After a long day at hockey, the kids and I decided that the very least my husband deserved was a great Father’s Day lunch. We decided to try something new because my husband absolutely loves trying new places. We have recently starting visiting the Water Street District as much as possible as it experiences it’s revitalization.
We tried calling ahead to Juan’s Flaming Fajitas to see what the wait was, and at almost 1pm on Father’s Day it was a 45 minute wait, so we called over to Hardway 8 and they had no wait. Considering they are in the same parking lot as Juan’s we were expecting it to be busy, so we were excited to be able to get straight in.
When we arrived, the available parking was in the back, so we went through the back door. My son’s initial reaction before we walked in was that the parking lot made him uncomfortable and considering it was right in the middle of the day, I thought it really must have made an impression with him. He couldn’t pin down what made him feel that way, but I suspect it was because it was very quiet and backed up to what appears to be either a home based junk yard or a hoarder’s home.
As we entered through the long hallway in the back it was just that, a long gray hallway with no decor or signage. There were very few tables taken and no one at either of the bars in the room when we arrived. We were sat at one of about 3 large tables in the center of the room after walking up to the front for the hostess to seat us. Considering the restaurant sharing the parking lot was facing a 45 minute wait, I would have expected Hardway 8 to be busier.
The decor was very cool with it’s Mid- Century vibe at both of the bars and with the glassware and as a Mid-Century buff, I was really excited to check out all the details like the cool tile on the backsplash behind the 20 taps and beautiful second bar that reminded me of something straight out of an old 007 movie, with some cool sports additions like the benches from the UNLV basketball program and rackets on the wall in a starburst formation that actually looked like a really cool MCM piece from across the room. I would be remiss if I did not mention the functional addition of charging stations under the bar. I love places that are thinking about the little things like that.
Back Bar at Hardway 8 
Sport Mid-Century Decor 
USB Charging at the Bar 
Once we sat down and looked at the wall across from the bar you were looking at a wall with 5 booths up against a wall with a hand painted sports mural and what appears to be some Sports Illustrated pages framed and hung on the wall around a couple of TV’s. It almost looks like a different space when you are not facing the very MCM bars.
There was a basketball game and a skeeball game tucked back in a corner. The kids were quick to head back there, but at $1 per play, that was $25 I was not planning on spending. Other than these two games, it was not exactly a kid friendly type of place. They had no kid style cups or glasses, so my kids first round of Sprite and OJ was out of highballs and the second round were in pint glasses. This is not an issue for my kids, but younger kids would probably have issues. There was also not a kids menu or small sizing for food, so my 6 year old had to order a full sized meal. The server did let us know they are working on a kids menu, so hopefully that will be coming soon.
Continued in part two.
