A Ravers Guide to Miami

Mar 4, 2022

8 min read

Miami Beach at duskMiami Beach at dusk

Miami is a must-visit city with hip clubs, beautiful beaches and people, an endless supply of outstanding cuisine, a vibrant art scene, and sunshine almost year-round. Whether you're going for Miami Music Week in March, Art Basel in December, or pretty much any other time of the year, Miami is sure to be popping off with immaculate parties and vibes. Read on for the best clubs, restaurants, museums, record stores, and more to visit while enjoying the 305.

Clubs

Club Space

If you find yourself in Miami, you'll want to rave at Club Space—but everyone who's been has probably already told you this. Space is a vibey world-class megaclub with multiple stages, including one on the terrace, so the sun can kiss your face as it rises if you stay until the end of the show. Nightlife maestro Luis Puig opened the legendary club in Miami Beach, but it quickly moved to its current home downtown, making the area a nightlife destination. The biggest names in house, techno, and beyond have graced the Space decks, so there's likely to be something good happening there while you're in town.

Space also runs two other lively venues in the same building; The Ground for live acts and Floyd for more intimate DJ sets in speakeasy-themed digs.

Club Space MiamiClub Space Miami

Do Not Sit on the Furniture

After Behrouz finished ruling the early underground rave days of San Francisco, he and his wife Megan Nazari moved to South Beach to open the beloved, intimate club Do Not Sit on the Furniture. The transplants 

brought a bit of friendly SF club culture with a heavy dose of Burning Man whimsy. With a shark-shaped disco ball glittering from the ceiling, gold cassette tape-lined walls, a cozy dancefloor, and backyard that sometimes hosts yoga before the show, Do Not Sit on the Furniture is a hip yet friendly and inviting space to get down to more-underground dance acts.

Treehouse

True to its name, Treehouse is a club inspired by a tree house, with (fake) greenery dangling from the ceiling, wooden benches to chill on, potted palm trees, and indoor and outdoor spaces to get your groove on. Miami New Times named it the city's best dance club in 2018 and described it as a "low-key South Beach spot deliver[ing] a solid night of unadulterated fun without the douchebaggery."

ATV Records

ATV Records is a highly curated record store by day and wonderfully intimate 150-person capacity club by night in the former space of the beloved Electric Pickle in Wynwood. Part of the Pickle team remained—as did its UFO-shaped disco ball—so the dance floor magic and great house and techno bookings remain as well. ATV boasts a killer sound system "unmatched in the city," according to Miami New Times, who voted it best dance club in 2020.

ATV RecordsATV Records

ATV Records

E11even

There is no shortage of sceney megaclubs in Magic City to make your Instagram feed think you're living your best life, and if you wanna catch that vibe, E11even pulls out all the punches. It opened its doors in 2014 just around the corner from Space and has been open 24/7(!), only closing in 2020 for COVID-19, using that time to revamp the massive venue. Something like a super-extra Las Vegas club filled with celebs and Cirque du Soleil performers twirling above you on aerial silks, E11even hosts shows with big-name rappers and EDM DJs, all dedicated to getting the crowd turned up.

E11evenE11even

E11even

Bars & Coffee Shops

All Day Miami

If you find yourself stumbling out of Sound or E11even when the sun is up, All Day is here to give you enough energy to make it back home or maybe even to the beach. A gorgeous, airy café with creative, delicious coffee drinks and breakfast and lunch food, All Day is a must-visit spot to start or end your day with good vibes.

Suite Habana Café

Suite Habana Café in Wynwood offers Cuban coffee and noms, including empanadas, croquetas (fried balls of goodness), and pastries. It's inspired by a paladar—a little cafe inside someone's home in Cuba—and serves up homey, cozy vibes with comfy furniture, colorful Cuban tiles, and indoor and outdoor seating.

Suite Habana CaféSuite Habana Café

Suite Habana Café

Broken Shaker

The Broken Shaker is a vibey outdoor bar located by the pool of the equally vibey Freehand Hotel (there are also outposts in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.) The bar has a cute and kitschy aesthetic and serves up classy cocktails and hip bar bites.

Dante's HiFi

Dante's HiFi is Miami's first vinyl listening bar, modeled after those in Japan. The intimate space maxes out at 50 people, so make a reservation to enjoy records from Dante's music director Rich Medina's personal collection on their HiFi sound system while sipping Japanese highballs.

Margot Natural Wine Bar

Like other major American cities, natural wine is all the buzz in Miami. Margot Natural Wine Bar, run by Bar Lab, the group behind Broken Shaker, serves up natural wines, shared bites, and vibey music on their vintage sound system amidst an earth-tone-hued, airy space.

Margot Natural Wine BarMargot Natural Wine Bar

Margot Natural Wine Bar

Restaurants 

MILA

If you want to immerse yourself in the glitz and buzz of South Beach while enjoying a nice meal and drinks, MILA has you covered. The rooftop restaurant and lounge offers dinner and brunch with Mediterranean and Japanese influences and a full cocktail and wine program, while a fire dancer literally gets things lit.

Mila Food and FireMila Food and Fire

MILA

Taquiza

If you want a delicious and affordable ocean-side meal, Taquiza's your spot. With two locations, in North Beach and South Beach, this taco spot offers meat, veggie, and seafood options on their beloved homemade blue corn tortillas that have found their way into half the restaurants in Miami. According to Eater Miami, their tortilla chips, a.k.a. totopos, are also homemade and a must-order item.

al pastor tacos with achiote-marinated pork shoulder and pineapple.al pastor tacos with achiote-marinated pork shoulder and pineapple.

Anthony Nader / 52 Chefs / Courtesy

Zuma Miami

Zuma is a hip Japanese restaurant that launched in Miami a decade ago and now has locations across the globe. The Downtown Miami location recently had a remodel to celebrate its 10th birthday and, as Eater states, remains a popular haunt for Magic City's "chic-set." So if you want a classy dockside seafood-forward meal, to spot celebs from the bar or a vibey weekend brunch, you'll be happy at Zuma.

1-800-Lucky

1-800-Lucky is not your average restaurant. It's a massive food hall with seven vendors offering Asian food, two bars, a record store (Lucky Records), a karaoke lounge, and indoor and outdoor seating. Open every day from noon 'til 3 a.m. They also have killer DJ sets featuring the likes of Claude VonStroke, Moodymann, TSHA, and BOYS NOIZE.

1-800-Lucky1-800-Lucky

1-800-Lucky

Lido Bayside Grill

On the deck of The Standard in Miami Beach, the menu at Lido Bayside Grill focuses on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, with touches of citrus and fermented goodies. Serving food daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., they also have a full bar and wine list that includes frosé and frozen piña coladas if you want an extra layer of cool to enhance the ocean breeze. From 4 to 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday, a happy hour offers reduced-price snacks and drinks, including the aforementioned frozen drinks for just $7.

Art & Museums

Wynwood Walls

The Wynwood Walls are vibrant outdoor murals created by a rotating roster of celebrated street artists, as well as an indoor art gallery. The area has also become a buzzy corridor for restaurants, bars, boutiques, and the like.

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)

PAMM is a modern and contemporary art museum in a beautifully designed space featuring work from artists around the world from the 20th and 21st centuries. While it has world-class art from across the globe, as their website explains, their exhibitions focus on "Miami's diverse community and pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas."

CubaOcho

Whether you want to experience Cuban art, live music, rum, or food, CubaOcho has it all under one roof. Located in Little Havana, "CubaOcho is a museum and gathering space where art, music, dance, cigars, and mojitos converge," and "a mainstay of the art renaissance" in the neighborhood, as the website explains.

CubaOchoCubaOcho

CubaOcho

Record Stores, Shops & Other Attractions

Sweat Records

Sweat Records is a colorful music outpost in Little Haiti that's served up new and used records, CDs, other music memorabilia, and all-ages events since 2005.

Sweat RecordsSweat Records

Museo del Disco

Museo del Disco is a meticulously organized record store surrounded by warehouses in Coral Terrace, with about half of the 10,000 square foot red-and-white space dedicated to Latin music. If the endless rows of records, CDs, and DVDs overwhelm you, their friendly staff is there to help you navigate South Florida's largest music store.

Dale Zine Shop

Since 2009, Dale Zine has served as an independent printer and publisher for local creatives. At their cute and inviting Downtown Miami shop, you can browse zines and books they've published, as well as art other art books, art prints, and other gifting-worthy goods.

South BeachSouth Beach

Miami Beach

It would be sacrilegious to go to Miami and not visit one of the beaches that line the city. The beach is a lifestyle in Miami, and Miami Beach lives that everyday-is-a-vacation ethos to the fullest. Travel site Trippin chose eight "beaches worth dreaming about," and Miami Beach is the only sandy spot in North America that made the cut. When you need to recover after a long night out, throw on your most fabulous resort wear and big sunglasses, and go rest and recharge with the waves and fellow fab folks at Miami Beach.