I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to call Miami my home for the past 2 years, and with me moving back up to North Carolina I thought what better time than to put out my own bar guide for Miami? Not being from Miami, people don’t really see the Miami beyond “South Beach” – but Miami is SO MUCH MORE than just South Beach and you don’t really get to experience that unless you’re here for a long amount of time or you make friends with the locals. So I want to showcase all of the bars EYE have enjoyed going to that is not Fat Tuesday or going to The Clevelander to have a drink.

Now Miami is huge and has a bunch of small towns and neighborhoods. I didn’t have a car during my time in Miami, so I relied on Lyft the whole time. Lyft is like Uber, except better and CHEAPER imo. Use my code for a $5 free credit on your first ride!

I’m going to break this guide up into the different neighborhoods that I love.

B R I C K E L L:

Red Bar – The casual bar with supersize jenga, smaller with a cozy vibe, hiphop music (mix of old and new) + some reggae ton later in the night, ladies night on Thursdays with FREE champagne until 2AM.

Black Bird – The ultimate ladies night imo. Tuesday nights you get wasted so fast, so easy, so cheap! Blackbird is bigger than redbar, and even has an outside area with food vendors, MORE bars, and outside seating.

Better Days – If you want to catch a glimpse of locals, anywhere in brickell is a good idea but if you want to run into people in the hospitality industry, this is your go to. Better Days is fun & quirky, has old school video games and even has a cute FUNCTIONAL popcorn machine ;).

Baby Jane – Another casual bar with a cozy vibe, the good thing about baby jane is that it is a restaurant during the day so at night when your a little tipsy and need some food, you can order some. They have comfort asian food and you can never go wrong with some noodles!

S O U T H B E A C H:

Now, I lived on south beach the 2 1/2 years I lived in Miami and it def. has its pros and cons.

Pros:

You can go to the beach whenever you feel like.

You are walking distance to grocery stores, restaurants, and shops.

There’s an event of some sort every other day (jk, but not really)

Cons:

It’s expensiveeeeee.

When there is an event, you can expect traffic to be a shit show.

You get bored of the beach. LOL.

Most restaurants suck because they are tourist traps.

But! There are places in Sobe you can hang out at that are NOT The Clevelander or LIV (I do recommend going to LIV atleast once though). 

Sweet Liberty: A mix between funk and cozy feels. Sweet Liberty is your non-stereotypical over the top South Beach bar. Think about your favorite bar in your college town but without the cheap beer.

Bodega/Ricky’s: Good ol’ Bodega. One thing I will miss about living in South Beach? Their Mushroom burritos. Even if you aren’t fond of mushrooms or aren’t a vegetarian, these burritos are for everyone’s palate. When the lights go down, and the moon comes out is when you’ll notice that the back room of Bodega turns into a fiesta! Yup, that bathroom door you think is the bathroom? Really leads you into the back which just so happens to be a club!

The Broken Shaker: Chill, laid-back, and calm are the three words I use to describe this place. Broken shaker is totally hip and even instagrammable! The perfect place to have a drink after a long day of work or sight-seeing!

 

D E S I G N D I S T R I C T:

Lagniappe: We have got to my favorite part of the blog post. LAGNIAPPE. What can I say? Lagniappe is my favorite spot in Miami, hands down, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Why? It’s the most unique bar in town. It’s small and quaint with an outside area, get there early because seats and table get taken quick. Once you walk inside you scurry past everyone there listening and enjoying the band playing over to the wine fridge. You pick out your favorite wine bottle and check out at the bar. Once you’re checked out, you find a seat/table and you even have the luxury of customizing your own cheese board if you wish. There are no waiters, no 2 hr seating, and no pressure. Enjoy a nice night out with your friends and get white girl wasted at Lagniappe.

The Corner: Now this bar isn’t really in the design district. It’s between Downtown and Overtown and isn’t your typical bar. But if you just got done partying at E11even and want a different vibe, this is totally your bar, you can even find a band playing on certain nights. Whenever I go to The Corner I end up leaving at around 6AM. That’s also the plus side of Miami – everything is open until 5am or later.

 

Now, I know that there are plenty of other different neighborhoods and bars in Miami, but these are the one’s that I enjoyed going to and spending my money at. They are cheaper than most tourist traps & let’s face it, MORE FUN. If you have any questions about any of these bars just ask!

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