The Sunday Surf Brunch at Red Dwarf is our new tradition. We enjoyed this on our last trip and made sure to do this again. Red Dwarf is a dive-leaning tiki bar that’s off strip in Vegas. They serve Detroit-style pizza (crust, toppings, cheese, sauce) that is fantastic, along with a small cocktail menu and a large beer selection. Don’t overlook the light Dwarf Piss beer for only $4.
Our pizza was really great, but the cocktails here are pretty good too. Not exactly craft in orientation, nonetheless I’ve felt the Red Dwarf cocktails are better balanced than at Golden Tiki and Frankie’s Tiki Room in my experience. The standard Mai Tai here is quite good with a lighter leaning rum blend that is not assertive and probably really good for the average Vegas resident or tourist. But there are some truly outstanding rums behind the bar that can elevate your Mai Tai experience.
I also enjoyed the Trinidad, Not Your Dad that has Bourbon, Angostura Amaro, Lime, Lemon, Orgeat, Ginger Beer, Ango, and Absinthe. It leads sweet, in a good way, and is a good example of the kind of complete cocktail you wouldn’t necessarily expect in a dive bar. Similarly, Mrs. Mai Tai loved her I Just Blew Myself with Rumhaven coconut rum, Blue Curacao, cinnamon, coconut, pineapple, and lime. It’s really great.
There’s a TV above the bar that was showing classic Twilight Zone episodes, plus a screen showing surf footage including a surf-oriented episode of The Flintstones and the classic Hawaii Trilogy of Brady Bunch episodes. Music today was from Generic Surf Band, a tight trio of Vegas locals. Locals are friendly here and the staff are super friendly and work hard to serve everyone.
