5 Surprising Truths About Bottle Service in Miami Nightclubs

Bottle service. It’s somehow become the de rigueur South Beach club activity over the past decade.

Buying a bottle is your Fast Pass to the front of the line at most clubs in Miami. Drop $1000 or more on a single bottle of $45 liquor (plus assorted mixers!) and—congratulations—you can skip the masses and plop down on your very own couch inside the hottest club in the city. Promoters, doormen, concierges, and cab drivers will all swear this is the only way to do South Beach if you’re visiting.

Before you whip out the credit card, though, there are a few things you should know.

1. You only get the table for as long as the bottle lasts

Even if you and your buddies just dropped what feels like a mortgage payment on a couple of one-liter bottles, once those bottles are gone, so is your table.

If you naïvely assumed that money entitled you to real estate for the night, think again. Be prepared to shell out another grand for more liquor—or enjoy your new life standing by the bar.

2. The price at the door is negotiable

If you look like tourists, the doorman will probably quote you a price somewhere between a month’s salary and the cost of a used Honda. But on a slow night, you can counter. The doorman may go to his manager and come back with a yes, a no, or a counteroffer of his own.

Don’t try this on a packed night—or ever in March—but know this: bottle minimums are never truly set in stone.

3. The “minimums” are hard to enforce

‍If a club tells you, “You need to buy two bottles at $1,000 each to get in,” that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll end up drinking both. Even if you signed a credit card authorization before the first bottle arrived, you’re only responsible for what you actually take possession of.

Leave before the second bottle is served and, legally, you don’t have to pay for it.

If you live in Miami, you’ll probably never be allowed back into that club—at least until it changes ownership in six months. If you don’t live here, and don’t mind disputing a charge, you’re technically in the clear.

4. It does not make economic sense‍

You might think, “This place charges $25 for an Old Crow and Coke—surely a $500 bottle is cheaper if there are five of us.” Wrong.

With five people, you’ll be lucky if you get one-fifth of the bottle, especially since you don’t pour as lightly as the club’s bartenders. Ordering individual drinks will almost always be cheaper—assuming you’re not being an even bigger sucker and buying drinks for girls.

Which brings me to...

5. It won’t get you laid

‍Sure, it might. But then again, so might sitting in the middle of Lincoln Road and hollering at every girl who walks by. Having a ton of liquor at your disposal mostly attracts girls who come to clubs specifically to find guys with a ton of free liquor at their disposal.

They’ll usually hang around for a few minutes of polite conversation, then move on. If conversation is worth that kind of money to you, there are several 1-900 numbers in the back of the New Times that would be a far more efficient use of your cash.

So yes, bottle service can expedite your Miami club experience. It can get you past the line, make you look cool, and earn you a few fleeting moments of attention from the painted-up ladies of South Beach.

Just know it won’t always cost what they tell you—and it definitely won’t always get you what you want. Make your decisions accordingly, but at least make them armed with the right information.

Related Story

• Miami Nightclub Prices - Bottle Service & Cover Charges

Editor’s Note: Originally published September 19, 2012. Updated in 2026 with new photography; Matt Meltzer’s original writing remains unchanged.