8 Best Nightlife in South Beach, Miami and Miami Beach

Smoky, dark, and delightfully unpolished, this complete dive bar (cash only) is anything but what you'd expect from glitzy South Beach. Once a favorite of the late Anthony Bourdain, this spot is decorated with neon signs that were a gift when they hosted the Miami Vice wrap party in the '80s. Happy hour takes place from 8 am to 5 pm, and you'll always find an eclectic crowd at the bar at all hours.

This tropical-chic, come-as-you-are cocktail lounge and restaurant has won all kinds of national and local awards for its incredible spirit-forward cocktails and fresh-and-funky vibe. For something extra special, reserve the Bartender's Table, which operates like a chef's table, but here you're in the thick of the bar action, tasting libations. Food from a full menu created by co-owner and James Beard Award winner Michelle Bernstein is served until 4 am.

Play pinball, pool, or air hockey; chow down on bar grub; and order a few rounds from the full bar (which includes 150 different beer varieties) at this pool hall–resto–dive bar on quaint Española Way. Mingle with an eclectic crowd, from visiting yuppies to local drag queens to celebs on the down-low. It's so South Beach!

Smack-dab on the beach, the full-service Nikki Beach is filled more with suburbanites and tourists than the in-crowd but promises plenty of fun nevertheless. The beach club is typically a daytime affair, opening at 10 am and closing at 6 pm (though there are often special evening events, namely on Sunday). Visitors can get their food and drink in the hammocks and beach beds (expect DJ-led tunes on weekends and rental fees all days). Sunday brunch at the club's restaurant is pretty spectacular with a true South Beach party atmosphere.

South Beach’s gay heyday continues at this fierce oceanfront bar where folks gay, straight, and everything in between—everyone's welcome—come to revel in good times, cheap cocktails, and fierce drag performances. On weekdays the bar gets busiest in the early evening, but on weekends it's all about the drag brunch. It's a true showstopper—or car-stopper, shall we say: using Ocean Drive as a stage, drag queens direct oncoming traffic with street-side splits and acrobatic tricks in heels.

TWIST is a gay institution in South Beach, having been the late-night go-to place for decades, filling to capacity around 2 am after the beach's fly-by-night bars and more established lounges begin to die down (though it's open daily from 1 pm to 5 am). There's never a cover here—not even on holidays or during gay-pride events—and there are a whopping seven different bars and dance floors spread over two levels and patios.

St. Tropez meets South Beach at this sceney, French resto-lounge with prolific alfresco seating in a spacious, tree-lined courtyard and personality-driven relaxation areas indoors (replete with swaying chandeliers, white tufted couches, and whimsically accessorized library shelves). Although Veuve Clicquot is a staple among patrons, the tropical-inspired cocktails and the selection from the in-house wine cellar, La Cave d'Azur, also impress.

Come 7 pm, Miami Beach's premier rooftop opens to the public as a full-service bar, restaurant, and lounge (before that it is exclusive to guests of the 1 Hotel South Beach). Up in the skies, expect tropically inspired drinks like pineapple and mint caipirinhas overlooking the twinkle of city lights, the sleek rooftop pool, and the lapping waves of the Atlantic Ocean.