Pro: Fear and Loathing menu, updated furniture, yummy drinks…read more
Con: Not the previous Laundry Room you remembered, glorified tourist trap, lack of atmosphere control. Slow drink service.
The Laundry Room is dead, long live the Laundry Room.
The remodel that took place during Jan to May 2026 saw a wide amount of change from Corner Management, the mother company of LR. They got rid of the absolute corner stone of the lead bartender, Anthony, and redecorated the place to look more like the sister bar, Doberman Drawing Room (5 Stars). The remodel was absolutely needed, as the regulars and Dean's List could point out, the place was kind of falling apart. From water warped bar top, uncomfortable chairs, and chipped paint/worned carpet, you would think this place WAS left over from the Prohibition era.
What sets this establishment apart from any of the pretend speakeasy on the strip is the atmosphere. At any given time, you could cram 16 people there at a time, even with the reduced drinking time cut from 2 hours to 90 minutes, this place could only cycle thru 50 to 60 people from the reduced nightly opening of 4 hours from 6 hours previously. This make LR special, not some faux speakeasy in Cosmo or Resort World that could jam in 80 people per hour with room to spare. Gone is the rugged identity of the old laundry room for El Cortez, this is spiced up, every square inch of the wall is covered with some art piece, very much different from the Depression era decor. Some art selection are just straight up chaos from the management, the main cherub piece behind the bar is just insanity.
The new master of house, Davey, showed skills with his new 14 drink menu, but fell short of what made LR great in the past 14 years. Now, the man had just two months to create his drink list and per himself, had to start from the scratch from when he took over.. So, with that said, let's focus on the drinks.
Hemingway Dalguiri, Dust + Ether, and High Noon Static - all great in taste, presentation, and talent, abet we can see the hesitation when making his own drinks, thus slowing down service by quite a bit. My party saw him struggle making 6 drinks at once, 4 of them the same drinks. Recommendation from someone else, maybe record the drink making process and try to eliminate non productive habits and motions via video viewing.
Since Davey is a visionary, looking in the past is a deal breaker for him. If you are trying to finish up a previous menu for the Dean's List, the joke is on you, that is a no. Where the hostess (the only person that survived the purge from the remodel) explained to him that exception needs to happen to keep the Dean's List going, the answer was a no since no one at management told him about this. When asked about what will the new requirements will be for the future, it's simple, finish the menu before it's replaced with no chance of catching up. Once a menu is done, it's done. I guess it's easier to keep the drinks under control with less ingrediencies needed behind the bar, but wait a minute... drink number 15, Research and Development, that should give Davey some leeway to non menu drinks right? Turns out, not so much.
Sidecar- cognac, orange liqueur, lemon juice. Simple right? He leaves the room to get something from Commonwealth... didn't management installed a new fridge to hold the larger ice cubes, where previous bar keep have to venture out all the time? Turns out, there was no Cognac or any Brandy in the Laundry Room. I can see how things are shaped, strict bottle control is for the benefit of the bar, not for the customer. There is now Vodka, foam, and milk wash but lost Cognac or Brandy, but besides the freedom of choices were also compounded with complete lack of rules.
For the last 14 years, the hostess and bar staff on rotation were friendly yet firm about house rules. First given upon entering the secret or window doors, then by the bartender after an aperitif is given (now eliminated). No photo, religion, politic, standing at the bar, name dropping, brawling, telephone calls, PDA, and smoking, plus don't be creepy, be patient, and know your limit. Most of these were not enforced the first 2 times my party of regulars have visited since the remodel. The cardinal sin of allowing one single 4 top to seat 2 people at a time is just wild. But hey, no rules are listed on the new simple menu and none giving at the door or at the seats. So what is this place now? 20 to 23 dollars for a drink plus more for popcorn. All for the experience of being in a noise warfare between Commonwealth and La Mona Rosa's speaker systems, with LR's own music turned up high, and the piano only used one night of the week.
I would recommend Doberman Drawing Room as of now for better drinks options, less noise, and vibe.
The new menu to replace Fear and Laundry will come out this Fall, will be bring some regulars with me to check on LR again and hopefully give more than 2 stars on the next review.
