Original Sin Tavern — Restaurant in North Miami Beach

The owners have the right idea and a bar like this is sorely needed in an area where the only places to drink are in chain restaurants or overpriced hotel lounges. However it's not as advertised on their website (which needs a lot of work). First off, the site boasts, "an impressive array of cocktails crafted by skilled mixologists." I walked in and asked for an Old Fashioned only to be told by the bartender that he didn't have the ingredients. I realize that this is a dive bar but it's not like I was asking for a cocktail with maraschino or falernum. We're talking about rye whiskey, sugar, bitters and a lemon or orange twist. Next, many reviews mentioned all the fun and friendly bartenders who make drinking here a fun experience. Apparently they were off the night I went in. Our bartender was polite but hardly welcoming and after telling us that an Olde Fashioned was not possible, didn't even recommend an alternative or ask us what we like to drink. As a former bartender, I know that this is part of the job, even at a dive bar. Finally, the atmosphere leaves something to be desired, Dive bars don't have to be somber and depressing (although that was mostly due to the sad customers sitting alone and silent-I get it. It's a dive bar.). The place has a lot of potential which could be achieved with a little more attention to the decor and the music, which was too loud and all over the place. A few more interesting items on the walls and a curated playlist for when the jukebox is not in use would go a long way towards making this a more fun place to drink, dine and socialize. I really appreciate what the owners are trying to do here and am grateful that there is someplace to have a drink besides the soulless and sterile venues in Aventura. I'm even willing to tolerate the odor of stale cigarette smoke. It would just be nice if the owners could slightly raise the bar on...

UPDATE SEPT. 2024 Stopped by to watch a football game after I read the owners reply to my original review. Place is a bit less grungy. Cleaned up and reclaimed the bathroom. Re-covered the pool tables with new felt. Replaced their original ugly, uncomfortable chairs with new, stylish, uncomfortable chairs. New audio system. They re-did the kitchen and found a decent cook who made a damned good burger. The wings looked and smelled good. Not massive head-to-toe renovation (I was hoping) but they made the place look and function better.

ORIGINAL REVIEW I wish this place would remodel. It is so grungy. When you think of a "dive" bar, this one takes the plunge. The bar stools are uniquely uncomfortable for sitting for any length of time--say a 3 1/2-hour football game. Half of the table armchairs have no seat pad, hell on hemorrhoids. Sometimes, the guys who frequent the place make it impossible to enjoy watching YOUR game while they watch THEIR game, forcing me to flee to the second-closest bar to my home. The drinks are not cheap, not expensive,, charging more like Aventura than Miami Gardens. The pool tables are kept in good shape, unlike the bathrooms. They provide ashtrays that can accommodate cigars. The one thing that I like about the place is the service, which is friendly and delivers your drink right to you! That's the third star in which the place rightfully...

I went there in order tacos. Acts or what was on them and she told me 3 of the 4 ingredients. So of course my tacos come out with the one thing on him that I do not like. I scrape them off. As I'm eating my last taco I find a large hair in it. I tell the bartender and she states that she is not in charge of the kitchen but she will tell her. She also says that it isn't her hair because she always has it up and that the lady who made it has blonde hair ( As if not knowing where the hair came from is supposed to bring me some type of relief to the situation). I wait 2 minutes and I don't see her go near the kitchen. So I asked to speak with the person in charge of the kitchen. That person says that they were never told that there was a hair in the taco. This is not the type of place to go to for anything fancy at all but a little common human decency and empathy towards a situation goes a long ways in any establishment. I will...