Frankie's Tiki Room

Had 4 days to work/sleep /play in Las Vegas ....so much to see , so much to do ! so all I did was DRINK AT FRANKIES!
The room may not be the most expancive ever tapa'd but I cant imagine it gets much better than this !And the fact that it's off the strip keeps all the jet skiers away !if the drinks are staggering,the staff and service hold ya up !The juke is full of everything ya want as well ...surf,exotica,garage ! There is nothing else you need but a cold stiff coctail and a warm room ,and this place delivers!
WORTH A TRIP TO VEGAS !

Just a few notes about my visit to Frankie's:
1. The decor is great, but could use a water feature. Also, although many great tiki artists are represented, much of the work is quite modern in a hot rod kinda way. Kinda kills the retro feel of the rest of the decor. The chairs Buzzy made are cool, but really not comfortable to sit in for more than a minute.
2. I'm told they installed a smoke-eater a few weeks ago. They should get a refund. My visit was on Monday, it is now Friday and the jacket I wore that day still smells like cigarette smoke.
3. I went mid-day on a Monday and the small crowd appeared to be mostly locals.
4. The jukebox was filled with surf and exotica! No pop! Yay!
5. Although there were two large TV screens behind the bar, they were playing a mix of Tiki Oasis videos with Ape and The Devilettes, and some vintage Gilligan's Island, and other theme-appropriate tv and film clips.
6. The service was fantastic and the drinks I had were quite good! The Mai Tai even tasted like a Mai Tai, although the mint was absent.
7. My only serious gripe about Frankie's (other than the smokiness) is the "bearded clam" mug. Fortunately, I was able to get the very tasty drink without having to sip it from the terribly offensive mug. If Frankie's isn't willing to do away with the mug, the least they could do is add a well-endowed male surfer mug to balance things out a bit.

Overall, it is a great bar, and I'll go back the next time I'm in town. Hopefully they'll have a better smoke-eater by then!

Oh, I forgot one thing ... the best part about Frankie's is your drinks are free if you're playing video poker at the bar! So not only were most of my drinks free, but I walked out with more money than when I walked in!

As someone who frequents both the Emeryville Trader Vic's and Alameda's Forbidden Island, I have to say that Frankies is probably the #1 Tiki Bar of them all. While TV has history and FI has the look, Frankie's nails everything. The drinks are top notch, my Mai Tai was as good as anything Trader Vic's has made. The decor is outstanding (although I will agree with JenTiki that while the carved stools are way cool, you can't spend too much time in them). The Shag Designed game is a nice touch. The service is A+++. The thing that really put this bar over the top for me was the Juke Box. It's obvious that a lot of thought went into that thing and every selection creates the perfect soundtrack for the place. The building dates back to the 1940's so while the incarnation is new, there is a sense of "old school" about the place. Definately worth the cab ride from the strip to Frankie's. No trip to Vegas will be complete without a visit!

hands down frankies tiki bar is the best tiki bar evwer.
sorry forbidden island, i still love you.

I went to Frankie's during VLV for the first time. I instantly fell in-love with the place. I had the best mai tai I've ever had in my life there. All of their drinks were fabulous. The staff was really friendly and attentive. I got all of their mugs and many other items. I can't wait to go back!

Frankie's Tiki Room might have everything I've ever wanted in a tiki bar.

Las Vegas is a town ripe with racy extravagances & lavish exoticness, so one might think that a tiki bar amid such manicured chaos would be redundant (since tiki bars traditionally supply an escape from the "ordinary").
Even within "Sin City," Frankie's Tiki Room supplies a level of appreciable departure from the the normal world -- transporting visitors into a gloriously dark hideaway with the perfect amentities for a Polynesian Pop destination.

Hands down, my visit to Frankie's Tiki Room was one of (if not THE) best experiences I've had at a tiki bar. A few friends & I dropped in to Frankie's on a Sunday afternoon; walking in from the bright outdoors, it seemed as if we had immediately gone blind. The interior of Frankie's is DARK -- wonderfully so. As our eyes adjusted, the expertly detailed decor began to reveal itself: carved tikis, hanging nets, fish floats and the requisite puffer fish lamps. Even though the elements of the decor are standard tiki fair, the way that they are used in Frankie's seems to be perfectly suited to the scale, layout & architecture of the room. I don't recall ever having seen such a perfectly decorated bar.

Along with the carved, hung & glowing decorations, Frankie's sports a great stream of vintage film clips on two flatscreens behind the bar. Normally one wouldn't want to see a TV in a tiki bar (for fear that someone would put on "the game" or the local news), but the choice editing of clips, that display exotic (and only slightly erotic) dancers and visages of Polynesian-like destinations, make for a great visual enhancement to the otherwise motionless decor. Similarly, the jukebox provides an eviable collection of some of the best of the polynesian/tiki/surf/exotica/etc music.

All the above is fine & good, but what sealed the deal for my friends & me is that the drinks were perfectly crafted & DELICIOUS. I tried the Kahiki Kai, Malekula, Sea Hag, Navy Grog & Mai tai. Each one had a unique flavor, tasted of fresh ingredients and provided a great balance of booziness & flavor. Our bartender was Tanya & she greeted us with a friendless and spirit that is sadly rare in most bars. We've heard that the service here is great; but even our favorite tiki bars lack bartenders that seem intent on providing an atmosphere that matches the quality of their great cocktails.

I'm sure that Frankie's is (at least) a bit different at other times of the day or week; but the time that we did spend there represented the best couple of hours in all of Vegas. In short: "If you like yourself some tiki, you'll love yourself some Frankie's Tiki Room."

If I lived nearby, I'd certainly be a regular. As I do not live nearby, my time at Frankie's will be a wonderfully happy memory until I can return & make new memories there.

Finally: it should also be noted that, at the time of our visit, Frankie's offered a full EIGHT custom mugs for sale ($15 for the mug alone, $20 for the mug with a cocktail). EIGHT. Eight custom mugs. That's awesome. Most bars, if they have a custom mug at all, have only one. Frankie's has eight and they are really well designed, too.

Frankie's: thank you for a great time & for setting a new standard in modern tiki bars.
Everyone else: get to Frankie's any way that you can.

what else can i say about frankies other than they got it in spades and i am friggin lucky to live in vegas so i can go aytime i want thanks to the 24hour operating hours. the staff is top notch, all the drinks are very very VERY researched and potent. the mugs are all great and priced very well. for how small the place is its got great little nooks and crannys to feel set apart from the bar. when my wife and i have a bad day at work and need to get out of the desert and go on a couple-hour-vaction we head to frankies.....in fact i am going there tonight!!!

Stopped in while in town for Viva Las Vegas. Wound up going there twice. Really dug the place. Had a great time and came home with a few mugs.

I can't wait to visit here. Haven't been back to Vegas since they opened, but it sounds great.

Speak of the devil. Made it out to Frankie's today for "breakfast", and the place is a-MAZ-ing. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but from the inside, it is a tiki paradise. The decor is a great mix of tiki-hemed art, both traditional, and a few with some nods to the Vegas surroundings. I managed to make it through three drinks (with mugs!) before I had to pause for recovery time. Definitely planning to make it back there a couple of more times before I leave Vegas so I can pack in the other four mugs. (They're supposed to have 8 total, but one of them, the Malekula mug is currently undergoing a redesign, and wasn't available when I went.)

One tip: They don't have a kitchen, but they have menus for local sandwich and pizza joints and may order delivery for you if you ask nicely. Our bartender, Tanya, was awesome. Highly recommended.

Also: Check out the Shag-designed "Vice Tester" in the corner behind the door. Pop in a quarter, and it tells you what your vice is!

Discovered Frankies by accident just before our Vegas trip. I took my wife and friends there after dinner on my wifes birthday. Not much to look at outside, but inside man..it was tiki heaven!
The atmosphere was fantastic. I loved the old skool oceanic arts decor. The drinks were perfect and the bartender was freindly and funny. We sat in front of the Vice Tester. I didn't try it I know what my vice is ...tiki bars, rum drinks and betties dolled up in vintage outfits. I can't wait to get back here again.

I visited Frankie's at 3:00 AM on a recent trip to LV. Had a couple mai tais that were among the best I have ever tasted. The decor in this small bar is exquisite, obviously done by an owner who understands what tiki is. Quite simply an outstanding tiki bar, not to be missed.

I stopped in at Frankie's with a work chum / fellow tiki enthusiast earlier this year at the tail end of a business trip. I had pretty high expectations, being that this was the only fun moment my trip afforded me. One problem is, I came in hungry ... and there's no kitchen at Frankie's. Nor could you probably stand to eat because the atmosphere of the tiny place is thick with a carcinogenic fog. But the signature beverages were tons of fun, with clever names like "Thurston Howl" and "Lava Letch," so I resigned myself to drinking my lunch. My work pal and I were like giggly schoolgirls going over the drink menu, picking out our favorites and happily paying extra to take home two tiki mugs apiece. We shared the space with just a handful of locals -- pretty low-key on a workday afternoon. Loved the groovy darkness, the mostly-authentic decor and delightfully retro-hipster tunage. Loved the t-shirt I picked up from the cute and skilled (but foulmouthed) bartender. I Did not care for the more modernized, "Vegas" spin that showed up in some of the tikis, tiki mugs and artwork. For me, it took a bite out of the authenticity of an otherwise amazingly authentic joint ... but I suppose you need to have some kind of unique edge to keep "the kids" interested. All in all, a cool experience that I will repeat as often as I can make it to Vegas.

In a word, Frankie's is Epic. Everything from the decor, to the music, the mugs, the drinks, hell, even the bathroom stalls all work together to wrap you in a cloak of dark, tiki bliss. Just a hint of hot-rod kulture and old-skool Vegas sleaze are present, but barely noticable, and overall they add to the vibe of the place and really help separate it from the other Tiki bars I've been to. Going to Frankie's gave me the same rush as I imagine I would have had going to the back-ally speak-easy's of the prohibition era. It's well worth the trip to Vegas just to check out Frankies, and I certainly hope I can go back again - SOON!

Frankie's LV is the real deal! Amazing drinks at great prices. Super atmosphere and jukebox. Skilled bartenders who aren't just slamming some froth together. Only con is it's small and hard to find a seat--but even that is cool in it's own way. It's off the path of many but well worth a visit for the videos/music/drinks/atmosphere and friendly staff--in a word -LOVE but be careful with those five skull drinks :)

Excellent tiki experience! Great bartender, yummy and potent drinks with an incredible atmoshphere.

It really is just a room, but what a room it is! The quintessential tiki bar. There is no food, but the invented drinks, as well as the signature mugs are downright impressive. How can any tiki affectionado avoid liking a tiki mug that resembles a slot machine? The dark, dank atmosphere only adds to the vibe. There are 3 different tikis in the small room, one of them holding playing cards that adds to the vegas charm. Also, there are two polynesian popculture style paintings that are beautful to look at. The music couldn't be any more appropriate, with a good selection of surf, exotica, and even a little rockabilly. The videos are pure nostaliga, showing old now defunct tiki bars as well as topless women dancing with tassels. Yet, it all fits together and seems appropriate for the place.It's not your family tourist tiki bar, it seems more authenic and genuine than that by embracing the whole offbeat culture. And the drinks are perfectly tasteful and mixed. One reviewer mentioned being slightly offended by the Bearded Clam mug, but I thought it was a part of Frankie's charm.

It's been just over a year since I visited Frankie's on a layover in Vegas, and I still can't get it out of my head ... One of the most unique and immersive tiki bars I've visited, to say the least. We only had a few hours to kill, on a weekday afternoon just before Christmas, but we spent them in a glorious time warp - the drinks were very good (I recommend the Seven Island - I think that's what it's called) and very strong (which made navigating the airport quite a challenge afterwards), and the decor is beautifully done and inventive. As others have noted, it's a bit of a mixture of more traditional tiki furnishings and punk/surf-influenced tiki stuff, such as card-playing tiki statues and a velvet painting of a moai surfing on a river of lava. There's also an old coin-operated love-o-meter or fortune-telling machine, which is pretty cool. For me, the tikiness of the bathrooms is one measure of a truly quality tiki experience, and the bathroom at Frankie's didn't disappoint, with its "wallpaper" of old exotica LP covers. The bartender was friendly and knowledgeable and made us feel right at home. Anyway, I find myself trying to invent excuses to get back to Vegas (which I don't much like, otherwise) just to be able to hang out at Frankie's again. It's that good. Round-trip cab fare from the airport was around $70 for two people, and worth every penny, even for folks like us who don't have a lot of pennies to throw around. One unfortunate issue: since it's Vegas, smoking is allowed inside, and even though they're supposed to have air scrubbers (I think) it's still pretty smoky.

Solid room, good decor, good service, all around GREAT place to be!! Slot machine mug is a must have!!

Was there for the first time two weeks ago for their 4th birthday bash, and who sits down next to me at the bar but none other than Bamboo Ben! Needless to say, I enjoyed the evening. Good drinks, great mugs, fabulous decor, and a chance to chat with the guy who helped make it happen. I took home a Tiki Bandit (slot machine) mug. What a great night!

Went there for the first time. Awesome place. Great tasting drinks and the decor is incredible. Really dark when you first get there and takes a while for your eyes to get adjusted. It looks like they get a bit of a local crowd there and you need to take a taxi to find it.

Having gone to Vegas to visit my sister who was vacationing there (I live in Los Angeles), I had to stop into Frankie's before joining the party. I'd never been but heard great reviews. Frankie's did not disappoint. WAY better than I had hoped. Great atmosphere, perfect Cocktails and friendly crowd. Being open 24hrs can't hurt either the next time I'm in town. I loved it so much I stopped by at the end of the weekend to enjoy another couple Cocktails before heading out. This place ROCKS!

Oh! And it is perfectly dark in there. So dark in fact I couldn't tell the men's from the ladies restroom...and when I walked out THEN I noticed the bright red lipstick on the mask. OOPS! Men's room is on the left, fellas. THE LEFT! Sorry about that ladies, I'm glad none of you walked in while I was in there!

HIGHLY recommend it, and worth any distance to enjoy a perfect Cocktail in the perfect place.