Best Beach Bars in Miami (2026)
From Nikki Beach and DiLido to Lido Bayside and The Cleat, the Miami bars worth planning a beach day, long lunch, pool afternoon or sunset drink around.
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Miami's beach bars split into two camps. The Atlantic side gives you sand, swimming, daybeds and long lunches, but it faces east, so the sun sets behind you. For sunset over the water, cross to Biscayne Bay: Belle Isle, Watson Island, the West Avenue marinas, No Name Harbor and Coconut Grove.
The other thing worth knowing up front: plenty of Miami's best beach bars are hotel pool decks next to the sand, and several close by 5 or 6 p.m. Every entry below says what you actually get (sand, a pool, a rooftop or a bayfront table) and when it's at its best.
The list runs from Nikki Beach and the reopened Delano to tiki bars where the frozen drinks come in plastic cups. Pick by what you want from the day: a swim, a proper meal, the sunset or a party.
Every Miami beach bar at a glance
| Bar | Area | Water | Best time | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikki Beach | South of Fifth | Atlantic beach | Lunch to late afternoon | The classic Miami beach club |
| DiLido Beach Bar | South Beach | Atlantic beach | Lunch to sunset | A relaxed beachfront lunch |
| Gigi Rigolatto | South Beach | Atlantic beach and pool | Lunch or dinner | The new high-style beach club |
| Solei Beach Club | South Beach | Atlantic beach and pool | Daytime only | Cabanas with a group |
| Ocean Grill | South Beach | Steps from the beach | Lunch or dinner | A real meal by the ocean |
| Aqua Bar & Grill | South Beach | Pool with beach access | Daytime only | An adults-only pool day |
| Watr | South Beach | Rooftop, ocean view | Evening | Ocean views after dark |
| Clevelander | Ocean Drive | Pool across from the beach | Afternoon into night | A loud pool party |
| La Côte | Mid-Beach | Pool with ocean view | Lunch | A lively poolside lunch |
| Ocean Social | Mid-Beach | Oceanfront terrace | Happy hour into dinner | Drinks that turn into dinner |
| BALEENkitchen and Tipsy Turtle | Sunny Isles Beach | Atlantic beach and pool | Lunch or dinner | A beach day north of Miami Beach |
| Dune Beach Bar | Key Biscayne | Atlantic beach | Afternoon | A calmer resort beach bar |
| The Cleat | No Name Harbor | Harbor, sunset view | Late afternoon to sunset | A hidden-feeling sunset drink |
| Lido Bayside | Belle Isle | Biscayne Bay, sunset | Sunset | The best all-around sunset |
| Joia Beach | Watson Island | Bay beach, sunset | Late lunch into dinner | A dressed-up sunset scene |
| Baia Beach Club | West Avenue | Biscayne Bay, sunset | Brunch or sunset dinner | Bayfront resort mood |
| Monty's Sunset | South of Fifth marina | Marina, sunset | Happy hour and sunset | Casual drinks and a raw bar |
| Bayshore Club | Coconut Grove | Biscayne Bay | Afternoon to sunset | Groups and families |
South Beach: sand, pools and rooftops
Nikki Beach
1 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Nikki Beach is still what most visitors picture when they hear "Miami beach club": white daybeds, palms, Champagne, music and a long lunch on a stretch of South Beach where you can actually swim. It's polished, expensive and a little theatrical, and it knows it. Weekdays are calmer; weekends bring DJs, brunch and a bigger crowd. Go while you can: the club's run at 1 Ocean Drive is set to end in August 2027, when the site changes hands. Plan it: Reserve ahead for weekends and say whether you want a restaurant table or a beach setup. Come early if swimming and lunch matter more than the party.
DiLido Beach Bar
1 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
DiLido is the easiest recommendation on the list: a genuine beachfront bar at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, with direct access to the sand and none of the nightclub production. José Andrés Group runs the kitchen, so the food holds up as a real lunch, and frosé is the house drink. Afternoons are relaxed, with music on weekends. Plan it: Book lunch or an early dinner and ask for an outdoor table. Pick DiLido over Nikki when the ocean is the point and the party isn't.
Gigi Rigolatto at Delano
1685 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
The Delano reopened in spring 2026, and Gigi Rigolatto is the reason to go. The Italian restaurant runs from the ground floor out past the hotel's famous pool to cabanas on the beach, with the Bellini Bar in the middle for aperitivo. Lunch is the easier, sunnier visit; dinner gets dressier. Plan it: Decide in advance whether you want lunch, a pool cabana or a beach setup, since a restaurant booking doesn't include pool or beach access. The pool, beach and Bellini Bar wrap up around 7 p.m.
Solei Beach Club
1717 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Solei opened at the Kimpton Surfcomber in May 2026 and lands between a quiet hotel lunch and a full beach-club party. You get a long pool, direct beach access, shaded palapas, private cabanas and a Spanish-Mediterranean menu built for sharing. It's a daytime club: the kitchen closes at 5 and the bar an hour later. Plan it: Book a cabana for a birthday or a group. For two people, a table is better value than a daybed. A day pass covers the pool and beach.
Ocean Grill at The Setai
2001 Collins Avenue 0232341530001, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Ocean Grill is the pick when the meal matters as much as the view. The open-air restaurant sits among The Setai's three pools and tropical gardens, steps from the beach, with an Italian-Mediterranean menu of grilled seafood, pasta and dishes off the wood-fired grill. It works for a breezy lunch or a dressed-up dinner. Plan it: Lunch has the best beach atmosphere; dinner is the special-occasion move. Change out of swimwear first.
Aqua Bar & Grill at the National Hotel
2 17th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Aqua is the calm, grown-up version of a pool day. The National is adults-only (21 and over), its infinity pool is billed as the longest in Miami Beach, and Aqua serves casual poolside food and tropical cocktails a few steps from the sand. Day passes and cabanas are sold separately and depend on capacity. Plan it: Buy the day pass or cabana before you arrive. Aqua serves until 5 p.m., so treat it as an afternoon plan.
Watr at the 1 Rooftop
2341 Collins Ave Floor 18, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Eighteen floors up, Watr swaps the sand for one of the widest Atlantic views in Miami Beach. The menu is Japanese-influenced, the bar runs until midnight or later, and it's one of the few places on this list that gets better after dark. Plan it: Non-guests need a reservation, and evening is the safe bet since daytime seats often go to hotel guests. Book before sunset to see the ocean while it's light. A restaurant table doesn't include the rooftop pool.
Clevelander
1020 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Clevelander is an Ocean Drive pool party with the beach across the street. The action is on the pool deck: bars, a stage, DJs, sports on the screens and a rooftop for bigger events. It's busy and loud by design, which is exactly the appeal for a group that wants entertainment. Plan it: Check the events calendar first. Entry is free before 2 p.m. with an advance ticket; after that, the cover depends on how busy it is. Weekday happy hour runs 4 to 7 p.m.
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Mid-Beach and Sunny Isles
La Côte at Fontainebleau
4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140, USA
La Côte is Fontainebleau's two-level, French Riviera-style restaurant and bar, set between the pools and the beach. Expect a long lunch with ocean air and plenty of rosé, in a crowd that's lively without turning into a nightclub table. It's an easy pick for a mixed group. Plan it: Go at midday or early afternoon. This is a daytime spot, so look elsewhere for sunset or late drinks.
Ocean Social at Eden Roc
4525 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140, USA
Ocean Social has an open-air terrace right on the ocean and a kitchen worth staying for. Chef Tristen Epps runs a coastal, Florida-leaning menu, and the happy hour makes early evening the sweet spot. It's one of the better hotel restaurants on Collins for a drink that slides into dinner. Plan it: Reserve an outdoor table for early evening. The terrace overlooks the ocean; beach chairs are a separate hotel service.
BALEENkitchen and Tipsy Turtle at Solé Miami
17315 Collins Ave, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160, USA
If you're staying up in Sunny Isles, this saves you the drive south. BALEENkitchen is the oceanfront restaurant, with a seafood-heavy menu and a terrace where nearly every seat looks out at the beach. Tipsy Turtle is the pool bar next to the sand for tropical drinks and casual bites. Plan it: Reserve BALEENkitchen for lunch or dinner. Tipsy Turtle and beach service are mainly for hotel guests, so check before you go.
Key Biscayne
Dune Beach Bar
455 Grand Bay Dr S, Key Biscayne, FL 33149, USA
Dune sits on the sand at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, which reopened in December 2025 after a $100 million renovation. Think burgers, salads, frozen drinks and rosé with an Atlantic view and a fraction of the South Beach crowd. It picks up toward evening, with music on weekends. Plan it: Make it a beach afternoon, not a quick stop. Check non-guest seating and beach access with the resort first.
The Cleat
No Name Harbor, 1200 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149, USA
The Cleat feels like a small island bar: palms, trucked-in sand, boats bobbing in the harbor and a wide-open view of the bay. It's a harbor, so there's no swimming, but it's one of the best sunset seats in Miami. Drinks and small plates are the focus, and the fish dip is the order; Boater's Grill next door is better for a full meal. Plan it: The park gate closes at sundown, so get in well before sunset and pay the park entry fee. The Cleat opens mid-afternoon and is closed Mondays. Bring bug spray for dusk.
Biscayne Bay sunsets
Lido Bayside at The Standard
40 Island Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Lido's deck faces west across Biscayne Bay, so you get what the Atlantic bars can't offer: the sun going down over the water with the downtown skyline lit up behind it. Waterfront tables, tropical gardens, frosé and an all-day menu make it polished but easy. Plan it: Reserve ahead of sunset and ask for a waterfront table. A dinner booking doesn't include the hotel's pool or spa.
Joia Beach
1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami, FL 33132, USA
Joia puts a real sand beach on the bay side of Watson Island, with palms, lounge seating, DJs and the skyline across the water. It's built for a social crowd: late lunch turns into sunset and then dinner with your feet in the sand. Come for the scene and the view; this isn't a swimming beach. Plan it: Book the area you want, check the dress code and take a rideshare if you're drinking. Joia is closed Tuesdays.
Baia Beach Club
1100 West Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Baia at the Mondrian looks west across Biscayne Bay to downtown, with a pool, daybeds and its own marina dock. You get resort energy without leaving South Beach, and it works for brunch, a long afternoon or dinner at sunset. Plan it: Book the restaurant for the food and the view. Pool and cabana access for non-guests isn't always on sale, so check before you count on it.
Monty's Sunset
300 Alton Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA
Monty's is the antidote to the high-style beach clubs: a big, easygoing marina bar with tiki roofs, frozen drinks, a raw bar, sports on TV and live music on weekends. It faces the sunset over Miami Beach Marina and is one of the more affordable ways to watch it in South Beach. Plan it: Get there early for a waterfront table at sunset. Pick Monty's over Joia when you want relaxed drinks and better value.
Bayshore Club
3391 Pan American Dr, Miami, FL 33133, USA
Bayshore Club took over the old Scotty's Landing site and turned it into a sprawling open-air bar and restaurant on the bay. There's a big main bar, a lawn with games and fire pits, seafood and live music. With that much room, it's one of the best picks here for groups and families. Plan it: Make it part of a Coconut Grove afternoon or a pre-dinner drink, and catch the weekday happy hour if you can. It isn't worth crossing town from South Beach for one round.
Five beach-bar plans that make sense
- Classic South Beach: Lunch and a swim at Nikki Beach, then walk over to Monty's Sunset for golden hour. Both are South of Fifth.
- Polished Collins Avenue: Pick one of Gigi Rigolatto, Solei or DiLido for the afternoon, then head up to Watr after dark.
- Mid-Beach afternoon: Lunch at La Côte, then early-evening drinks on the terrace at Ocean Social.
- Key Biscayne escape: Lunch and the beach at Dune, then The Cleat for sunset. Get into the park well before sundown.
- One-stop sunset: Lido for balance, Joia for the scene, Baia for resort mood, Monty's for easy drinks, The Cleat for the setting or Bayshore Club for a group.
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