The Miami Heat have made the NBA Finals, making the city "White Hot" for fans, while a few miles north in Sunrise, the Florida Panthers have CATapulted their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
There's no better way to root our home teams to their respective victories than with a pitcher of beer and a dozen wings at a sports bar.
To be ranked among the best, a sports bar must offer more than TV screens aplenty and a stellar beer selection. Sports bar aficionados expect impressive food menus, creative cocktails, and an ambiance conducive to game-day rooting.
Below, listed in alphabetical order, are the ten best sports bars in Miami to cheer on the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers.
305 Sports Bar
919 Brickell Ave., Miami786-382-0577
305sportsbar.com You can watch almost any game at 305 Sports Bar in Brickell, but soccer is what dominates the screens here. On game days, expect to hear plenty of hinchas on fire — a term often used to describe passionate enthusiasts and 305 Sports Bar's seemingly unofficial motto. Celebrate winning goals with the bar's robust bottle and draft beer selection, while a food menu offers all the usual sports bar suspects from wings to burgers. For Latin fare fans, there's also a wide array of dishes that represent the flavors of South America to Mexico, with appetizers like tequeños and salchipapa to arepa sandwiches and entrees like Venezuelan pabellón or Colombian pibe.
Batch Gastropub
30 SW 12th St., Miami305-808-5555
batchmiami.com Whether it’s 11:30 a.m. or 11:30 p.m., expect a full house at this American gastropub. Equal parts sports bar, lounge, and restaurant, Batch is the place to be for soccer games, NBA playoffs, boxing matches, and football showdowns. The restaurant offers locally sourced pub grub, from lamb burgers to truffle fries, that pair perfectly with a lengthy drink list that features a wide range of beers, wines, and creative cocktails. Happy hour — Monday through Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. — is also a can't-miss.
Black Market Miami
168 SE First St., Miamiand
401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
305-400-8023
blackmarketmia.comMore than 30 4K TV monitors and over a dozen beers on draft — and a few dozen more in bottles and cans — await you at Black Market Miami and its new location at Bayside Marketplace. The original location's sports bar in the heart of downtown Miami is the place to be on game day. The menu includes a variety of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and wings tossed in a choice of sauces. Black Market offers a weekday two-for-one happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m., while the Bayside location is equipped with more than 40 TV monitors — many of them located outdoors — and an open-air bar overlooking the nearby marina. The Bayside location is also steps away from Kaseya Center, making it an excellent place to meet friends before Heat games.
Bottled Blonde
2838 NW Second Ave., Miami786-673-6926
bottledblondepizzeria.com Bottled Blonde Pizzeria + Beer Garden is more than a sports bar. It's also an Italian restaurant that transforms its entire space every evening past 10 p.m. to offer a nightclub vibe. During the day, however, it most resembles a sports bar, complete with 49 HDTV monitors, 24-foot projector walls, and a menu of food and drink that makes it easy to stay and watch the entire game. Order chicken wings, a Caesar salad, or pizza. All dishes pair well with your choice of a cold beer or a long list of bespoke cocktails.
Grails Sports Bar
2800 N. Miami Ave., Miami786-870-4313
grailsmiami.com Sneaker-themed Grails has all the fixings you need for a memorable game day, from daily drink specials to live music, gourmet comfort food, and more than 60 TV screens. Order a cocktail served inside a ceramic drinking vessel that looks like a sneaker, and gather around a screen broadcasting the game of your choice. (There are enough monitors to broadcast them all.) The space offers seating for about 70 indoors, about 120 on the covered patio, and about 100 outside. The menu ranges from chicken wings made with pasture-raised birds to black-truffle fries and Buffalo cauliflower.
Kush at Clevelander
1020 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach305-532-4006
kushhospitality.comTucked away inside the massive Clevelander South Beach complex, Kush is the place where locals go to celebrate the highs and lows of Miami sports. The bar itself is a mini museum of Miami sports history with murals and memorabilia that pay tribute to the greats like Don Shula, Kimbo Slice, Dan Marino, and more. Watch the game on giant screens or rent out the private viewing room with your buddies for a VIP experience. Combine all that with food and drink from Kush Hospitality like grass-fed beef burgers (try the Miami Heat if you like spice), chicken and waffles, and a Kush Cubano.
Mike’s at Venetia
555 NE 15th St. (ninth floor), Miami305-374-5731
mikesmiami.com Every neighborhood needs a no-frills sports bar that offers high-quality food, friendly service, and great value. Downtown Miami has one in Mike’s. This long-running establishment, hidden in the Venetia condo building at the foot of the Venetian Causeway, has maintained its local charm for years. Take the elevator to the ninth floor and discover its appeal. The bar offers 20-plus TV sets, pool tables, daily specials, breezy Miami views, and the satisfaction of having found yourself a veritable hidden gem.
Old Tom’s Miami
5001 NW 36th St., Miami Springs305-888-6022
oldtomsmiami.com It can be tough being a Miami Dolphins fan, but you can find friends with the same taste in teams at Old Tom’s. This dark watering hole next to Miami International Airport is always packed with locals and tourists who want to enjoy a pitcher of beer in a chill setting. Watch NFL games as you indulge in sports bar classics such as the award-winning chicken wings. Trivia contests, karaoke, and musical entertainment are also on tap if the game gets too painful to watch.
Stone Sports Bar
701 S. Miami Ave., Miami305-639-8486
cmxcinemas.com This ultra-modern sports bar is the spot to be on game day. Located inside the CMX Studios at the Brickell City Centre, it goes one step beyond "dinner and a movie" to offer sports fans a choice of doing "the game and a movie" instead. Belly up to the bar or snag a table, and you'll be presented with an extensive menu offering an impressive array of elevated pub fare alongside plenty of beer and creative cocktails. The best part: Every seat in the house has a view of one giant screen or another, including the giant LED wall screen that claims the title of one of the largest in the state.
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux offers patrons the ultimate mashup of sports-bar fare and Southern cuisine.
Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux photo
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux
9065 SW 162nd Ave., Miami786-688-6700
walk-ons.com Walk-On's founders Brandon Landry and Jack Warner became fast friends as a pair of walk-ons on the Louisiana State University basketball team. Both worked hard and practiced even harder to earn and keep their spots on the squad. As the duo traveled across the nation with the Tigers, they quickly noted their favorite restaurants and sports bars — and realized that many of the best qualities were sorely lacking in the area around the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. That's when the idea for Walk-On's — a memorable game-day experience with a taste of Louisiana — began to take shape. The menu here is prepared with a focus on seafood, traditional Cajun cuisine, and massive burgers built for two hands. Come game day, the Florida outpost offers locals a satisfying taste of the South. Two perfect examples: the "Cajundillas" and "Pastalaya," a bar-food mashup of gumbo and jambalaya in the form of a quesadilla and a hearty pasta dish. If you're feeling salty after a loss, the Krispy Kreme bread pudding is sure to sweeten things up.
