A Cocktail Bar Just Won a National Award, a Dive Bar Turned 100, and Sweet Liberty Got Its Own Holiday

July did not slow down for anybody. World Cup energy still lingering, new spots dropping every week, and somehow a hundred-year-old dive bar is still the coolest thing happening on the beach. Here's what actually mattered.

Openings Worth Knowing

Solei Beach Club landed at the Kimpton Surfcomber and it's exactly what you'd expect from a Mediterranean day club done right. Cabanas, a menu built for lounging all day, the kind of place where you show up for lunch and leave at sunset. Miami Beach needed another one and honestly we're not mad about it.

SOLEI BEACH CLUB Miami Beach · Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel Mediterranean day club, just opened Open in ZONA →

The most unexpected opening of the month goes to Sulta Rosa, the new European-style coffee and dessert cafe on Lincoln Road from Dancing With the Stars pros Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov. First restaurant concept for the both of them, and word is the pastry case alone is worth the trip. Ballroom champions moonlighting as baristas, we love a plot twist.

SULTA ROSA Miami Beach · Lincoln Road Coffee and dessert cafe, just opened Open in ZONA →

Mac's Club Deuce Turns 100

Mac's Club Deuce is turning 100 years old, which if you know anything about this city, is basically ancient history. Miami Beach's oldest dive bar has survived hurricanes, gentrification, and every trend that's come and gone on Washington Avenue, and it's still pouring cheap, stiff drinks like nothing's changed. They're throwing a block party on Saturday, September 5, right there on 14th and Washington, 4pm to 11:30pm. If you've never been, go before the party. If you have, go anyway.

MAC'S CLUB DEUCE South Beach · Washington Avenue Turning 100, block party Sept 5 Open in ZONA →

A Courtyard Comeback, and Maybe Miami's Smallest Bar

Over on the Upper Eastside, the old Anderson Bar space came back to life as Upper Eastside Hangout, a sprawling courtyard with $5 beers, string lights, and enough lawn games to make you forget you're in a city. But the real find is tucked down a palm-lined path inside it: The Original Bar Shack, a 200-square-foot cocktail bar that might be the smallest in Miami. Fifteen seats, full cocktail program, tropical wallpaper doing the most. It's the kind of place you stumble into and then can't stop talking about.

UPPER EASTSIDE HANGOUT Upper Eastside · NE 79th Street Courtyard bar, just opened Open in ZONA →

THE ORIGINAL BAR SHACK Upper Eastside · Inside Upper Eastside Hangout Possibly Miami's smallest bar Open in ZONA →

Three Miami Bars Made the Spirited Awards Cut, and ViceVersa Won

Three Miami bars made the finalist cut for the 2026 Spirited Awards, which is as close to the Oscars as this industry gets. Champagne Bar at the Four Seasons Surf Club and ViceVersa at the Elser Hotel went head to head for Best U.S. Hotel Bar, and Sunny's Steakhouse landed a nod for Best U.S. Restaurant Bar. ViceVersa took the win at the ceremony in New Orleans on July 23. Miami showing up on a national stage for cocktails, not just beaches, is exactly the kind of reputation shift we've been rooting for.

CHAMPAGNE BAR AT THE SURF CLUB Surfside · Four Seasons Hotel Best U.S. Hotel Bar finalist Open in ZONA →

VICEVERSA Downtown · The Elser Hotel Best U.S. Hotel Bar, WINNER Open in ZONA →

SUNNY'S STEAKHOUSE Little River Best U.S. Restaurant Bar finalist Open in ZONA →

Sweet Liberty Got Its Own Holiday

In the most Miami headline of the month, Sweet Liberty got an official proclamation from Miami-Dade County. June 20 is now Sweet Liberty Day, permanently, on the books. A cocktail bar with its own government holiday. Only here.

SWEET LIBERTY South Beach June 20 is officially Sweet Liberty Day Open in ZONA →

Closing Time

Mr Chow quietly shut its doors after 17 years inside the W South Beach. No statement, no farewell post, just stacked chairs and an empty dining room that used to host Michael Jordan and Lenny Kravitz on a regular night. It's the kind of closing that stings a little more than the usual churn, because Mr Chow felt permanent.

And it wasn't an isolated closing. The W South Beach itself shuts down for good on August 20, dropping its Marriott flag entirely and laying off 337 staff, for a full top-to-bottom renovation: new pool deck, an expanded restaurant and bar footprint, a members-only club. So if you had any last rooftop plans at the W, this is your window. It comes back in early 2027 under a new name: Waldorf Astoria Miami Beach.