Abraxas Lounge

Been coming here for like 6 years or so. I moved away from Florida but every time I come down here, I visit.
It’s a chill place w MANY beers. The bartenders are always cheerful n helpful. Just don’t come here expecting to hook up. It’s more of a place to chill, relax, enjoy a good drink (if u can find some favs amongst the many).
Update:
Oh man, I was submitting all the reviews I had as drafts… Turns out this place is closed now :(

CLOSED
Gone baby bye bye! After years of struggle with the neighbors, the city and the building owners, Abraxas finally succumbed to plans for a new «boutique hotel». Another hotel? Sure, why not, right?
Abraxas owner has pledged to come back harder, better, faster, stronger. Where ever he opens up next, I’ll be there.

It breaks my craft beer loving heart that I am writing this review with just 2 days left for Abraxas at it’s current incarnation. Diego will surely find a new location and be back bigger and better than before, but the OG spot of Abraxas holds so many wonderful memories with friends and nights of overindulgence with insanely great beer.
Tomorrow, we pour one for the homies…

Yikes! Ended up here at 1:30am on a Friday night and it was DEAD. 2 couples were in the joint, and I was there with a male friend of mine. Walked in, walked out. Maybe I just got unlucky?

When I select 5 starts and read the comment «Woohoo! As good as it gets,» I take into consideration what I’m asking for before I commit. If you are looking for a SoBe Lounge — you will be very disappointed in Abraxas Lounge. But if you are looking for an extensive beer list — you will be thrilled by the menu here. If you are looking liquor — disappointed. Cheap prices — THRILLED!
This bar is definitely off the beaten path. You have to go here. Not just stumble upon it. My partner and I were doing the rounds in SoFi and this was on the list. Now we are looking forward to returning again and again.
When you walk in Abraxas it’s clear that it’s a smoking joint. So if you don’t like bars that allow smoking — this is not for you. No need to come here and Unilocal about feeling ill. You’ll see it noted that smoking is allowed in the info about the establishment. :-)
It is dimly lit and that adds to the character to the place. There is a bar and some lounge seating. Once greeted (we were there on Wednesday night and Ariana was a FANTASTIC host and bartender) you will get 3 menus. So many beers to choose from. I am not a beer connoisseur and left it to Ariana. I enjoyed everything I consumed. What made this place even more excellent were the patrons. There weren’t many of us — but we were all sharing. Stories, beers, the bar. I had a buzz from the beers these strangers/​friends were buying.
We were supposed to head off to dinner — but were having such a good time we asked if they allowed food to be delivered. We were given a HUGE stack of local spots that deliver. Food came — more beer was drunk — such a great night!
There is a garage two blocks away — this is the best bet for parking. Call and ask them — they’ll tell you about it… cash only for this garage. Plan for that!
Definitely check this place out.

Fave beer spot in the hood!!! Trivia every Tuesday night! Winning team gets a free bar tab on their next visit… and trust me you’ll need it b/​c the craft beers are too good to stop guzzling and they aren’t exactly cheap!
–cozy
–fun trivia
–great playlist
–unpretentious
–knowledgable staff
–BEEEEEEEEEEERRRR!!!

Hands Down my favorite bar in Miami /​Florida. A friend showed me this bar right when I moved to Miami 6 years ago and I haven’t stopped coming. The beer selection is tops in South Florida, the menu is well thought out and you will never get bored. There are always beer related events — tap takeovers, launch events or group gathering.
Diego (owner who is always around) and his bartenders always have great suggestions if you can’t find anything yourself. The bar just make you feel like you belong.
This bar has transformed me into the beer geek that I am today!

I don’t drink, but I took my boyfriend, a huge beer fanatic, here thanks to Joseluis’ great SoBe list. Let’s start with the hours – Abraxas is open until 5am on most days, and until 3 on Sundays and Monday’s. Pretty sweet hours.
As for the ambiance, it’s a very chill, laid back, come-​as-​you-​are, neighborhood kind of place. There’s a large bar in the vented and sofas and chairs set up in a few nice lounge areas. The chill tone is set by the music, which had a nice chill Indies sound and by the lighting, which is where my problem came in. It was dark enough that my boyfriend thought they weren’t even open, but when you walk in, it’s so dark, extremely dark that your eyes hurt and you can barely see he menu. As for the chalkboard menu, forget about it! It ‘s impossible to see well enough to read even half of it.
Aside from the darkness and the fact that all of the regulars seem to smoke, which quickly started to make me feel sick and kill my eyes, I thought this place was a real find. Chillin’ out at Abraxas is like having drinks at a close friend’
. Everyone feels welcome and right at home. The bartender was cool, even towards me, the non drinker. She checked on me a few times and never made me feel unwelcome. She seemed to know everyone else and chatted it up with them.
The star here is the menu, or should I say menus. There’s a specialty beer menu and an international beer menu, both of which are huge. Prices are like little else in the vicinity, very reasonable. The menus tell you origin and alcohol content of all beers and prices range from $ 6 to $ 40plus, with six bucks being the average price. Overall, this place is a gem. Abraxas is a much-​needed reprieve from the pomp and ostentation of the typical SoBe scene. I was even impressed by the beer selection, and Id never drink beer, even if I did drink. Thanks, Helpers, for another great find!

Love at first sight and sip.
Why I love Abraxas:
–Incredible beer selection
–Awesome Jimi Hendrix poster
–It’s a bar undercover as a house
–Trivia night
–Friendly folks
–Good music
–INCREDIBLE BEER SELECTION (400+)
This was meant to be. Don’t fight it.

Great beer bar off the beaten path in South Beach. I only stopped in for 1 beer but I was really impressed by their selection and during my time there I had some good beer talk with the bartender.

On the recommendation of Mister Miami, Johnny T, we ventured to Abraxas early on a Friday night. Good beer bars seem to be as elusive as a well-​balanced federal budget in these parts of the country, but we knew that Abraxas would do our good ol’ Midwestern hearts some good.
And it sure delivered.
It would be easy to miss from the street. No exterior signs of drunkenness. The inside is cozy, welcoming, chill and definitely un-​SoBe. Dark, with comfortable couches, good music and just a couple of quiet patrons.
I immediately loved it.
Wanting to try local suds, I ordered a Swamp Head Midnight Oil, a delicious oatmeal coffee stout which delivers strong coffee flavors without bitterness, and thoroughly impressed me. I cannot recall my second round, Floridian as well, but it was a good choice as well, albeit obviously not quite as memorable.
If you are looking to escape the «scene», come here to relax and sip on a pit or three. It’s totally worth it.

Great local spot, hard to find, not many tourists. The bar staff here is hit and miss, sometimes you get someone really quick and nice, other times you can’t get a drink since the bartender is on the phone.
They have an awesome selection of beer on tap and in bottles, and always have interesting options.
Prices are good, this place is a winner and on my short rotation of south beach bars I like to visit.

I’d been here 2 or 3 times in the past, but it was always at the end of the night after we’d already hit a few other places so I didn’t feel I’d spent enough quality time at Abraxas to properly review it.
Most recently I came here as part of a group, and this was a good choice — There was plenty of room to accommodate us, even on a Saturday evening, and there were a few cozy seating areas and tables available for us to spread out a bit as well, as not everyone wanted to sit at the bar. Their beer selections ran the gambit in varieties/​types, alcohol content and price, and the staff was helpful at choosing different beers to try, I simply had to indicate what I was in the mood for or what my preferences were (i.e. I explained that I wasn’t a fan of IPA or sour, was looking for XYZ, etc. and they basically said «Oh, you should try _​_​_​_​, then»). Their suggestions were always spot on.
Beers here start at about $ 6 each and go up from there and their selection, as others have mentioned, is pretty amazing. The atmosphere is definitely laid back and chill in this dark bar in the bottom of an apartment building. My only real critical comments are that 1) They only have 1 restroom and it’s unisex, so when this place is full of people who are drinking, there’s nearly always a line to use it. Also, 2) IMO the service could be faster if they’d have more of the beers they offer in coolers out front near the bar, or if they’d take a few orders at a time before going back to retrieve them. I’ve noticed during all my visits here that they’ll take an order from someone, then disappear for a few moments while they leave the bar and go around the back to get the drink (s) they’ve ordered, then return, serve them and ring them up. Then they’ll take the next customer. Not terrible if the place isn’t busy, but it can be a bit frustrating when there are more than a few patrons in the place.

Why 5 stars? Because this is the ideal bar.
— — —
1) Large beer selection
2) Comfortable couches/​chairs all over
3) Friendly service
4) Not too crowded
The following is the list by which I rate bars, and are all of the characteristics of Abraxas Lounge. What I don’t like about Miami is the crowded club life with house music and flashing lights. This place has none of that, making it my favorite nightlife spot in SoBe.

Chill spot in beautiful SoFi area of South Beach.
Dark and cozy, perfect for small group of friends gathering. Offers extensive beer selection as well as some wines. As a local, I love to go here because it’s not packed with tourist.
Be sure to bring quarters for street parking.

Great local bar for craft beers. Take advantage of their happy hour special till 9pm. $ 4-​$ 5 beers. This little cozy spot makes you feel like you are having a beer at your best friend’s house. Made friends with the owner Mauricio, swell guy and watched the 12÷12÷12 concert on one if their many flat screen tvs. Arianna the bartender is very sweet. Definitely give this unassuming South Beach spot a shot. it doesn’t disappoint, especially with their vast craft beer selection.

Everyone is always welcome at Abraxas but I’ve observed some weeknights are as self-​segregated as a Sadie Hawkins Dance in the South during the 60s –
*Monday Bumday (In the Biz) 2−4−1 all night for those in the hospitality business. For servers, bartenders, and bouncers, Monday-​Tuesday is their weekend. Expect it to get rowdy.
*Tuesday Boozeday (Trivia) Last time I participated it was just like Slumdog Millionaire… except in reverse. None of my life experiences helped me answer any of the questions. The triviaphiles, almost exclusively women, helped me realize my shortcomings –
Architecture, my knowledge of it is as bad as Jay-Z’s knowledge of singing.
Botany, my brain only has enough storage capacity for edible and trance-​inducing plants.
Tennis, the only people who should be watching non-​contact sports are expecting mothers, small children, and inmates.
No worries, the ladies carried me the whole way but I answered both tie-​breaker questions and they rewarded me by using a portion of their winnings to help pay my bar tab.
*Wednesdays Friendsday (Beer Novice/​Enthusiasts)
Beer Tastings (1^st and 3^rd) — the brews you find and love are served in 2 oz. tasting glasses so the fun will be as fleeting as that night you lost your virginity. Can be miserable because you will inevitably find some brews you hate, yet have to squeeze down your throat like cod liver oil.
Geek Night (2^nd and 4^th) see more on that here –
*Thirsty Thursdays (Indie) a bunch these guys holding gluten-​free beers —
*Freaky Friday (Happy Hour) the day all of the above unite to enjoy the largest selection of brews on the Beach.
The only drawbacks are… smoking is allowed indoors, service can be a little choppy and parking is as jacked-​up as Jessica Simpson’s pre-​ProActiv face.

It’s time to give Abraxas a hearty update. I’ve seen some beer bars, some of the nation’s most renowned. The Toronado. The Map Room. Redlight Redlight. Somehow, Abraxas, while excellent, was always qualified with the tag «by Miami standards,» somehow implying that it wasn’t quite up to snuff compared to some of the national heavy hitters.
I don’t know. Either the much-​hyped bars are a little overrated, or Abraxas is a little underrated, or both… because there isn’t a ton of difference in terms of selection. These are all bars that basically try to get all the special releases and whatnot that they can, trying to keep the serious beer people happy. Obviously, Abraxas is limited by the reality that powerhouse beer-​geek-​approved breweries like Russian River, Lost Abbey, Deschutes, Goose Island and Three Floyds don’t distribute to Florida and probably never will. So what. Focus on what we do get, and you’ll find a substantial complement of Cigar City and Terrapin, as well as occasional tap nights featuring local upstarts. If we can get it, there’s a decent chance you’ll find it at Abraxas — and if not, there’s a big enough selection that finding a second choice isn’t too difficult.
One of the criticisms frequently leveled at Abraxas is that it only has 8 – 10 taps. I’m going to turn around and say that you wouldn’t *want* this place to have 50 taps, because they wouldn’t turn over quickly enough, and that would lead to some stale beer. Draft can be nice, but draft isn’t always necessarily better.
Also, if we are rating partly on a bar’s atmosphere, I’d say Abraxas beats out all those places I listed above. Located in what was once a residence in the South of Fifth neighborhood, it has a home-​y feel you can’t get at too many other bars.
The famed Abraxas Pub Trivia is no longer (regularly) in effect, but I can’t say I’m mourning it. It seemed to attract a high percentage of snarky hipsters who smoked way too many cigarettes and ordered Belzebuth just because it’s 13% and not that expensive relative to other high-​ABV beers. Come on, people, it tastes like bad pear-​infused vodka with some bubbles. I might prefer it over Four Loko, but not by much. At any rate, I’m sure they will still offer Music Trivia on occasion, at which point I will go and obliterate all of you with my brews and tunes-​loving all-​star team, «Grand Funk Aleroad.» Yes, I’m talking trash — that’s an open challenge.

I’m going to be in the minority here and probably going to be whacked in the head with a PBR by the Beer Snob but other than the company at the zack attack pubcrawl, I was not impressed with Abraxas.
I like the location in the lobby of an older building and the hidden away vibe, plus the fact I was able to enjoy my strawberry lambic. The space is pretty wide, too, and of course the music selection was awesome.
The rub was in the service. I don’t know if I missed a secret handshake (hello It was my first time) but the bartender seeme downright surly, even making a smart remark that it would take long to serve a strawberry lambic.
Maybe next time Ill just go as a +1

After a couple of visits here I can finally review this place. Location is awesome, tucked away in a residential area south of fifth, where all the locals hangout. You can not miss it from the outside, large white building with a blue neon sign on the corner. Parking is metered on the street, and when we pulled up the other night bam spot right in front, perfect!
When you walk in it is very dark, nothing really stands out in here as far as décor, other than the darkness. Nice couches are set up with tables throughout the room with a long bar and stools right when you walk in.
What is the best part about this bar? Geez, their beer selection is incredible here. Slowly I am learning more and more about some great beers and really learning to appreciate them. As far as I am concerned this bar has the best beer selection in all of South Florida. Both times I have been here the official beer snob Patrick L. has been here with me so finding a great suggestion is always good from him. The other night I first ordered off the happy hour menu, for $ 4 I got a great IPA, it was good.
Then Patrick was nice enough to order an expensive bottle of beer for us to share that was aged in a Sauvignon Blanc barrel. Oh wow, it was herbaceous, minerals, the bouquet was just as beautiful as a Sauvignon Blanc wine. Different from what I normally drink but it was awesome. It was complex with different flavors, you had some grapefruit, a bit of sour notes, so much going on. Thanks P, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Great neighborhood bar with friendly bartenders, great selection and you can order food for delivery. Awesome place to go chill with friends.
Also, very chill relaxed with no pretentious attitude here nor hefty prices!