It’s the holiday season, and Las Vegas offers many options for celebrating among beautifully decorated, themed and often charitable pop-up activations. Whether you are spreading cheer on the Las Vegas Strip, fa-la-la-ing around Downtown, caroling in Henderson or sleighing in Summerlin, we are here to share where you can get your holiday nog and delicious special meals over the following weeks.
Our own Al Mancini discusses various holiday pop-ups in Las Vegas on the Food and Loathing podcast, highlighting the evolution of the trend started by the Sand Dollar Lounge’s Miracle on Spring Mountain in 2019. He interviews representatives from several venues, including Aria’s Miracle on Easy Street, Flanker’s Christmas Parlor, Silverton’s Bad Elf, Red Rock Resort’s Candy Cane Lane and Ski Lodge, Dom DeMarco’s, and Stray Pirate. Each venue offers unique holiday-themed experiences, from interactive food and drinks to live music and decor.
Aria Resort & Casino – Easy’s
Through December 31
21+ ONLY
>> Reservation Link
“We have kind of the sweetest secret on the strip over at Aria,” says Clique Hospitality’s Ryan Brunty. “It’s a speakeasy behind a donut shop, right? So to [celebrate] the holiday spirit, we wanted to do a full takeover of the space.”
Brunty promises it will look like “Christmas threw up in a venue,” with garland, ornaments, and all manner of holiday and seasonal decor.
Brunty says he is most excited about the drink offerings. “We’re doing some really fun things, like a bumpy Sleigh Ride: a shot of Absolute Elyx vodka paired with a decadent caviar ‘bump’ priced [at] only $35… you can’t really beat that.”
While the speakeasy won’t require a special code word to get it, you are encouraged to make reservations.
“We do sell out,” explains Brunty. It is an intimate space. It’s one of the smaller venues on the strip.”
Asked if it will be their usual jazz-forward music programming for the holiday activation, Brunty says, “We’re going to keep it straightforward jazz, but our bands always like to have a lot of fun… no matter what’s happening around the city or on holidays. So there [will also] be some sprinklings of Christmas music in there. But we like to, you know, play to everybody. So, you know, maybe not everybody celebrates Christmas. So we want to [ensure] people feel welcome in the space.”
Mandalay Place – Flanker Sports Bar
Through January 5
ALL AGES
>> Reservation Link
Over at Mandalay Place, Carver Road Hospitality, sports bar and restaurant, Flanker rolled out what they’re calling a Christmas Parlor on November 20; it’s happening right now. @almancini dropped by to speak to Chef Michael Clark about it.
“We’re going to run [a Christmas Parlour] through the first week of January.”
“Holiday treats like gingerbread man cookies, [decorated] sugar cookies [are available]. Some of those items you can decorate yourself. We’ll be doing some interactive items,” Clark continues. “One of the other interactive items will be table-side S’mores. We’ll bring out a little hibachi grill and give you a whole kit to make your own s’mores at the table.”
Hot food includes a four-cheese pizza being served in a little Nero’s pizza box (a reference to the movie Home Alone), Pigs in a Blanket served in a sleigh, and Sliders that are based on Flanker’s bacon wagyu smash burger. Guests can also enjoy a charcuterie board with artisanal cheeses from local farms.
What about the drinks?
“We have up to 10 [new] holiday cocktails that we’re going to be offering,” says Clark, “all crafted by our master mixologist, Francesco; I’ve had to order some of the items for them to help them put these recipes together. And these are some excellent cocktails that we’re producing.”
And do not fret, sports fans, no matter how Christmassy it gets, there will still be sports on these screens. “Always sports. Always sports,” Clark continues. Every Saturday [and] Sunday comes your college football [and] your NFL. The NBA season is in full swing now. The NHL is in full swing now. We are a full sports venue.”
Silverton – Shady Grove Lounge
Through December 29
21+ ONLY
>> Reservation link
A group of bad elves has transformed Shady Grove Lounge “so it’s really over-the-top Christmas in terms of decor. We’ve got a great new menu of holiday cocktails [and] some food to enjoy while you’re just hanging out and celebrating the holidays,” Silverton’s Keith Sowalski tells the Food and Loathing podcast.
The vibe is that of a “really cool trailer park,” complete with a shiny Airstream trailer.
Food and drink include Reindeer Chow Snack, cookies and other desserts to pair with your cocktails. Drinks include an Espresso Martini and a special holiday-themed Old Fashioned.
Entertainment includes a pool table, foosball, and bowling inside the Airstream.
Red Rock Casino Resort – Rouge Room
Through December 28
21+ ONLY
>> Reservation link
When talking to JT Ford, we asked for the key highlights of the holiday experiences at Red Rock Resort, including Candy Cane Lane and the Ski Lounge, and how guests can make reservations.
“Candy Cane Lane [is] inside the [Rouge Room] main lounge. [It’s] red and white to go along with the rest of the room, Christmas trees… the whole nine yards. Outside in our pool area. We are doing the Ski Lodge. It’s kind of an apres-ski vibe [that] what we’re going for, which will be really cool, and we’ll have heaters outside, so it’ll be really comfortable for people. We’re really excited about it.”
As for the vibe, Ford says, “Ours will definitely be a little bit sexier. I think anyone who’s been to Rouge Room over the last six months… [knows] it’s more of an elevated space.”
The activation will introduce 12 different cocktails. “Seven of them are individual cocktails that are really cool. One of them’s a gin [drink] served in a gingerbread man.” Ford continues, “We also have five group cocktails. One of them is a little mini Christmas tree [where] the ornaments are shots, which is really cool. We have a big ornament that is a shareable cocktail as well.”
The food menu includes their current menu, which offers lollipop wings, wagyu tacos and other Rouge Room favorites.
Dom DeMarco’s – Patio Winter Wonderland
Through January 2 (est.)
ALL AGES
>> Reservation link
Over at Dom Demarco’s, they’ve decked the halls… well, the patio, with trees and lights and decorations and introduced a full menu of holiday cocktails. We spoke to owner Albert Scalleat and pizzaiolo Alex Quinn about it.
“We have a beautiful patio. It’s all redone; warm in the winter, cool in the summer,” Scalleat begins. “You [have] to see the Christmas decorations. We went all out for Christmas decorations. It looks great. So, any kind of parties [you’ll] have around the holidays, you should have them here on our patio.”
It is not an event but a dining opportunity; you can dine amid the Santa and candy cane decor during all opening hours.
Cocktails include Jingle Juice with Captain Morgan spiced rum, a Naughty or Nice Negroni with Bombay Sapphire gin and others. Prices range from $8.00 to $15.00.
Quinn promises a revamped menu will come soon, but all the favorites are still available.
Stray Pirate – Fair Winds and Festive Tidings
Through December
21+ ONLY
No reservations. Event bookings via website.
We spoke with barkeep Isaiah Robinson about their small but festive holiday menu and how they plan to decorate a place that already promises sensory overload.
“We did want to offer a few new cocktails that kind of get people into the spirit,” says Robinson. “We’re so decor-heavy, so maybe we can communicate a little bit more through our drinks than we would be able to with lights or trees or anything like that.”
Speaking of spirited spirits, Robinson introduces us to the holiday menu.
“One is called Felice Navi-Toddy. That one’s going to be a hot holiday punch” with Illegal [brand] Caribbean Cask [aged] mezcal, tea syrup inspired by Ponche Navideño Mexicano-a spiced-apple, citrusy, traditional Mexican holiday punch-finished with lemon and hot water like a Hot Toddy. “Our very first hot cocktail,” adds Robinson.
The second one, shares Robinson, is “Shake It Like a Red Nose, is kind of a double play on words because, of course, you have Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and then we also have red-nosed pit bulls that are, like, very near and dear to our hearts, being that we’re a dog pirate bar.”
A twist on a classic Daiquiri, this cocktail contains Denizen Vatted, a 100-proof aged Agricole and Jamaican rum blend, Vecchio del Amaro Calabrian chili edition, and Douglas fir brandy. “High proof, a little bit of spicy, and as rummy as all daiquiris come.”
Sand Dollar Lounge – Miracle on Spring Mountain
Through December
21+ ONLY
>> Website | Instagram
Al Mancini begins the interview “at the place that started it all, with one of the people who started it all,” speaking to Anthony Jamison, co-owner of the Sand Dollar Lounge.
Credited with introducing the Christmas pop-up trend to Las Vegas, Miracle on Spring Mountain is nothing short of an institution.
“In 2019, we were the first and only at the time. Now, everyone got the secret out,” says Jamison.
“Our former business partner visited Miracle in San Francisco, and bar owners there were just telling him, ‘You [have] got to do this. It’s a game-changer.’ So he brought it to us, and we said, yeah, what the hell? What do we got to lose? We’re not doing anything else in December. So we gave it a shot, and it was an overwhelming success. Kind of caught us off guard.”
Miracle began in New York as a pop-up holiday venue with seasonal cocktails. It was immediately successful, and the proprietor’s friends wanted to get in on the action. A decade later and the Miracle concept now pops up worldwide.
Jamison and his crew go Christmas-crazy with decor, hanging lights, tinsel, character cut-outs, ornaments and almost anything else you can think of all around (and all over) the bar. Hanukkah is also represented with a blue and silver Kosher Korner with a great view of the stage and more seating.
You don’t want to miss the Rave-Loo behind the main building: a rave-igloo for DJs, dancers and more. Jamison always thinks of innovating the concept, saying, “We were like, ‘What can we do to keep pushing the envelope?,’ and honestly, we reach capacity [a lot], so we needed more square footage, so we moved the party outside.”
Miracle on Spring Mountain has decor and festive glassware and drinks for all. In fact, the glassware is part of the Miracle brand’s approach to charitable giving. The company chooses a non-profit each year to which it donates profits from the sales of the festive tumblers, martini glasses, shot glasses, etc.
Jamison’s activation also has a charitable component. Through sales of drinks and glassware and his annual roster of pizza chef takeovers and special events, the Sand Dollar chooses local non-profits to receive donations after the close of the event.
This year, local chefs include Alan Mardonovich of Amari, Thomas Griese of Jing and Amanda Singh of Tamba. Actress Eva Longoria is also popping up this year. There are live DJs every night through December 25 and a special show with the Shmarties on December 24.
