Best beer places in Santo Domingo

The beer Dominican Republic is very cold and very commercial but as always, my beer senses took me out on a hunting for craft beer. Here is what I've found!

Zona Bici

Let's start with my absolute favorite, and it is not even a bar! Zona Bici is a chain of bicycle rental shops. They have a shop in a few locations on the island, and the Santo Domingo one is just in the middle of the historical center. The best thing about this bicycle rental is that it has also a fridge full of local craft beer. What a pleasant surprise to discover roaming around! The staff is English speaking, friendly and knowledgeable and the beer variety changes frequently. Enjoy your beer and a nice conversation, and be amazed by this place being hidden in plain sight!

La Cacata

Santo Domingo is home for a few microbreweries, but La Cacata is one of the only ones that comes with a bar. One of the only places in the city to enjoy draft beer straight from the source. The place offers some regular batches and some other batches change by the season. If you choose only one place to see how a good Dominican craft looks like, this should be a no brainer!

Tentencio

Just next to La Cacata there is another bar worth visiting. The owner is extremely nice and the place has a nice vibe. They do not have tap beer but the have a good selection of local and imported craft beer (mainly from US and Spain).

Republica Brewing Draft Room

One of the biggest craft breweries on the island. Untappd friendly, and have a great selection of their own beers and a few other locals on tap. The place also functions as a sports bar, and they show games of every major sport. The place is quite noisy though, so not the best place to have a conversation

La cerveteca Bella vista

A nice and cozy place in the Bella Vista neighborhood. The place is run by a Czech guy, and he imports some Czech beer to have in his own bar. Other than that, you can find a good choice of the local craft and some American and Spanish as well. A great place to spend the afternoon

Cultura cervecera

The only place on this list that doesn't have much local choices. What it does have is probably the biggest variety of craft beers in the city, mainly US beers but from time to time you can find some surprise from further away. A great place for beer lovers, especially if you are not managing to visit US during your trip.

Parque Duarte

This will be a rare occasion but I will say that not everything is about craft, if you really want to experience the local beer culture, choose one of the many small shops (that are called Colmados), get a Presidente Jumbo and a few plastic cups to share with your friends, or talk to the locals and make some new ones! My favorite spot for this is Parque Duarte, that is located in the historical center and is one of the livelier nightlife spots.

Final thoughts

There were a lot of changes following covid, as far as I know these places are still open, and I think they are the best beer places in Santo Domingo. I focused on the local experience. There are, of course, many other beer places, but most of the imported beer is extremely expensive and other than a few cool beers from the US you will not find anything impressive that is worth the price. But the most important part, in Dominican Republic the drinking is social. So go out, socialize!