Recommended Bars In Southeast Florida

In probably the last of my series of recommended places in southeast Florida, I'm now going to take a look at some of bars and nightspots that I visisted. (I say probably, as I may well think of other places to recommend!)

Delano 1685 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach 33139
Wow! Sorry, I'll say that again - wow!! Wherever you're staying in southeast Florida I'd strongly recommend that you visit the Delano on a night out. This place is amazing - and stunningly beautiful. If you pay a visit to this place, the first thing I'd do is walk...no, make that strutt...right through the lobby of the hotel to its bar area at the back. It will make you feel like you're in a movie. Or possibly in an episode of Sex and the City. Or both, given that a movie of the TV show has recently come out. Then head out to the poolside bar area where you can lounge at chic tables or sun loungers (yes, also at night) or even sitting right by the pool, dangling your legs in the water.


King's Head Pub 500 E Dania Beach Boulevard, Dania 33004
If you're after a taste of home (assuming you're from the UK, that is) and want it with a slight Floridian twist, come to the King's Head pub in Dania Beach. Case in point: one time I went there for a beer and some televised football, a land crab scuttled in to the bar area and freaked out the nice bar lady. You wouldn't get that back in Blighty, now would you? There's a small bar area serving a variety of beer - both draught and bottled - and a larger restaurant serving traditional English food as well as other dishes. There's also a large beer garden for al fresco drinking. Hey, it's Florida, you'll get plenty of opportunity to do that. I enjoyed watching some of the Euro 2008 games here - so if you're missing your fix of football (soccer), be sure to come here.

Blu Martini Lounge 1820 S Young Circle, Hollywood 33020
Located right on Young Circle in downtown Hollywood, this place seems a little unassuming from the outside, with its blank white exterior and dark windows. But inside you'll find a hip bar with a very extensive drinks menu. When we went, on a Monday, it was Ladies' Night. A concept somewhat lost on us (hey, we're from the UK, it doesn't happen here), so we enquired as to what that exactly was. Free drinks all night, we were told. "Free? What, entirely free??" Yes, entirely free. We didn't argue, and promptly ordered our first round. The place is open until 2am Tuesdays and Sundays; until 4am all other nights of the week.

PRL Cafe 1904A Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood 33020
This is a great find. Located in a very narrow space in downtown Hollywood, next to a pizza parlour, the very laid-back PRL Cafe serves over 100 different beers. Pretty cool, huh? The slightly off-the-wall decor adds to the whole vibe of the place. As do the hundreds of photos that line the walls that show fun times in the bar in the past. This place also has Ladies' Night on a Monday, when it's two-for-one on beer.

Marriott Hollywood Beach 2501 North Ocean Drive Hollywood 33019
If you ever take a early evening stroll on the broadwalk at Hollywood Beach, and then decide that you are a little peckish or a bit parched, the Marriott Hollywood Beach is a good place to come. It's classier than some of its beach counterparts, making you feel like you're somewhere a bit more special, but it's also relaxed enough for you to feel like you don't have to dress up. There's a bar area and a proper sit-down restaurant. Try one of the dessert-style cocktails from their menu.

Hollywood Prime at the Westin Diplomat 3555 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood 33019
This mega-hotel has a number of restaurants and bars for you to enjoy...and some for you to avoid, quite frankly. The one that I would recommend is Hollywood Prime, a restaurant located just to the left of the lobby as you enter the hotel. I can't talk about the food - I didn't eat there - but the small bar area is very enjoyable. A very knowledgeable and friendly barman served us delicious martinis in a comfortable setting - think dark wood and expensive fittings, with soothing jazz piped over the sound system. One bar to avoid is BarSu, the bar slap bang in the middle of the lobby. Well, unless you like to hang out with drunken elder yahoos shouting at sport on the big screen, that is.

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood 33314
First off, if you're into your gambling in any way, you must come here. I'm not a gambler by any means - actually, I'm not a gambler at all - but what I saw at the casino here seemed to rival some of the casinos in Las Vegas - if being a little smaller. But the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino also has a large entertainment complex attached to it that is home to a variety of bars and a couple of giant clubs, Spirits and Passion. On the night we went, a Wednesday, the whole complex seemed a little quiet. Spirits nightclub, however, is apparently the place to be on a Friday or Saturday. We didn't venture out to it on the weekend to see if this was true or not, I'm afraid!

Skybar at The Shore Club 1901 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach 33139
Ultra Mynt Lounge 1921 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach 33139
I thought I'd lump these two together, although it's probably a little mean to do so. Having enjoyed a fabulous few hours at the Delano, my friend and I thought we would check these two places out, seeing as they were highly recommended to us. Skybar seems pleasant enough, comprising of several different bars (both indoor and outdoor), if too racuous on the night we went (a Thursday). And not good raucous, everyone-get-your-hands-in-the-air-raucous. More a little too packed with the flash people type of raucous. Ultra Mynt Lounge is part proper dance club, part club for the moneyed to show off. It wasn't for us, so we did a quick loop round the place in 30 seconds and left. Perhaps either might have been better on another night, particularly the Skybar. Still, if you want to be seen, these two are the place to go.

Photo June 2008 - King's Head Pub, Dania Beach