This Miami bar was just voted one of the best in North America
If you're craving a taste of Old Havana—minus the passport—you'll find it in the heart of Little Havana at Café La Trova, which just secured the number 13 spot on the prestigious North America's 50 Best Bars list for 2025.
The ranking, unveiled at a live ceremony in Vancouver this week, celebrates the continent's top cocktail destinations, from Mexico City's reigning champ Handshake Speakeasy (number 1) to buzzy newcomers like New York's Clemente Bar (number 11). But Miami's lone representative on the list, Café La Trova, is no stranger to global accolades—and no ordinary watering hole.
The brainchild of acclaimed cantinero Julio Cabrera and James Beard Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein, along with her husband, restaurateur David Martinez, La Trova is a blend of culinary craft and Cuban nostalgia. Expect your daiquiri shaken by white-jacketed bartenders who literally dance behind the bar while a rumba band plays on.
Cabrera's menu is a love letter to Cuba's golden age, with drinks like the Presidente (Havana Club Añejo Clásico rum, blanc vermouth de Chambery, dry curaçao and grenadine) and the tropical Hotel Nacional (rum, apricot liqueur, pineapple and lime) capturing the spirit of pre-Revolutionary Havana. Bernstein complements the cocktails with elegant twists on Cuban classics, like Serrano ham Cubanos and steak empanadas that some say are the best in Miami.
In a city brimming with beach clubs and rooftop lounges, Café La Trova stands out for its soul. And now, it's officially one of the best bars in North America. Salud to that.
The 50 best bars in North America in 2025 according to 50 Best Bars:
1. Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City 2. Superbueno in New York 3. Tlecān in Mexico City 4. Jewel of the South in New Orleans 5. Sip & Guzzle in New York 6. Overstory in New York 7. Bar Pompette in Toronto 8. El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara 9. Licorería Limantour in Mexico City 10. Kumiko in Chicago 11. Clemente Bar in New York 12. Mírate in Los Angeles 13. Café La Trova in Miami 14. Bar Mauro in Mexico City 15. Martiny's in New York 16. Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco 17. True Laurel in San Francisco 18. Employees Only in New York 19. Double Chicken Please in New York 20. Baltra Bar in Mexico City 21. Civil Liberties in Toronto 22. Aruba Day Drink in Tijuana 23. Service Bar in Washington DC 24. Thunderbolt in Los Angeles 25. Best Intentions in Chicago 26. Botanist Bar in Vancouver 27. Arca in Tulum 28. The Keefer Bar in Vancouver 29. Selva in Oaxaca 30. Library by the Sea in Grand Cayman 31. Cloakroom in Montreal 32. La Factoría in San Juan 33. Maison Premiere in New York 34. Bijou Drinkery Room in Mexico City 35. Hanky Panky in Mexico City 36. Atwater Cocktail Club in Montreal 37. Bar Mordecai in Toronto 38. Meadowlark in Chicago 39. Bisous in Chicago 40. Kaito del Valle in Mexico City 41. Yacht Club in Denver 42. Katana Kitten in New York 43. Angel's Share in New York 44. Mother in Toronto 45. Allegory in Washington DC 46. Dante in New York 47. Café de Nadie in Mexico City 48. Silver Lyan in Washington DC 49. Bekeb in San Miguel de Allende 50. Cure in New Orleans
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