Toca Madera Happy Hour. The Strip

Toca Madera is at The Park MGM end of the Strip, so valet at Park MGM or the nearby garages puts you closest. The happy hour schedule is the first thing to sort out, because it only runs Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 4 to 6pm. No Tuesday, no weekends. Catch one of those four days and the window is solid.

The margaritas are the signature. They run $13 during happy hour in watermelon or guava, made with real tequila and fresh juice rather than sugary mixers, which is where most of the budget goes. If you'd rather keep it cheap, Corona, Pacifico, and Modelo are $5, and wine is $8. The food is modern Mexican built for sharing: $10 queso fundido, $12 tostadas, $14 fish tacos, and $10 chicken al pastor tacos. Order a few and split them across the table.

This is a scene, plainly. Moody lighting, loud music, a dressed-up crowd, and the occasional birthday sparkler procession. If you want quiet chips and margaritas, a dive bar will treat you better. If you want an experience with your tequila, this is the room for it.

The margaritas aren't cheap even on the deal, but you're paying for craft ingredients and the setting. Come on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, lean into the cocktails over the beer, and treat the splurge as the cost of one of the Strip's flashier rooms.