A relaxed dive bar in Miami offers up pretty decent food

Blue Parrot Bar and Grill
801 South Bayshore Drive, Miami, FL

Trying to find the Blue Parrot is something of an adventure. You can't get to it by walking down from the bridge, nor can you walk around the parking lot. Instead, you have to walk though the Four Ambassadors apartment building lobby. It's a little weird, but it's worth it when you're on the hunt for a relaxed dive bar with decent, yet inexpensive food.

Sitting right on the river, Blue Parrot has the feel of an outdoor neighborhood beach bar. There are plastic tables, squeeze bottles of condiments, and paper napkins that blew off our laps in the breeze. We were a little apprehensive at first, but reassured by the 83% approval rating on Urbanspoon.

For an outdoor dive bar with a beachy feel, the Blue Parrot offered a pretty good meal

Blue Parrot offers a small but commendable beer list (Stella Artois, Bitburger, Franziskaner Dark Hefeweizen), and a basic American menu. A large, brightly colored Greek salad filled with soft cubes of feta sets you back $7.95; a 12-oz. hamburger with fries $6.95. Aside from offering a nice break from our previous triple-digit dinners, the food was surprisingly good. A friend's Caprese Salad was loaded with antipasto meats, rich slices of red, sweating tomatoes, and 1/2"-thick slabs of mozzarella.

It was a Sunday night so the bar was pretty quiet after the regulars cleared out. Service was fine; the bartender/server was polite and put up with the demands of our six-person table. The place closed down at 11 pm, which was a bummer (we wanted to keep drinking the cheap yet delicious beer!). Overall, it was great. I would definitely go back during the day to catch some rays, enjoy some cheap grub, and increase my happiness with some German suds.