Miami's Ten Best Neighborhood Bars: After-Work Happy Hours, Drink While You Work

​Want access to our Best Of picks from your smartphone? Download our free Best Of app for iPhone or Android from the App Store or Google Play.


​Time to bust out another ol' list of best drinking spots in Miami. Every bar is good in our inebriated view, but some have better décor, drink variety, menus, bartenders, location, etc. All of these spots are popular places to meet up with colleagues to really get shit done, chat about overthrowing your boss, and pound some happy-hour booze.

What a makes a good neighborhood watering hole? It has to be gritty, of questionable character, and not a place that many people know about, says Jorge Blanco, 26, a local who avoids chain restaurants and bars as often as possible.

"It's not a neighborhood bar until a random person starts talking to you," Blanco says. "Support  your local small-business owner, man -- that's what America is all about."

​10. Corbett's Sports Bar & Grill
You want a locals' bar? You got it. Screw the Yelp ratings -- you best come here rough and ready to brawl, down a few dozen shots of Jameson's, or at least have your washing machine ready at home to immediately scrub the cigarette-smoke-infused jacket you came in wearing. Tucked away in a Pinecrest strip mall on South Dixie Highway, Corbett's has been around for a long time, probably because of the reputation for a friendly staff and down-to-earth atmosphere. They have a full bar with bar food such as burgers and fries, onion rings, jalapeño poppers, and wings. The bar itself sits kinda in the middle of the joint, with darts, pool, foosball, and TV sets here and there blasting sports games, during which you can get $7 beer pitchers.

​9. Abraxas Lounge
Miami Beach tries to outdo itself in so many ways to get you to walk into one of its clubs, and usually there is some sort of dress code/cover/know-the-doorman required for admittance. Not this place. It's located south of Fifth Street on Meridian, far removed from all the tourist traps. A chic, cozy, and dimly lit place is interspersed with TV sets and seating available with loveseats and small tables. Friendly bartenders, a good selection of 50-plus wines and champagnes, assorted sakes, and microbrews for beer snobs make this place full of win. Happy hour from 5 to 9 p.m. with $4 house wines and beers, and a weekly schedule of events that includes a Tuesday pub quizzer and Wednesday ladies' night.