Sea Bright’s narrow barrier strip has survived hurricanes, floods, and every relentless Jersey Shore summer thrown at it, and Donovan’s Reef has been the town’s anchor through every single one of them.
Down the Hatch has been slinging cold beer and fried fish on the Halifax River since Captain Frank Timmons built a bar next to the family fish camp back in the early 1900s. This is old Florida the way it’s supposed to look, bikers in the parking lot, boats tied up out back, and a crowd that knows the difference between a tourist trap and the real thing. Grab a seat on the water and let the afternoon disappear.
Perched at the edge of the Four Seasons infinity pool, Dr. Mai Tai’s reimagines the classic with an actual twist, innovative cocktails where the pool water and the Pacific horizon blur into one continuous blue.
No gimmicks, no reservations, just steamed blue crabs and cold National Bohemian on a quiet Patuxent tributary. Drift Inn has been doing the fundamentals right for generations.
West Bay sits away from the Seven Mile Beach tourist corridor, and Driftwood is the neighborhood bar that exists because that local community deserved a proper place to gather by the water.
Jekyll’s maritime forest and Gilded Age history already do most of the work, and Driftwood Bistro adds a properly good, locally-sourced meal to complete the whole package.
The name is not subtle and Drink St. John does not pretend otherwise, cold cocktails in the middle of Cruz Bay’s small but genuinely vibrant bar scene.
The longest-running bar on Haad Rin Beach since 1989, ground zero for Koh Phangan’s Full Moon Party.
Mosquito Bay glows electric blue at night, the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay, and Duffy’s on the Esperanza Malecon is where every Vieques evening that includes it properly starts and ends.
Red Hook’s boating community figured out the secret a long time ago: a good bar does not need a view, it needs cold drinks and good people, and Duffy’s tiki-themed party delivers exactly that.
Malibu turned surf culture into a global myth, and Duke’s Barefoot Bar near Zuma Beach still delivers on it, fresh Pacific seafood and tropical cocktails on the most famous stretch of sand in the world.
This is Duke’s on Duke’s actual home break, Surf City USA, where California surf culture started. Tropical cocktails and Hawaiian-California fusion at the most on-brand location in the entire chain.
Named for the legendary Hawaiian surfer, Duke’s sits on the cliffs above La Jolla Cove where the sea caves and kelp forests do most of the talking. Fresh Pacific seafood keeps up its end of the deal.
The chowder is the whole reason Duke’s built such a loyal following across Seattle, the South Lake Union waterfront setting is just the well-earned bonus.
Duke Kahanamoku was born in Waikiki, won Olympic gold, and then invented modern surfing basically single-handedly. The bar named for him puts you thirty feet from the same waves he rode, with a slice of Hula Pie in hand.
Duryea’s is an old-school lobster deck on Fort Pond Bay in Montauk — order at a window, sit at a picnic table, watch the sun go down.
The Golden Isles’ year-round residents expect real quality, and ECHO delivers it, craft cocktails and locally sourced Low Country cuisine with genuine polish.
Built into actual volcanic rock above St. Jean bay, Eden Rock might have the single most extraordinary natural backdrop of any beach bar anywhere in the Caribbean.
The name is not exaggerating: this rooftop perch delivers the entire Waikiki crescent, Diamond Head, and the Honolulu skyline in one sweep that the beach-level bars simply cannot match.
El alambique means the still, a direct nod to Puerto Rico’s rum-distilling heritage, and this Isla Verde lounge backs the name up with live reggaeton and Medalla Light poured cold.
The most traditional Tico beach experience in Samara, El Ancla looks straight at Isla Chora and pours cold Imperial for the crowd that wants authentic over trendy.
AFAR Magazine says it is never going out of style, and El Be backs that up with a DJ terrace for the dancers and a sandbar for everyone else, sunset to sunrise energy either way.
Beachside service that runs from lunch straight into sunset cocktails without a single hiccup, El Pescador is built for people who have no intention of leaving before dark.
Thatched roof, picnic tables in the sand, and bonfires overlooking one of the South Pacific’s best surf breaks, El Vaquero is the kind of sunset that makes canceling your flight home feel entirely reasonable.
Fort Lauderdale’s cash-only beach bar since 1938, where the Panthers celebrated two Stanley Cups.
A rotating oyster selection pulled from Washington, Oregon, and BC beds keeps locals coming back to Pier 56 year-round. The annual Oyster New Year celebration turns the whole thing into an actual holiday.
Tortola runs the whole range from lively to remote, and Elm Beach Bar sits comfortably in the relaxed middle, genuine local warmth that never needed a famous anchorage to feel authentic.
Elvis built this entire Sandy Ground institution through sheer force of personality, no gimmicks, just strong rum punch and decades of irrepressible Anguillian warmth.
No ocean view, no craft cocktail menu, and that is entirely the point. Ercole’s has been a Manhattan Beach dive since 1927 with booths carved up by generations of regulars and burgers South Bay lifers will argue are the best in LA.
Blink and you’ll miss Esther’s – literally no bigger than a closet, tucked into a row of drink kiosks inside the open-air Grand Anse Craft and Spice Market. Look for stall number six. What it lacks in square footage it makes up for with a devoted, mostly local following and a slot on USA Today’s 2025 Ten Best Caribbean Beach Bars list. The tiny, family-run team remembers your order, the cocktails are meticulously made (expect to wait, and expect it to be worth it), and live music from elsewhere in the market usually drifts over by late afternoon. Come around 4pm as the vibe starts building. Minimalist doesn’t begin to cover it, but somehow it works completely.
The Exuma island chain begins right here, and Exuma Point gets the wild, unspoiled water views to prove it, crystal-clear in every direction.
Built in 1975 on a bayside parcel everyone thought was a bad idea, Fager’s Island is now Ocean City’s most beloved waterfront institution, famous for playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture every night at sunset, rain or shine.
Magens Bay is the crown jewel of the Virgin Islands, and Fairchild’s sits steps from the sand serving mahi tacos and cold cocktails to anyone who has already decided they are not leaving the beach today.
On the Chester River in one of the Eastern Shore’s best-preserved colonial towns, Fairlee’s pairs consistent local seafood with cold drinks worth the detour past Kent Narrows.
Three-story beachfront complex on Corpus Christi’s North Beach — private beach access, fajitas, frozen drinks, live music, and views of the USS Lexington.
Cold Painkillers, live music, and a genuinely festive crowd, Fannie’s bottles everything that makes Tybee one of the Southeast’s most fun small barrier islands.
Playa Ocotal is quieter than its neighbor Coco, and Father Rooster fits that pace exactly, fresh tacos and a sunset session that has no interest in being anywhere else.
Shipyard Brewing was literally born in this Kennebunk River brewpub, the Export Ale carries actual American craft beer history in every pint.
An Irish pub on Ocean Drive with front-row seats to the best street theater in Florida.
Watch the pelicans work the marina while working through a shrimp po’boy, Fins has been the family-friendly waterfront answer in Port A since 2005.
Fish and Slips knows exactly who shows up, people who arrive by boat and want cold drinks and good oysters in that specific order, and it delivers on both without wasting anyone’s time.
Part of the Tides Inn resort, Fish Hawk pulls oysters straight from Carter’s Creek and serves them on one of the Northern Neck’s most polished stretches of waterfront.
Fish Heads leans into OBX fishing culture with cheerful, unpretentious enthusiasm, exactly the bar you want after spending the whole afternoon on the water.
OpenTable’s Best Vibrant Bar Scene for 2025 went to the balcony directly across from Pleasure Pier, Shrimp Kisses and frozen cocktails that back up the hype.
On the bayside at 22nd Street, Fish Tales pairs hammocks and a pirate-themed playground with an Orange Crush and a bay view, the Ocean City bar people fall for because it never pretends to be more than it is.
Eleuthera’s 110-mile length keeps the crowds thin and the Out Islands character intact, and Fishbone pours exactly that unhurried pace into every conch salad.
The casual, hands-dirty sibling of the Fisherman’s Inn next door, this Kent Narrows crab deck hands you a mallet and a newspaper tablecloth and lets the boat traffic provide the entertainment.
Crisfield calls itself the Crab Capital of the World and mostly gets away with it, and Fisherman’s Grille sits right in the middle of the skipjack fleet to prove the point with blue crabs about as fresh as they come.
Breton Bay is quiet enough that Fitzies feels like a discovery: full marina services, cold beer, and the unhurried warmth Southern Maryland waterfront culture runs on.
Named for the green flash some claim to see at the exact moment of a Caribbean sunset, Flash of Beauty takes both the drinks and the sky seriously on one of the most remote beaches in the region.
A craft cocktail bar in Jax Beach where the bartenders treat mixology like art.
Ninety years of fried whole belly clams and a chowder locals have been arguing about since 1936, Flo’s earned its legendary status the old-fashioned way, by just being consistently that good.
Float does exactly what a resort pool bar is supposed to do: cold cocktails, warm Gulf breeze, and absolutely no reason to be anywhere else.
Straddling the Alabama-Florida line since 1964, the Flora-Bama is equal parts beach dive, live-music institution, and cultural landmark: five stages, the annual Mullet Toss, and a wall covered in decades of handwritten names.
Pensacola Beach’s beloved waterfront institution since 1979 on Santa Rosa Sound — sprawling tiki deck over the water, cold Gulf seafood, and legendary Thursday night beach parties.
Tucked into a quiet corner beside the Blue Lagoon Hotel & Marina, Flowt occupies a small, pretty stretch of St. Vincent beach that’s easy to overlook and worth seeking out. Picnic tables and Muskoka chairs scatter across the sand under shade trees and palapas, or claim a spot on the large wooden deck. The crowd’s a chatty mix of taxi drivers, locals, expats, and sea-weary yachties fresh off the marina. Essentially a beer-and-rum operation: Hairoun and Heineken lead the taps, St. Vincent’s own Sparrow and SLR rums anchor the bar. No frills, no rush, just gently lapping water and a genuinely charming, low-key vibe.
A local fisherman’s literal dream come true — Floyd Forbes built this driftwood bar on stilts one mile offshore in the Caribbean Sea, and the world has been boating out to it ever since.
Ocean Beach, NY
Ferry-only and family-run since 1937, Flynns anchors Ocean Bay Park with a marina, free docking for diners, and weekend dance parties around the bar that turn Fire Island afternoons into something else entirely. Order the Rocket Fuel, let it hit, and stay till the DJ takes over.
Footprints sets the exact right tone with the name alone: leave your prints in the sand, collect a cold Kalik, let the afternoon sort itself out.
Fort George brews on the exact site of the original 1811 Fort Astoria, the first American settlement west of the Rockies, which makes the Vortex IPA taste appropriately significant even before you know the history.
St. Michaels is a town best explored on foot and water, and Foxy’s sits right at the hinge between the two: harbor views, cold cocktails, and the Maritime Museum practically in your sightline.
Foxy Callwood’s second bar sits on the quieter eastern end of the island, the same legendary hospitality with fewer boats crowding the anchorage.
Foxy Callwood built the actual social heart of BVI sailing culture out of Great Harbour since the 1960s, and his New Year’s Eve party still pulls hundreds of yachts into the same bay every single year.
Lake of the Ozarks beachfront bar at Mile Marker 10 — sandy beach, boat docking, frozen drinks, live music, and the Key West vibe Missouri didn’t know it needed.
Frenchtown was founded by French-speaking fishermen from St. Barths, and craft beer culture could not have found a more historically appropriate USVI neighborhood to settle into.
Clearwater Beach’s flagship beach bar since 1981, famous for the Super Grouper sandwich right on the sand.
A Redington Shores neighborhood bar for over 30 years, rum runners and karaoke across the road from the beach.
Kittery Point is the last town in Maine before New Hampshire, and Frisbee’s Wharf has been quietly getting the Piscataqua River waterfront right longer than most visitors have noticed.
A Destin landmark since 1982, live alligators and Fud-Punch rum cocktails included.
Dominical’s only real craft beer destination, Fuego brews on-site for surfers and expats who wanted something beyond the standard cold Imperial, and everyone from travel writers to locals agrees they nailed it.
Outdoor tables directly on the sand are the most coveted reservation on the island every July and August, golden hour on Nantucket’s northwestern shore justifies every bit of the effort it takes to get one.
The Irish pub formula translates surprisingly well to foggy Washington coast weather, cold Guinness and good craic feeling entirely at home under the same gray skies.
Panoramic La Jolla coastline views, rock crab spaghetti, and a cocktail program built to match, George’s Ocean Terrace is one of the genuine great views in California dining.
Point Judith’s own fishing fleet heads out every morning, and George’s has been serving the reward since 1948, the last Rhode Island meal before the Block Island Ferry and the first one after.
Nye Beach was doing the arts-and-Victorian-charm thing decades before tourism discovered Oregon, and Georgie’s sits right above it with Pacific views that match the neighborhood’s actual history.
Look for the big green chair – that’s the local shorthand for finding Gertrude’s on White Bay. Founder Gertrude, one of the beach’s earliest operators, passed in 2024, but the bar she built (rebuilt after Irma in bright green and orange) remains a family affair, now run by her grandson. Gertrude’s signature move is a ‘pour your own drink’ policy: order a dark rum and Coke and you get handed the bottle and the can. The vibe stays refreshingly low-key next to its more famous White Bay neighbors, drawing a loyal mix of regulars, yachties, day-trippers, and USVI visitors. Strong dark rum selection, a solid beer lineup, and a bar rail overlooking the beach that’s tough to beat.
A proper Scottish pub somehow ended up on a Maine beach, and GFB embraces the improbability with genuine good humor and fish and chips that actually deliver.
The first taste of the Keys heading south on US-1, where plenty of people never make it further.
Siesta Key’s castaway-themed tiki bar, cold rum drinks and easy-going island energy.
The Goombay Smash has kept OBX visitors returning to this Kill Devil Hills institution every season for decades, Caribbean-inflected seafood with genuinely tropical energy.
Somerset County does not get visitors by accident, but Goose Creek’s slow-smoked BBQ is reason enough to make the detour into one of Maryland’s most under-the-radar counties.
Depoe Bay claims the world’s smallest natural harbor, and Gracie’s Sea Hag has watched fishing boats thread through that basalt slot since 1963. Portland Monthly calls it essential.
Grain on the Rocks put a serious bar inside the Lewes Ferry Terminal in 2015. Two bars, a beer garden, and a raw bar pointed at Delaware Bay.
Original artwork lines the walls at the Grand Bohemian, an elevated wine and cocktail experience that matches Charleston’s reputation as one of the South’s most culturally rich cities.
Nassau’s resort corridors cannot replicate what the Green Parrot has built organically, cold drinks and a genuinely loyal local crowd that has nothing to do with tourism.
Gregory’s has anchored Somers Point’s Great Egg Harbor Bay waterfront for decades, the kind of place regulars have been coming back to for so long they stopped counting the years.
The Melbourne sibling of the beloved Grills brand, manatees below and fresh seafood on the Indian River.
Port Canaveral’s go-to tiki bar, cruise ships and freighters as your dinner-view backdrop.
The volume is set for actual listening, not background noise, curated vinyl and craft cocktails at what might be Charleston’s single most interesting bar.
A bamboo-built, open-air Jupiter institution founded by surfers, mojitos and live music included.
Mission Beach’s boardwalk energy gets bottled at Guava Beach: cheerful, consistent, and close enough to the bay that half your afternoon happens with your feet basically in the water.
Carl Fisher built the Montauk Yacht Club here in 1928. Gurney’s took it over in 2017. The marina fits 220-foot superyachts. The bar overlooks all of it.
Gwen’s has survived beach erosion, a fire, and Hurricane Irma, relocating and rebuilding each time with a little more concrete and zero drop in spirit. Owner Gwen Webster’s resilience alone earns the place a spot on the island, and Shoal Bay East genuinely wouldn’t be the same without it. Expect a slow pace by design: pick your own spot among picnic tables, deck chairs, or hammocks, and don’t expect hovering service. Gwen’s rum punch has a real reputation, made with better rums than most beach bars bother with. Sunday afternoons bring the local Anguillan Scratch Band for a proper beach dance party. A genuine Anguilla institution.
St. Barth makes effortless elegance look completely natural, and Gyp Sea delivers exactly that, cold rose and grilled lobster that never once feels like it is trying.