Champagne Bar photo
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The best hotel bar in the United States is not in a historic New York City boutique hotel, an Aspen lodge, or a storied Chicago building. According to a major national publication, it can be found all the way down in Surfside, Florida.
This week, the Champagne Bar at the Surf Club was named the best hotel bar in the United States, surpassing a field of storied lounges in cities like New York, Chicago, and New Orleans. The honor comes via Food & Wine’s 2026 Global Tastemakers Awards, which placed the Surfside destination at the very top of a category long dominated by legacy institutions.
For Miami, it lands as both recognition and something closer to confirmation. How so? Because long before the national spotlight arrived, it was already on our radar.
The Champagne Bar at the Surf Club photo
Miami Knew First
In 2025, New Times named the Champagne Bar the best hotel bar in Miami, noting at the time, “A friend of ours, a worldly fellow, assures us that Four Seasons hotels are a cut above, nigh peerless. We wouldn’t know. Opulence and ostentation make us uncomfortable, as does obsequiousness, and we find that the three tend to travel in a pack. That’s the thing about the Champagne Bar at the Surf Club: Granted, it’s opulently appointed, lovingly restored to its early-20th-century glory, and with all mod cons. A bona fide throwback in a town full of construction cranes. But that’s where it stops.”
That observation holds. Because what distinguishes the Champagne Bar is not simply its design, though it is undeniably beautiful. It’s the ease of it all.
Plus, the Champagne Bar also appears in this year’s list of Top 50 Bars in Miami Right Now, holding steady in a city that rarely stands still.
The Champagne Bar at the Surf Club photo
A Rare Kind of Luxury
Tucked just outside Lido at the Surf Club Restaurant, the Champagne Bar serves as the hotel’s living room. It’s anchored by its signature emerald-green bar and opens onto a wide lounge and a palm-lined terrace. There’s truly a transportive quality to the space that feels as though you’re transported to a different era.
The drinks follow suit. Cocktails here are classic, with subtle variations that reference the Surf Club’s early days. There’s an extensive Champagne selection, of course. However, here, the martini, the gimlet, and classic cocktails are done exceptionally well.
They are not inexpensive. Around $25 a drink is standard. However, the value here is about beautiful execution, consistency, and a certain restraint that is increasingly rare. Plus, the service and each bartender who works here are a delight.
Photo by Christian Horan Photography
A Bar With Storied Elegance
The Champagne Bar sits within the original 1930s clubhouse of the Surf Club. As you can imagine, it was once home to some of South Florida’s most extravagant social gatherings. The space itself was originally the ballroom. It hosted galas and lavish parties that helped define Miami’s early identity as a playground for the well-heeled.
When the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club reopened in March 2017, the bar was redeveloped to preserve its legacy. It has since maintained the spirit of the original clubhouse while introducing a more modern rhythm.
Today, the palm-fringed terrace, beautiful decor, and refined atmosphere all nod to a version of Miami that existed long before. Even the menu reflects that lineage, from the expansive Champagne selection to the classic cocktails that echo the club’s earliest days.
In a city that is constantly reinventing itself, the Champagne Bar offers a connection to the best of old South Florida.
The Champagne Bar at the Surf Club. 9011 Collins Ave., Surfside, at the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club; 305-381-3333; fourseasons.com/surfside/dining/lounges/the-champagne-bar.
