MO Bar & Lounge

Words by Simon Difford

Address: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 500 Brickell Key Drive, Miami, Florida, 33131, United States
Tel: +1 (305) 913 8358
Website: view MO Bar & Lounge’s website
Door: Open door
Style: Hotel bar
Food: Tapas/plates & dishes

Review

MO is short for Mandarin Oriental and this lounge bar sits within hotel's vast, triple height ceilinged lobby, overlooking the water and the bridge that connects the very upmarket Bricknell Key island on which the hotel perches to the downtown mainland.

The business district location and the Mandarin Oriental brand attracts the kind of guest that doesn't have to watch what they are putting on their expense accounts too carefully but demand everything to be just so. It is, but with such regimentation comes a lack of excitement and character. This is no hipster bar and 'polished' aptly describes both the floor and bar counter, and indeed the service.

The cocktail menu lists some 27 cocktails under headings such as "Effervescent", "ode to the old fashioned", "classic & Prohibition Era", "oak and Barrel Aged" and "Signature Cocktails". From this last category we particularly like the Buenas Noches (Mezcal, Averna and Green Chartreuse) and the barrel aged Good Things Come in Pairs which is stirred and smoked with a cigar prior to serving.

The beer selection includes the excellent Fog Fish Head 90 Minute IPA and Chimay Blue, and if you're feeling peckish then you'll find a menu of tasty Sushi rolls and small plates of sliders and the like.

If you're a cigar smoker, then you'll find the bar's humidor well stocked and the waterside terrace a quiet spot with a great view.