Super 7: Miami's Best Sports Bars
For March Madness and beyond
Batch Gastropub
In an era when bars and restaurants close before you can even edit your Instagram reel, Batch’s longevity isn’t just impressive, it’s legendary. The Brickell gastropub has stayed popular by doing more than just throwing open its doors with games on TV – it’s constantly doing fun stuff like tipsy Santa Christmas parties, live-band karaoke, and all you can eat boneless wings on Mondays. For Brickellites, it’s ground zero for all major sporting events, and Batch’s 13 years of experience ensure that even when it’s crowded, it’s never chaos.
Pro Tip: If the Gators make a run this year, Batch is the place to be. Even if you’re not a UF fan, the atmosphere is electric.
@batchmiami // 30 SW 12th St., Brickell
American Social
Say what you will about the fine alumni of Florida State University, they’re never bad to look at. And on Saturdays, they congregate to watch what’s left of their football team at AmSo, where the view out over the water is usually preferable to watching what’s on TV. This riverfront sports bar is fantastic the rest of the year too, where boats tie up on weekends and bring their parties ashore. The food is several cuts above typical bar food, and AmSo just revamped its menu to include spicy vodka rigatoni, Corona-battered fish and chips, and mahi-mahi sliders.
Pro Tip: If you’re not hung up on watching games outside, you can almost always find a seat inside when it’s crowded.
@americansocial // 690 SW 1st Ct., Brickell
The Brightside
The Brightside is the kind of bar that comes up in conversation and everyone immediately chimes in with some version of “I love that place!” It feels like a Midwestern neighborhood tavern, where the couple who runs the place knows everybody’s name, and serves up no-bullshit food and drinks with hearty sides of hospitality. It was THE spot for the Panthers’ Stanley Cup runs, and during football season it’s where you’ll find Bills fans watching Josh Allen on Sundays. The bar’s Western New York pedigree is why you’ll find some of Miami’s best wings here.
Pro Tip: Get the beef on weck sandwich. It’s a Buffalo original and the best one I’ve found outside Western New York.
@thebrightsidemia // 1721 SW 22nd St., Coral Way
Sandbar in the Grove
One of the last vestiges of Coconut Grove’s college bar glory days is Sandbar, a spot most of us had forgotten about until UM football’s national title game run. When local teams are good, Sandbar gets packed like it’s Thursday night and nobody’s checking IDs, the kind of place where TV broadcasts do live cut-aways showing the crowd erupt on big plays. The Hurricanes (the drink) are a must, and if you order anything less than a Category 5 be ready for some ribbing from your bartender. The fajitas could make a case as Miami’s best too, and are half the price of most new, “upscale” Mexican joints.
Pro Tip: If you’ve got some drinking stamina, get here a couple hours early for big games. It’s your only prayer of finding a seat.
@sandbargrove // 3064 Grand Ave., Coconut Grove
Grails
You like rare and exotic sneakers? Like, so much you’d drink out of them if it was socially acceptable? Well, no judgment at Grails, where the sneaker-themed sports palace serves some of its signature cocktails in shoe-shaped glasses. It’s part sports bar, part shoe museum, where if the action gets slow you can peruse the collection of collectibles on the wall. Outside, the big back patio has flat screens literally dripping from the ceiling, and during big games it feels like watching in your friend’s backyard.
Pro Tip: Grails is lowkey one of Wynwood’s best restaurants too. Go when no sports are on and try the jerk chicken tacos.
@grailsmiami //2800 N. Miami Ave., Wynwood
Mickey Burke’s
Back when South Beach was a service industry playground and the Flamingo was in its debaucherous heyday, one name loomed large over everyone who worked there: Mickey Burke. The man who presided over The Clevelander for decades now has his own Irish sports bar, the best spot to catch sports from across the pond with die hard fans of rugby clubs you’ve never heard of. The food’s a great blend of Irish pub fare and Miami Latin-inspired stuff, and in South Beach, sports viewing doesn’t get much better.
Pro Tip: If you’re into the English Premiere League, weekend morning matches can get more packed than NFL Sundays.
@mickeyburkesmiami // 1265 Washington Ave., South Beach
Old Tom’s
There is a side of Miami most tourists and people who moved here after the pandemic never see. And it lives at Old Tom’s, tucked just outside the northern border of Miami International Airport. Here, retired pilots and salty Miami Springs locals cool off with cold beers and zero pretension, watching whatever sports happen to be on the bevy of flat screens that fill the place. It’s a slice of nostalgia topped with refreshing authenticity, and the best place to watch sports and never hear the words “tech” or “crypto.”
Pro Tip: Start up a conversation with someone sitting at the bar. The dudes who frequent this place all have a story.
@oldtomsmiami // 5001 NW 36th St., Miami Springs