Bar Review: Nocturno, Las Vegas

Visitors to Las Vegas have plenty of bar options to choose from on the Strip, and if you really want a yard of margaritas in a “glass” you can take home as a reminder of your bad decisions, then I say go for it. Elevated cocktails are in short supply outside of the fancy restaurants, and even if you do find an upscale cocktail bar, be prepared to a) pay a lot for b) a shitty drink.

Nocturno is not too far off the Strip in Vegas’s teeming Arts District, home to some of the coolest bars and restaurants in town. You’ll find the venue, which opened in May 2025, tucked away in the corner of its building, though not at all hard to find.

Nocturno is staffed by very knowledgeable but not at all snooty bartenders, eager to delight customers while pushing the agenda of the bar: Mastering both classic cocktails and modern favorites. Nocturno does not invent drinks but rather borrows the items on its menu from some of the best bars in the world. The current menu has about 200 drinks represented, arranged by style/presentation — and it’s obvious that the staff knows far more than what’s in print.

With that said, there’s no way to really capture the Nocturno experience in just one visit, but I was able to sample six cocktails — plus two from the well-lubricated, off-duty employee on the stool next to me — to get a strong feel for the bar’s repertoire. And here’s the spoiler: Not a single one of these cocktails was a dud. In 18 years of writing about bars for Drinkhacker, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a collection of drinks that was this consistently delicious.

Pick favorites, if I must? OK. The Disgruntled Mai Tai it is. This riff on a classic mai tai, originated at New York’s Attaboy, adds Aperol to the base drink, then garnishes it with an upturned bottle of Underberg. The finished drink is a combination of bitter and tropical sweetness that is absolutely impossible not to love and which vanished promptly upon sampling.

Close behind, the Sicario, an off-menu spin on a Trinidad sour made with coconut syrup, lemon juice, Smith & Cross rum, and Amargo-Vallet. Gorgeous and bitter but also bright, its lightly gritty finish gives the drink a harder edge and more bite than you initially expect. Loved it.

Again, I can’t complain one bit about the other cocktails we sampled, including the mezcal-meets-strawberry daiquiri Mexican Firing Squad #2 or the summery and effervescent Peach Blow Fizz, which reportedly predates the Ramos Gin Fizz by decades. Honestly, at Nocturno, I have to think you can’t go wrong no matter what you order. Go!

Nocturno also offers a small menu of food, but we didn’t try any of it. Another time, which I hope comes quickly.

1017 S 1st St #180, Las Vegas, NV 89101
nocturnovegas.com

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