El Segundo Sol - Fashion Show Happy Hour. The Strip

Start with a house margarita at $6.50. That is the play here, and it beats ordering anything else on the list, because the same drink at a casino bar a few hundred feet away runs two or three times the price. Frozen versions are the same $6.50 if you want something cold and slushy instead of on the rocks.

The happy hour covers Monday through Thursday, 3 to 6pm, and it's served in the bar area only. Food items during the window run $5 to $12, things like a chicken tinga tostada, loaded fries, and a mini fajita, so chips and a couple of shared plates pair naturally with the margaritas without pushing your bill anywhere near three figures.

El Segundo Sol sits inside Fashion Show Mall on the Strip, with a patio area facing the boulevard. You get the people-watching of the Strip and the air conditioning of a mall at the same time, plus parking if you drove in. The location makes it an easy mid-afternoon reset when you have been walking all day and want Mexican food without hunting for a table.

Go during the week, since the deal does not run Friday through the weekend. Grab a seat in the bar area to get the pricing. Couples and small groups do well here, splitting plates and ordering a second round. Arrive closer to 3pm and you will beat the early dinner traffic. It is casual, central, and priced to keep a Vegas budget intact.