Eight Bar

Eight Bar feels like the kind of place Miami Worldcenter was always meant to have: polished but laid-back, loungey without trying too hard and flexible enough to work for a proper dinner or just drinks that accidentally turn into one. Happy hour runs daily from 4–6pm, and right around six, the lights dim, the music turns up and the room shifts into evening mode. Admittedly, the music was a bit loud and chaotic during my visit, but the aughts playlist (Nelly Furtado, Outkast) was still super fun.

The menu is sprawling in a way that reads like a grown-up Cheesecake Factory. Salads, pasta, a bone-in rib eye—Eight Bar shows range, plus the sushi is notably fresh and inventive. The toro tuna nigiri with caviar hit the perfect notes of salinity, while the tuna crispy rice was nicely cut into bite-sized pieces, a rarity for the usually overflowing presentation. Don’t skip the butter crab roll, which arrives generously crowned with real crab—a genuinely pleasant surprise.

Hand-cut french fries feature prominently but missed the mark, though the sauce flight is still worth trying, if only to have other condiments to try (more is more!). Bubbling shrimp are a must, arriving plump and sweet, and finished with fresh mint that lifts the whole thing. It pairs well with a little gem salad—perfectly chopped, icy-cold and deeply refreshing. Into earthy drinks? Try the dill-forward martini that opens with herbal, clean notes before finishing with smoky, charred onion flavors from the infused Tito’s.

Eight Bar has a lot going for it and with proximity to Kaseya Center, it’s a no-brainer for a quick bite before games or concerts.