There are no shortages of cigar lounges in Miami. There’s a particular cigar lounge I’ve frequented in Miami where I constantly run into NFL legend and Hall of Famer Ed Reed. But then I found Cigar Club Miami. It’s the place you want to be if you’re looking for an elevated experience. For my money, it’s also your best option in downtown Miami. Elad Smadja opened the joint in January 2023. The objective was simple: give the downtown area a modern cigar lounge offering a premium cigar selection and craft cocktails. He more than delivered.
From the onset, the moody exterior prepares you for what you’re about to walk into. You’re immediately greeted with warm lighting and modern luxury throughout, from the leather barstools and Carrara marble bar top to comfortable suede chairs. The lounge features a wall humidor stocked with some of the finest cigars. The bar is also fully stocked. If you find yourself there during happy hour, peruse the healthy selection of aged whiskeys.
I showed up one morning in January and needed a quiet place to work for a few hours, but I also wanted a great space where I could light up a stogie. I had been following Cigar Club Miami on Instagram for a few months, and I finally had the chance to walk in and experience it myself. I plopped myself at the bar and ordered a cappuccino, the perfect pairing for the Ara’o Narigón cigar I selected from the humidor. It’s a light-to-medium stick with a Connecticut wrapper, my favorite.
I was blown away by how comfortable it felt smoking in an elevated space that didn’t feel stuffy at all. Great conversations were had with the bartender, who told me that the lounge was still rather new but drawing a good crowd after business hours. The day I visited, hours before I needed to be at Hard Rock Stadium for the College Football Playoff National Championship between Miami and Indiana, the bartender said they expected a big crowd and had prepared to stay open well past midnight to keep the celebration going.
About an hour into my conversation with the bartender, Smadja walked in. We struck up a quick conversation before his meeting with a cigar vendor. Later, Smadja walked over to me and handed me a Trinidad Espiritu Series 3, the brand he had recently stocked in his humidor. I immediately grabbed my cutter and torch, and it was outstanding.
If you follow Cigar Club Miami on Instagram, you’ll be treated to carefully curated videos previewing the latest products rolling in. It won’t take long for you to realize that Smadja (or someone on his team) knows how to play the social media game to perfection. His videos have a similar effect when I watch Goodfellas or The Sopranos: I immediately want to smoke a cigar.
What’s more, Smadja launched a YouTube series , where he talks to big players in the cigar world. He recently spoke to Manny Iriarte, “The Man Behind OpusX Society.” Smadja also spoke to Jonathan Drew about how he “built Drew Estate into a global cigar empire.”
With Cigar Club Miami, you get a luxurious space where professionals can smoke and congregate, as well as an educational series in the form of hour-long episodes. You can find Cigar Club Miami at 106 Northeast 1st Street in Miami. I Ubered there from my hotel, but if you drive, they offer valet parking, too.
Some of my favorite cigar lounges are in Florida. But none come above Cigar Club Miami.
