Beauty & Essex

Beauty & Essex at the Cosmopolitan is that rare Strip restaurant where the hidden entrance through a pawn shop isn't just gimmick—the food and drinks actually deliver on the hype the entrance creates. This is upscale dining with a playful twist, and the Sunday through Thursday 5-7pm happy hour featuring $8 cocktails and $7 wines makes experiencing it accessible instead of special-occasion-only expensive. The pricing brings Cosmo quality down to levels where you can actually afford to go more than once a year.

The $8 Cocktails

$8 cocktails at Beauty & Essex during happy hour is legitimately good pricing for craft cocktails at a Strip resort restaurant. These aren't simplified happy hour versions—they're properly made drinks with quality spirits, fresh ingredients, and presentation that matches the restaurant's upscale aesthetic. The cocktail menu shows creativity and balance, with options ranging from refreshing to spirit-forward. At eight bucks you're getting drinks that would cost $16-20 at full price, making it possible to try multiple options and find favorites.

The $7 Wine Selection

$7 wines by the glass gives you access to Beauty & Essex's wine program without the typical Strip wine pricing that makes you cry. The happy hour selection includes both whites and reds, options that pair well with the small plates menu, and quality that reflects the restaurant's overall standards. Seven-dollar wine at a Cosmopolitan restaurant is practically stealing, and it makes wine a viable choice instead of automatically defaulting to cocktails or beer.

The Sunday-Thursday Window

Running happy hour Sunday through Thursday 5-7pm catches both locals and tourists at smart times. Two hours gives you flexibility to arrive anytime in that window and still get multiple rounds. The Sunday-Thursday schedule means you're avoiding weekend crowds and prime dinner rush, making the experience more comfortable and getting better service. It's positioned as a pre-dinner drink situation, though the happy hour small plates can easily become your whole meal.

The Pawn Shop Entrance

Entering through the functioning pawn shop adds theater to the experience—you walk through a real pawn shop (yes, you can actually buy things) before the back opens into the main restaurant. It's a fun reveal that makes first-timers feel like they discovered something, even though Beauty & Essex is well-known. The entrance sets expectations that the restaurant lives up to: playful, unexpected, quality hidden behind gimmick.

The Food Pairing

Beauty & Essex's menu is designed for sharing—small plates, larger formats, everything meant to be passed around. During happy hour, pairing the drink specials with a few small plates creates a complete experience. The food shows actual culinary technique—properly cooked proteins, interesting flavor combinations, plating that's beautiful without being fussy. Highlights include the grilled cheese with tomato soup shooters, tuna tartare, any of the toasts or flatbreads.

The Cosmo Experience

Being inside the Cosmopolitan gives Beauty & Essex that Strip polish—beautiful space, professional service, Vegas energy—without the tired corporate restaurant feeling. The crowd during happy hour mixes locals who know the deal with tourists staying at Cosmo who discovered it. The atmosphere stays lively without being loud, sophisticated without being pretentious, and the whole experience feels more fun than formal.

The Value Play

At $8 cocktails and $7 wines, Beauty & Essex's happy hour delivers Strip-quality experience at off-Strip pricing. It's how you justify going to a Cosmo restaurant on a weekday, how you introduce friends to the spot without everyone spending $80, and how this becomes a regular option instead of once-a-year splurge. The combination of great drinks, good food, fun atmosphere, and actually reasonable happy hour pricing is rare enough on the Strip to be worth knowing about.