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