Score Cheap Drinks at the Best Happy Hours in Miami
Get a buzz without breaking the bank.
Live in Miami long enough, and you get immune to drink price sticker shock. $21 vodka soda? Sounds about right. Some may say it’s sad, but long-time locals just call it a challenge. Because if you look hard enough, you can find some fantastic deals at some of Miami’s best bars and restaurants.
From tropical cocktails to oysters and other food deals, happy hour bargains in Miami can be found on just about everything. Sure, scoring a deal may involve having a martini at 3 pm, but since when has that stopped any self-respecting South Floridian? So check out this list of the best happy hours in Miami, where you can have a bite and down a few drinks without blowing your rent.
MiMo
When: Monday through Friday, 3 to 7 pm
The cocktail menu at Lorena Garcia’s MiMo gem is almost as beautiful as its decor. Head to CHICA at the right time, and you can savor a spicy Chica-rita or Double Trouble for a scant $8 during happy hour. Putting a base on that booze is also easy with Garcia’s masterpieces like asado negro arepas and crispy tuna tacos for $4.
How to book: Via OpenTable
Brickell
When: Daily, 4 to 7 pm
The Italian spot at the base of the SLS is the perfect place to post up by a wood-burning oven with a cool glass of Italian wine. You’ll find those for $9 a glass during happy hour, along with $4 beers and a menu of specialties like meatballs, crispy mozzarella, and heirloom tomato bruschetta for under 10 bucks.
How to book: Via OpenTable
North Miami
When: Weekdays, 3 to 6 pm
It’s easy to drive right by this breezy, lush beer garden off to the side of busy Biscayne Boulevard. But stop in for happy hour and you’ll find the team serving an impressive collection of craft beers for half off and the entire cocktail menu for $7.50. They’ve also got half off tacos on Tuesdays, half off margs on Mondays, and half off boneless wings on Wednesdays.
How to book: Walk in only
Brickell
When: Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 7 pm
Tuck in this elegantly decorated storefront on S. Miami Avenue during the brutal rush hour traffic, and you’ll discover a world of incredible craft cocktails, mixed and stirred in front of you for under $10. Kaori is also plating up its upscale Asian specialities like pork belly bao buns and wagyu & foie gras gyozas for barely over $10 an order.
How to book: Via Resy
Multiple locations
When: Weekdays, 3 to 6 pm
The fast-growing Middle Eastern spot that started in a downtown arcade has spread throughout the city, and you can see what all the rage is about with $5 menu items like falafel pita, hummus tehina, and chicken shawarma during happy hour. The entire cocktail menu is half off too, along with select wines.
How to book: Via Resy
Downtown
When: Daily, 5-7 pm
Getting a seat at Jaguar Sun’s bar is a feat in and of itself, but show up early enough and this beloved hit will serve $10 cocktails to go with your seat. You can also savor half-off oysters during your visit, before tearing into the inevitable order of fluffy Parker House rolls.
How to book: Via Resy
North Bay Village
When: Weekdays, 4 to 7 pm
Though you never really need incentive to stop by this landmark waterfront bar for a cocktail under the sun, $4 beers never hurt. If one beer isn’t enough, you can down a whole pitcher for $12 or sip on a $6 well drink, then fuel up for round two with a $12 app.
How to book: Walk in only
South Beach
When: Daily, 4 to 8 pm
No discussion of Miami happy hours is complete without a nod to the 95-cent oysters at Sweet Liberty, which set the standard for early afternoon shellfish. You can also sample some of the bar’s famous cocktails like the tequila-Campari Siesta and passionfruit Whiskey Smash for $9, or just grab a beer for five bucks.
How to book: Via SevenRooms
Multiple locations
When: Tuesday through Sunday, 5:30 to 8 pm
Feeling sushi but not feeling sushi prices? Try happy hour dinner at Sushi Garage, where you’ll find $3 sushi and sashimi as well as Korean beef tacos, fried tofu, and other apps for $7 or less. Don’t worry, you won’t go thirsty: The Garage’s line of specialty cocktails are a scant $5, beers are $3, and wine is $4.50.
How to book: Via OpenTable
Edgewater
When: Monday through Saturday, 5 to 7:30 pm
Thought you were priced out of enjoying the view from one of Miami’s most romantic restaurants? Think again, as Klaw’s stunning bayfront rooftop pours beer, wine, and cocktails starting at just $6 during its happy hour. The alluring raw bar is also in reach, with a half-dozen oysters and other bar bites starting at $12.
How to book: Via Sevenrooms
South Beach
When: Monday through Thursday, 3 to 7 pm; Fridays through Sunday, 3 to 5 pm
Getting enough food for one meal is a rarity at happy hour. Feeding yourself for the entire weekend? That’s only at Santorini by Georgios, where the high-energy Greek restaurant in the Bentley Bay offers up immense portions of gyros, keftedes, meatballs, and fresh seafood starting at $7 a pop. Wine and beer is only $5, and cocktails run for $7.
How to book: Via OpenTable
South Miami
When: Weekdays, 4 to 6 pm
Make all the jokes you want about millennials squandering their savings on avocado toast, they may be onto something. Order a topped toast during Mi’Talia’s happy hour and you’ll get a free drink with each one. There’s also half-priced wine, beer, and cocktails to sweeten the deal alongside $10 flatbreads.
How to book: Via OpenTable
Brickell
When: Weekdays, 12:30 to 7 pm
When people ask about the best Mexican restaurants in Miami, anyone who suggests going to Cantina La Veinte immediately follows it with, “but mostly for happy hour.” That’s because this typically pricey waterside Mexican joint is an early-evening bargain, where fresh-squeezed margs and guacamole are half off at the bar from 5 to 7 pm, and bottles are half off starting at 12:30 pm.
How to book: Via Sevenrooms
Wynwood
When: Wednesday through Friday, 4 to 6:30 pm
Maybe you’ve been for the drag shows and were so distracted by the wigs and heels you totally forgot to eat. Forgivable. You can try much of the menu for less than you spend tipping the drag queens, with croquetas, Cuban sandwiches, and sweet chili wings ranging from $5 - 7. Beer and wine is also in the $5 range.
How to book: Via OpenTable
South Beach
When: Weekdays, 5 to 7 pm
Experience happy hour like you’re in Spain—albeit a few hours earlier—on Espanola Way during Tropezon’s Tonic & Tapas special. Whenever you order a drink, you’ll get free Spanish tapas delivered right to your table or bar stool.
How to book: Via Resy
Sunny Isles
When: Weekdays, 3 to 6 pm
For a happy hour by the water, you won’t find a better spot than the bar at the end of the Newport Pier, which offers half off all beer, wine, and single-liquor drinks directly on top of the Atlantic Ocean.
How to book: Walk in only
Downtown
When: Weekdays, 4 to 7 pm
Lost Boy’s already alarmingly cheap prices take a serious nosedive during happy hour, when everything on the drink menu runs half off. Sticking around after the promo ends is still your best value play downtown, too, as single-liquor drinks rarely top $10 each.
How to book: Walk in only
South Beach
When: Daily, 8 am to 7 pm
If you’re not happy grabbing two-for-one drinks before most people have even attempted breakfast, well, the Deuce just may not be for you. But if your idea of happiness involves sitting in a dark bar on a sunny day knocking back two-fer cocktails and peeling the labels off of beer bottles, the Deuce is pretty much your Disneyland. The only reservations required here are the ones you have about using the bathroom.
How to book: Walk in only
Coconut Grove
When: Weekdays, 6 pm to close
You know the Grove has changed when the spot with dangerously cheap drink specials is rated by the Michelin Guide. Such is the case at Chug’s, where you’ll find sub-$1 gin and vodka martinis from 6 to 7 pm, provided you buy some food to soak it up. If that doesn’t get you going, the rest of happy hour scores you $9 cocktails and $5 Monopolio beer.
How to book: Walk in only
South Miami
When: Weekdays, 4 to 7 pm
The best thing about the windowless confines of this redone dive bar is that drinking before 5 pm looks just like drinking at midnight. The only difference is Fox’s brand of no-frills cocktails are only $7 while the sun’s still shining outside, beers are $5, and wines are $6.
How to book: Via Resy
Key Biscayne
When: Daily, 4 to 6 pm
The Gables’ top wine bar and restaurant lets you sample some seriously fancy wine with $8 somm’s choice Chablis and a $9 glass of bold Napa Cab-Zin. Look extra elegant when you pair it with $7 short rib tacos, $8 ceviche, and an $8 three-piece of West Coast oysters.
How to book: Via Resy
Coral Gables
When: Daily, 3 to 6 pm at Mamey on 3rd, 5:30 to 6:30 pm at Orno
The dual bars on the sun-soaked rooftop at the Thesis hotel host the Gables' best outdoor happy hour, with $6 bites, $5 beers, $7 glasses of wine, and $7 spirits. Though this time of year, sipping a glass of wine in the ice-cold AC at Orno might sound a little better, especially when said wines are all half off.
How to book: Via Resy
Coconut Grove
When: Weekdays, 4 to 7 pm
Happy hour at Monty’s is a Miami tradition, right up there with sandbar parties and Santa’s Enchanted Forest. Mixing cheap drinks with bay views is never a bad combination, and with $5 wells, $3 domestic drafts, and $1 shrimp and clams, the Friday night party that’s raged for decades shows no signs of slowing down.
How to book: Walk in only
Brickell
When: Weekdays, 4 to 8 pm
Brickell’s go-to for sports and bottomless brunches boasts a longer-than-average happy hour where pretty much everything behind the bar is half off. Show up on Mondays and you’ll also get AYCE boneless wings for just $15.
How to book: Walk in only
Little Havana
When: Daily, 4 to 7 pm
It’s not often that you can get a Julio Cabrera mixed drink for under $10, and that alone should be enough to entice you out to Calle Ocho. But in addition to Cabrera’s entire cocktail menu on sale for $7 a drink, you’ll also get $5 beers and $5 glasses of wine.
How to book: Via SevenRooms