It is no secret that Miami is a cool place to live. There are songs about it, we seem to have a permanent spot on the “Top Places For _______” lists (insert literally whatever metric you are surveying), but this time it is different. This Miami neighborhood has the flex of bragging that it ranked under 30 in Timeout.com’s list of Coolest Neighborhoods in the WORLD.
Not only is Coconut Grove the only neighborhood in Miami to earn this honor, it is one of only six neighborhoods in the United States on the list. Each year, the folks at TimeOut.com canvas thousands of city-dwellers from around the world with their Time Out Index Survey. This survey asks which spots in their city are the coolest spots at the moment. This data is compiled with expert input from Time Out’s global network of local editors and writers and VIOLA! We have our list.
Welcome to Coconut Grove! What makes it so cool?
So, what exactly happens in Coconut Grove that makes it so cool? For starters, the vibe.
If you have not yet visited The Grove (as locals refer to it), you are in for a treat. Feel free to be casual, because it is a funky, quirky, hippy-haven with Bahamian influences. Talk about chill to the bone. There is tons of local art, an amazing farmer’s market that is a go-to for folks from across the metro area, and we can’t forget the quirky King Mango Strut that will be returning this Sunday!
Despite being the oldest continually-inhabited area of Miami, Coconut Grove still has a hometown feel. Beginning in the 1800’s as an enormous mangrove-turned-Bahamian-enclave, The Grove has had several different reinventions. It has been a haven for hippies in the 60’s and 70’s, cocaine cowboys in the 80’s, college students who enjoy the proximity to The University of Miami, and now a still quirky-yet-refined period of coolness that is nestled along the waterfront, surrounded by the stately mansions of Coral Gables and the glimmering skyscrapers in Brickell.
Coconut Grove really does have it all. You can live in either a stately mansion, a convenient townhome or a glittering skyscraper in The Grove, dine through a ventanita or at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and grab a snack at the trendy Panther Coffee, or a decades-old lemonade truck. Versatility is the name of the game in Coconut Grove.
Over recent years, there has been yet another renaissance for the neighborhood. A host of new bars and restaurants have arrived following the full-blown overhaul of Cocowalk, the central open-air shopping district that now boasts a new movie theater, chic restaurants, and *ahem* our office. The historic Mayfair Hotel has reopened following a complete renovation. Dave Grutman (Groot), one of the top nightlife and entertainment moguls in the 305, has laid roots in The Grove with The Key Club, and Regatta Harbour has opened on the bayfront, offering the new Bayshore Club. In addition to all of this, Coconut Grove is also home to not one, but two restaurants that have received a Michelin star.
There is never a dull moment in this neighborhood, just as we are rested up from the King Mango Strut, it is time to start planning the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, which brings roughly 300 international artists to showcase their creations over Presidents’ Day Weekend in February, before the summer heat starts to creep in, driving us back to our chill patios and beautiful homes just blocks away.
Come and check it out!