Cuba's national cocktail and Miami's defining warm-weather drink: white rum muddled with fresh lime, sugar and torn mint leaves, topped with sparkling soda water and crushed ice.
The mojito traces back to 16th-century Havana, when British naval surgeon Sir Francis Drake reportedly mixed a similar drink to combat sailors' scurvy on the Cuban coast. The modern formula codified in early 20th-century Havana at La Bodeguita del Medio, where Ernest Hemingway famously kept a regular table. Miami's Cuban exile community brought the cocktail north in the 1960s; today every Calle Ocho bar runs one, with Versailles and La Carreta among the canonical addresses. The canonical garnish is hierbabuena, a Cuban mint variety.
4 editor picks for Mojito in Miami, ranked by editorial score. All Miami signature dishes · Mojito across every city.
Joe's Stone Crab ★ 4.7
south-beach · 11 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach is the 1913 South of Fifth seafood cathedral, serving chilled stone crab claws with mustard sauce from October 15 to May 1.
Versailles ★ 4.5
little-havana · 3555 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33135
Versailles in Miami is the Calle Ocho Cuban institution that has poured cafecito since 1971 and remains Little Havana's political water cooler at 3555 SW 8th.
Yardbird ★ 4.4
south-beach · 1600 Lenox Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Yardbird in Miami Beach is the Lenox Avenue Southern table that put 27-hour brined fried chicken on the South Beach map and runs brunch through dinner daily.
La Carreta ★ 4.1
little-havana · 3632 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33135
La Carreta in Miami is the Calle Ocho Cuban diner at 3632 SW 8th Street, a sister room to Versailles serving abuela-style plates and cafe con leche from 8am.