The PepperMill

The Peppermill is located just south of The Riviera on Las Vegas Blvd. You can't miss it, it looks like the local Neon Lighting Installers Union attacked the building in a fit of rage. The entire building is aglow with blue and red neon lights.

On entering, one side is a Denny's-style coffee shop, and the other is a bar/lounge. The same kitchen and bar serve both places, and you can order appetizers in the lounge.

The food and drink were of about average quality and price, so there isn't much interesting to say there.

The Cafe is pretty bland, with a smattering of neon here and there. The comparisons to Denny's could continue here, but I think you get the idea.

The lounge is unique, but I don't know if that's a good thing. The main light in the place is those horrid ugly blue and red neon bulbs, which had me searching for some Excedrin in no time at all. The seating is all in low, fairly comfortable sofas, all curved to form little niches. If the lighting weren't so harsh it would be a very pleasant place to hang out. They have a very 70's style "fireplace", consisting of a gas flame in the middle of a small bubbling pool of water. It's fun to look at, but way to hot to sit near, so the effect is lost I think. (Even my wife, who is perpetually chilly and huddles up to any heat source she can find, was turned off by the feeling she was being roasted for later consumption in the cafe.)

Service was decent and polite. Our waitress looked new (she had trouble walking with a tray of drinks, like SERIOUS trouble) but got the orders right and kept an eye on all of her tables to see if we needed anything. The girls were all fairly young and pretty, and wore long black cocktail dresses.

One oddity in the visit, is they made my wife take off her headband because they have a "no head covering" rule. Now, if she were wearing a red do-rag, or a "f*** the police" bandana, or something along those lines I could maybe understand this, but it was a simple headband that you can buy in the supermarket to keep hair out of your eyes. It really seemed silly, especially since I'm sure this is some kind of misguided anti-gang policy, and my wife and I are clearly not gang members (unless you know of a gang that accepts 30 year old engineers and computer geeks as members.)

This isn't a bad place, but it's also not an especially good place. Considering the fact that EVERY SINGLE HOTEL in Las Vegas has a lounge and a 24 hour coffee shop, I don't see why anyone would take the trip to this place. The food is not better, the prices are not lower, the drinks are not stronger. I say stay in your hotel and bill it to your room.