Rainbow Cactus Saloon

Personally I think it’s a great little local bar especially if you live in area and don’t feel like driving all the way downtown for A night out.
Let me put this in a more normal way, it’s a nice little local bar you can hang out with your friends have a few drinks and have some fun.

Love this bar, bartenders are very friendly and ready the experiment with fun coctails of your choice. Karoke on Saturdays is a riot. Bathrooms suck but atmosphere makes up for it.

We had our going away party there last night and the staff, especially Scott, were FANTASTIC! We felt very welcomed and were treated great! THANKS for being a part of our farewell! We will miss AZ and Rainbow Cactus!
Kat

First bar since I moved to Arizona a week and a half ago. Love the atmosphere, and the people are great. I met a handful of great people. I will definitely be a regular!

I’ve been here a few times and it’s never a bad night when I go. The only things that they could improve on is better promoting because more people make it more fun and cheap drink options. Perhaps reverse happy hour

I used to live across the street from this place on Greenway Rd. and never noticed it until a friend told me to meet him there. I was glad to see there is a gay bar that far north in Phoenix. However this place needs alot of improvement. It has a very nice patio yet you cannot bring your drink out. All of the bartenders are okay but a few of them are very friendly and quick. I am not a fan of their shows since they seem not well put together. They do not accept credit cards so be sure to bring money, the ATM surcharge there isnt cheap. The customers are very friendly and talkative. This is a great place to go for a conversation with friends or new people. They just need to upgrade the place a lot more than they have been.

When you think of Phoenix, AZ, you don’t necessarily think «gay mecca» but there are some really cool gems to discover. Rainbow Cactus, up near Greenway on Cave Creek Rd., is one of those gems. It’s not pretentious or snooty. It’s a timeless bar that happens to be gay. No disco balls. No go-​go platforms. No naked pixies running around to glamour you with Madonna renditions. Just come on in, grab a seat and a drink and chill the hell out. You’re safe. Breathe easy, pal. Take a load off and talk to some really interesting characters. They have drag shows all the time. Find the schedule and plan to be there. Some performances are off the charts brilliant and others are less than spectacular. There’s also karaōke, which is fun, even for me and I can’t sing (voice damage). It’s laid back and there’s a lot of talented clientele who come in. Bring your girlfriends, your boyfriends, your parents too. Everybody is as welcome as they make themselves. That’s why Rainbow Cactus has been named the «gay Cheers of Phoenix». That’s why they’ll be around long after the trendy bars of the moment have fallen away.

I’m upping the star rating now after a few changes/​additions have been made to the bar.
The sound system is still lacking, but they’ve added a once-​a-​month show featuring drag kings, which is kind of cool. So now you can get your fix of both drag queens AND the kings. Most of the kings in the show are title holders and/​or award winners, so the caliber is really high. It’s a different theme every month.
THe bar is starting to bust out some great drink specials, and have introduced a new menu of spiffy non-​alcoholic drinks for those who don’t drink, or are DDs for the night. This is really awesome, because so many people enjoy going to shows or bars, but don’t drink and hate that their only options are coke or redbull. So props to the staff for listening to their patrons!

I don’t think this place is divey at all. I found it to be pretty spacious and great lighting for a night out. the people were super nice. the owners and bartender were awesome. drinks were cheap $ 3.50 for very strong vodka and sodas. the newest mega touch I have seen plus others. large outdoor space. karaōke was a blast. plenty of interesting and varied people. planned to be out for an hour or 2 and ended up there 4 hours. one of the most relaxed and unpretentious gay bars I have ever been in. its not about being gay, its just about being. highly recommended for a place to hangout with friends. pool, darts, everything you can ask for from a bar. as far as location, there is plenty of easy parking and the area is extremely safe. definitely a place to call your home bar or to add to your rotation.

after being forcefully relocated to my parents house in the nopho/​sco area, i needed a safe place to comfortably grab a bevy every now and again.
enter: rainbow cactus.
call me a tranny chaser, but i freaking love this bar, and the diverse crowd inside. it’s divey and dumpy yes, but no different then most gay bars in phoenix. although my margarita i ordered lacked a rim job, there were plenty of people lingering around the pool table who would have given it to me instead.
and the best part? an actual RAINBOW CACTUS inside, which i plugged into the wall before i peaced out for crusin’ 7^th.

Well if you like gay bars and live in North Phoenix, here’s your place! Rainbow Cactus has been Marly’s (sp) and Taylor’s Tavern prior. It’s a bit divey. It REALLY needs some new carpet, bathrooms, and patio furniture, but hey we are in a recession, so I get it! They have a huge drink selection that is averagely priced. Darts, pool, skillcrane, an ATM, and a jukebox. The staff is always nice! They used to be cash only but now take debit and possibly credit cards I do believe. It’s in a creepy complex with a Taxadermy shop and doesn’t open until 3pm. Mainly regulars are here and it’s typically kind of slow unless they have a drag show or karaōke. It’s a eclectic little place for sure. There is only one toilet per sex (which isn’t enforced) and the bathrooms are in big need of some updating. They do keep them clean, though. The back «patio» is rickety, has an odd jumble of old furniture and you can’t drink out there. I think the new ownership by Karen has helped the bring some life back into this place! Now if it could just make enough dough for some updates!
They serve some snacks like bags of chips, but you can bring in your own food and there is a pizza place next door that will bring food over as well.
This is a fun, neighborhood gay and «gay friendly» bar that just seems to vary each time I come. You never know what might be going on! Props to keeping events and shows going and being the only gay bar in the area!

Ummm… I seem to ask myself this more and more frequently. I don’t know if it’s me, or the places… but…what did I just stumble into???
First of all, the place is located in a strip mall — or if you want to call it that. It is deserted! The only thing missing are the tumbleweeds rolling through the parking lot. Next door is a Taxidermy place. Cool. So, we pull up and there are three cars in the parking lot. I’m sure one belonged to the bartender, which leaves two cars for potential patrons.
No, I’m not scared… more confused. I think to myself, you can do this Jana! You’ve been to sketchier places. So I go in.
Inside I find a massive bar, random arcade machine (by random, I mean random! There was a stuffed animal machine. You know, the thing you put money into and try to grab a stuffed animal with the clamp things, which never seem to clamp anything). We venture to the bar and are greeted by a nice bartender. I was floored by their liquor selection. Every Three Olives vodka I could dream of! Ok, now you are working your way into my heart. Next, I discover the touch tunes jukebox. I am determined to bring some life into this place!
The prices were on the steep side. 16 bucks for two Three Olive/​Red Bulls. I opted to stick to beer the rest of the night. We ended up staying for quite some time. The pool table kept us entertained, and our music selection kept us moving.
Due to high prices and sketchy nature I doubt I will be back. Plus it is Cash only, which is annoying. It’s sad, because this place would have a lot of potential… just needs a little TLC.

This place, formerly known as Taylor’s Tavern, is now called Rainbow Cactus. We had an Imperial Court of Arizona show there on Saturday, 8−1−09. There was a nice crowd in there, many obviously regulars. The bar is a good size with ample seating. The drinks were good and the staff attentive and fun. There are no drinks on the patio allowed, and it was a bit warm inside (AC taxed?), but other than these two minor quibbles, the place is rockin’ and fills a need in far north Phoenix, far from the Gayborhoods of central Phoenix. An isolated outpost in suburbia, Rainbow Cactus surges forward, chartering her own course.