Forget what you know about Tiki bars for a few minutes and prepare yourself for Todo Bien Tiki Tequileria where the craft cocktails are all prepared with house made infusions, syrups and a beautiful array of fresh produce delivered daily. The cocktails are not primarily rum based – the well-experienced Lead Mixologist Rylen Komeiji incorporates fine tequila, mezcal, and other spirits in his menu design.
Now picture the usual Tiki bar setting and wipe that from your mind. The interior seating areas and exterior patio at Todo Bien are Central Mexico styled spaces with some décor dating over 100 years old while other pieces were custom made in Mexico and West Texas. Now that you’re intrigued, let me fill in some more details.
“Our focus is on craft cocktails with fresh ingredients,” Rylen began. “We are what’s called a ‘farm to glass’ Tiki influenced bar. We serve quality liquor, fresh agave, and premium ingredients. We strive to capture the current audience and trends going on right now.”
Watching Rylen at work, he stylized four cocktails for us:
Seven Serpents is their take on a smoked Old Fashioned but with all corn – including a 100 percent ancestral Mexican corn whisky, corn-infused agave, corn liqueur, corn smoke, mango, and tamarind.
La Dama Tapada, meaning the Veiled Lady, is served “low, slow, and super cold” with a base of black pepper and cilantro infused vodka (that even guests that avoid cilantro will love), Demerara sugar, lime juice, and blood orange ginger beer.
Solare Flare starts with mezcal, and tequila infused with stone fruit, macadamia nut syrup, passion fruit, fire water - made by soaking a habanero in high proof liquor - and Velvet Falernum Caribbean liqueur.
Monkey in a Tree was the final cocktail we tried and was described as a clarified Pina Colada (not the thick cream drink you are thinking of, instead this cocktail was as clear as a bell) made with banana and Jamaican rum, lime juice, coconut, pineapple, and topped with Midori foam. The garnish is almost as tantalizing as the libations themselves, the rocks glasses are handblown in Guadalajara and the straws are made from agave.
“I came to Las Vegas 16 years ago and at first, I just wanted to go back to my home in Texas. But during COVID I thought, why go back? A switch flipped and I knew I wanted to create Todo Bien – meaning everything is going to be just fine - right here, as no one here had seen anything like this,” owner Matthew “Matty” Salazar commented. “We chose the UnCommons because we love it here. The energy is good for locals, and it’s accessible to the Strip and other neighborhoods. People want to come to a place that doesn’t have gaming or cigarette smoke for an elevated experience that’s both unique and personal.”
The two distinctly different spaces, inside and out, become one after sunset when the two large garage doors are rolled up and opened. And the total capacity, about 90 people, accommodates large group reservations.
Find Todo Bien:
8533 Rozita Lee Avenue, #110
Las Vegas, NV 89113
Opened nightly except Mondays
www.todobientiki.com
“Our focus is on craft cocktails with fresh ingredients. We are what’s called a ‘farm to glass’ Tiki influenced bar. We serve quality liquor, fresh agave, and premium ingredients.”