CAFE LA TROVA IN LINE FOR HONOR,
Miami cocktail lovers haven’t been able to step up to a bar lately (thanks, COVID-19).
But when we can order our favorite mixologist’s magic once again, we might be getting our drinks at an award-winning bar.
The Tales of the Cocktail Foundation has released its 2020 Top 4 Finalists for the 14th annual Spirited Awards, and Little Havana’s Café La Trova is a finalist in two categories. The Calle Ocho restaurant and bar, which opened in January of 2019 and was named one of the best new restaurants in April 2019 by GQ magazine, is up for Best American High Volume Cocktail Bar and Best American Bar Team.
The other contenders/ pretenders that hope their cocktails and creators triumph? In the High Volume Cocktail Bar category, Café La Trova is up against AVB in San Francisco; Anvil Bar & Refuge in Houston and Nickel City in Austin, Texas. In the Bar Team category, it’s facing Jewel of the South in New Orleans; Nickel City in Austin and Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco.
We have our eye on you, Nickel City.
Co-owner and Maestro Cantinero Julio Cabrera, who created Café La Trova with chef Michelle Bernstein and David Martinez, is thrilled to be a double finalist.
“Being nominated this year means a lot for all of our Cantineros and the entire team,” Cabrera said. “It’s a reward for all the hard work and years of dedication behind the bar. We feel humbled and honored with this nominations that can only make us better and more committed to the Miami Cocktail Community. Our most sincere congratulations to the other bars nominated.”
Martinez says the nominations are good news at a bleak time for the bar business.
“To say that these are challenging times for our industry would be a great understatement,” he said. “What our industry is going through as a whole is devastating and frightening at the same time. Hope is what all of us are looking for – something to look forward to during these highly uncertain times. This offers just that, not only for Café La Trova or even Miami but for our entire industry.”
The winners of the Spirited Awards, which started in 2007, will be announced Sept. 21. In the meantime, Café La Trova is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic but hosts an outdoor weekend popup from 6-10 p.m. on Saturdays called La Terraza de La Trova.