Waxy O’connor’s On the River

This place could be awesome as it’s got outdoor seating on the Miami River: however, it falls very short. They had a very small menu and were out of half of items. The one saving grace is that they do have some decent drink specials throughout the week. I just wish they would turn this place into something worth it’s great location.

A group of pals and I ended up at this gleaming example of river-​adjacent excellence to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals. We were pleasantly surprised to see that it was not too crowded. Perhaps those present were people that, much like us, could be lumped into a group known as «none the wiser».
Upon arrival, it was nearly impossible to find a server/​host/​employee of the restaurant. I was eventually told by a kind soul that we could seat ourselves. This person may or may not have actually worked for the restaurant. Upon finding a pair of lost souls on Waxy’s payroll, they gave my friend and I dissenting information in regards to which tables were reserved. This caused a bit of confusion which we were able to clear up without their help. We eventually settled on a booth. We asked our server, who graced us with his presence in spectacularly nonchalant fashion, if we could pull up chairs for some friends arriving later. He suggested that we simply wait for the group at a larger, prime-​location table to leave, and then we could have their table. He assured us they would leave before tip off. As you can probably imagine, they didn’t. Maybe they wanted to watch the most important game in Miami Heat history. Well, not to be outdone by one silly blunder, our Mensa candidate server also promised that same table to another group. What a delightful surprise. Again, this could have caused an issue had we not resolved it among ourselves and all not been so excited to see the Heat.
With that ordeal more less behind us, we were ready to order.
The menu was a piece of paper with a few options printed on it. It looked as if it was fresh off their refurbished dot-​matrix printer. I suppose it was a tongue in cheek way of letting the guests know what type of quality to expect. Bravo, Waxy’s. Well done.
The service was glacially slow. Actually, scratch that. If this guy was an iceberg, he would never actually start melting despite all the other ice caps around him doing so. Despite not being too crowded, and it being a major sporting event, the place seemed unprepared (or unwilling) to provide prompt service. The server accused us of using two tables (the one we were at and the one we were trying to secure in vain), which is a really smart thing to do to people that are supposed to give you money.
The group that did not leave the table was very rude to us when we tried to explain our scenario. This was not entirely surprising. A very catty woman explained that she was friends with the manager. The server also passed along this information to us, perhaps to help me understand that his hands were proverbially tied. He was under the impression that this factoid interested me in the slightest. It didn’t. After all this, I’m shocked the restaurant wasn’t as vacant as the stare he gave us all night.
But anyway… we were there to see the Heat! Alas, we also experienced quite a bit of it. The place was sweltering. Beyond uncomfortable. Our entire table was sweating. I couldn’t imagine what hilarious excuse we’d be given if we asked why it was so hot, so I decided to save myself the grief and not ask.
People came to watch the game. So naturally one of the TV’s had a cute «LG» logo bouncing around with a «No Signal» message. Something for everyone, I guess.
After we had some chicken wings (very good, but very small) we also tried ordering sliders, cheese fries and quesadillas. I want you to guess how many of these items they were out of. (Hint: All of them). Awesome.
After this experience, the server obviously knew that we were happy, satisfied patrons. Perceptive young man, this artisan of culinary service. So he took it upon himself to include 18% gratuity to our check. We were a party of 5, and I am used to parties of 6+ being charged automatic gratuity. I could be wrong on this one, though. You’re not gonna believe this, but the awesome, aforementioned professionally printed menu made no mention of automatic gratuity. This guy was wearing a #6 Heat jersey, and true to form, he is easily the LeBron James of shitty service.
Alas, the Heat took home the championship, made everyone happy and made the night memorable despite Waxy’s litany of shortcomings. The only reason this place gets two stars is because the Heat took the title that night. And when it takes a major sport championship to boost you up to two stars, you know you suck.

Decided to try this place for my 25^th birthday and I’m so happy I did. Friday night is ladies night and they drink free from 9−11pm. Bartenders are super friendly and the drinks are great! The location is incredible. It’s right on the river so you get the cool breeze and an incredible view of the downtown area. After about 11:30 the place starts to get really good as the crowd grows and the music gets better and better. The food is pretty good too.

Ladies drink free until 11pm on Fridays makes for a very Fun start to the weekend

I’ve been here a couple of times and there’s not much to complain about except it’s pricey but I guess that’s to be expected given their location.
The last time we went, the place was crowded as usual with 20 – 30 something year olds and the music was great. The bartenders can get a little snarky on ladies night which is on Friday nights. it wasn’t appreciated but I understand where they’re coming from. If they see a guy drinking a drink that is supposed to be of the ladies night special, they’ll take the drink away from the guy– I get it but it still doesn’t sit well with me. Also ladies you are only allowed to have one drink and do not plan on ordering two at the same time!
The crowd is always lively and though I’ve never had the food here, their selection of beer and drinks is definitely improving.

This was my first time coming here, my friends have been here before so since i’ve been tired of partying in the same spots, I tried it out. The location is pretty decent, you’re right next to the Miami River and infront of downtown miami. So you’re surrounded by the river and the beautiful buildings. Parking is first come first serve, so good luck trying to find parking, they do however have Valet parking for about $ 10.00 … The drinks are pretty decent its about $ 8 — $ 10 depending on what you order, the atmosphere is pretty decent, it’s a bit crazy and packed but other than that it was alright. There is no air conditioning either so it gets pretty hot.
I do recommend this place. FYI: They do have a dress code, I came in really crappy with my heat jersey since it was the heat playing, but they let me pass since it was my first time. No sandals and shorts.

If it looks like an irish pub, smells like an irish pub and serves drinks like an irish pub… what is it?
It’s probably Waxy O’ Connors!
It is walking distance from tobacco road and though it looks 100 times better it costs the same amount!
Drink, play pool and go home. Great choice to kick off a weekend.

After our cruise on the 50′ catamaran through Play Time Water Sports, the crew said that we could have a complimentary drink and hot food at Waxy’s. Waxy’s is another typical bar scene with ear thumping loud music so penetrating that I couldn’t hear myself think. One of the party members got a free drink and said it was a «rum runner» and not very good. It was jammed packed in the place and we couldn’t find the complimentary hot food and decided that we would rather pay to eat somewhere else than to get free food here. What does that tell you?
Judging by other reviews of Waxy’s, I am not alone in my review.

This place has no AC!!!
Like, how do you expect to lure in a crowd of horny 20-​something year olds and not have AC for all these Miami girl’s weave to not frizz.
Came here because of an invite, free drinks until 11, which was fine. I didn’t get a buzz at all, super weak drinks. Cheap cups and I even witnessed a fight.
«Toto, are we still in Brickell?»
This place will never see my face again, thank God everything was free!

Not a bad place to be on a Friday night. Large crowd. Lots of TVs showing sports. Lady’s drink for free Friday nights till 11 (i think it’s from 9 – 11). Got their Dirty Shirley and was delicious. ONly thing I can complain about is the smoking that takes place outside. I probably smelled like a chimney after leaving the place.

What can I say… to begin with the parking was terrible, the valet staff that was dealing with the parking was either slow or under staffed, ended up parking 4 blocks away and walking in order to get there. Once we arrived we had to deal with a doorman, like is was walking into a club, which in itself was also surprising. We had gone to celebrate a friends birthday and the waiter for the table came by and everyone order their drinks. He came back 30 mins later and didn’t have my drink, but he clearly remembered that I ordered something because he told me he would be right back with it, never happened.
The bar inside was a hassle to get to, the place was over packed and the staff at the bar was taking for ever to get drinks out, had to wait 20 mins for a drink… honestly can’t say much more, besides sounding like I’m complaining, but I wouldn’t go back.

I went here two Saturdays ago and I have to say that I was highly disappointed. Since there were so many people there they had to have a few extra bars outside. Um, hello, it’s 2011, cash only — really isn’t there an ap for that problem?
And then it’s Saturday people… College football is only played 15 weeks out of the 52 so why can’t you spare one TV for those people who actually who want to watch it.
The girls behind the bar were rude and unfriendly.
Thoughts on this place — never going back again and can’t wait to tell people about this experience.

Probably the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. Let’s just say it was SO bad that I signed up for Unilocal just to write this review.
First of all, the service is terrible. My cousin and I went there on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. It was pretty empty when we arrived but we couldn’t find anyone to seat us at a table. We finally found someone (maybe a busboy?) who took us to a table outside… it took another 10 minutes for us to get menus. Finally, we meet our waitress and give her our orders. My cousin orders a ceasar wrap, which she specifically confirms with the waitress does NOT have chicken in it (she is a vegetarian). The waitress assures her there is no chicken in it. I order a grilled chicken sandwich.
When our food arrives quite a while later (we were starving by then), of course they mess up my cousin’s order — there is chicken in the ceasar wrap. We ask if we can get it without chicken and the busboy kindly takes it away. Then, I take a look at my sandwich and notice that there is MOLD on the slice of tomato in my sandwich!!! Eww.
We point out the mold to the busboy and ask to speak to the manager. The busboy comes back, says he spoke with the head chef who said we could have anything else we wanted free of charge. The manager never came out to speak with us. By that time, we were so grossed out that we couldn’t eat anything from this place… so we left.
I would not recommend this place to anyone. I would give it zero stars if I could!

I love sports bars, I love sports bar food, I love beer, I love pretty places. Therefore, I love Waxy’s on the river!
So I showed up there early to watch the Heat game. The place itself was so nice. Everything looked clean and elegant. They had a bunch of outside seating with the view of the river. It was a little chilly so my party and I decided to sit inside.
We got one of the best tables that was located in the middle surrounded by booths and the bar. We had an awesome front row seat view of one of their huge flat screens, which later turned out to be not so great because people started crowding us. I was a little jealous because the bar seats had backs to them and our table had stools with no backs. Call me a crybaby, but I have back problems boo hoo hoo.
We enjoyed $ 10 pitchers of Miller Lite. They also had $ 12 buckets of Miller Lite or Coors. We also ordered two appetizers, one was the conch fritters and the other was the calamari. Each of those was about $ 10 or under. Plus unless you were lucky and found meter parking, the easiest was to park in vallet for $ 7. My point is that it is reasonable but not cheap so if you go, know that each person should be spending about $ 25 or so. I think the place makes up for the slightly higher price, as I already stated its über nice.
Speaking of food, the conch fritters were amaze-​balls, literally. They were cooked perfectly and with adding lots of lemon, they were to die for. The sauce that came with them was like a honey mustardy-​ish type sauce which was also divine. The calamari was not on my top spot. It tasted like other food, which would mean the oil was old or used for something else or they cooked it too long. Nevertheless, I didn’t mind. It still tasted better than the chewy calamari from Area 31 (hater, rawr!)
Our server Mindy was on top of what she was doing and very friendly. She got busy towards the end of the night but still managed to keep us happy. My favorite quality of this place is that it is a true sports bar. They took off the music and let everyone actually hear the Heat game, rather than just watch it in silence. I think it takes away from the epicness of a game if you can’t hear the commentators and the buzzing (errrrrrr) and the crowd CHEERS@! I will definitely be coming here very often now and ordering two conch fritter appetizers lol. Freaking loved it!

Cool place to check out and watch a game. This was about my third time here but this time we decided to try some food as well. We sat inside but I really enjoy the outside as it overlooks the river and is fun to chill with some nice views. I felt like we were in Hooter’s though because of the outfits the young girl’s wear. Do not get me wrong, they are cute, but I did not quite get the attire in an Irish sports bar.
So we had a sweet waitress, she was nice, disappeared quite often and we had to fin for ourselves a few times but she was OK. I ordered a fish sandwich, mahi-​mahi blackened with fries. Hubby ordered the Sheppard’s pie. My sandwich was good but wow hubby’s Sheppard pie was outstanding. So good, I could not help digging in. This is not something I would typically order as it is very filling and heavy but whew I could not help myself. Highly recommend checking it out.
We watched some football, ate, drank, and relaxed. Not a bad place to just hang out. Prices are average for the area.

This place ought to be much more successful than it is. They have an issue with poor execution.
The positives:
1) Food is quite good. It doesn’t have as genuine a menu as I would like for an Irish pub, but the food they do have is good. The Conch Fritters, the Mahi Tenders, and the Bangers and Mash are all very good dishes.
2) It is a nice venue. Hand-​built wooden interior, on the Miami river, surrounded by high rises. It is a venue that reminds me of some of the nice English bars in Singapore.
3) It is a large venue which means it could attract a decent crowd.
Negatives:
1) Lack of TVs. Irish Pubs are essentially Sports Bars and this place does not have enough TVs.
2) Unable to handle a crowd. This is really bad. I went there for a world cup game with my friends. It turned out they didn’t have enough power to handle the fans and the TVs being on at the same time so they had to switch off the fans on a hot summers day to keep the TVs going. Plus we waited over 35 minutes for drinks, and then gave up and left. This is a huge problem for a sports bar — if they can’t handle an event like the World Cup, what’s the point?
3) Waitress service is a huge problem. Even on a regular night, it takes a long time to get served unless the place is completely empty. And paying is also a time consuming process.
I wish this bar was better run. It has potential.

I welcome any new venue in Miami that will show live soccer. Being that Waxy’s is an Irish-​themed bar, they’re obliged to take on that responsibility.
The bar is expanisve and long and is filled with the dark wood that you come to expect in an Irish Bar.
Often times they feature bands. One of my favorites is a U2 cover band. Check their listings to see when they’re playing. Unfortunately the area that they place the bands is a makeshift stage that is obstructed by a disableld person lift and some columns. Such a shame. They need to come up with a better option for their live acts.
Take advantage of their outdoor patio thats right on the river. It’s perfect for relaxing and enjoying a cold brew w/​friends. Expect to pay South Beach prices for your pints though.
Come for the scenery, stay for the futbol and cold pints!
** Oh and the parking SUX. Who wants to come to have to valet their car when going to an Irish bar? Molly and Shaemus would turn over in their grave !: p **

Waxy Parties like the Irish with Miami Flair!
I love to come to Waxy’s for happy hour on Fridays. The vibe is great and the beer selection is awesome. Chimay’s on draft at happy hour prices, can’t beat that! The food is pretty good too. Love their dolphin fingers and avocado grilled chicken sandwich.
The outside sitting area overlooking the Miami River is spectacular. Great place to relax and unwind from the week. Night time gets pretty loud with a DJ in house. Good times!
This will definitely be one of my top picks for St. Patty’s Day celebrating! Now all I need is some green beer!

I went back for the Grand opening and met some Unilocalers along the way. The atmosphere was crazy!
So many people came it was packed both inside and outside.
There was a live band who played a tribute to U2 … TERRIFIC and the lead singer looked like Bono!
The waiters were clearly overwhelmed and we waited quite a bit to order our drinks and get silverware…
Still love Waxy’s, great decoration and great food. I still am in love with the fried calamari and also discovered the chicken wings… yummy!

This isn’t a destination, it’s a start or a beginning but not where you should spend an entire night out.
Let’s begin with the most basic: parking
Parking around this neighborhood (West Brickell, yeah I kinda made it up, so?) is challenging. You can of course always valet or if you live in Dowtown/​Brickell walk, cab, or Metromover over.
This place being on the river gives it extra points as riverfront property is hard to come by in Miami. Once inside you’ll note is a pretty bar some might even call it a handsome bar but it lacks a gritty, laugh at yourself humorous, salt of the earth Irish pub feel. The layout doesn’t lend itself well to feeling at home, this isn’t your simple, neighborhood watering hole although it could be your standard meeting point. It’s loud to the point of sometimes being obnoxious. The food is standard but overall average and unimpressive but then again this place isn’t a restaurant.
Still, it’s a fine option for a bar crawl, it’s better earlier or later to avoid the crowds. Sit outside.