This Little Havana hot spot was just named one of the best bars in the U.S.
A historic Cuban music spot in Miami was just named one of the best bars in the country.
In its summer issue, Esquire magazine named Ball & Chain on Calle Ocho in Little Havana as one of the Best Bars in America.
How did Ball & Chain, the only Florida spot on the list, make the cut? Its location on a historic street, for starters, with its colorful history coming in a close second.
“Then there’s the lore,” marvels Esquire writer Khuong Phan of the nightclub, which first opened in 1935. “Bootleggers, gamblers, mobsters, crooked politicians — oh, and Billie Holiday sang here. Behold the pineapple-shaped band shell outside; savor the rum-heavy drinks inside.”
The drinks and the music are key, too, he writes: “Ball & Chain’s mojitos always loosen the joints. A necessity, because the band’s bringing it.”
Ball & Chain is now owned and operated by Bill Fuller, Zack Bush and Ben Bush of Mad Room hospitality, who also operate Fort Lauderdale’s historic Mai Kai Polynesian restaurant.
The other bars on the Best Bars list are: Papercut in Austin, Texas; The House of Found Objects, Birmingham, Alabama; Cody’s Public House, Chicago; Stir Crazy, Los Angeles; The Nashville Palace, Nashville; Bar Tonique, New Orleans; The Double Windsor, Brooklyn; Stars, Manhattan; Kelley’s Korner Tavern, Placentia, California; Russell’s, Seattle; Half Time Rec, St. Paul; The Cork, Tucson; Gold Clover Bar, Washington D.C.
Ball & Chain
Where: 1513 SW 8th St., Miami
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight Monday; 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday; 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Friday-Saturday
More information: ballandchainmiami.com or 305) 643-7820