Frankie’s Tiki Room is the happiest Polynesian place on Earth. Or so says the neon light surrounding the entry way (“Kahi Maluhia Loa I Ka Honua” is Hawaiian for “The Happiest Place on Earth”).

It’s part homage to founder P Moss’s other Las Vegas mainstay, the Double Down Saloon, and part statement of fact. Who doesn’t enjoy a stiff drink served in a bar styled after the kitschy saloons Americans fell in love after Don the Beachcomber opened in Lon Angeles in 1933?

Frankie’s has the requisite Tiki masks and South Pacific idols, makes ample use of bamboo and palm frond thatch, as well as some interesting touches like taxadermied puffer fish that double as globe lights.

But the pieces de resistance for any Tiki bar are the tropical drinks, and in this category, Frankie’s delivers. There are traditional drinks like the Mai Tai and Navy Grog, as well as the legendary Zombie, which, in keeping with custom, carries a two drinks per person limit because of its high alcohol content.

In addition to tried-and-true, the bartenders at Frankie’s also pour 15 house specialties—eight of these drinks come in signature Tiki mugs (which you can buy as souvenirs). Like the originals, these are largely rum-based drinks heavy in both alcohol and fruit juice.

The drinks also have clever names, like the Bearded Clam, a Polynesian-styled mojito that substitutes passion fruit juice for lime juice; the Thurston Howl ( Gilligan’s Island), which combines rum, brandy, gin and Pernod; and the Tiki Bandit, a concoction of 151 rum, pineapple rum, apricot brandy and blue curacao served in a mug styled like a Tiki slot machine.

If these island drinks are too sweet for you, Frankie’s also has a fully stocked bar with a majority of the spirits and beers that are popular these days.

For entertainment—that is, if the alcohol isn’t enough—they’ve got the ubiquitous video poker machines as well as a single bumper pool table and an appropriately stocked juke box with music hand-selected by Moss. There is also a vice tester designed by the artist best known as Shag, that functions in the same way the kitschy love tester arcade machines of the ‘50s did.

In addition to the drinks, the décor and the music, there is one more thing that makes Frankie’s unique in Las Vegas: it is the only Tiki bar in the whole city. And in an age where more and more bar owners seem to be going for the generic chain restaurant look, Frankie’s really stands out as having its own character and a certain sense of self. It might sound a little pretentious to talk about a bar in this way, but it is something you just have to experience to understand.

If you’re among the many suffering from the collapsed economy, Frankie’s might be the closest thing you can get to an island vacation anytime soon. So set sail, let the rum pour and relax. The hangover is tomorrow’s concern.

Frankie’s Tiki Room

1712 W. Charleston

Hours

24/7

702-385-3110

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.