What a fun spot! Didn't get a chance to eat food but the drinks were awesome! We had two mojitos and service was quick!

To dance is amazing. No cover charge which is why i go every week!!! The drink was a little on the light side.

Had to come inside this bar as the music was to enticing....and so glad we did! The Croquette de jamón were awesome with the cilantro sauce. Our drinks were yummy....especially the cafecito bourbon. All in all, a must do. Great vibe, good service and good beverages/food. Take a load off and enjoy this awesome bar in Little Havana...it made us fall in love. read more

went on a monday night and was happy to have been able to experience the live music. this restaurant is seat yourself establishment/ wait until a table opens up before sitting. there isn't as much seating inside as i would expect but the area in front of the stage is usually where people are dancing. be warned that while the live band is performing, the music is very very loud- difficult to have conversations with the person next to you. i ordered the ropa vieja which was a decent portion size for one. my favorite part of the meal was the plantains- loved that the outside had a few crispy edges to it. there was also a generous serving of ropa vieja meat which had a tangy taste. even though the meat is stewed, parts still felt dry. enjoyed the music and dancing here, it's a great time! read more

Ball & Chain - Ropa Vieja - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

Fabulous time in this place!!! I highly recommend coming when the live bands are playing.

Fantastic night out! I recommend starting with a few world famous mojitos at the bar, before being seated. The ambiance was perfect and the musicians were very entertaining. We truly felt like we were in Havana in the 1930's. read more

Was walking by and heard some great music. Came inside for a cold drink, and received great customer service. Great atmosphere! read more

Ball & Chain - Havana lager beer and wife's unknown drink that she said was delicious. - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

Mojitos were just okay. Not worth the $16. Go to Cubata, that's near by. Better mojitos and much less expensive, $9.99. 7% service charge on top of the suggested tip of 18%! 25% on top of an expensive, small mojito!! One and done with this place. read more

Ball & Chain - Mojito - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Wandered over to this place from dinner and it was worth the long walk in high heels. This was my favorite memory from Miami! The vibe of this place is amazing. It's not on the beaten path and is filled with locals and almost feels like being transported. The music was poppin with Salsa and dancers filled the room with all the peacocking and sexiness that salsa dancing is! The bar is large and they made the best Mojito I have had! Raw sugar cane, fresh mint and plenty of rum! I am normally and early to bed kind of gal and was tired from a long day of travel and something about this place just energized me! I wish we could have stayed longer! read more

Ball & Chain - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Good vibe. Good music. Good drinks. I enjoyed the very authentic Cuban feel of this place. The bartender seemed new but she was made us some tasty mojitos. The band was fun too. read more

Ball & Chain - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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We are there for dinner while in Miami. The drinks and food amazing. The atmosphere was fun and lively.

Of all the wonderful places I've visited in Miami, this has ranked amongst the highest. It was always on my list to visit Little Havana/Calle Ocho but I wasn't sure where exactly to park myself for drinks. Legitimately every local I spoke with directed us here and I am just so happy we made our way out of South Beach for it. 1. There is a drink on the menu that is around $100 - if you are ready, willing and able...ORDER IT. It took nearly 30 minutes to prepare but it was the best pina colada of my life and it arrived complete with a group of singing humans and sparklers 2. Live Cuban music was exceptional and there was a classy gentleman in a white suit, hat and cigar dancing to it. It took me to another place - I legit felt like I had exited the US 3. Despite doors being wide open and it being a very humid day, the interior was comfortable- there was a row of water misters lining the entrances and big fans in the ceiling 4. Regular priced drinks were also unique/amazing Highly recommend stopping in read more

Ball & Chain - Pina Colada - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

My friends and I went to visit on a Monday afternoon - someone from a shop down the road recommended that we stop by for live music. The band played about half the time we were there, and they were great! They had a chest full of tambourines for others to pick up and join in, but nobody did. Perhaps more people would if it were a weekend night. The chill vibes on this Monday afternoon made a good atmosphere for chatting with my friends. We ordered cocktails and churros for the table. The churros were not as sweet as I was expecting - instead they had a much stronger cinnamon flavor. They came with chocolate and caramel dips. The churros themselves were alright, but combining them with the sweetness of the dips and/or the cocktails was a good combo. So if you have a sweet tooth and are craving churros, order a sweet drink to go with them! read more

Ball & Chain - Churros - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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First off, this is a Sunday in January. The place had a few table open inside. Waited 15 minutes for someone to come to us . Another 10 minutes to get our 2 beers and a mojito. One of the Appetizer (empanadas )were out. So we ordered fried pork skins. Good. Shocker was the bill charging 7 percent for music(band). Not even on menu's. That's 7percent of bill on top of the automatic 18 percent for service. Never heard of charging for band. So they pass everything to consumers. Never again. read more

Avoid it. $16 margarita that is the size of a shot glass. There are better places around to grab a drink and listen to music.

Stopped here for a drink and a little lunch - fun, cute Cuban inspired bar. The staff was friendly- the live music was great! Very touristy but the food was good. I would definitely go back- must see place if in Little Havana! read more

Ball & Chain - Sandwich Cubano - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Had a great experience at Ball & Chain! Service was great, we ordered the shrimp plate, hot wings, medianoche and fried plantains. I personally loved the medianoche it was a legit Cuban sandwich. I wish I had time to stay longer to watch the live music! I'll be back.. little Havana ! read more

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Omg the music!!!!!!! Go for happy hour so you get 2 for one drinks didn't have the food but everything else A+++, aside from service, but the experience is so epic you get over it ;) read more

Wanting to experience a little bit of the Cuban culture we were drawn to this bar/restaurant in the heart of little Havana. We reached around 6:45pm and were lucky enough to grab 2 seats at the bar just in time for end of happy hour, the bartender (whose name I forget! And is in law school) suggested we get 2 drinks to save money! The drinks were delicious and we got a few appetizers. The corn, and sliders, both were authentic and delicious! The music was amazing and we were told that after 10 pm it becomes more of a lounge. Will definitely wait around the next time I visit. read more

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Was told by friends that this was a must visit and it did not disappoint. Great drinks. Great service. Great music!! Loved the environment.

"La Cubanería de Miami". If you've ever listened to the comedy of Alvarez Guedez you probably know how the joke ends, but most importantly, you know the lesson behind the story. The premise is simple, a Cuban tired of how similar life in Miami is to that in Cuba; tired of being surrounded by Cubans; tired of the noise, the "Oye Chico", the "Calle Ocho, the "cafesito" in the morning; decides to move to Pennsylvania. At first life is bliss, everything's is beautiful, different, but soon he realizes that he misses everything about "La Cubanería". He misses everything about Miami. Ball and Chain is a microcosm of everything you love about the city. "La Cubanería" is strong in this place. You feel it the moment you get out the car and start walking down Calle Ocho. Every sign screams welcome to Miami, La pequeña Habana, and that's even before la Klave reminds you of what you're there to do in the first place. As it's to be expected, parking in this part of town is a gamble. You can park in the street using the meters, and you can park in improvised parking areas created in people's driveways close by. We were fortunate enough to find a city parking lot about a corner away that wasn't full. So we too full advantage of it. As we walked to Balls and Chain the music could be heard from the outside. The energy was palpable and Salsa, Bachata, and that Latin Tonight is going to be a good night feeling vibe was in the air. There were some people even dancing outside, and we were soon going to find out why. When we approached the door there was someone there to open it for us, and we were immediately welcomed into a dance hall, bar, social hangout that would have reminded you of the Guedez story. The energy was frantic, the amount of people all together overwhelming, the Spanish, English, Spanglish seemed chaotic, yet in a Miami sort of way organized. Miami has it's own style. It's own way of life, you may say. So off to dance we were. We found our corner. As everyone did. The house was packed. After a dance or two we grabbed a couple of drinks and went to the patio area outside to explore, and that's when another complete space, a space that most people inside, at least at that moment, were not using, was suddenly revealed to us. So, we decided to make it ours. I'm all honesty, there was a sizable amount of people there too, but there was also much more space to move around, and a couple of seats still available. To make the story short, we continued dancing, and enjoying the night away. At one point, I think when it came close to closing, the ushered us back inside and closed the patio area. Personally I preferred that area to the interior but I guess they must close that area by a certain time. The night continued. We carried on having a great time. And as we left, still under the sound of "la Klave" and people dancing in the street to salsa they were playing out of boom box in the corner, I couldn't help but to hear Guedez' voice in the back of my head repeat the closing line of that joke, "esto si es vida." read more

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Meanwhile back in Miami, we enjoy dancing & having a great time! Here, we stopped at "Ball & Chain", a refurbished nightclub on Calle Ocho that dates back to the 1930s. This place rocks! From the moment we walked in, the music pulled us in & we stayed until it closed @ballandchain Follow me on ig @emptynestliving1 read more

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Awesome place! I loved the live music & the drinks. Cherry on top was trying the black bean fritters for the first time. Delicious! Definitely recommend. read more

Ball & Chain - Ball & chain mojito with a sugar cane - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

Love! Love! Love! One of my friends came to visit from New York. She wanted to checkout Little Havana. While there, of course we had to find a place for happy hour. The outdoor area of Ball & Chain is a freaking gem! It adda the vibe. Imagine listening to a live band, smoking a cigar, sipping a drink while feeling the cool evening breeze. I went on a Wednesday night which is also ladies night. Happy hour is 2 for 1 until 7pm. Then from 8pm to 10pm ladies get free well drinks. Oh let me add there's also karaoke on Wednesday. The little food I had was pretty good. I tried the fish taco and fried rice & peas. I actually plan to go back next week. This might be my new midweek spot to visit. read more

Ball & Chain - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Super cute spot right on the main strip. Not local to the area, I made reservations because of the pineapple patio and garden courtyard. Unfortunately, it was closed and roped off for employees only (bummer). Our reservation was for 1:30 pm. Arrived at 12:50 and was seated right away by the hostess. We were seated next to the bar, great view of the band performance. Sat down for a good 15 minutes and no one came to give us menus. We grabbed one from the bar. At that time someone delivered water only. Another good 15 went by and no waiter/waitress can't to our table. We had to ask the band dancer how do we order drinks and food. She said she will find out waitress for us. Finally waitress came and got our order. 3 cocktails and 3 tapas (they were out of wings!). It took a very long time to get drinks (20 or so mins). While we watched people who walked directly to the bar and got drinks immediately! My friend's Mule had little to no alcohol. We started to get our tapas delivered ONE at a TIME. The person who brought the food was NOT our waitress. No utensils or plates were given to us. We had to ask for it. Additionally there was three of us and they gave us 3 plates and 2 utensils. No one came back to us or near to ask, so we had to improvise help each us cut pieces to share and the other just ate using fingers. POOR SERVICE. First, Cuban spring roll. It was one piece cut in half... making 2pcs in total. It was served was a mustard sauce on the side. Loved the combination of meats and fried Eggroll wrapper. Second came the corn. Served as (1) corn broken in half. I asked if we could order one more stick and was told no. Corn was roasted and seasoned well. The LAST item to arrive was the ceviche served on a half pineapple. There were two skewers with roasted tomato, lime and fried shrimp. While nice presentation, the ceviche was not flavorful or sour. Very bland. It needed lime and more salt. We squeeze more lime but no salt was around... nor was our waitress. The live show was the best part of Ball and Chain. Love the music and dancers. It definitely brought in a large crowd to the bar area (whom blocked our view from our seat) and from onlookers. The bar tenders were great. We ordered shots directly from the bar after closing out our table tab. Great establishment, a BIG OPPORTUNITY in table service. read more

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The drinks are small and overpriced but you have to weigh the entire product; and it's well worthy. The food is surprisingly good(no tourist rubber stamp); the music and ambiance is....c'mon now...Calle Ocho/Little Havana baby!! When I visit from Cali this will be a must stop. The daytime trio that plays will transport you back to Cuba in a good way. At night things heat up with larger bands and dancing. I heard on the weekend nights they have a full blown orchestra type group which must be awesome, though if you want a table, bottle service starts at 300(bar free? and the music will have you standing, dancing anyway). For appetizers we got the pork belly guacamole which was a delicious marriage; being a cali guy I like my regular chips but the plantain chips though a bit hard meshed well. The masitas de puerco dinner was delicious; normally these are deep fried pork pieces but here they are braised and full of flavor; great beans and rice as well. Great service from our waitress, despite the loud and busy atmosphere. Looking forward to getting chained again when in Miami. read more

Ball & Chain - Pork belly Guac - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

Wonderful place! Very attentive server, great food, nice place to have a good drink, dinner and live music. We'll return when I come back to Miami read more

Went here for drinks after dinner and arrived after the Latin dance class. The energy was electric, the drinks were delicious, and the bartenders were awesome. read more

For an escape from the tropical heat of Miami, stop here when visiting Little Havana. Excellent service; noon salad music; great food and classic Cuban food. read more

Ended up at Ball & Chain in Calle Ocho on the Friday at the end of Art Bassil. We started at Wynwood, but the traffic was too thick and the parking too expensive. So glad I found my way to Ball & Chain. To start, they have an extensive bar and even had three local beers on tap. In the bar area there are tables and on this night there was a DJ. I am told they also serve tapas, but on this occasion I didn't have the opportunity to try it. The inside bar was packed and there was lots of dancing. Through the back of the bar there were doors leading to a courtyard. The courtyard on this night had a live band who was playing music which sounded like Celia Cruz. Can't remember the band's name, but they were quite good. The bar service was decent, but a tad slow. And beware, they charge a gratuity to your bar bill, so no need for an extra tip unless you are feeling generous. read more

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Great spot but not for conversation - it's all about the great live music - so it's hard to hear people you're sitting with. Mojitos were ok but minuscule. A few sips and it's gone. Empanadas and wing were very tasty. read more

Food and drinks are definitely above average which don't get me wrong is a good thing. I came here for happy hour (4-7) 2 for 1 and I ordered my drink at 6:49. I then asked for the second of the 2 for 1 drinks and the check at about 7:15 because the waitress never came around, so she came with the check and a charge for 2 drinks. Her response," oh sorry it's past 7 and I can't delete it because I already put it in." That on top of a 24% service charge!... have a nice day. I enjoy the place, but at this point I don't care the City of Miami closes you down again. read more

Great ambiance and vibes, I wish the outside would've been open. The live band was great, it really added to the atmosphere. I think we were the only locals there as everyone around us seemed to be tourists. The food was ok.... Not the greatest. Definitely caters to the tourists who do not know what authentic food really is. The ceviche was basically all pineapple..... for $30. The slider burgers weren't that great either. Ambiance and service... great. Don't go for the food. Thank me later. read more

Ball & Chain - Ceviche - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

Good music and drinks and service was super fast. Very touristy during the day but as someone from Miami, it made me appreciate it more seeing how many people from out of town are interested in visiting little Havana read more

Ball & Chain - Guava Sangria - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

Fun, eccentric, loud, fun place to get a bite to eat. Walking around Little Havana we asked a few people where the best place to eat was, and this place was always the first on the list. Why not trust what a local says. This is a bar and the food is bar food. I had a greasy hamburger with greasy fries. So American. I didn't see anything that really spoke to me that was of Cuban delicacy so I stuck with a hamburger. When it came out I said to myself how can i get my mouth around that! IT should be large for $12.00. I also ordered the Havana Cafe, which had rum, coffee, vermouth and demerara. I was expecting like an irish coffee but this wasn't even close to that. I took one sip and said well that's a waste of money. One: because it came out cold. Two: The liquor was so strong, I thought if I drink all of this I will be drunk. I rented a car for my time in Miami, and didn't want to chance getting into a car accident, or getting a DUI, and ruin my vacation so I didn't drink it, which was a waste of money. They didn't offer to take it off my bill even though I only had one sip. We came during the day, so there wasn't any live entertainment, but they did have very loud music playing constantly. Staff was busy running around but checked on us a few times, not overly friendly, but professional. I liked how open the front of the building was facing onto the street. Added bonus they had misters on the sidewalk which is really nice on a very hot day. read more

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I didn't order the one time I went but seems like a fun time for a snack and chill vibes

Everyone is so friendly here - great atmosphere! It is an awesome spot for dancing. If you don't know how to dance, don't worry! People will most likely offer to teach you. The drinks are fine and wasn't overly expensive. The bartender did do a free shot for my friend's birthday at midnight. read more

I had dinner here when in Miami the other night, and it was fantastic! I'm glad it was recommended to me - and I will recommend it to others. The service was speedy, very accommodating, and better than expected. The pina coladas were incredible, and Cuban sandwich the real deal. So good! But, my favorite part of the entire meal was the plantain chips -- with the perfect amount of sweet, salt, and crunch. I wish I lived closer because I'd certainly dine here frequently! read more

Ball & Chain - Ceviche - Music Venues Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Loved the bachata lesson on Tuesday night. Great ambiance and music. Parking on the street.

Had a quick trip to Miami and this food was sooooooo good. There also was a BOGO go happy hour which you can't go wrong