to inside the bathroom (wall to wall covering of vintage Hawaiian music and surf music album covers). This place does it naturally without looking cheesy or trying too hard. TV sets playing old black and white vintage hawaiiana footage (hulu girls, surfers, beach parties, etc). Juke box with nothing but oldschool surfer music. Seating consists of a few leather booths, a bar table, some small wooden tiki style tables and a couple of bar height tiki style tables.
The drinks here kick azz. They serve their own mix of house specialty tiki drinks, the classic and traditional tiki drinks, and whatever else you want probably. In fact me and my buddies were surprised they sold San Miguel Beer! There is something for everyone! The Zombie is potent! Just how I like it. For Vegas, this placed poured heavy and kept the price of drinks really reasonable...around $8 a drink and no cover charge! 4 guys with a tab about $60 at the end of the night and a good buzz to match...I dare you to find me another place like this in Vegas on a Friday night! It's not that me and my buddies were light weight drinkers or had nothing to eat prior, the drinks were actually strong and affordable and in large glasses!
The bouncer was way cool, the bartender friendly (even gave us directions to the Hawaiian festival in town that weekend), the waiter very helpful in helping us decide what to order, and the rest of the patrons here were easy to talk with and approach (really down to earth).
Yep, this place ain't no typical glossed over Vegas scene. If you're looking for that, stay on the Strip with the rest of the "plastic" Vegas people....leave this place to me and get me a Zombie!
I do love a good dive bar. There's a few good ones either on Freemont Street or off Strip, but I think I may have found the "King" of cool dive bars. And sometimes, a man just needs to fulfill his needs for fruity drinks.
The decor is fun from the second you walk in. The bouncer is friendly, the vibe is cool, the people seem mellow, and the music is all surfer rock. Loud enough to add some ambiance, but low enough to talk with friends. Glancing at the monitors, a wide variety of clips play from surfers, beach parties, to an unexpected anime clip of this guy REALLY getting his hump on in his eager quest to deflower his animated lady friend. I thought what I was seeing was the result of the alcohol kicking in too fast, but nope, I saw what I saw.
I tried the "Tiki Bandit", and deciding to go the "ridiculous" route, I ordered its specialized souvenir cup. The cup is seriously very cool, and worth the extra price. There are 8 different cups for certain specific drink themes.
Watching them pour drinks here is like watching a mad scientist. They must pour twenty different things in each drink, and I laughed when some of the drink ingredients are simply one tiny drop added of some elixir before going back to their regimen of mass ingredients. They may add another single drop of some liquid if the drink calls for it. Drink creation here borders on fascinating.
I also tried a "Zombie", and whoo, that one will take the edge off of you real fast. I was "good" after that one.
The only thing that I didn't care for is that it is a smoker-friendly bar. It's a little rough by the bar if you're not into the habit, but there were some secluded places to sit where it didn't become an issue, so everyone wins. They also don't serve food. I was hoping for some cool, bar specific treat to nibble on.
I wil definitely be going back to this place. The prices are good, the attitude is fun, and just overall a class act for a "hip" dive bar.
Easily recommended. They really went all out for this place.
Once a year our spouses let a group of us visit the fabulous city of Vegas once a year. We loose tons of money, look for new locations that give us something to face-book about for the rest of the year, and simply act like juveniles.
Based on a recommendation from a fellow Yelper, we ventured to Frankie's. Fortunately we are a group of guys willing to try adventure. I didn't have much to go on how to describe the ambiance. I regrettably gave them a pitch that it will probably resemble the Rainforest Cafe or something you can find at the various Disney properties.
We we surprised when we pulled into a parking lot the size a small post office and a building resembling much the same. We all bellowed with laughter. This was certainly not going to have the pop and sizzle of one of those mega-resorts. And thank goodness to boot.
Once we adjusted to the dimly lit theater of goodness, we found a booth in the corner to sit and giggle at being transported to the 50's when the Tiki lounges were all the rage in Hollywood and Laguna Beach. We thought Thurston Howell from Gilligan's Island was about to walk in at any moment.
Once our eyes adjusted to the darkness we were given much to feast our senses upon. From the vintage surf tunes being pumped out the jukebox to the classic movie clips viewed from behind the bar to the art hanging from the walls -- one will certainly be in awe.
This isn't the type of place you bring someone to woo them on a first date. This is a place where you bring the adventuresome and those with a sense of adventure.
We loved the drink selection, sampled nearly all of them, and certainly came home with a GREAT impression of this little jewel of Americana tucked beyond the stranglehold of Downtown.
Take a couple hours, enjoy the ambiance, sample the great beverages, and be careful when you exit during the day. You will be in the shock of your life.
We will definitely add this to our annual pilgrimage.
Lord, I love this place!
I was planning a trip out to Vegas to meet an old friend, and I found Frankie's on Yelp (a tip of the hat to everyone who reviewed this tavern). I was looking for something different out of this trip (when you live in Los Angeles you have *w a a a y* too many opportunities to venture across the Mojave to get hustled out of your hard earned dough-re-me, and waking up to the harsh desert morning light streaming around the curtains of your cramped Strip "deluxe" hotel room with no money in your pockets, stale tobacco stench in your hair, slot-chimes ringing in your ears, and the hangover dwarfs pickaxing their way through your cranium in proper Snow White style starts to make you feel a little too much like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day") so Frankie's seemed the way to go for a somewhat different Vegas vibe.
Drove out from L.A. last Saturday afternoon with my friend Rob, checked into my hotel and went out searching for something to eat while we were waiting for our friend Ben to get done seeing a show at Luxor with his wife. We met Ben at Bill's Gamblin' Hall (where I quickly won and promptly lost back $200 playing video poker before he got there) at about 10:00, and I immediately insisted that we grab a cab to Frankie's.
Man, what a place! The joint was packed when we first got there, so I grabbed the only chair at the bar (not to deny my friends a seat, but only so I could lose more money at video poker while I ordered drinks for the crew). The smiling and most congenial bartender (pardon me if I can't remember his name, thirty skulls later (more on which, below)) promptly took our order for a round of Zombies. After receiving our drinks and taking a few sips we universally proclaimed them the best drink deal in Vegas: $8 for a drink of that size and strength is extraordinarily reasonable, considering the difficulty of getting regularly comped for drinks in Sin City nowadays.
After another round of Zombies we finally spotted and moved to an empty table next to the Shag Secret Vice Meter (again, I think that's what it's called, and mine ended up being Television (how did it know?), but thirty skulls later I'm not adamant about much). I was very impressed by the heft of the stools which, while not the most comfortable for larger gents (our group ranged in size from 6'2" to 6'9") were most impressively carved from solid palm trunks and weighed, at the least, fifty pounds apiece.
After our third round I told Ben that I would try to find some Sinatra on the jukebox. Little did I know that the selections included nothing but original and atomic surf rock. Not that this is a bad thing: after making several Dick Dale and Ventures selections I reflected that any other type of music would definitely detract from the overall experience.
I must say that the crowd seemed a sociable and diverse bunch. I've never seen so many Betty Page hairdos outside of a Reverend Horton Heat concert. While ordering more cocktails I had a nice chat with a local at the bar who had nothing but praise about the place.
If I had my druthers, I would wish that the establishment was a little bit larger and served something to nosh on. But if it were larger it wouldn't feel like a lounge, and if they served food the patrons could not smoke, and that would take away from the atmosphere.
All in all, I love virtually everything about Frankie's (save that it is not in the South Bay and I am forced therefore to travel hundreds of miles to enjoy their Fink Bombs (my favorite Frankie's cocktail, so far)) and have been recommending it to everyone who will listen since I've returned home. But, at least, I brought back memories and a T-shirt.
Final tally:
Me: 3 Zombies, 2 Fink Bombs, 1 Bender Ender
Ben: 3 Zombies, 1 Fink Bomb, 1 Bender Ender, 1 Bearded Clam
Rob: 2 Zombies and 2 Bearded Clams
This place is truly, truly Tiki with a capital "T". If you appreciate bamboo covered walls, blow fish lamps, murky lighting, impressively carved tikis , friendly staff, happening patrons and drinks that will leave you fit-to-be-shanghaied, Frankie's is the spot.
Just go.
We spent the afternoon at the driving range and were parched so headed to a tiki lounge for some libations. Upon opening the door we were unable to see as it is a very dark and intriguing bar. We found our seats and eventually our eyes adjusted. The height of tiki-liciousness! We really enjoyed our drinks. We had bearded clams and kahiki kai. We all got the tiki glasses to take home with us on the 1st round. What better addition to your home bar than a tiki glass? Fun videos on the tv's. We enjoyed the movie bits that had a plastic tiki who killed women with his plastic sword! Great drinks, good bartender, all that you could ask for in the desert to take you back to the islands.
Only drawback was no kitchen or food. I would have loved some coconut shrimp with my tropical drink. Strong drinks make sure you eat before you go.
Our friend Dan let us know about this place. He came here during his last trip to Sin City and couldn't stop raving about how great it is. After such a strong testimonial, we decided to check it out for ourselves.
When you first pull up you're kind of under whelmed by the exterior but pleasantly surprised and wowe'd once inside. When you walk in you're certain you're going to fall on your face because you can't see a thing. It's DARK in there. However, after a few minutes your eyes adjust to the minimal lighting and you start to take it all in. The beautiful carvings, the cool paintings and other decorative items strewn thoughout the bar are very welcoming and provide for a perfect surrounding to suck down some tropical drinks. They also have an awesome jukebox for your listening pleasure.
We looked over the drink menu and appreciated the skull ratings that let you know the alcoholic strength of each cocktail. Me being a lush, I went for the 4 skull rated, "Sea Hag" while the BF went for a 3 skull rated, "Kahiki Kai." Both were yummy and delivered on their potency ratings. We both decided to have our concoctions served in their tiki souvenir mugs which have been added to our tiki collection at home.
Their prices are reasonable and on par with other Tiki themed bars. However, the BF and I both agree that this is one of the coolest ones we've had the pleasure of drinking in. Our bartendar was super friendly and efficient. This is our new hang out while in Vegas.
We ended up here after dinner. We wanted a bar with lots of personality. This bar is so swank and cheesey. The decor is not halfway tiki; it is fully committed to the wonderful gaud of tiki. The wals are covered with tiki prints and bamboo. There are glass bouys converted into lamps and puffer fish converted into lamps hanging from the ceiling, providing a soft low light.
There's sitting space at the bar, where you can play video poker. There's a small elevated area for three parties of four-ish. There's also a table area in the middle of the floor, but the tables and chairs are like for tiny people. The seats are like tree stumps with upright back rests. Only really narrow-assed people can sit on those things.
The specialty tiki drinks are all $8 unless you want the souvenir mug, then its $20.
The bathrooms are disappointingly normal. There bathroom stalls are wall papered with old south Pacific island inspired music albums and posters. But otherwise austere.
The crowd that goes to Frankie's are all arty in some way. There were a couple girls dressed like they were out of Grease and some beatnik-looking guys. And we even saw a prominent artist hanging out at the bar.
* off the strip, non-casino
This is one BADASS MOFO of a bar. You'd have to go to the Double Down first to get a good idea of what kind of BADASS MOFO bar experience you're in for. If the Double Down is too rude for you then you won't like the Fink Bomb at Frankie's. And if you don't like the Fink Bomb at Frankie's then you're probably likely to enjoy one of those plastic "Yard" margaritas over at the Mirage.
What can I say. It's definitely a place to chill away from all the hoopla from the strip. They've got a large amount of specialty drinks to choose from and the bartender we had was generous enough on the alcohol. Dude, I even saw some guy drinking a San Miguel beer (The Filipino staple). Wha?? This is the last place I would think to see brew from my culture. That was pretty cool.
Me and my buddies were all loud in the place, not trying to be obnoxious but enjoying our time there. Everyone we met there was awesome and even the bouncer Jeff was good enough to chat with us about old cartoons. Haha! We had a blast!
What's even better are the prices of the drinks. Man, I swear we drank so much up in there and only spent about 60 bucks!!!! That same amount in the big casinos will get you about 6 drinks that are not as stiff and that's not including tip!!!!
Check out this place and bring some friends.
This bar symbolizes the old classic type of Vegas the way Vegas should be and the decor in this place is amazing! it's TIKI HEAVEN!
Plus this place makes the best damn drinks in VEGAS, and the drinks are Dangerously strong and extremely smooth and tasty. Just check out some of the drinks on there website and just tell me you are not hooked
http://www.frankiestik...
BEST BAR IN VEGAS! I know a ton of people who have been here already for the grand opening and heard nothing but great things, I've been watching the updates about the building and construction and finally the opening of this place from the owner who posts on Tiki central web forum for awhile now. This place is FINALLY OPEN NOW and it's open 24/7!!!! Hopefully I can make it out to it soon.
Tiki bar perfection. Insane drinks (made the way drinks are supposed to be made!), fantastic decor (the owner commissioned all the great art from the artists themselves), friendly bartenders, excellent music, and just a great experience overall. The only bummer is the location (kind of out-of-the-way if you're staying on the Strip) but do not let that dissuade you! It is soooo worth the trip. I only wish I could have stayed longer and tried more drinks. Next time for sure!
Pretty cool place and a great addition to the area.
The interior is well done and the tiki drinks are good...although I'm not a huge fan of rum...and that pretty much covers the whole menu.
The names are clever and the staff is cool...props to Chris.
This place only falls short on being a gaming bar....I can't get down with that...it's a vibe killer.
I love this little hole in the wall bar. For every $20 or so you put in the video poker machine the pleasant bartender will serve you another tasty drink. My fiance and I both love "girly" drinks (yup, I said it) and have had nothing but great experiences with all the tasty concoctions here. It's awesome because all the drinks come rated between 1-5 skulls so you know what you're getting into! My friends tried the "Zombie" and wow.. there's a reason there are 5 skull symbols under that one! Strong, but oh so delicious.
When I was but a wee child my father used to force me to go to the Enchanted Tiki Room every time we went to Disneyland. It isn't that I didn't love Disneyland, or my dear father, but I really never understood the draw of sitting in a confined space and watching fake singing birds and flowers. The Tiki Room line was always long and it was always sort of oddly humid...perhaps both from the sticky, sweaty tourists and some Disney created faux tropical magic mist. The only good thing was that I would always get dole whip, and dole whip rocks! But then you would go inside and be forced to sit next to more of the sticky, sweaty, tourists...and you are squeezed in for maximum occupancy so you are practically in people's laps. The show would finally start and the birds would sing and the flowers sway and all you could really hear was the loud clacking of the animatronic mouths and perhaps the off-key singing of some Disney fanatic next to you who has been to the Tiki Room 500 times and knows all the words, both songs and dialogue. So, when I became old enough to refuse, I stopped going to the Enchanted Tiki Room.
So after this childhood tiki trauma one would understandably think that I would be 100% anti-tiki. But that is not the case, because as I got older I realized what is missing from Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room...Booze! That's right delicious alcoholic tiki drinks in tiki glasses garnished with tropical fruit and a marachino cherry. If I had had booze in addition to my dole whip perhaps Jose the singing bird in a sombrero would have been a bit more tolerable. Perhaps that Disney fanatic singing along next to me and having a great time was completely boozed up and I was too young to realize.
I have recently found my perfect enchanted tiki room complete with hand carved tikis, amazing booze filled tiki drinks, fantastic bartenders, a great juke box, and no annoying swaying flowers or singing birds...it's Frankie's Tiki Room! Located in a non-descript building in a non-descript part of town, you pass through the magical red door into a veritable tiki paradise. The room is appropriately dark and fantastically tiki. I walked in from bright sunlight, was completely blind, and had to be led to the bar by the lovely voice of our bartender Allison. Allison is super cool and can talk tiki with the best of them. She made me some amazing boozy tiki concoctions. I had the Tiki Bandit, Kahiki Kai, Lava Letch, and a seriously superior Zombie. Let me tell you, after all of those tiki drinks I didn't see any singing birds or swaying flowers but I swear one of those wooden tikis was talking to me...and he did sound a little like Jose...no sombrero though. He was kind of hot in that wooden tiki kind of way, ya know what I'm saying? No really, the big tiki by the door has a tiki "pee pee" and if you rub it the fog machine goes on. See, I told you this place was cool!
They have a menu of signature tiki drinks, familiar tiki drinks, or they can make you just about anything you want. They also have some amazing signature tiki mugs (that go along with the tiki drinks) for sale...apparently they are selling like gangbusters to the tiki collector. Happy Hour is everyday from 10 am -6 pm.
So for those of you who hate Disney's Enchanted Tike Room but love drinking delicious tiki drinks, or perhaps you just love to rub a wooden tiki "pee pee," Frankie's Tiki Room is the place for you.
An authentic tiki bar with lots of kitsch appeal and decent music. A perfect place to go when you want to get away from the spring breakers that haunt the strip.
Actually I'm a snob for classic original Tiki, but that's easy for me to say since I live 30 minutes from Tiki-Ti, can walk to the Galley in Santa Monica (since 1934, the greatest Tiki bar that has no tikis) and went to high school across the street from the Bahooka. For me with neo-Tiki, if you don't have the old-school history then it has to be all about the cocktails. I don't care how many tikis you have if you're serving cheap rum mixed with Hawaiian Punch.
So how does Frankie's Tiki Room measure up?
Let's start with those cocktails. I tasted 5 and they were all great !! The drink menu features 5 classic drinks along with 15 new concoctions. The new drinks have very good descriptions as well as potency ratings measured in skulls. Very helpful. (This is in stark contrast to the Tiki-Ti drink menu. For newcomers, that menu might as well be written in Chinese. You guys know what I'm talking about.) Some of the new concoctions have an ingredient not usually associated with classic tiki - energy drinks. Is this tiki blasphemy or an evolution of the culture? I dunno but the "Green Gasser" that I tried was especially tasty. My other favorite drink of the evening was the "Murky Lagoon". This isn't on the menu but bartender Allison (aka Rumshaker) can make one up for you. So how do the classics measure up? Well the Mai Tai that I had was very good. I was planning on a 2nd visit for the weekend to try the Zombie and Navy Grog, but I got busy with a hot craps table at the El Cortez. (What about the mugs? Sorry, I don't do mugs. I'd rather use the money to buy another cocktail).
Cocktails - check, so what about the rest?
Well to begin with, the original building (1964) does vibe history. Maybe not Tiki history, but old-school Vegas history especially with its Spanish arched entrance. I'd love to learn more about the place when it was just plain old Frankie's. Maybe this is where the "black book" mobsters met in the 1960's when they were banned from entering the strip casinos.
The location is off the beaten path. It's not in an area where a casual tourist might stumble across it, ensuring that those who visit have targeted it as a specific destination (unless they've escaped from the hospital next door). This is a good thing. Also in Vegas, if you're sitting on too valuable a piece of real estate then chances are you will be blown up or reinvented. Look at the fate of Taboo Cove at the Venetian and the Trader Vic's next to Planet Hollywood (even though few will miss it).
So what does the interior look like? While all of the individual pieces (tikis, paintings, blowfish lamps, etc) are great, Frankie's really shines as a sum of all its parts. The entire room is an orchestrated work of Tiki art. From every angle that you look, there is a different perspective by which to appreciate the space. The only things that seem out of place in my opinion, are the two flat-screen TV's mounted behind the bar. OK so they're broadcasting some kind of kitschy retro video rather than ESPN, but still I think they take away from the overall mid-century mood.
What really rocks at Frankie's (and I mean that literally) is their soundtrack. While it's cool to have space-age bachelor pad music or Exotica playing in the background, Frankie's takes it up a notch with 60's-era garage rock and surf music (at least when I was there). Very groovy. It's not just vintage-era music, I heard them play the 5.6.7.8's (that cool Japanese girl band you saw in "Kill Bill"). I thought to myself what other place sounds this good and then I remembered, the Double Down Saloon (also brought to you by P. Moss).
OK, so by now you can tell that Frankie's is a place made by tiki-philes for tiki-philes. The drinks, the décor, and the music are all spot on. Not only that, it's all uniquely available 24x7. So now for the first time in almost 30 years, genuine Tiki culture is again synonymous with Sin City. For a place like Las Vegas, it never should have gone away in the first place.
The Aku Aku moai in Sunset Park is smiling once again.
I was able to go to the soft opening and this place is fantastic! It is a vintage style tiki bar with some great modern tiki art on the walls. I didn't have many drinks, but I sampled some great ones my friends were having. I can't wait until December 4 , when it is open 24/7 for good!
I stopped by and saw the interior in progress. This place looks great!
Just went here this past weekend with my boyfriend and it was FABULOUS. This place is a tiki aficionado's dream! Their drinks are delicious (I highly recommend the Kahiki Kai or the Tiki Bandit), the staff is friendly, and the decor is beautiful. Get your drink in a souvenir tiki mug and enjoy yourself. Be sure to try the "vice tester" in the back, too!
cool tiki surroundings and great place to wind up, and it is nice to be free from the strip crowd. it is a dark and anonymous place to taste some good island flavors. our bartender was helpful and made good suggestions.
Love this place, it's off the strip, amazing interior...great to get away from all the touristy crap on the main drag. You must see and must have a drink here!!
Las Vegas, NV
Category: Dive Bars
Las Vegas, NV
Category: Lounges
Las Vegas, NV
Category: Dive Bars
Las Vegas, NV
Category: Nightlife
Las Vegas, NV
Category: American (Traditional)
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