Rockhouse goes from bar to nightclub, picking up the pace later in the evening

Rockhouse Bar & Nightclub sports a definite dual personality.

For most of the day, from 10 a.m. on, Rockhouse is a bar with about 20 TVs, all manner of drinks and beers, and a comfortable, laid-back vibe.

Then, around 9 or 10 p.m., Rockhouse begins its daily transition into a nightclub.

"We try to make it as natural as possible by, over the course of an hour, changing the lighting, speeding up the music and making it a little bit louder," explains owner Jonathan Fine. "And, as people start to stand up and dance and get moving, we kind of steal the chairs."

Fine, who's owned the club for almost three years, describes Rockhouse -- located in front of the Imperial Palace, 3535 Las Vegas Blvd. South -- as a "mix between your Coyote Ugly and your Tao and Pure."

And if any club on the Strip deserves the adjective "intimate," it's Rockhouse: The club takes up only about 2,000 square feet and has a capacity of about 167.

But, Fine says, that adds to the partylike atmosphere, which also includes women swinging on a tire swing and dancing in cages and on a stripper pole, music provided by a roster of seven DJs and "an amazing light and sound system."

Among the club's other signature features are 88-ounce frozen daiquiris or beers served in guitar-shaped cups ($32) and a "very relaxed" dress code.

"We want people to be comfortable and have fun," Fine says.

In fact, he continues, "there is nothing better than seeing the girls from bachelorette parties get all dolled up in their gowns, and they're sitting with a group of guys who've been sitting and watching football all day with a bottle of Jack in front of them."

Rockhouse is open from 10 a.m. to 5 a.m. daily. Cover is $10 Thursdays through Sundays. After midnight, cover is $20 seven days a week.

Mondays are locals nights, when locals get in for free. Thursdays are Ladies Nights, when women drink free from 10:30 p.m. to midnight.

For more information, call 731-9683.

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.