Nightmare Toys and Cafe - Vegas' Ultimate Horror Haven

By Jaimz Dillman

During a quick visit to Las Vegas, we had the chance to travel to the arts district and check out Nightmare Toys and Cafe. Created by brothers Philip and Patrick Martin and their partners, Kristy Adams and Star Martin, the group moved to Sin City with serious bar and club experience from Alabama.

Patrick sat down with CK and gave us a bit of backstory. “We had some clubs and bars back home but we loved it out here. When someone made us an offer to buy our places in Alabama, we were set.”

Walking into the space you can tell there was some major thought put into the visual appeal. Eye-catching murals decorate most of the walls from artist Tony Castillo making those social media posts a must. Mannequins and props are lurking in every corner making for a fun game of eye spy.

Phillip said, “We’re all into it, and 3 of us mainly run the cafe, but Kristy is really the one who eats, sleeps, and breathes horror. She’s an 80’s slasher fan.”

Which brings us to the adjacent store, mainly run and curated by Adams, which first opened in 2020. Featuring an impressive array of mainstream- and not easily found- toys, t’s, and trinkets, you can tell someone who seriously loves horror had a hand in stocking these shelves.

October of last year, the cafe followed. Philip continues, “We had an idea for a bar with food offerings but it turned into people coming and staying to hang out so now it’s a full restaurant.”

And the offerings are plenty! With names like The Blair Witch chicken and waffles and an egg-topped burger titled Frankenstein’s Hangover, theming runs right through the Chef-cultivated offerings. The cocktail menu is a scream made up of concoctions from the bar’s own tenders including letting fate choose your poison from a tarot deck. Our choice was set when we pulled the Lovers card and rewarded with a great fruity mix with a punch. And our other choice was The Nightmare- as it seemed appropriate, and one spicy round was plenty to chase away any lingering demons.

The store hosts fave movie stars for signings and you can browse the collection of autographs in the hall by the bathrooms as well as purchase any you can’t live without.“We’ve had some great people come through, Tony Todd, Linda Blair. And we have more stuff coming up.” said Phillip.

Follow them on social media for info on their new weekly Sunday Haunted Brunch (separate review to follow), new items being added to the menu, and future celeb events.

Worth a trip off the strip, Nightmare Toys and Cafe is a fab find in the desert.

For more info check out: nightmarecafelv.com