The Miami bar scene is brimming with options — from opulent rooftops to niche, hideaway holes-in-the-wall, where the scenery and patrons are as colorful as the cocktails. This week, William Reed's "50 Best" program, which uses hundreds of culinary experts to evaluate the best bars and restaurants globally, named five Miami bars in their top 100 bars on the continent.
Five Miami Bars Among Best in North America
13. Café La Trova, MiamiThe bar has exploded in popularity since it burst onto the Miami bar scene in 2019. Julio Cabrera's lively establishment transports patrons from South Florida to Cuba through what William Reed calls "a joyous celebration of Cuban hospitality."
The bartenders at La Trova serve equal parts entertainment and alcohol, with their traditional cantinero style, where the bartender acts as both master performer and arbiter of hospitality. La Trova retains the No. 13 spot it earned in 2024, according to the bar's website.
56. ViceVersa, Miami
This Italian aperitif bar sits just outside the top 50 at No. 56 in William Reed's inaugural top 100 Best Bars list.
Bartender Valentino Longo and the team behind the Jaguar Sun team formed this Miami favorite cocktail and neo-Neopolitan pizza joint last year.
Longo brings major Italian influences to Downtown Miami and more than 20 years of hospitality experience. His journey started at the Hotel de Russie's landmark Stravinskij Bar in his native Rome, before stints in London hotels led him back to Rome and, eventually, to Miami.
About a year after opening in the Magic City, Longo has earned global acclaim with a spot on the list.
William Reed's "50 Best" program, which uses hundreds of culinary experts to evaluate the best bars and restaurants in the world, this week named five Miami bars in their top 100 bars in the entire continent.
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The luxe walls and decor of this beachside bar encapsulate the dreamy splendor of South Florida's elegant side. Housed within the Four Seasons Surfside, the Champagne Bar at the Surf Club boasts the largest selection of champagne in Miami and is the most likely bar to witness an impromptu performance by Norah Jones herself (just ask our editor in chief!).
Surrounded by palm leaves and arched doorways, it's a place to see, sip, and be seen.
77. Bar Kaiju, Miami
Little River's Bar Kaiju continues to make waves in the bar world, but thankfully not the city-destroying kind generated by the bar's namesake.
Bar Kaiju, named after the Japanese term referring to large monsters like Godzilla, only opened in 2024. But the bar has already put the Miami bar scene on notice; it was named one of the best 11 new bars in the United States by Bon Appétit.
Cocktails like "Mechagodzilla," which includes a highball of Japanese whiskey and cherry blossom-infused vermouth, seemed to resonate with the experts at William Reed.
78. Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery, Miami Beach
This speakeasy-style beach bar features more than 150 rums and caters to the experimental drinker who's sick and tired of menus with limited scope, according to the bar's website.
The bar sells itself as a place where patrons are free to indulge and imbibe. It takes inspiration from the 18th Century, a period when rum was enormously popular. On the walls, murals and paintings highlight essential moments in the history of rum. In fact, bartenders are known, when they're not shaking drinks, to give museum-like tours to eager patrons.
