Nightlife in Sebastian

Jesse Rijos and Daisy Rullan purchased Inlet Wines in 2010 and immediately began revamping the retail space’s vibe. Though the shop remains true to its original purpose—pairing customers with craft beer, cigars, and wines from Argentina, Italy, Spain, and Napa Valley—it also now houses a lounge area where customers can listen to live music each weekend. In addition, the space hosts once-monthly comedy shows and Wednesday-evening happy hours to counteract the bad mood that results from inadvertently tossing your dirty dishes in the dryer. All gatherings at Inlet Wines spill out onto a patio where guests can puff on purchased cigars.

Unlike restaurants where drinks are an afterthought, Draft Orlando makes them an integral part of each meal. They stock their marble-topped bar with 40 draft beers and 100 bottled selections. In October of 2011, Orlando magazine restaurant critic Joseph Hayes recognized their efforts, stating, "whatever food you are contemplating, there is probably a matching beer." Hayes goes on to laud the eatery for its "well-executed takes on pub food like fish and chips and impressive crab-cake sliders." The chefs also branch out from classic pub cuisine by deep-frying calamari and sprinkling flatbreads with toppings such as Angus rib-eye steaks, which they age for 21 days.

The restaurant's walls incorporate geometric textures, and, depending on the time, the interior can be lit by everything from natural light to the gentle luminance of flat-screen TVs displaying staff screen savers of their pet rocks.

With 3 Kings Hookah Lounge’s more than 75 flavors of shisha ready to fill visitors’ pipes, the task of selecting just 1 can be daunting. Luckily, a staff well-versed in matching taste to tobacco helps customers to sift through aromatic mélanges that range from traditional flavors such as mint and strawberry to bowls of real apple, orange, and pineapple pilfered from a nearby still life. Between puffs, teas, baked goods, and appetizers such as samosas and naan pizzas keep mouths occupied. Minds stay engaged with belly dancing on Fridays, games on Sundays, and themed nights throughout the week that pay homage to Bollywood and Latin flair.

A self-described “gastrolounge,” Hammerheads Beer & Wine Bar serves up creative, satisfying pub dishes alongside craft beers and frozen cocktails. Its dishes add a subtle, upscale twist to pub mainstays: croissant sliders are filled with bourbon pulled pork, and corn dog balls are wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon before meeting their fate in the deep fryer. Boneless chicken wings and their cousins, tempura-battered chicken nuggets, are carried to tables atop beds of savory waffle fries or sweet potato fries.

Alternating red and yellow walls create a cheery atmosphere, as does the collection of framed paintings and pictures scattered throughout the pub. Regular karaoke nights challenge patrons to lock vocal cords with their buddies and demonstrate their crowd-pleasing prowess by making up choreography to accompany each song. Hammerheads also offers a variety of entertainment options each week, including movie nights and live music.

Filled with 50 tons of carved ice and most recently inspired by Ernest Shackleton's failed Antarctic expedition, Icebar's 27-degree, bacchanalian winterscape earned itself a feature in Frommer's and a spot on the Travel Channel's list of The World's Coolest Bars. After bundling up in fur coats and gloves, guests can spend up to 45 minutes touring the room's collection of frozen sculptures, floes, and sled-dog huts, raising toasts to their favorites with glasses made entirely out of ice. Frozen stools covered with seal fur line the bar, where mixologists pour frosty cocktails and root around for two identical snowflakes.

The adjacent Fire Lounge allows visitors to warm up afterward by snagging a drink from the full-service bar or bobbing their heads to the mixes of DJ Sher-khan and the banter of 93.3 FLZ's Eric James. The pulsing sound system helps to get blood flowing again while lasers and strobe lights scan the room for any escaped snowglobes.

The team at The Lounge stages large-scale, interactive spectacles throughout Orlando. Past events include the Lake Mary Fall Festival, a family-friendly soiree with face painting, arts and crafts, and artisanal beer, and the Muscle N Chrome event blending craft beer with powerful coupes and exotic choppers. The Lounge visits their roaming parties on venues for only a few hours at a time, then disappears without a trace like a bartender moonlighting as a magician.