Newest to sprout in South Beach is the Regent Cocktail Club, a classic cocktail bar located at the back of the revamped Gale Hotel.
Interested to hear about this new concept, Chat Chow TV schmoozed with Joshua Wagner, Miami’s after-hours aficionado and managing partner of Regent Cocktail Club, over Manhattans and Mint Juleps.
“Everyone is jazzed up about new trends, food and beverage, everything along those lines,†Wagner observes. “But I think we also need to make the standards of what our basics are, what our pars are, what our standards are as a city. So classics, back to the core, create the standard of what it should be and just really get back to the basics.â€
And the locals are loving it. Regent draws a mixed crowd, attracted to the venue for its unique recipe of curated cocktails and vintage vibe.
“It’s all about approachability,†Wagner says of the atmosphere. “We don’t want this to be pretentious. You walk in here, it’s Fats Waller, it’s Ella Fitzgerald, it’s John Coltrane. It’s a conversation and a cocktail. […] We have got 25-year-old young people inhere to 60-year-old couples that are coming to enjoy great music, great conversation and fundamentally great cocktails.â€
Club-goers can expect the libation basics to be perfect, with nightly shake-ups in its live music lineup (think Havana Nights or live jazz singers). Daily drink menus shift as well, with six new specialty cocktails to try each evening. Don’t like what’s on-menu? Wagner highly suggests engaging with your barkeep about your spirit preferences—it’s part of the experience. Serious sippers can keep tabs on their favorite tried tipples with Regent’s passport, a VIP amenity for the bibulous barfly that also grants access to exclusive member-only events.
Check out the video above to see why Regent exudes a cool-kid Al Capone quality. Then stop in and get your passport stamped.