It's a great place to go after a long day and just hang out with friends. Its a very small but intimate bar. They have live local bands playing on the weekends and reasonably priced drinks. It has a very laid back and relaxed ambiance. The service is quick and the security is awesome! We had a problem with one guy who kept bothering us (as well as other girls apparently) all night and they took care of the problem immediately.
Review Source:its an ok little joint. small selection on tap but good stuff. Down side- the inside bar gets extremely packed. the music isn't to my liking. and also, the service is crap. we sat on the outside patio on the sofas and our cocktail waitress came with our tray of beers and spilled it all over us. i don't know if she was drunk or what but it sucked. then she brought two drinks we didn't even order and was basically telling us we had to pay for them. she said 'someone over here ordered them'. Â mind you there was only 3 of us. i'd give it another chance if i'm ever in the area but wouldn't plan for it.
Review Source:I took a friend here last week on Thursday night and we had a blast! The place is small as previously mentioned, but the surrounding areas outside are sufficient. Plus who wants to be indoors in Miami?!
The overall vibe was relaxed. The security was adequate and never saw any problems between them and the patrons. The bar staff was pretty quick with the drink, although we drank red stripe pretty much all night and it was a little dead.
The reason I give this place 5 stars is because the live reggae music was just a real nice treat. We didn't go inside much, but found a bench out front, drank beer, and chatted while we could still hear the music going on. If you wanted to dance you could go inside.
Oh boogie's. I have a hate/love relationship with this place. It's super chill, laidback hipster joint with great music and drinks, but the inside gets so packed you can't even move. If you're gonna go here, grab a table outside, you'll have room to breathe out there unless of course feeling up random strangers is your thing then inside is the place for you.
Review Source:Best little bar in South Miami. My favorite time to go is right after work when its not packed,chill and all the regulars are in their usual spots. This is a bar where truly everybody knows your name. The bartenders are friendly and always happy to see you. Great happy hour and specials all the time.
Review Source:this place is super chill. the bands that play here are easy on the ears. good beers on tap and a wide selection of spirits. wednesday is ladies night which can get a bit full. they upgraded the outside area with a cover and comfy chairs. Sunday is in the biz which gets you half off everything after 9 I believe
Review Source:ahh boogies. boogies. boogies. boogies.
i do not like this place. ITS SO EFFING PACKED. i always have to feel up on people to walk in and out. The ambience is not my style. The last time i was there the music was soooooooooo LOUD that i had to yell so my friends could hear me.
The live band that was playing was terrible. like they should be ashamed of themselves to even think that what they play is music. it sounded like shit.
The service is terrible. It takes forever to get a drink, and majority of the time there's barely any liquor in it.
The only time that it's a little worth it is on ladies night & that's only if you're on a budget because ladies drink free =)
Save yourself the hardship and go to the Tavern a block or 2 away.
Hope this helps =)
Ah, Boogies.
I've been here countless times, and always seem to end up here after some bar hopping around the area. Now this bar isn't necessarily my favorite in the area, but it certainly isn't bad. The place itself is an old wooden house (I can only assume) that has a huge bar in the middle, with an outdoor courtyard area.
The only thing I can never seem to be fully satisfied with are the bartenders. Drinks are always weak, unless I Â ask for doubles or tip ahead of time. I like my alcohol to taste like it has actual alcohol.
Other than that, and if you don't mind having to rub up against half Miami while entering or leaving, then I would definitely recommend coming here.
i love this place not only for what it is but also for what it doesn't have.
what it is...
the tobacco road feel from back before they started charging to valet and started attracting yuppies. it's old school miami in there and probably one of the few bars left that hasn't sold out to the "oye' mami" crowd.
its a cool place to catch a ROCK band and enjoy some beers with some buddies old miami style without having to drive out of the city.
what it doesn't have..
patrons that look like they fell out of a lowered honda while listening to pittbull.
------------------------
this is a bar for adults, not mojones. which makes it a beautiful thing!
Its important I offer a follow-up review as my recent experience with Bougainvillea's was extremely upsetting. First off, I frequent this place often. Even tho its kind of a dump, it has a certain charm to it, its relaxing, and they usually have pretty good music going, so its a decent place to go with friends if u want cheap drinks and lots of dancing.
Here's what happened... I walked into the bar, ordered my drink from the bartender, he brought me the drink, asked me if I wanted to open a tab, and I said yes. He then proceeded to walk away with my credit card, and I took my drink outside. I spent the night busy dancing with my friends, so I never even bothered to order another drink. This was around 11pm on a Saturday.
I come back at the end of the night to close my tab, it was around 3am. The bartender cannot find my credit card. Mind you, the first bartender I spoke with (a female, do not remember her name) was fairly friendly. She genuinely seemed concerned that she couldn't find my card, asked around, went to both bars to ask if anyone had seen my card, etc... they could not find it.
Then the problem escalates. Another bartender comes over, a guy, and he is very aggressive, rude and starts giving me major attitude. Mind you, I'm sure they have to deal with obnoxious drunks all the time, but I was completely sober, and I was pretty calm up until that point, considering they had lost my card! This bartender starts claiming they never had my card, that there wasnt anything he could do about it, and it wasnt his problem.
Now I start getting agitated. This was the debit card to my bank account. Â He kept insisting I had "dropped my card" somewhere. He even had the nerve to suggest I did not even order drinks at all that night! Â I immediately grabbed my iphone, pulled up my bank account online, and showed BOTH bartenders that I had already been charged for the drink I had ordered!
The first bartender (the female) tells me "oh thats not us", when I showed her the bank charge. I found this very suspicious as I had not been to any other bars that night. After a few minutes she admits "yes thats us but we cant find your card".
So she lied before saying it wasnt their charge, but then admitted it WAS their charge!
The male bartender comes back and gives me more attitude. he says things like "what do you want from me? this is not my problem". I could not believe it. They lost my card and somehow it was "not their problem". At this point it had been several hours since I had given them my card, so the card had been lost for hours! Anyone could have stolen it and been using it.
I found myself outside of the bar at 3am calling my bank to cancel my debit cards. The good news was there had not been any additional charges to my bank, so whoever took the card, had not used it yet.
I was just genuinely shocked at the treatment my wife and I received. Extremely upsetting. I am taking every step to file a complaint against this establishment with the better business bureau. I will make sure I contact the owner or manager to discuss the incident. I'm also making everyone I know aware of their shady business practices so that none of my friends have this same issue.
They wont get any more money from me.
Bougainvillea's or Boogie's is one of those places that will always result in having a good time! What i love about this place is that the drinks are not expensive and the crowd is always good. Ive neveer run into any cholo's or chonga's here thankfully! Good thing theres an outside area at this place because it can get REALLY packed inside. They always play good music too. Dont expect any fancy dresses or sky high heels here, everyone is super casual and having a good time.
Too bad they dont have ladies night anymore.. but they have 50% off drinks from 4pm-2am on Wednesdays!
Am I the only one who calls this place "Boogie's"? Probably not. (wink)
Anyhow, this is probably one of the best places to go for happy hour! Happy hour is until 8pm! Which is totally unheard of. Although the crowd during happy hour reminds you of your Dad's company Christmas Party, you will be able to enjoy yourself.
Me & my friend already had drinks and just came for Beer. We got two giant bud lights, ONLY 4 BUCKS! It was a steal!
The bartenders are really nice, especially the guy with the glasses in the front. Very generous and they are attentive. Never really had a problem with Boogies. It is what it is. Dont expect much from a neighborhood bar! Your not paying much anyway!
Never heard of this place until I went to Sunset on  Thursday night. It turned out to be a good time at a really chill spot.
It had an "island" feel to it that I was really feeling that night. I didn't stay until the wee hours of the morning, but it was definitely starting to get more and more packed. A live band started to play, but even before that, they had some good tunes going as well.
Red stripe and a few other drinks were on discount that night at $4 a drink.
I'd definitely go back to this bar.
Recently returned to Bougie's after a really, really long hiatus, and I have to tell you, it remains a really cool, laid back spot with fairly inexpensive drinks and the kind of ambiance I can wrap my head around. They had a live band this past Friday, and it seems like they support the local music scene in this fashion quite a bit.
I mean, it's essentially a house party. Not the kind of house party you might see in your usual, cliched college comedy where a house ends up on fire and a naked Will Ferrell ends up streaking through the quad. I'm talking about the kind of house party that you want to find yourself at when what you most want to do is reconnect with friends and maybe meet a few more.
They have a pretty extensive social calendar. Hung up in a few places around the bar are a number of event calendars for each month, and really, there's something going on every day. Also, I paid twenty bucks for three sixteen-ounce Millers and a margarita. Not bad at all.
A recent development is the awning installed in the rear. Totally gives the place a new feel and is most welcome in rainy weather. With a bar in the back, if you think that the inside is a little too tight a space, then all you have to do is head outside and enjoy a cool breeze and a stiff drink.
Totally cool place, and from what I hear, totally insane for St. Patty's day. I may just check it out again this coming weekend.
I'd love to give this place 5 stars. Here's why.
South Miami is a small, small area. There are enough places to eat here, and definitely enough places to get a cupcake. Not that many bars. This bar, in particular has alot going for it. The location is central. The place looks/is vintage. The bar counters and floors have plenty of "character".
What's missing is... I don't know. Something is missing to make this place SoMis place to be. It almost seems too updated to be a dive bar, and too douchey to be low key. That's my instinct before going in that cool front entrance. Soon after you'll realize  something is missing. Maybe it's the clientele that appear to take control of their wednesdays, or maybe it's the out of character outdoor patio.
I don't know. I want this place to be real divey but, it kind of feels like a movie set.
A small place for such a big name. I had trouble figuring out how to spell it to search it in Google maps so I could get to it. Too many vowels.
It's a pretty chill crowd with cheap drinks and live music. I think it was extra crammed the night we went because no one wanted to partake in the patio space while it was raining.
I have my own theory as to why this remains such a beloved bar. I think that since this has been the Miami early 20s/college kid hangout for quite some time, people my age still have some sentimental attachment to it as the first bar they ever got trashed in, hooked up with so-and-so in, blah blah blah.
Believe it or not, when I "came of age," I hated the taste of alcohol, and thus did not go to bars. Therefore, I have no attachment or loyalty to this place. This bar elicits no nostalgic feelings in me whatsoever; I can see it as it really is. It's a dump. It's a dive bar dressed up as a cutesy little Old Florida house. Now, I have nothing against dive bars, but I just do not like the feel of this one. Unless you go at an off-time, at which point it might actually be a relaxing place to catch a cheap-o well drink, it's cramped, crowded and just plain uncomfortable. For the most part, the patrons are obnoxious and lacking in class. There's always some awfully loud band that starts grating on me almost immediately - this place is way too small to be a live music venue. It's smoky, and the quality of the booze on offer is very low.
Now, if you can get a nice place to sit outside, as our group recently did on the South Miami Pub Crawl, it's a better experience. You can talk, you're not getting jostled around, and you can breathe. If outside, three stars. Inside, one star.
This was my wonderful experience with the misogynist bouncer on St. Patrick's Day (oh and bouncer, if you are reading this, misogynist means you hate women... I know, you're welcome):
While trying to enter the bar, someone grabbed my friend's butt. She turned around and said "THIS GUY GRABBED ME" so her boyfriend proceeded to get angry and yell at the guy. The guy denied grabbing her so the bouncer, thinking this would be HILARIOUS, proceeded to make fun of my friend's boyfriend, called him a Jonas Brother, and told him to keep it down. After we told the bouncer our friend had just been groped and that this wasn't funny and something should be done, he started telling us someone yelled "Nothing happened" so he thought we were making it up.
How does that fit in with any sort of logic?
So after we were most certainly not going into this "fine" establishment, the bouncer told us we couldn't get in. Needless to say, we were crushed. We then asked for a manager and the other bouncer said our buddy the woman-hater was the manager (doubtful) He continued to tell us he thought the Jonas Brothers joke was funny, he didn't think anyone did anything wrong and that we were overreacting. Oh, and btw, none of us were even tipsy. No belligerence -- we were just confronting a rude loser that thought it was ok to grope a girl he didn't know and this rude loser bouncer thought it was ok to defend him.
So Bougainvillea's -- this kind of behavior is NOT ok. I had heard great things about this place and then to meet a bouncer who doesn't have the balls to stand up for a girl who's just been groped -- it really shows this place's true character.
Not cool.
Every now and then the rumor pops up that this place is about to close. I think it is more of a publicity stunt to keep unsuspecting customers to come back.
Well the place deserves to be closed down. A place where there is no respect for the customers that keep them in business, where the bouncers are useless and where there is clear disregard for the safety and well being of those whom they are there to protect.
Buyer beware - especially young ladies, you will be groped and they are all in on it ...probably encouraging the behavior so they can have a quick laugh at your expense, and if you complain, they will flex their toolish muscles and move on to the next victim.
Fortunately, there are plenty of choices and a replay of an MTV Tools
episode is certainly not an option.
Nothing to see here...move on ....
Dear Bougies,
Since we're so close to Valentine's Day - and you had great cherry bomb shot specials - you inspired me to write a Sabrina-style letter review!
You're a constant temptress, as you're located so very close to my office. You beckon during my straight-laced workday, and I have been a strong man to resist your charms so far. You've been in South Miami long enough you can be considered a cougar. You give me fond memories of pub crawls past which came spilling back during last night's Love Stinks Pubcrawl. My fellow yelpers and I were treated to great rock music as well as the live band's drummer sound check. Your collection of bottles on the wall is a piece of art, and the Valentine's Day Cherry Bombs made for a great conversation starter with a couple of elusive ladies as well.
Although I'm taking away one star becuase there weren't any heat lamps outside, your outside chairs also made for a great conversation spot with my fellow Pub Crawlers. Like the lady in "Shoulda Known Better", I know I can't see you every day but you remain my cougar for special ocassions.
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDckYV3FQfSE&s=bce9122558d82cd63114a66f79db2a53dd864affc85938fed3cc024d20c32e8f" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>
See ya'round,
Sergio
I'm so glad they didn't close this down. It's a South Miami staple. I enjoy going her for it's chill vibe. I prefer to hang outside as the inside can get pretty crowded. I think it's better outside anyway. You can stand or sit in the tables and just talk with friends. I went there a few Saturdays ago and the DJ was playing a lot of old school songs...I was loving it!
This is a great place to wear something chill, have a few drinks and chat it up.
This place feels like it should be in the keys... which I love!
When there's live music it's normally pretty good.
The drinks are good, and fairly priced.
Inside gets a little packed so snag a table outside if you can. As long as it's not raining outside really is the way to go here, more room, you can hear each other and you still hear the music.
Now we were with some great company and all decided to head over to this bar, after the guys finished playing pool at Splittsville. I had never heard of this bar. Great outdoor patio with plenty tables. It was late when we all arrived so the place was hopping and packed.
It immediately reminded me of a college bar. Sticky floors, loud music, neighbor spilling beer, rubbing elbows with people you don't know, because it is so jammed. I must say they had a band playing this night and they were good, very good. I really did enjoy the music and their talent. Unless you sit outside this is not really where you come to conversate with people, it is to loud. The bartenders were friendly.
I did like this bar and maybe better if we sat outside and was not all so cramped. Regardless, we enjoyed our stay with good company. Very cool place to listen to some good local bands. Dive bar, at it's best!
In our ongoing search for a go-to, divey local watering hole, we've explored many options - and yet, in the words of U2, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. But after last night - there's hope yet.
We'd heard the tales of Bougies, and although we walk by it often when headed to Sunset Place to see a flick, we'd never really noticed it was there. Last night we met up with some good pals and fellow Yelpers, and it was love at first sight for muah.
Bougies is dark, loud, smokey and absolutely charming. My kinda bar (well, sans the smoke, but this is Florida - what can you do?). Drinks are reasonably priced, the crowd is young and fun, and they have an AMAZING, enormous outdoor patio with lots of tables. Sit outside, drink and listen to music ... what more could I possibly want? This may just be our new hangout. Bougies, so glad we met at last.
The divier, the better- that's my usual rule.
Bougie's is an awesome place that, as its name would indicate, definitely gives you an "old florida" feel. Whenever I walk in I forget I'm in South Miami. Â I don't really know where or when it transports me, I just know that it does.
There's wood everywhere- the walls, the floors, the bar...It's almost like I'm in a Lincoln Log Cabin. A Lincoln Log Cabin filled with cheap drinks, good friends, and fun music. Â The bands that play here usually play some great covers- which is exactly the kind of music I want to listen to when I'm throwin back a few beers with some friends. Â
If the ever constant rumors of this place closing down ever come true, I just might cry.
Bougainvillea's or just simply "Bougys" is a staple to the South Miami bar scene. Whenever I'm in the neighborhood this place has proven to be a great place to start a night or end it. I have very fond memories in this place including, pub crawls, first dates and just simply a night hanging out. Â When they announced they were were closing you could hear the upset uproar from all their happy customers!
But luckily they're aren't closing! I prefer to be inside when I go for a drink but sometimes a loud (but good!) live band might be playing so I go outside for conversations. The staff is very friendly and responsive, I never have to wait long to get a bartender or a waitresses attention which makes me so happy and more willing to spend my $$$! This place always some sort of event going on! They keep the calendar on their website updated. So give it a glance to see what may be happening in case you drop by. Go here guys, I continue to convert friends into fans of this place.
Bougainvillea's:
Are you closing or not closing??? These rumors must stop!
Since last April, this has been the song and dance. Will you truly be closing? Stop tormenting with my emotions!! ;)
Last Friday, a group of us went out for my friend's bday. I love the low-key vibe you provide for us in the heart of South Miami. We always have a nice time here. I can always count on good music and good times. Granted, your establishment is kind of small but the outside is great for a quick getaway from all the crowd inside.
Thinking back, I first came here in 2000 to listen to a jazz band for a music appreciation class I was taking in college. I spent a good majority of my college years here. You have managed to still remain quaint and charming throughout the years. It would be a real loss if you were to close down. So what's the verdict?
Wednesdays: Ladie's night
Thursdays: Bike Night
All other nights, good times, good music, good vibe!
I'd told a few people recently that I hadn't been to this place before and that I'd like to try it. Â When we came here during the infamous S. Miami pub crawl a few weeks ago, the memories came rushing back..Hell, I'd been here before I'd just forgotten the name...Well, I won't forget the name again and will be returning here for sure, unless it closes in the near future as the rumors have been claiming (again). Â
This place is a rare find among the many newer and somewhat homogenized establishments in this area. Â Bougs is old and dark, not terribly spacious and has generously poured drinks at reasonable prices. Â I've heard some really good bands play here as well. Â If it's too loud or stuffy inside for you, then head outside to one of the tables out there or hang out on one of the patios.
The only reason this establishment doesn't get a higher rating from me is because the last time I was here the service was a bit slow. Â Improve on that a bit and this place easily gets at least 4.5 stars.
For the record, I never even knew this place existed! my friends and I stopped by after dinner and had a couple of drinks. We strolled in rather early and were able to grab a table next to the fake fireplace, yeah fake, like not even remotely close to a real one but definitely worth the mention for their sad attempt haha!
I really enjoyed the cozy atmosphere of the place especially with all the Christmas lights and stockings. This place is pretty small and got packed quickly. Luckily for us we were tucked away in a corner in a spot perfect for people and TV watching. The staff was very cute and friendly and were easily available to get a hold of throughout the night.
The music selection was decent until a cover band started to play the same songs which after a bit, got a tad annoying. Definitely adding a star to the fact that they had popcorn! freshly made delicious buttery popcorn that complimented the drinks so damn well!
I can't really comment on the price of the drinks since I didn't pay, but my friend insisted it was pretty cheap. From what I could tell, parking is somewhat limited, so be prepared to park in a garage and walk like we did.
Overall, Bougainvillea's was a cool spot to just chill and hang out. I'll definitely stop by again and maybe even try their food I heard about.
I used to frequent Bougies on a regular basis but, surprisingly enough, since I Â started school, it had been a while since I stepped back into the place. Last night, after a really long period of working and editing on a project, a couple of colleagues and I decided after our night class and draft critiques that it was time for us to let our hair down and go enjoy some $4 Red Stripes while jamming to the sounds of the best reggae band in town, Jahfe.
The vibe of this place is like non other, truly an old gem in the midst of an up and coming South Miami. You can find all types in here, from the tree-hugging UM students that aren't into the grove, all kinds of  South Miami locals (yuppie and veterans alike), to my mom  having girlie nights out with her friends. The old little wooden cabin welcomes all.
There has also been a new addition to this place and you can now rent hookahs whilst chilling outside. I absolutely love the way the floorboards creak under your feet, the low lighting, and the reasonable prices. The awesome live music on an almost daily basis also gets brownie points, if not, their jukebox is also pretty decent. All and all, a charming little local tavern and some really good times.
Bougies...you're ok in my book.
Good beer, good live music, inside/outside chill spots. The inside is a bit small and you might be cramped. The outside is better but its Miami and its hot. Quite possibly you'd be standing up outside too. So take your pick.
It's a bit different than what you'd expect to find in the Sunset area. But I think there are cooler bars to check out.
UPDATE: after writting this, the owner of Bougies extended an apology which honestly- made it all better. Glad to see the industry is still on it's game. Thanks again
I use to love this place, now every time I go it's a battle of the bartenders- whose gonna be a jerk.
Don't get me wrong, the security- great people, certain bartenders ALWAYS nice- but the ones that fail, fail hard.
There's this one bartender that's there on ladies nights who seems to have something permeability disturbing him, because I go up with a smile, say my pleases and thank yous yet he always has some nasty comment and basically pours .5 to 2 (.5 being the alcohol)
Dude, I'll tip you because I believe in it- but man your making it hard to keep a happy face on. And if you ask any of the other employees about him, they automatically know what jerk your talking about.
Man, Bougies FIRE HIM or atleast move him to bathroom duties...ugh out of my face!
Came to Bouganvillea's for Denise Fs birthday last week, and had a really great time. The bartenders were very attentive and easy to get a hold of, and the waitresses coming in and out of our area always made sure we had what we needed. The music that played in between bands was pretty good too. I didn't catch their name, but I loved the second band that went up last Saturday, around 11p or so - they had a great vibe, and I really enjoyed their music - if anyone knows, please tell me!
This is definitely the kind of bar I'd like to hang out at. They have a garden/patio area with tables, very comfy for people to sit and talk at. Not sure if they serve food though.
Why they're not getting 5 stars?
- Because the live music was a bit too loud for such a small space, so it wasn't inviting to conversations, rather drew you out of the indoor space to the outside, and eventually another bar - but that other bar was planned anyway, so can't blame too much of that on the music. But the loud music definitely drove our group outside.
Lats month I went into a slight panic when Bougie's said they were closing their doors for good due to the building being bought out--luckily for us, it was just an April Fool's joke! I wanted to kill 'em! They got us so good- I mean save Bougie's FB pages and all! LOL
Tomorrow is Bouganvillea's 9th anniversary and my liver and I are proud to say that we have been coming for just as long.
Regardless of the day of week, if you are in the neighborhood and want an inexpensive drink and a laid back atmosphere, Bougs is the place to go. Throughout the week they have different themes (Reggae night, ladies night, etc) and usually have live bands playing. Friday nights get pretty full, Saturdays are a little less full, but really- any night is fun!
I am sure that I'll give the new food truck a try tomorrow...and I'll be sure to let you guys know how that goes ;)
I would have to say I'm a wannabe regular. I live almost an hour away, yet always love making the drive over. This place is awesome for both happy hour and live music! The shape, lay out, and design of this place reminds me of a college house; the bar takes up a majority of the inside, seating is available outside and the bands perform in what I would call the "living room".
The drinks are inexpensive and the ambiance is out of this world, I love going for their Reggae nights. The bar can get a bit packed, but like any other place simply start a tab and they keep an eye out for you. The worst part about leaving this place is exactly that, leaving this place! A walk outside reminds you of the normal world you are about to re-enter.
Well-made and reasonably-priced drinks and good live music in a laid-back old-and-woody atmosphere.
The place is small. Bartenders are great. Mojitos are muddled and good, but even better were the Blue Long Islands - and yes, I know it sounds tacky.
And do come early if you can - I was in a group and I guess after a while of constantly ordering Blue Long Islands and Mojitos, they ran out of both.
Plentiful of patio seating - good if you want to get away from the smoke. Con: clothes smelling like smoke after you've been inside for a while.
(Another) Plus: no minimum charge on the credit car if you have the bar tab open.