Border Grill Happy Hour. The Strip

Border Grill has held down the back corner of Mandalay Bay for more than two decades, and the setting is still the draw: two floors of open-air patio and an outdoor bar looking straight over the lazy river and the beach pools. This is the Vegas outpost of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, the Too Hot Tamales, so the kitchen takes its Mexican food seriously even while half the crowd wanders in wearing swimsuits and flip flops. Doors open at 11 on weekdays and 10 on weekends, when brunch service runs until 3.

The afternoon deal here has gotten murky. Third-party listings still show a weekday happy hour starting at 3 pm with beer, sake, wine, and appetizer discounts, but as of mid 2026 the restaurant's own menu page doesn't post one. What it does post: an Aces game day menu with $6 Michelob Ultra, $21 four-packs, $17 cocktails like the tequila and chartreuse All In, and $18 wagyu sliders for three, available whenever the team plays at home, plus a summer prix fixe in July at $40 for lunch and $50 for dinner. Call ahead before you build your afternoon around the 3 pm window.

One timing note: the Aces play at Michelob Ultra Arena inside the same resort, so on home game days the room shifts into full pregame mode and patio seats go fast. Show up on a non-game weekday afternoon instead and you can usually claim an upstairs patio table with the pool view mostly to yourself.