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| - Las Vegas gets its first, legitimate speakeasy. Or perhaps others have just been too hidden for me to find.
It's located inside the Commonwealth in Downtown Las Vegas. You can find it hidden behind an unmarked wall right next to the first floor bar. Entry is granted by phone reservation only. I recommend they eventually take only text message or an online-only reservation system for easiness sake. That'll also add a lot more romance behind the reservation process.
When we first entered the space, we were met by an intermediary room that separated the main bar from the speakeasy. Here, we were briefed on the house rules which included: no pictures, speak softly, max stay limited to 2 hours, no standing, don't be a dick, etc. etc. the standard rules for any classy lounge. After all that, we walked in and were free to grab any seat we wanted. It wasn't so busy at the time because we had come on a Thursday night. I wonder if it's ever packed on Friday or Saturday.
The ambiance was dark, classic, and overall very 1920's. You could also fit approximately thirty people in here. It's a long and narrow-ish room that I imagine used to be a very small convenience store or something. There's one bartender who moved from Philly who masterminded the entire Commonwealth and Laundry Room cocktail menu. I believe her name was Jooyeun? Joon? Joo?
Look off the drink menu if you must, but my preference when ordering at speakeasies is just to order what you feel like drinking at the time. I told her I wanted something with lavender bitters (unfortunately this is rare in Vegas...sigh). Then I asked her for something that was rare for the season that also included egg whites. The result was great! Some other friends ordered equally as delicious drinks, rosemary branch included in some of them. All drinks were true to speakeasy fare. However, the price point for almost everything was about $15. This is high even for New York City standards, so I question why so expensive? This is also why the Laundry Room isn't getting a perfect 5 stars. This'll be a hindrance on coming back as often as I'd like. Drinks should hover more around $10-13.
Overall, the Laundry Room is definitely worth a visit. Vegas hasn't seen anything like it yet and Downtown is the perfect environment for a hidden treat like this. I'll definitely be back for another go.
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