Taste

The Island at Ellis offers pop-up tropical fun

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Get tropical at the Island at Ellis.
Photo: Ellis Island Tiki / Courtesy

Here’s the great paradox of desert living: Now that it’s triple-digit temps season, it’s too hot to sit poolside. But you can enjoy a tropical-yet-air- conditioned paradise at Ellis Island’s new pop-up experience, the Island at Ellis. Just in time for summer, the beloved off-Strip casino has transformed the second floor of its newish venue, the Front Yard, into a festive Tiki extravaganza.

A 15-foot swordfish greets guests as they ascend into a playful re-creation of the South Pacific. The large balcony feels like a cozy, secret treehouse, complete with fun decorations, reggae music and servers in tropical uniforms. Slot machines and blackjack tables in the bar area add to the fun.

The Island at Ellis also offers an exclusive food and drink menu. The Mermaid’s Hangover ($14) is a standout—a creamy blue-hued concoction in a bamboo-shaped cup with Bacardi spiced tum and coconut. The Island has all your Tiki favorites: Painkiller, Mai Tai, Scorpion Punch and a pineapple-basil mojito (all $14). And Ellis Island’s own brews are on draft for just $3-$5.

The Island cuisine sticks to a beachy theme, with coconut shrimp ($11), pork belly bites ($11), wings ($12), quesadillas ($12) and burgers ($15-$17). Make sure to get some of the outstanding the Volcano flatbread ($15) : Grilled pineapple, jalapeño and chicken are accompanied by a chili glaze and garlic ranch dressing all served atop a show stopping bread. The only thing missing from the Island menu? Dessert!

The Island’s look was achieved over just a few days, quite impressive considering the amount of bamboo, Tiki carvings, hula girls, skeletons and fishing gear on display. Some aspects take on a homespun quality, which just happen to be perfectly on theme for a Tiki bar.

Beyond this summer pop-up, we see so much opportunity for this upstairs space. Christmas kitsch? Haunted Halloween bar? Heck, you could even reuse those Tiki skeletons.

The Island at Ellis Through July 4. Ellis Island, 4178 Koval Lane, 702-733-8901. Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. & 4 p.m.-midnight; Monday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. & 4-10 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m.

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