The best bars in South Beach to avoid the worst parts of South Beach

Forget South Beach—Sweet Liberty is known as one of the best bars in Miami. Period. This flashy cocktail bar whips up amazing cocktails alongside a menu of fresh seafood and delicious bar food. Happy hour (95-cent East Coast oysters, $5 beers, $7 wines and $9 sangria and select cocktails) is every day from 4 to 8pm.

Rum gets the treatment it deserves at Swizzle, with an inventive cocktail menu that explores the full depth and nuance of this quintessential Caribbean spirit. Ideal for a boozy nightcap, this dimly lit drinking den hidden in the Stiles Hotel boasts more than 150 varieties in a cozy, low-key atmosphere.

When the team behind Lost Boy Dry Goods opened in Downtown, nobody expected a damn good cocktail bar smack in the center of what was then an area with little draw. Apparently, they repeated this thinking when they settled on Tropezón’s location, tucked away on touristy Española Way. Here, they’ve done up an Andalusian gin and tapas theme, and it’s primarily about that gin, with nearly two dozen variations infused with everything from nuts to cured meats.

As the name implies, Minibar is diminutive. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in personality. The decor is chic, the vibe is intimate and laidback and the cocktails are really solid. Minibar has remained a quintessential watering hole for South of Fifth cool kids. On the weekends, resident DJ Niko plays a solid mix of ’80s and ’90s-heavy dance hits, from Queen and Abba to Technotronic and everything in between.

The Deuce isn’t the only spot in South Beach where you’ll find neon lights, a dingy pool table, cheap-as-dirt drinks and a rotating cast of lovable degenerates. A stalwart sports dive in the ever-trendy and manicured South of Fifth ’hood, Ted’s is a dark and cool escape from the elements where dogs are welcome and dress codes are strictly unenforced.

Hidden inside the ground floor of the trendy new Esme Hotel on Española Way, El Salón invites you to satiate your curiosity and try something new. Aesthetically, it’s something like the drawing room of a Moroccan riad infused with the sultry glamor of an old Hollywood boudoir. The most popular cocktails are the margarita and a very bright and gingery penicillin. A Mai Thai anywhere else is likely a miss, El Salon's could raise Hemingway from his grave. If you’re feeling fun, make this the first cocktail you order.

What’s a better antidote to our post-quarantine social anxiety than a disco ball-strewn, television-themed gay bar? A hop and skip away from Twist, the legendary gay mecca that’s recently been plagued by a string of unfortunate phone thefts, Nathan’s is decidedly friendlier and delightfully kitsch with six themed private sections, among them Sex and the City, Black-ish and The Brady Bunch, plus additional patio seating.

The cute bar of the Kimpton Angler's Hotel takes its cocktail program seriously and the proof is in the glass. Both outdoor and indoor seating is available as well as a seafood-heavy menu featuring a sneaky good Rhode Island lobster roll. The cocktail menu is approachable and fresh with ingredients like mango, pineapple and passionfruit, and they’ve got some good choices behind the bar.

Plenty of South Beach hotels have a rooftop bar, but Watr stands out enough to make braving the tourists (and the price tags) worth it. If you’re set on a buzzy cocktail scene with 360-degree ocean and city views, it doesn’t get more spectacular than Watr. Reservations are required for non-hotel guests at this sleek and well-shaded deck perched atop 1 Hotel.

The great Mac Klein ran this bar, one of Miami’s oldest, until he passed away in 2016 at the ripe old age of 101. Today, his bar lives on just as he intended it: old-school, smoky and unpretentious. Stop here to drink beneath the bar’s neon lights, which were installed during the filming of a Miami Vice episode.

Miami’s undisputed champion of drag brunch. They practically invented the pairing of mimosas and drag queens and continue to do it (on the sidewalk of Ocean Drive, no less) better than anyone in town. Reservations for the popular weekend brunch shows are advised. The $45 per person fee comes with food and bottomless mimosas.

The Abbey serves up dive-y vibes (read: pool, darts, jukebox) and a welcome change of pace from the frilly Lincoln Road, which sits just a block behind it. Fans rave about the house-brewed beers and the stellar IPA lineup, but booze is also on the menu here.

The Team behind Ariete and Chug’s cooked up this petite, polished South of Fifth bar. ScapeGoat prides itself on its cocktails, which are actually quite good. Don’t expect the serious cocktail bar attitude here, though. It’s a lowkey atmosphere, but things can get silly at night. At happy hour, score $10 rum punches and $8 strawberry spritzes.

Moody, intimate, nostalgic—the Standard Spa Miami Beach’s sexy little cocktail den harkens back to bars of the ‘70s and ‘80s, when drinks were more involved and people actually sat around to sip them. Monterrey Bar’s menu puts a modern spin on classic tipples with thoughtful garnishes and tableside finishers that enhance the overall drinking experience.

A beloved for-the-people bar in a chunk of South Beach ripe with tourist traps. Don’t fear the life-size statue of Bruce Lee hanging menacingly over the bar. He is simply there to ensure you have a blast in this classic Miami Beach bar that maintains old-school South Beach hours, opening at 8pm and not closing until 4am.