Bars
Experience Melbourne's eclectic spirit with a night out exploring the wonderful nightspots peppering the city's streets and laneways.
Go your own way
Up a flight of stairs, down a laneway, on a rooftop or in an orchestra pit, Melbourne sure knows how to hide a bar. You never know where the next great drinking spot is going to pop up, so let us help.
Tall tales and cocktails
Whether you're after a colourful cocktail with a million dollar view or a few quiet pots in a student dive, you're bound to find something that suits your mood and budget. Bar-hop like a local, dance to world class DJs, be baffled and challenged by installation art, or chow down on a late night snack, the city at night is awash with possibilities.
This dedicated jazz venue off Little Lonsdale is one of the pre-eminent sound dens in Melbourne. Bennetts Lane hosts 450 gigs a year in both the...
Read more | Show on map
Running two bars is hard work, so when the team behind Double Happiness and New Gold Mountain decided they needed a Sunday morning retreat they up...
Read more | Show on map
Cookie is billed as a beer hall - if that beer hall went to Paris and came back with Juliet balconies, French doors and a hipster record collection. ...
Read more | Show on map
This Smith Street eatery defies the notion that Asian restaurants should either be opulent rose-coloured affairs or slippery-tiled rooms with mirrors...
Read more | Show on map
Boasting a long list of locally brewed beers, rainwater-fuelled toilets and a purely vegetarian menu, Grumpy's Green leaves nary a carbon footprint...
Read more | Show on map
The trick at this hard-to-find bar is they've divided the space to represent East and West Berlin. The former is spartan and functional while the...
Read more | Show on map
Rock, bands, tattoos, filth, singlets, stubble, steak, beer, and delightful views of the St Kilda promenade are all to be found here. The...
Read more | Show on map
With a name like Biero, it's not surprising that this laneway bar's tipple of choice is beer. With over 100 amazing beer varieties available 'on...
Read more | Show on map
Named after the fellow who founded the suburb of Brunswick, this stylish bar is tucked away down the more interesting end of Lygon Street, amongst...
Read more | Show on map
Part bar, part cellar, part restaurant, St Jude's is Melbourne to a coiffured fringe. With a penchant for share plates, a walk-in wine room and a...
Read more | Show on map
Joe's Shoe Store is recycling with a twist. This bar deals in old world wines, rare beers and antipasti yet takes its name from the 'Australian and...
Read more | Show on map
If there was an award for winning awards Der Raum would romp it in. One of the most acclaimed bars in Australia, they even host 'cocktail...
Read more | Show on map
Those of us whose initial exposure to Japanese culture was through after-school television will enjoy returning to their roots at Robot. Fusing...
Read more | Show on map
A simple red door in a laneway is your first clue to this atmospheric two-storey bar, formerly a tailor's shop. Cocktail connoisseurs are spoilt for...
Read more | Show on map
Long Play's understated fit-out of Italian tiles and Venetian blinds makes it a refuge from both the bustle of St Georges Rd and the complexities of...
Read more | Show on map