This intimate bar in downtown Miami was named one of the best in the U.S. by Esquire
One of the best bars in the U.S. is right here in Miami. But it’s not a trendy establishment loaded with mixologists that infuse drinks with the unthinkable or a noisy, over-the-top and inevitably crowded clubstaurant. There isn’t even a craft cocktail to be found.
According to Esquire magazine’s annual Best Bars in America for 2023, one of the best bars in the country is a cozy and intimate downtown Miami wine bar with seven tables, two seats at the bar, a sliver of outdoor space and some of the most interesting natural wine you’ll find in Miami.
Shannon Gable, who has been the manager at Niu Wine for almost a year, attributes the praise to Niu Wine’s attention to service (the only other bar in Florida mentioned by Esquire is Jellyrolls at Disney World in Orlando).
“I think for me personally, it’s a testament to the hospitality that we give at the bar,” she says. “It’s kind of amazing we got that recognition. But it’s because of the interactions we have with the guests.”
Think of Niu Wine as the little sister to Niu Kitchen, a lively tapas spot and wine bar a few doors down on Second Avenue. Karina Iglesias, one of the owners of the Catalan restaurant, was one of Miami’s first proponents of natural wine, a movement that promotes organic grapes and views agriculture through an ethical lens.
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When the pandemic shut down Miami restaurants, she decided to turn the original location of Niu Kitchen into a retail wine shop for takeout business. Sit-down service started about a year later and became the Niu Wine of Esquire’s dreams.
Esquire writer Gabe Ulla writes that Iglesias’ devotion to natural wine, which met with some resistance at first, is the reason Niu Wine excels as a drinking establishment.
“Niu Wine is a place I find myself wanting to visit more than any other in Miami at the moment,” he writes. “Warm, tiny, confident, its walls are lined with bottles that reflect an understanding of good wine-making and the pleasures it can bring.”
But you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy your time at Niu Wine. Wines by the glass change often, so check the chalkboard and talk to Gable about your likes and dislikes. She’ll recommend a wine for you to drink at the bar or take home.
It might even be a chardonnay, that white nectar of the gods that has gotten a bad reputation thanks to the mass-produced liquid butter bombs of California.
“People will say, ‘I don’t want a chardonnay,’ and I’ll say ‘Why?,’ Gable says. “A lot of people associate it with the buttery, oaky Chardonnay made in California. But try a nice Chablis — it’s dry and mineral and crisp.”
Niu Wine also has a small, rotating tapas menu (Esquire recommends the thinly sliced Iberico ham melted on a warm platter if it’s available). Expect small plates like anchoa del Cantabrico (anchovies), tomato salad, oysters, patatas bravas and charcuterie plates.
But the wine is the star of the show. Niu Wine focuses on wines from all over South America and Europe, even eastern Europe, all of them natural.
Just don’t let the designation confuse you, Gable says.
“The way to think of natural wine is think of chefs trying to use the best and most natural and organic products to make great food,” Gable says.. “It’s focusing on not using preservatives and additives and sugar and sulfites and not using pesticides in the vineyards. It’s wine made with good intentions.”
Niu Wine
Where: 134 NE Second Ave., Miami.
Hours: 6 p.m.-midnight Tuesday-Saturday
More information: 786-542-5070 or www.instagram.com/niuwine
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