North Beach Dive Bar Bob's Your Uncle Features a SpongeBob Delivering Jell-O Shots

There's a new watering hole in Normandy Isle, and it's as delightfully simple as its name: Bob's Your Uncle.

On a recent Friday evening, North Beach locals gathered inside Bob's to cool off. The crowd lined the no-frills wooden bar supping down frosty local brews and stiff cocktails crafted of bitters and bourbon. Danielle Savin, co-owner, can be found bar-side mingling with the locals and sharing beers. The crowd is unconventional, a unique hodgepodge of mustached scenesters and venerable 70-somethings. But that's Bob's.

Savin, a freshly sun-kissed New Yorker with coiled locks and an affable grin, always dreamed of being her own boss. But it wasn't until longtime friend and now business partner Megan Giometti — owner of the Gibson, a kitschy whiskey bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — inspired her to take the plunge that Savin became a full-time bar owner.

Despite humble beginnings, Bob's Manhattan is now a burgeoning success in the Upper West Side, but leave it to Miami to make a lasting impression. After spending the weekend in North Beach with a friend, Steve Scott, Savin and Giometti experienced firsthand the area's need for a low-key dive bar.

"I just wish there was a Bob's here," Scott said when the pair asked where they should all have a drink. And with that, Bob's Miami was born.

 "The character of North Beach seemed to be the perfect fit," Savin says. "We wanted to introduce Miami Beach to a simple gathering spot for everyone to enjoy themselves.” And that's exactly what Bob's offers: stiff drinks and a come-as-you-are attitude.

Despite the heat and a few locally inspired cocktails, most of Bob's aesthetic stays true to its original New York design. Like any good neighborhood haunt, the decor is limited to multicolored Christmas lights, coupled with knick-knacks and retro games. Tiny shrines to famous Bobs — like Bob Marley, Seger, and Ross — pepper the space. However, the Bob that perhaps garners the most attention is the SpongeBob SquarePants remote-controlled truck that scoots around delivering tequila-based Jell-O shots ($3).

Patrons can enjoy a menu of reasonably priced libations including several riffs on the traditional Moscow mule. A good example is Smoke the Mule ($10), made with Due & Dame whiskey, pineapple juice, smoke, and salt bitters.

Another highlight is the Miami Manhattan, a spirit-forward tipple concocted with Thomas Tew rum, Rough Ryder rye, vermouth, and Aperitvo Cappelletti, an Italian red bitter ($11). Brews from MIA Brewery and Funky Buddha coupled with other local favorites rotate regularly.

Happy hour, served daily from 3 to 7 p.m., includes well drinks, house red and white wines, and a beer and a shot for $6. Specialty events like Detox to Retox, a monthly yoga class paired with booze, can be found on the bar's calendar ($20). In addition, guests can enjoy summer dancing at Bob's '70s-themed disco parties or Salsa Saturdays, which are free and open to all guests.

Bob’s Your Uncle. 928 71st St., Miami Beach; 786-542-5366; bobsyouruncle.rocks. Daily 3 p.m. to 3 a.m.