Where is the Chandelier Bar, and do you need a reservation?

Inside The Cosmopolitan, in the middle of the casino, and no, you cannot reserve a seat. It is walk-in only on all three levels, so weekend nights mean hovering for a stool.

The three levels

• Level 1: the casino-floor bar, open 24 hours.
• Level 1.5: the small mixology room between the other two, which is where the cocktail crowd actually goes.
• Level 2: the quieter lounge on top, open from 11 a.m., 9 a.m. at weekends.

All three sit inside a two-story curtain of crystal beads, with the escalators running up through it. Walk in from the Strip and look up.

What to order

On Level 1.5, the Verbena: gin, St-Germain and lemon finished with a Sichuan "buzz button" flower. Chew the bud for thirty seconds until your mouth fizzes, then taste the drink again. The secret menu around it rewards asking the bartender for something off-book (the Natural Selection, a coconut-soup cocktail, is one). Signature cocktails run $22 to $26.

Good to know

• Weekday afternoons you walk straight to a stool.
• Bottle and table service exist for groups.
• A weekday happy hour with cheaper classics comes and goes unadvertised; confirm at the bar rather than plan around it.
• Level 1 comes with casino noise and smoke, and Strip pricing throughout.

For something calmer in the same building, Vesper Bar in the lobby is open 24 hours and empty mid-afternoon, and Ghost Donkey, behind the green door in the Block 16 food hall, is the walk-in mezcal den. Our page: The Chandelier; the ranked list: the best cocktail bars in Las Vegas.