Fancy a cocktail or mocktail? Looking to relax and relate after work, celebrate a birthday or catch up after a weekend movie? Are you getting ready to toast (in moderation) a successful Dry January soon? If your usual gathering-with-the girls place is the nearest TGI Fridays, Applebee’s or Olive Garden, consider a change of scenery once in a while. Maybe posh it up at a unique spot with plush decor and sweeping views of your city, or try a unique craft cocktail and apps at a different-from-usual happy hour spot or even some jazz at a sexy speakeasy-style hideaway.
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Here are sophisticated watering holes we found around the country to inspire your next toast with girlfriends (or your sweetie). They include the bar at a Michelin-starred caviar-and-champagne restaurant, cozy igloos, nouveau vegan fare and lounges with hookah and cigar areas. Toast to your friendship or a friend’s special day while also expanding your palate and exploring new places in your city. Our list may inspire some online searching of your own for more happy-hour hot spots to enjoy in your city or when visiting another one.
FLORIDA
Level 6, Coconut Grove
This stylish luxury rooftop oasis sits above Coconut Grove’s hot new modern Lebanese restaurant, Amal.
Fab Features: A 4,000-square-foot posh rooftop lounge/restaurant with gorgeous views of Biscayne Bay, Coconut Grove and the Miami skyline. Glass walls allow you to enjoy the view from every seat, and retractable canopies protect you from the heat.
Menu: A modern and urban twist on Spanish cuisine. Try a vibrant handmade cocktail infused with fruit and herbs, or something from their extensive wine and champagne list.
When to Go: Enjoy a martini lunch, sip while watching a gorgeous sunset, or marvel at the view with late-night drinks.
level6miami.com
Bar One, Miami Beach
This restaurant/lounge is on the picturesque Biscayne Bay marina with views of Star Island and downtown Miami.
Fab Features: A celebrity hangout with sweeping views, sleek high-end decor and indoor-outdoor seating. Bar One is owned by restaurateur Peter Thomas, ex-husband of model Cynthia Bailey, formerly of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Menu: Spendy high-end menu including steak, surf and turf, and seafood entrées mixed with Jamaican and Caribbean selections. There are signature cocktails as well as bottle, wine and cigar lists.
When to Go: Open every day. Go for brunch or dinner, or catch their sunset happy hour.
baronemiamibeach.com
TEXAS
Z on 23, Houston
This chic and modern outdoor bar/lounge is located 23 floors up, at the top of Le Méridien Houston Downtown, with stunning views.
Fab Features: It is Houston’s highest open-air rooftop bar, with 360-degree views of the Houston skyline and sunset.
Menu: Simple bar fare: flatbread pizza, burgers and tacos, and a wine, cocktail and beer menu.
When to Go: Catch their happy hour and specials Mondays through Wednesdays, or swing by any night for after-dinner drinks.
zutrorestaurant.com
LOUISIANA
The Bombay Club, the French Quarter, New Orleans
A martini bar with varied cuisine in the heart of the French Quarter, it’s located in the historic Prince Conti Hotel.
Fab Features: Live jazz and happy hour specials at this sophisticated and old-fashioned cocktail lounge, walking distance from many of the French Quarter’s top restaurants. Many unique martinis and cocktails, as well as spirits, wine and beer.
Menu: A mix of British gastropub and NOLA cuisine, along with an extensive list of signature cocktails; a selection of single malt scotches, ports and bourbons; wines; handcrafted cocktails; and the longest list of martinis in the city, they claim.
When to Go: Happy hour and live jazz Wednesdays through Sundays. A great place for after-dinner drinks, dinner or Sunday brunch.
bombayclubneworleans.com
The Country Club, Bywater, New Orleans
Renovated restaurant and bar is housed in a stately historic home that has been a Bywater neighborhood secret for four decades.
Fab Features: Dine in the formal dining room, sit outside in the garden, sink into one of the plush bar room chairs for a cocktail, or maybe lounge by the heated pool and enjoy a drink from the cabana bar. (Day passes or memberships are required for the pool.)
Menu: They specialize in Creole cuisine. Enjoy their extensive cocktail, beer or wine menu, or try a weekday happy hour special.
When to Go: For drinks at the bar, dinner, weekday happy hour or weekend brunch.
thecountryclubneworleans.com
GEORGIA
Red Phone Booth, Buckhead
Red Phone Booth is an elite prohibition-style whiskey lounge that opened in Buckhead in 2021. (There is also a downtown location.) Visit their website for information about membership.
Fab Features: The expansive, upscale space features brick and wood accents, plush Italian leather sofas, a fireplace, an extensive list of cigars and a state-of-the-art air-purifying system. Enter the club by dialing your special code in the antique British red phone booth at the secret entrance.
