When the liquor cupboard is bare, head to one of Melbourne's late-night bottle shops
If you find yourself at a party in the wee hours with nary a bevvy in sight, run down to any one of these handy bottle-os that are conveniently open late to quench your thirst. Some are open until 10pm and 11pm, others until the witching hour and one is even open all day, every day.
Finding a bottle-o that is open after 9pm on a Sunday is a trick in itself. But thanks to McCoppins, we have two to rely on, and both are open daily until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 10pm on all other days.
This live music institution has a bottle-o that is open seven nights a week until midnight. You can also choose a bottle of wine to enjoy inside the venue and you won't be charged a corkage fee.
This inner-city liquor store stays open until the witching hour on the nights when it counts most: Friday and Saturday. Other nights they pack up shop by 11pm.
This family-friendly bistro and bar in St Kilda East also offers a drive-through bottle shop that's open until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The rest of the week it closes at a respectable 10pm.
City Wine Shop is often associated with fine wines, cheeses and European-inspired dishes, but little do people know that they also have a bottle shop that sells beers, spirits and wines. It's open seven days a week until 11pm.
Local fave Heartbreaker is known for being an excellent bar, but it also sells liquor. Their bottle shop is open until 11pm from Monday to Saturday.
A bar and bottle shop rolled into one, Carwyn Cellars is open until 11pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays so you'll never be without a drink in Melbourne's north. All other days these guys stay open until 10pm.
As the name suggests the Alps is a bar and bottle shop. But surprise, surprise they also sell beer for takeaway. The Alps is open until 11pm from Thursdays to Saturdays. On Mondays to Wednesdays, they shut at 10pm, and on Sundays at 9pm.
Right in the thick of the CBD, this traditional English-style pub and backpackers hostel caters to every ilk. Luckily they also have a takeaway bottle shop that's open daily until 3.30am.
Richmond’s Rising Sun Hotel will dole out take-home booze until 1am, seven nights a week.
Open daily until 3am, the Riversdale Hotel’s Thirsty Camels is an oasis for Melbourne’s late-night punters who are keen to kick on at home.
Beer, glorious beer! This fabulous beer hall offers a small seated bar with plenty of take-home options, too. They nail the beer memo, but also offer a selection of wine and spirits. Sunday to Thursday it's open until 11pm, but the rest of the week (Friday and Saturday) it kicks on until 1am.
The gang at the Railway Hotel knows its audience well. It supplies hordes of late-night Chapel Street revellers with party fuel at all manner of ungodly hours because it never closes.
Here is Melbourne viewed through the bottom of a glass: from its world-beating cocktail lounges to its down-and-divey saloons. These bars – organised by area and in no particular order – represent the pinnacle of Melbourne drinking.
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