Best-of list · Cocktail Guides
The best cocktail bars in Miami for 2026, from Broken Shaker and Sweet Liberty to Gramps, The Anderson and Baby Jane. Where locals drink, not tourists.
The short answer
10 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
Miami's cocktail scene grew up fast through the 2010s. Broken Shaker took a James Beard for its bar program, and Sweet Liberty turned the daiquiri into a craft. The nine below are where the real drinking happens, well away from the South Beach hotel pools, spread across South Beach, Wynwood and Brickell.
Sweet Liberty off Collins is the late-night bartenders' canteen of Miami Beach, a big, easy room that has sat on the world lists for good reason. Happy hour runs long, the daiquiris are textbook and the kitchen goes past midnight. Around 15 dollars a drink, less at happy hour. Go late, sit at the bar and order a frozen something. The easiest, most fun room on the Beach.
Full listing & hours →Broken Shaker sits in the courtyard of the Freehand hostel, a barefoot garden-bar setup that punches miles above its postcode and has the awards to prove it. The cocktails change with what is fresh and run around 15 dollars. It gets rammed at weekends with a young crowd. Go on a weeknight, find a seat by the pool and let the bartenders pick. A proper Miami original.
Full listing & hours →Bar Lab is the cocktail program from the Broken Shaker team, here running the bars inside the Goodtime Hotel on Washington Avenue. The drinks carry the same fresh, fruit-forward signature, poured in a louder, poolside South Beach setting. Around 16 dollars. It leans party once the DJ starts. Go early evening for the cocktails before the scene takes over, or lean into it late.
Full listing & hours →The Anderson in the MiMo district is a kitschy, themed cocktail den that takes its drinks more seriously than the decor lets on. The back room and patio fill with a local crowd who come to drink well without dressing up. Cocktails sit around 14 dollars. Go on a weeknight for a seat and a properly made drink, or weekends for the noise. Unpretentious and good value for Miami.
Full listing & hours →Gramps in Wynwood is the neighbourhood dive done right, a big indoor-outdoor bar with a taco window, live music and bingo nights. It is cheap by Miami standards and all the better for it, with cocktails around 12 dollars and cold beer to match. The crowd is mixed and easy. Go for happy hour, stay for whatever is on the back stage. No velvet rope, no attitude.
Full listing & hours →The Corner on North Miami Avenue downtown is a late-night dive that stays open until 5am, later at weekends, drawing industry folk after every other place shuts. The drinks are honest and not dear, and the jukebox earns its keep. Around 12 to 13 dollars. This is a last-stop bar, not a first one. Go late, very late, when you want one more and somewhere with no pretense.
Full listing & hours →Freehold spreads across a big Wynwood lot, part bar, part courtyard, part 1970s-style pizza shop, with three bars and a stage in the yard. The drinks are fine rather than fancy, and the space and the programming are the draw. Cocktails around 14 dollars. It runs as a day-to-night hangout. Go for the courtyard on a warm evening, a slice and a frozen drink, and see what is on.
Full listing & hours →Better Days on Southeast 6th Street downtown is an easy cocktail lounge open seven days, 5pm to 5am, with live music and a late crowd. The drinks are solid and the room stays friendly without the bottle-service circus. Around 14 dollars. It works as a downtown nightcap when you want somewhere relaxed and open late. Go after dinner, settle in and let the night run on.
Baby Jane brings a bit of Asian-leaning flash to Brickell, a neon-lit room where the cocktails come fruity and photogenic and the kitchen turns out dim sum and bao. It leans scene-y and prices match, around 17 dollars. The crowd dresses up. Go early for the cocktails and the food before it tips into club mode, and book if you want a table at the weekend.
Full listing & hours →