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Explore Brickell and Miami Like a Local
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by Apex Hospitality Team
- March 23, 2026
- City Guides, Guides, Miami
- 0
Your Official Guest Guide
Explore Brickell & Miami
Like a Local
Hand-picked restaurants, rooftop lounges, dive bars, and must-see attractions — the 305's most electric neighborhoods at your fingertips during your Apex Hospitality stay.
🍽 Best Restaurants
🌆 Rooftop Lounges
🍺 Dive Bars
🌊 Attractions
Welcome to Brickell & Downtown Miami — the 305's beating financial heart where world-class dining, sky-high lounges with bay views, raw dive bars, and some of Florida's most stunning cultural institutions all collide in one electric, walkable stretch of city.
Where to Eat
Best Restaurants
Brickell has transformed into one of Miami's most thrilling dining destinations — from a legendary fresh seafood bistro beloved by locals to the most celebrated Peruvian-Japanese kitchen in the city and a Michelin-starred Colombian tasting menu.
01
Seafood Bistro
River Oyster Bar
The Infatuation's favorite Brickell restaurant — fresh, honest, exceptional
In a neighborhood full of overpriced spectacles, River Oyster Bar is the beautiful exception that locals treasure. Tucked into Brickell's bustling core, this intimate seafood bistro sources everything with care — Cape Canaveral shrimp, Florida Keys stone crab, cold-water oysters flown in daily, and seasonal fish prepared with genuine skill. The crab cakes are, per The Infatuation, the size of Costco muffins and bursting with pure crabmeat. The sea scallops a la plancha are not to be missed when on the menu. There's no pretension here, no velvet ropes, no thumping DJ — just an uncomplicated, welcoming room and some of the best seafood in all of Miami. The happy hour is legendary among Brickell regulars and offers extraordinary value.
02
Nikkei · Peruvian-Japanese
Osaka Nikkei
Miami's premier Nikkei kitchen — the marriage of Peruvian & Japanese mastery
Osaka is Brickell's most captivating dining concept — a showcase of Nikkei cuisine, the celebrated fusion tradition born from Japanese immigrants settling in Peru. Set in a chic space on Brickell Bay Drive with warm wood, adobe walls, lush greenery and theatrical lighting, Osaka delivers tiraditos, ceviches and sashimi that layer Japanese precision with vivid Peruvian citrus, chili and aji amarillo. The blowtorch-kissed dishes are visually dramatic and deeply delicious — the Tuna & Yellowtail Anticucho and the Wagyu Carpaccio are genuine standouts. One of the most enjoyable bar programs in Brickell and a oyster and 0 cocktail happy hour (Tue–Sun 5–8PM). Perfect for date nights, celebrations, or impressing out-of-towners.
03
Florida's Only
Colombian
Michelin Star ⭐
Colombian
Michelin Star ⭐
Colombian · Michelin Star ⭐
El Cielo Miami
Florida's only Michelin-starred Colombian restaurant — a sensory journey
El Cielo is one of the most extraordinary dining experiences in all of Florida — the only Colombian restaurant in the state to earn a Michelin Star. Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos, one of Latin America's most celebrated culinary innovators, delivers a multi-sensory tasting menu that merges modern technique with Colombia's deepest culinary traditions. Each course is a conversation between culture, storytelling, and flavour — guests have reported moments of genuine wonder. The terrace has exclusive yacht access on Brickell Key, creating one of Miami's most theatrical dining settings. Dress code is business casual. Reservations are essential and can fill weeks in advance. This is a once-in-Miami-life meal — do not miss it.
Up Top
Rooftop Lounges
No city rivals Miami for rooftop experiences — Biscayne Bay shimmering below, the skyline blazing in neon at sunset, warm trade winds year-round. These are the very best perches in Brickell and Downtown.
01
Rooftop Bar · 40th Floor
Sugar at EAST Miami
Miami's most beautiful rooftop bar — a tropical garden in the sky
Sugar is, without question, the most visually spectacular rooftop bar in Miami — and one of the most celebrated in the entire country. Perched on the 40th floor of EAST Miami inside Brickell City Centre, it feels less like a bar and more like a secret garden that somehow floated up 400 feet into the Miami sky. A hand-carved Balinese bar is nestled among bamboo, lush tropical plants and intimate lounge pockets, while every angle offers cinematic views of Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic and the full Brickell skyline. Asian-inspired cocktails and share plates (Korean chicken wings, lamb kebabs) are genuinely excellent. DJ sets nightly after sunset. Smart-casual by day; nightlife dress code after 6PM. Reservations strongly advised on weekends. 21+ after 6PM.
02
22nd Floor
DJs Nightly
Happy Hour Daily
DJs Nightly
Happy Hour Daily
Rooftop Lounge · 22nd Floor
Rosa Sky Rooftop
Brickell's most vibrant rooftop night scene — DJs, tapas & Miami magic
On the 22nd floor of the AC & Element Hotel in the heart of Brickell, Rosa Sky delivers breathtaking panoramic views of the Miami skyline paired with a pulsing, welcoming nightlife atmosphere that's accessible without being pretentious. DJs spin nightly from around 7PM to 2AM with cool light shows that only enhance the skyline backdrop. The handcrafted cocktail menu is inventive — try The Rosa Sky or the Golden Hour — and globally inspired small plates are ideal for sharing. A popular happy hour runs Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30–7PM. Reservations are highly recommended for groups, especially on weekends. One of the best values for a Miami rooftop experience, and LGBTQ+ friendly.
03
16th Floor
Kimpton EPIC Hotel
Sustainable Seafood
Kimpton EPIC Hotel
Sustainable Seafood
Rooftop Restaurant · 16th Floor
Area 31 — Kimpton EPIC Hotel
Downtown's finest rooftop dining — sustainable seafood, bay views, happy hour
Named after UN Fishing Area 31 — a sustainable Atlantic fishing zone — Area 31 on the 16th floor of the Kimpton EPIC Hotel is Downtown Miami's most sophisticated rooftop dining destination. Chef Sezer Deniz's seafood-focused menu sources locally caught fish, herbs grown in the hotel's own garden, and premium ingredients with genuine ethical intent. The result is a sleek, elegant space with spectacular views of the Miami River, Biscayne Bay and the full Downtown skyline. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 5–8PM and features excellent cocktails and half-price bites. It's the perfect blend of rooftop vibes and serious restaurant quality — come for drinks and stay for dinner.
Best Dive Bars
Beneath Brickell's glass towers and velvet ropes lies a scrappier, more honest Miami. These bars have soul — cheap drinks, zero pretense, and the real 305 crowd you won't find at the clubstaurants.
Blackbird Ordinary
Brickell's most beloved dive — a bar with actual soul, open until 5AM
Blackbird Ordinary is Brickell's truest antidote to its own excess — a dim, unpretentious, deeply loved bar that has outlasted dozens of flashier neighbors precisely because it never tried to be anything other than itself. Tucked under the Metromover tracks on SW 10th Street, it serves tasty cocktails, cold beers and simple food in a space that oscillates between patio party, live band venue, and sweaty late-night dance floor depending on the night. Open until 5AM every single night — which tells you everything about its clientele and its mission. Time Out called it "a bar with a soul," which is rarer than you'd think in this city. A Brickell institution that earns its reputation every single night of the week.
Mama Tried
Downtown's most versatile bar — dive bar, cocktail bar, dance floor all in one
Mama Tried is one of Downtown Miami's most genuinely loved spots — a small, scrappy bar that defies easy categorization and is better for it. Depending on the night, it can feel like a no-frills dive, an intimate craft cocktail bar, or a sweaty, shockingly fun post-midnight dance spot. The cocktails punch well above their price point. The event programming is creative and genuinely local — a wildly popular monthly emo night, themed parties, and regular DJ sets draw a fiercely loyal crowd. The red carpet inside is inexplicably clean for a bar of this nature, which only adds to its charm. A favourite of the The Infatuation's Miami team for good reason — it's the kind of place you end up after midnight wondering where the last two hours went.
Better Days
Possibly the only true dive bar in Brickell — in a converted old firehouse
Better Days might just be the only genuine dive bar left in Brickell — a distinction it wears with pride inside the walls of a converted historic firehouse on SW 10th Street. Where Brickell's other drinking establishments compete to see who can charge more for a Negroni, Better Days offers a different proposition: cold beers at prices that won't ruin your evening, a cheerful lack of pretension, friendly service, and a patio great for watching the Brickell chaos unfold around you. Yelp reviewers call it "probably as close to a dive bar as the area gets" and praise it for good happy hour prices and an honest, welcoming local vibe. In a neighborhood that can feel designed exclusively for expense accounts, Better Days is a genuinely democratic room. Exactly what Brickell needs more of.
Explore & Experience
Things To Do & Attractions
Brickell and Downtown Miami sit at the crossroads of world-class culture, stunning waterfront parks, the most vibrant street art district in America, and a Metromover that takes you anywhere for free.
01
Herzog & de Meuron
Architecture
Bayfront Location
Architecture
Bayfront Location
Art Museum · Waterfront
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Miami's flagship contemporary art museum — designed by Pritzker Prize winners
Opened in 2013 in its landmark Herzog & de Meuron–designed building on Biscayne Bay, PAMM is Miami's premier contemporary art institution and one of the most architecturally stunning museums in America. The 200,000-square-foot campus features elaborate hanging gardens cascading from its canopied terraces, while galleries inside showcase international modern and contemporary art with particular focus on the Caribbean, U.S. Latino, African Diaspora and Latin American traditions. The waterfront Verde restaurant is a genuine dining destination in its own right. Free admission every first Thursday evening and second Saturday of the month. The building alone is worth the trip — sit on the bay terrace and watch the sun set over Biscayne Bay with a glass of wine from Verde.
02
World's Greatest
Street Art District
15 Min from Brickell
Street Art District
15 Min from Brickell
Street Art · Culture · Free
Wynwood Walls & Arts District
The world's most famous outdoor street art museum — 15 minutes from Brickell
Wynwood is what happens when you take a warehouse district, invite the world's greatest street artists to paint every surface, and add extraordinary food, boutique shops, craft breweries, and a community that genuinely loves it. The Wynwood Walls is the centrepiece — a curated outdoor gallery of massive murals by internationally celebrated artists, completely free to walk through at any time. But the real magic is the entire neighbourhood, where virtually every building has been transformed into a canvas. Come on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when the street market, gallery openings, food trucks and weekend energy are all firing. Bobby's Bike Hike tours through Wynwood are a beloved way to see it all properly. An absolute must-do, 10–15 minutes from Brickell by rideshare.
03
Brickell City Centre
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The Underline Trail
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The Underline Trail
Shopping · Park · Culture
Brickell City Centre & The Underline
Miami's most architecturally impressive mall and its coolest new linear park
Two of Brickell's most distinctive spaces — one indoors, one out. Brickell City Centre is a genuinely remarkable architectural achievement: a multi-level outdoor-indoor mall crowned by a "climate ribbon" — a massive sculptural canopy that shades and naturally cools the open-air walkways using Miami's trade winds. It's a genuine joy to walk, and houses Saks Fifth Avenue, dozens of restaurants and bars (including Sugar's EAST Hotel), and a luxury CMX cinema. The Underline, rolling out in phases through 2025, is Miami's answer to the New York High Line — a 10-mile linear urban park built beneath the elevated Metrorail, with completed sections in Brickell featuring a dog run, exercise stations, yoga, and beautifully landscaped walking and cycling paths along the Miami River. Free weekly yoga Thursday evenings.
04
Italian Villa
Built 1916
10 Acres Gardens
Built 1916
10 Acres Gardens
Historic Estate · Gardens
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
Miami's most magical hidden gem — a Renaissance Italian villa on Biscayne Bay
Built in 1916 as the winter estate of industrialist James Deering, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is the most extraordinary — and most underrated — cultural attraction in all of Miami. The villa itself is a jaw-dropping Italian Renaissance palace filled with European antiques, tapestries, and art spanning five centuries. But the ten acres of formal gardens cascading down to Biscayne Bay are the true revelation — think Versailles in the tropics, with fountains, statuary, grottos, and baroque hedgerows meeting coconut palms and the shimmering bay. Sunrise here during a quiet weekday morning is a genuinely transcendent Miami experience. Just 10 minutes from Brickell by car or rideshare, or 15 by Metrorail to Vizcaya station. A UNESCO tentative list site since 2015.
05
Star Island
Celebrity Homes
Departing Bayside
Celebrity Homes
Departing Bayside
Boat Tours · Waterfront · Free
Biscayne Bay Boat Tour & Bayfront Park
See Miami's celebrity island mansions from the water — and relax at the bay
Two essential waterfront experiences. Biscayne Bay Boat Tours depart from Bayside Marketplace just north of Downtown and deliver one of Miami's most unique perspectives — sailing past Star Island (where Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and other celebrities own palatial waterfront homes), the Port of Miami cruise ships, the Downtown skyline, and into the dazzling bay islands fringed by celebrity estates. At sunset, it's one of the most spectacular things you can do in South Florida. Just north of Brickell, Bayfront Park is 32 acres of free, beautifully maintained waterfront greenspace with the famous Tina Hills Pavilion, walking paths along the bay, and year-round concerts. The free Metromover stops right at the park entrance. Sunrise or sunset here with the skyline behind you is a quintessential Miami moment.
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