by NomadicBoys

Get out of the cold and head to Miami!

We luuuurve Miami! To be honest, we love the whole of Florida as a gay destination but there’s just something about Miami. Perhaps it’s all the sun and gorgeous beaches, or the delicious restaurants where we can gorge on sushi and other seafood. Or the buff gay bodies on display wherever you look… yeah that definitely plays a part.

But what we really love about Miami are all the fabulous gay bars, clubs and beaches where we can feel completely free while surrounded by our rainbow family. Miami is home to one of the largest LGBTQ communities in the world and attracts more than a million gay visitors each year - now that’s a lot of queer eyes, baby!

Out of our many trips back to the gay scene of Miami there are a few places that we return to again and again. Whether it’s for a chilled drink with some friends or a night of dancing and debauchery until the wee hours, there is something for everyone in Miami’s gay scene. These are our personal favourite gay bars and clubs in Miami where we always have a good time:

Twist

Twist is without a doubt one of the best gay places in Miami and you definitely don’t need to twist our arms to visit it again, get it?! Twist is the longest-running gay bar/club in Miami, founded in 1993 and with the slogan “Never a cover - always a groove”. That means you never need to pay a cover charge to get in and enjoy your night - now that is a marketing campaign we can get behind!

Twist is also huge, with three different dance floors and seven bars spread out over a two-storey building. There are both indoor and outdoor areas to relax as well, so visiting Twist is almost like spending time at a miniature gay town! Best of all, it’s open 7 days a week with exciting events pretty much every night of the week as well. On Sundays there’s an underwear contest at midnight, there’s comedy drag on Wednesdays plus top DJs and the HOT gaiety dancers every night for your viewing pleasure…need we go on?

The overall vibe and crowd at Twist is young, fun and fiiiiine! It’s located at 1057 Washington Avenue on Miami Beach, next door to the 11th Street Diner featured in Will Smith’s “Miami” music video. Twist is open every day from 1pm until 5am.

WaterLOO

“Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war…” oh sorry, we got distracted! And while WaterLOO in Miami might not be blasting out ABBA hits (they missed a trick there when naming it), it’s still one of our favourite gay bars in the whole city. It’s a different vibe than some places, with a rather classy feel, especially since they call themselves a “discotheque” rather than a bar or club. Make sure you hold your pinkie finger out while drinking that cocktail daaarling!

This doesn’t mean you can’t have fun though, as WaterLOO is kind of like a lounge where you can also dance and have fun. Let’s not forget all the hot topless Go-Go dancers, bartenders and DJs that you can ogle. Just keep it classy (and in your pants) ladies! On Tuesdays there’s karaoke with drag queen Tiffany Fantasia and they also host regular Ru Paul’s Drag Race viewing parties so do NOT sashay away…

WaterLOO is located at 1216 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, just two blocks away from Twist. They’re open from 9pm until 2am every night except Saturday, when they stay open until 5am the next morning.

R House

For something a little bit different, head to Miami’s hipster Wynwood Arts District which is filled with cool street art and home to the funky gay-owned R House. It was created by chef Rocco Carulli and his husband Owen Bale as a place for enjoying food, art and music all in one spot - we love it!

R House is a fab spot for a delicious meal of American, Mediterranean, Asian and Latin dishes but the fun certainly doesn’t stop there. The art gallery gives you something beautiful to look at while you’re there, although the staff are pretty easy on the eyes as well! Friday nights are when the Fri-yay events take place, with special discounted drink prices and live DJs to keep the crown entertained.

The weekends are pumping at R House as well, with hilarious drag brunches on Saturday and Sunday which include bottomless mimosas! The Queens and music are also amazing, then later on Saturday night is the biggest party night with guest DJs keeping you up dancing till all hours.

R House is located at 2727 NW 2nd Ave, Miami and is open Wednesday to Thursday from 3pm - 10pm, on Friday from 3pm - 3am, Saturday from midday - 3am and Sunday from 11.30am - 9pm.

Palace

Palace Bar’s slogan is “Every Queen needs a palace” and honey, you should us wearing crowns! Every gay visitor to Miami needs to come to Palace to bow down and worship at the number one gay restaurant/bar in the city. It’s been going strong since the 80s and is THE place to see the most glamorous drag queens in Florida.

As well as the Palace bar where you can enjoy craft cocktails, tasty dishes, music and drag shows, there’s also the Palace cafe where the legendary weekend drag brunches are held. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays there are two different showings (at 11am and 2pm) where you will be entertained and absolutely roasted by the fierce queens! The food ain’t half bad either, with fluffy pancakes, French toast that even my fussy Frenchman enjoyed, potato hash and, of course, bottomless mimosas.

Palace is located at 1052 Ocean Drive (right by the beach!) and is open every day from 10am until 3am (Sunday - Wednesday) or 4am (Thursday - Saturday). Don’t miss out on their Happy Hours from Monday to Friday between 5pm - 7pm.

Azucar

Look, if you haven’t had your fill of fierce drag queens or you just like to stay up LATE partying, then Azucar nightclub fits the bill perfectly. This is a gay Latin nightclub in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana district where you might need to brush up on your Spanish skills to properly understand the filth those ladies are slinging your way!

Azucar hosts regular fun events, from drag wars to cabaret, karaoke to ‘normal’ party nights like “extreme Thursdays” and “crazy Fridays”. Pretty much every night that they’re open features some form of drag show and the drag contests are just the thing if you’ve always wanted to get in touch with your feminine persona.

Since Azucar means sugar in Spanish, people often say a night at Azucar Miami is sweet as sugar, and we certainly can’t disagree. The vibe here is unabashedly wild and carefree. Azucar is located at 2301 SW 32nd Avenue and is open from Thursday- Sunday between 10.30pm and 5am.

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