Las Vegas's Most Deliberately Hidden Bar
The Laundry Room is not a bar in the conventional sense. It holds 8 people. It operates on Thursday through Saturday evenings only, when reservations are available via SMS. It sits inside the Commonwealth building on Fremont East, accessed through a door that requires you to know it exists in the first place. This is intentional. The exclusivity is part of the point, but it is not exclusivity for its own sake — it is the direct result of a bar built around a fundamentally intimate experience.
The room has no printed menu. The format is simple: you sit, a bartender asks what you like and what you have tried recently, and they build you a cocktail. The session runs for as long as you have a reservation, typically 90 minutes. A round costs around $22 to $28 per drink. Over the course of an evening, you might have 3 cocktails built specifically for your preferences by someone who is paying close attention. This is more like a bar conversation compressed to its most essential form than a conventional drinking experience.
Las Vegas has no shortage of spectacular bars — the best cocktail bars in Las Vegas list is longer than most cities. But The Laundry Room is unlike anything else in the city. Strip cocktail bars operate at scale. This operates at the opposite of scale. It is the most interesting bar in a city full of interesting bars, precisely because it refuses all of the assumptions that Las Vegas nightlife is built on.
How to Get a Reservation
Commonwealth posts a phone number for SMS reservations on their website. Text that number with your requested date and party size (maximum 4 — larger groups can take the full 8-seat room). The bar operates with a waiting list, and dates book 1 to 2 weeks ahead on weekends. During slower periods — mid-week in summer — same-week availability is possible. The reservation system changes occasionally, so check Commonwealth's current contact information before attempting to book.
The Laundry Room does not accept walk-ins during operating hours. You can, however, visit Commonwealth's main bar and rooftop — the Commonwealth bar itself is excellent — while you wait for availability. Several of our editors have spent entire Las Vegas evenings at Commonwealth before finally getting a Laundry Room session.
Dress appropriately. The room is small and intimate, and the bartenders are working at a level of seriousness that reflects in their appearance. Smart casual is the minimum. The Fremont East area around Commonwealth includes Atomic Liquors and several solid dive bars if you arrive early and want to start there.
The Laundry Room appears on every serious list of the best bars in the US — and rightly so. In a city where most bars are calibrated for maximum throughput, this one is calibrated for minimum numbers and maximum quality. The experience is different every time because the bartender builds for you specifically. We have been 4 times. We have not had the same drink twice. That is the whole point. See also our guide to hidden gem bars in Las Vegas for the full picture of what downtown has to offer.