The Griffin Happy Hour. Downtown

The Griffin has held down its corner of Fremont East since 2007, a brick-arched room that reads more medieval tavern than Vegas bar. Two gas firepits throw flickering light across tufted leather booths, the ceiling curves low overhead, and the jukebox does a lot of the talking. It pulls service industry regulars and downtown locals who want a real drink a block from the Fremont Street canopy without the souvenir-cup crowd. On busy nights a DJ sets up in the back room while the front stays conversational.

This is a bar that treats its happy hour like a password. The specials rarely get posted, and the windows locals report shift between an early evening round and a late-night one, so treat our listed times as a starting point rather than gospel. When the discount is on, it lands where you would expect at a place like this: well drinks, draft beer, and cheap cans, not the top shelf. The pours are honest either way, and the Guinness has a reputation of its own. Calling ahead or checking the bar's Instagram is genuinely the move before you build a night around it.

The bigger news is the daytime turn. Since spring 2026 The Griffin opens at 7 in the morning as a cafe, with drip coffee, lattes, and tea running four to seven dollars and a few spiked options like Italian coffee on the board. One heads up: smoking is allowed inside, so if that is a dealbreaker, come during the quiet cafe hours or grab a seat near the door.