9 Best Bars in Palm Springs and the Desert Resorts, California

This uptown drinking den picks up where tiki bar founding father Don the Beachcomber left off—first, by occupying its former space where Frank Sinatra guzzled navy grog by the quart and second, by delivering both classic cocktails like zombies and mai tais and fruit-forward, rum-heavy originals decorated with umbrellas, chunks of honeycomb, and flamingos. It's dark, full of kitsch (it's hard not to love the pufferfish lights), and has both late-afternoon and last-call happy hours daily. 

Smack in the middle of a Wild West main street movie set built in the 1940s, this haute–honky tonk saloon serves stiff drinks and hosts live music on two stages: one inside and intimate, the other out under the stars. Given that it's on the small side and in the middle of nowhere, you might be surprised at the caliber of talent it books—Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Orville Peck, Lizzo, and Patti Smith have all made the pilgrimage—and the number of patrons it packs in on any given night. It also hosts surprise, drop-in performers, especially during the Coachella music festival. Bring your dancing shoes and come hungry, as the restaurant here dishes up open-fire, Santa Maria–style barbecue that's worth the inevitable wait for a table (reservations aren't accepted).

A welcoming place with botanical prints, vibrant colors, carved totems, and globe pendants, Toucans is the longtime go-to for those who love drag queens, cabaret, and festive drinks.

Going strong since 1995, with themed happenings and live entertainment or DJs most nights, this popular sports bar/nightclub/restaurant caters to a young crowd and visiting bachelor/bachelorette posses who want to dress sexy, drink seriously (and cheaply during happy hour), and play hard.

In addition to the expansive floor filled with all kinds of gambling options (e.g., slot machines, table games, a poker room), the casino/resort also has multiple places to wet your whistle, shake your (fingers-crossed) moneymaker, and see DJs or local acts. The Show, the resort's prized theater where none of the 2,101 seats are more than 125 feet from the stage, also books a full calendar of concerts by household names like Dolly Parton and Sting, as well as fashion shows and sporting events like boxing matches.

Dance, drink, drag, and dine at this nightclub in a strip mall in the heart of the gay-centric Arenas Road district. By day, it's quite civilized. Socialize on the patio, share a watermelon feta salad, and play games. When the sun goes down, it's time to get down on the large dance floor to the hypnotic electronic beats of live spinners, enjoy drag performers, or marvel at the go-go dancers. Alcohol flows all day, every day no matter the theme.

A young energetic gay and straight crowd comes to this club-scene mainstay for bar grub, drag bingo, bottle service, and Speedo-sporting studs.

Uptown and next door to Bootleggers, this moody, sophisticated establishment was opened in late 2021 by the folks behind Sandfish—which accounts for the extensive collection of high-end whiskies and the Japanese-leaning snacks and sushi menu—to service serious cocktail connoisseurs. It has a New York air, with tufted banquettes, dim lights, leather-covered menus, a wraparound marble bar, and waxed-canvas-apron-clad bartenders who sometimes roll over the bar cart to muddle and shake in your personal space.

The younger sibling of L.A.'s oldest still-operating tiki bar (opened in 1958 in North Hollywood) transports guests from Palm Springs to Polynesia with groovy tunes, pupu platters, and umbrella drinks. Most of drinks, both classic and original, are powered by rum, but gin hounds, rye or dies, and vodka lovers have a few options, too. The bar is on the second floor of a building in the thick of downtown, so try to nab a table on the lanai to watch the action from above. Private parties can reserve a shagadelic room hidden behind a phone booth.