Your Guide to Local Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas! As you know by now, we're all about discovering the "local" everywhere we go, and what better challenge than trying to find the local in Las Vegas? Turns out it wasn't that hard, and we didn't set foot on the strip once. You won't find any "Welcome to Las Vegas" signs in our Las Vegas city guide; instead you'll find juice bars instead of piano bars, a coffee shop run by one of the most awarded baristas, an outdoor roller rink, and the smallest park in North America. Sounds like a party!
First up is the neighborhood of Fremont East, the section of downtown Vegas where you actually can't drink on the street. It's full of cool, independent restaurants and covered in art (more on the later). Park on Fremont is an eclectic restaurant and bar with cocktails, tacos, and a super rad outdoor patio. It's the perfect place for chill drinks for your friends at any time of day, but the happy hour is pretty great. Also, fried pickles.
When you wake up in Vegas, you might find yourself with a headache. Have no fear, Grassroots is here to save you with their superfood smoothies and juices. If you're feeling up for it, Bikram Yoga is right next door too!
Don't feel guilty about sleeping in while you're in Vegas, because Eat is serving delicious eggs all day long. It's the place to be for breakast, brunch, or lunch!
Now, back to Fremont East. If you want to eat & drink and wander with the locals, get off the strip and head downtown. Once you cross the street into Fremont East, Vegas’ “drink anywhere” law goes out the window in favour of classier cocktails, like the ones you'll find at Commonwealth. The area is full of street art, new businesses, and a thriving community thanks to the Downtown Project (led by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh) which has invested $350 million to revitalize DTLV. We are pretty obsessed with it, and you can view our full guide here.
Downtown Container Park is part art installation, part outdoor shopping mall. The area is full of local businesses, bars, and restaurants, and they're all made out of recylced shipping containers! We love the whiskey bar Oak and Ivy (wonder why).
A local bar in Vegas is obviously going to go over the top. GoldSpike is a 24 hour hangout spot that has everything from beer pong tables to an outdoor roller rink. This roller rink is crazy, think breakdancing but in skates...and everyone is out flaunting their moves. Only in Vegas! If you're hungry and it's late, make sure you visit the cafe for cheap and yummy food, it beats fast food any night.
Fremont East isn't the only cool spot off the strip, there's also the up-and-coming DTLV Arts District home to Makers & Finders Coffee. This bright and beautiful spot has amazing coffee, but we are so in love with the chai latte, it's tastes like dessert. Come in with friends for lunch, but be warned: the Latin comfort food will make you want to stay a while.
If you're feeling a little touristy but not too touristy, check out the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Vegas. There's a light show, zip line, and a bunch of things to look at as you wander through the "old" strip. And yes, you can drink on the street!
Thanks for reading! Hopefully this will inspire you to get off the strip and explore more of what Vegas has to offer. To make it easier for you to do just that, we've partnered with Lyft, which is now in Vegas! Next time you need a ride, download Lyft here and get your first ride free using the promo code "LOCALVEGAS"
