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5150 Town Center Circle Boca Raton, FL 33486
http://absintheboca.com Located in the lobby of Boca Raton's Marriott is Absinthe, a chic bar and restaurant with a Prohibition era feel. Maroon velvet curtains line the walls, paintings of 1920's flappers adorn the walls, and a u-shaped marble bar occupies the front area. Scattered throughout the dimly lit lounge are various tables and booths for dining, as well as an outdoor patio, ideal for people watching and mingling with new faces. Although the patrons are mostly hotel guests, the bartender surprisingly recalls names and drinks, making everyone feel like they're in a hometown bar. In addition to a top shelf liquor and wine selection, the speciality martini list is quite extensive. The lounge itself is very quiet, however the “Up in the Air” crowd is a lively bunch, making Absinthe a very eclectic place to grab a drink. More >>
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2140 Scott Ave. West Palm Beach, FL 33409
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3660 S. Ocean Drive Hollywood, FL 33019
954-602-8347
http://aiziahollywood.com
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2201 W. Sample Road Coconut Creek, FL 33073
954-968-7777
The quintessential sports bar. A long bar surrounded by tables and chairs gives way to televisions strategically placed around the room so that the game is always in vision. The standard "chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks" bar fare completes the picture. More >>
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3016 E. Commercial Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33318
954-771-7342
http://ambryrestaurant.com Despite its diminutive appearance, the Ambry has a maze of tables and booths and a healthy-sized bar from which to consume the thickest, frothiest brews in town. Beer steins adorn shelves, shadow boxes contain trinkets, and numerous woodwind instruments dangle from the ceiling. The crowded bar boasts a row of topped-off steins, and soccer team flags and fake flowers decorate the little alcohol-vending alcove. More >>
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Harvey W. Seeds Post #29 Miami Shores, FL 33138
305-757-5773
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1600 E. Hillsboro Blvd. Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
954-428-4539
http://americanrockbar.com Posters of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix make the large space feel like a low-lit, local cousin of Planet Hollywood. Graffiti lines the wall on the way to the bathroom, and rock n’ roll dishes comprise the food menu – order Nirvana, get nachos; Motley Crue, get meatloaf. The crowd doesn’t resemble the leather-clad, tattooed, or bandana-ed set you’d find at your friendly neighborhood roughneck spot, and this isn't the place to find genuine rock n’ roll action. But none of that matters since American Rock Bar boasts some of the best drink specials the area has to offer: three-for-one on everything from 4 to 8 p.m., everyday. More >>
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100 SW Third Ave. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
954-727-0950
http://myamericasbackyard.com America's Backyard, it turns out, is nothing short of a huge pool party where the pool is swimming with bartenders and the deep end overflows with sparkling alcohol. The pool, AKA the main bar, is a tiled fortress of smiles and cocktails, the centerpiece of this open-air shindig. Wednesday is ladies' night, which means women drink free after 9 p.m. and at midnight play Pick-a-Purse for a $500 cash prize. It's '90s night on Thursday, so fill up on $3 Long Island iced teas and Real McCoy tunes, but the real party begins when the week ends and the inhibitions are tossed aside with work IDs. That's when alcohol mixes with dance music, rendering otherwise respectable young professionals helpless and desperate to dance on the bar. More >>
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200 E. McNab Road Pompano Beach, FL 33060
954-785-8878
Behind its blue aquarium façade, Anglesea Pub splits in half: Hang a left for the full-sized sports bar, a right to reach a pub crowded with outdoorsy types dressed in boat shorts and golf shirts. An outside deck seats the majority of drinkers and diners drawn by daily specials and a relaxed atmosphere. More >>
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3233 N. Ocean Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-565-9264
This Dive Bar is more about the deep sea than about sinking into a chair and drinking your pain away. Covered head to toe in a Key West-type nautical feel, the Dive Bar lures native South Floridians and Hawaiian-shirt-wearing tourists alike. Plenty of bottled beer — including a couple of micros — as well as wine and the harder stuff. The main stage is home to some of the hottest local bands, but if you're in the mood to perform, there's a ministage and a stripper pole waiting. More >>
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6303 W. Commercial Blvd. Lauderhill, FL 33319
954-721-0020
Although affiliated with the small, beachy Archie’s on Commercial Boulevard and A1A, the two bars couldn’t be more different. Where the east bar takes pleasure in a cozy dive atmosphere amid neighborhood tattoo shops and dry cleaners, Archie’s West takes advantage of a large space that locations out west commonly boast. A darts player’s paradise, Archie’s West doesn’t have windows. Instead, there are rows of old-school dartboards. A large island bar is docked in the first room, serving the typical selection of drafts and liquor (fun fact: Archie’s serves Seven Tiki Spiced Rum). The second room is even roomier, with three walls of dartboards and a pool table in the middle. Archie’s shirt says it all: “Get to the point.” More >>
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3809 Powerline Road Oakland Park, FL 33309
954-561-9134
http://myspace.com/area7musicandale Area 7's got Yuengling, Foster's, Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Bass. There's also a long and varied list of worldwide malty delights in bottle form. Those who know the Area well know it's famous for its pussy shots — devilishly sweet treats that will put you on your ass and have fun names like Phat-Ass and Fuzzy. The go-go dance feel (complete with stripper poles and flashing red lights) pulls in a crowd of hip indie kids who come out to see the live bands but stay for the nightly specials. More >>
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4441 Collins Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33140
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300 SW First Ave. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-524-6621
Art Bar has the requisite Picasso on the wall, pleasant dance music, and that huge, two-story structure full of well-dressed Lauderdale sophisticates. More >>
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6701 Collins Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33141
305-403-7565
http://arturosandovaljazzclub.com
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1 E. Commercial Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
954-776-0001
http://arubabeachcafe.com As far as bars go, Aruba Beach Café is quintessential South Florida livin’. It hasn’t really changed much since it opened in 1983. In addition to a menu of delectable seafood entrées, two bars offer fruity cocktails, serious cocktails, and the company of locals and tourists. Steel drums provide island versions of your Top 40 favorites. The hardest choice you’ll have to make will be between indoor seating with a view or outdoor seating overlooking the beach. After all, Aruba’s sandy spot next door to Commercial Boulevard fishing pier makes it the bona fide beach spot in a village of beach spots. More >>
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217 E. Atlantic Ave. Delray Beach, FL 33444
561-450-7557
http://amgrestaurants.com Chef Jamie DeRosa, a former colleague of Wolfgang Puck’s, burst onto the local culinary scene with the Atlantic Ocean Club, making farm-to-table seafood a county reality – a dreamy one, at that. Diners can enjoy locally sourced dishes that match the chic space: creative, light, beautiful, aquatic; Atlantic Ocean Club’s sister establishment, the Buddha Sky Bar, is in a rooftop solarium above, and the ground-floor sound system is state-of-the-art. The crudo bar is a work of art in its own right, and it’s there you’ll find the restaurant’s best starters: beef carpaccio from Creekstone Farm, chilled octopus with local watermelon and meyer lemon, a house ceviche with avocado and corn nuts. As for entrees, the pan-seared grouper comes with braised escarole, field mushrooms, potato gnocchi, and Spanish chorizo; Florida Pompano is served with Maine mussels, baby fennel, nicoise olives, and a saffron tomato broth; the prime rib and filet mignon both hail from Creekstone Farm. Dinner comes wood-fired too – Maine lobster poached in whole butter; roasted chicken from Murray Farm – with garlic spinach and baked fingerling potatoes. If you’re not picking from the beer and wine list, specialty cocktails are pretty: try a Strawberry and Balsamic Mojito or a Lavender & Apricot mix with newly crushed mint (all cocktail dressings are fresh). The happy hour menu features local artisan cheeses, tuna tartare sandwiches, crabcake po’ boys, and petit fours – all for under $5. That aforementioned sound system, by the way? That’s for the Atlantic Ocean Club’s after hours, featuring live musical performances. More >>
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Casino Drive Wilton Manors, FL 33305
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2232 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors, FL 33305
954-630-3556.
There’s always something going on at Boom, whether you’re a boy on the hunt for a fellow guy or a girl who just wants to sing karaoke. Boom has two rooms featuring everything from video poker to music videos that play Cher, Lady Gaga, and all of your favorite icons. Bounce from the more subdued bar area in one room to the robust nightlife scene complete with stage in the larger second room. Bulbous white lanterns hang from the ceiling, alone with a robotic-looking metal light fixture. Come for free pool on Wednesday nights or tea dances on Sundays. More >>
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1395 Brickell Ave. Miami, FL 33131
305-503-6529
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929 Washington Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33139
305-532-9070
http://bedmiami.com This self-explanatory supper/dance club oozes silky seduction with a dreamy decor featuring king-size beds garnished with snow-white drapes. Nightly house music and hip-hop affairs attract a jet-set crowd. More >>
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2222 W. Atlantic Ave. Delray Beach, FL 33445
Imagine North Dixie Highway as the Yellow Brick Road. You're Dorothy, and you're looking to get to where people lived and died by their music. Where each note bled straight from the soul. Where blues travelers still roamed (and Southern rockers still kicked ass). Well, Dorothy, I give you Oz. The Back Room Blues Bar is a little joint off the side of old Dixie — sneeze and you might miss the dookie orange foursquare. Yeah, it's that small. And that removed from practically any nightlife. This is the Back Room's identity. After several years bouncing around various locations in Delray Beach, the Back Room ended up here. Away from whiny neighbors (who can slap you with noise complaints) and close to the railroad tracks. There are no delusions of high class. No wannabe rock stars. Just plain old guitar-on-your-back, harmonica-in-your-hand, beer-in-your-gut types. And they're free to make as much noise as they please. Over the years, the noisemakers have come by many names, but few could have wailed like Molly Hatchett, Little Milton, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Want to join in the ruckus? Stop by Wednesday through Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. But don't ask for a sex-on-the-beach — or piña coladas — you might get laughed at. Only brewskies and wine. And don't come looking for a happy hour. Or a ladies night, Dorothy. What you will find is old Western fixings and furniture (kinda creepy, actually, like sepia-toned family portraits of people you know are dead) and a patio affixed to a majestic Southern live oak. Fitting: an icon spreading its roots, refusing to move aside. More >>
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11000 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines, FL 33026
954-450-6450
A reasonably priced chain restaurant that ups the ante on food and entertainment, this venue's outdoorsy interior is broken up into palm-tree-secluded sections that surround a big bar in the center. Local musicians play soca and calypso nightly on the outdoor deck. More >>
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2750 Sawgrass Mills Circle Plantation, FL 33323
954-845-9311
A reasonably priced chain restaurant that ups the ante on food and entertainment, this venue's outdoorsy interior is broken up into palm-tree-secluded sections that surround a big bar in the center. Local musicians play soca and calypso nightly on the outdoor deck. More >>
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3001 Harbor Drive Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-524-1555
http://bahiacabanaresort.com South of the commotion at Beach Place, Bahia Cabana is an oasis of local Fort Lauderdale culture. Tucked away between docks, the Bahia Cabana resort/hotel the bar boasts strong drinks and a ceiling littered with knickknacks, such as street signs and Florida license plates. With the beach across the street, locals and tourists alike drink and eat at the bar, in the attached restaurant area, or out on the dock overlooking yachts. For those arriving via water, dock space is free for bar and restaurant patrons. Tourists, to remember you’re in the tropics, order specialty drinks like the “World’s Best Frozen Pina Colada” or the “Frozen Pink Lemonade,” both $7. Standard domestics cost $4.50, premiums $5. The wine list is extensive and fairly cheap, with no glasses more than $7.50. Throw one back with an order of conch fritters before you walk over for a day in the sun across A1A. More >>
