Bars & Pubs
Navigating Melbourne's best bars, pubs, breweries and drinking holes
Time Out Bar Awards 2019: Winners
Melbourne's expectations on how good a bar snack can be just keep getting raised and met, and we're pushing the clock back further and further in this proudly 24-hour city. Our appetite for firewater has meant that no bar is complete without the inviting amber glow of a whisky collection front and centre. And our enthusiasm for a stiff drink has led us to challenge the weather gods with even more rooftop bars. Let's raise a glass to this incredible city, the ace bartenders who make us feel welcome and the drinks that keep us coming back time again. It's what makes Melbourne the nation's most fun place to be after dark. And now, it gives us great pleasure to present the 2019 Bar Award winners...Time Out thanks Urban Alley, Malibu, Perrier, Winterhalter and Waterford for making these awards possible. Brought to you by Powered by Eventbrite
The 50 best pubs in Melbourne
Pubs are as integral to Melbourne as trams and coffee – a supporting beam in the architecture of our great city, and one from which to hang other fundamentals of our character like music, food and footy. The pubs below are the ones that stand out as supporters of that culture. Some of them have been named among Melbourne's best live music pubs or best pubs to watch the AFL, too. We hope you have as much fun exploring Melbourne's pub scene as we do. Bottoms up!
Where to drink right now
The best hot cocktails in Melbourne you need to drink this winter
Staying warm with a drink isn't all about mulled wines and ciders. Switch it up with these hot cocktails to up your drinking game in the colder months. Stay cosy by drinking next to a fireplace and keep yourself occupied with some of our favourite rainy-day activities.
The best late-night bars in Melbourne
Just because it's the small hours and you're up for a drink, it doesn't mean you want to be yelling over the music in a nightclub. Thankfully, there's plenty of places in Melbourne to enjoy a quiet(ish) beverage until sunrise – and with the 24-hour public transport network operating on weekends, it's easier than ever to get home. For more nocturnal fun, check out our guide to late-night bottle shops and late-night dining.
The best bars for drinking alone in Melbourne
Look, we're not here to judge. Maybe you just want to treat yourself to a little alone time and a good bottle of wine, or maybe you've clocked off early and need to kill some time before meeting up with friends. Maybe you're freelancing and coffee just isn't going to cut it any longer (oh yeah, we've been there). Whatever the reason, here's where to get a cheeky bevvy on your own in Melbourne. For more ideas, check out our guides to Melbourne's best wine bars, cocktail bars and hidden bars.
The best bars in Melbourne
The best whisky bars in Melbourne
Whisky (or whiskey, if you prefer the American varietals) isn't just for hardcore drinkers with stomachs of steel. There are so many types of whiskies – from dark smokey drams to smoother malts – that all a drinker needs to do is find one that suits their individual palate. One of the fastest ways to do this is to find a bar with staff who know how to make a great recommendation. Still thirsty? Here are Melbourne's 50 best bars and the best places to drink a decent cocktail.
The best laneway bars in Melbourne
It's pretty safe to say that the more difficult a Melbourne bar is to locate, the better it is (once you're finally in there). Knowing where to find drinking institutions like EDV and Lily Blacks is pretty much a prerequisite for all cocktail-loving locals. For an even closer look into the city's bar culture, browse our guides to Melbourne's best wine bars, whisky bars and cocktail bars.
Choose your favourite drink
Melbourne's drinking hotspots
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Time Out Food Awards
Forks at the ready, Melbourne: the Time Out Food Awards are returning. At the George on Collins on Monday September 2, Time Out readers will join the stars of the local restaurant industry to celebrate the city’s best restaurants, cafés and chefs. Expect delicious canapés, Bisleri Sparkling and Still Water, refreshing ales from Gage Roads, and wine and spirits. MasterChef season ten fan favourite Khanh Ong will be your host, announcing winners in categories such as Best Cheap Eat, Chef of the Year and the coveted Restaurant of the Year award. There will also be a new People’s Choice Award celebrating signature eats worth searching for, in partnership with Google. Make sure you read our guide to unique eats in Melbourne, try them all, and get voting for your fave. Tickets ($55 + BF) go on sale from August 1 and will sell quickly, so mark your diary, save the date, spread the word and snap your eating adventures using the handle #foundongoogle. These awards are made possible thanks to our sponsors Google, Gage Roads Brewing and Bisleri. // var exampleCallback = function() { console.log('Order complete!'); }; window.EBWidgets.createWidget({ // Required widgetType: 'checkout', eventId: '64954843686', iframeContainerId: 'eventbrite-widget-container-64954843686', // Optional iframeContainerHeight: 425, // Widget height in pixels. Defaults to a minimum of 425px if not provided
Vote for unique eats in Time Out’s Food Awards
By Time Out in partnership with Google For the Time Out Food Awards 2019, we are partnering with Google to discover unique dishes in our neighbourhoods. We searched far and wide to find some awesome local heroes doing great things worth searching for. The People’s Choice: Signature Searches award invites Time Out readers to discover and try these amazing eats, with the chance to win tickets to the big Time Out Food Awards event in September and more. Here’s what involved. Step one: Read all about Google Signature Searches here. Step two: Try them! Step three: Vote for your favourite and have your say, tagging #foundongoogle Vote now Further event details can be found here. In association with
Land Rover Secret Rooftop Drive Experience
How about some executive stress relief in the middle of Melbourne city? We’re talking an exhilarating rooftop obstacle course, and a brand new Range Rover Evoque to test your driving skills on. It’s the ultimate city buzz for motoring fans, and it’s free. The Secret Rooftop Drive Experience is on top of the Golden Square Carpark for four days only, from Thursday August 29 through to Sunday September 1. Upon arrival behind the yellow door, grab a coffee from the barista, lounge in the social hangout, admire the skyline views and prepare yourself for one hell of a ride. The 15-minute driving experience will take you around a circuit featuring ramps, obstacles, props, projections and artist-painted murals. You’ll be test driving the new Range Rover Evoque – the compact SUV that has a coupé-like silhouette but all the features of an SUV. It’s a hi-tech four-wheel drive with a clean, pared-back design, on- and off-road handling and intuitive technologies. Those technologies include sensors for emergency automatic braking, lane keep assist if you drift out of your lane, front and rear parking assist with audio and graphics, and rear camera for reversing. Boasting retracting door handles and nine-speed automatic transmission, the vehicle has interactive driver display with two high-definition ten-inch touch screens showing driving information, entertainment and active safety data, plus navigation with live traffic updates. There’s phone, music, radio, podcasts and vehicle-optim
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Australian Realness
Zoey Dawson has been one of the most popular playwrights working in Melbourne’s independent theatre scene for the last few years, but this new play marks her mainstage debut. It's a comedy about class in which the cast shine twice; playing two different characters – one bourgeois, one bogan. The cast features Linda Cropper (aka Geraldine from Offspring) alongside André de Vanny, Emily Goddard, Chanella Macri and Greg Stone. Malthouse's artistic director Matthew Lutton says the play starts out as a very recognisable satire but then questions the tropes of Australian class comedy. “It’s sort of looking at the way that class is weaponised, used politically, and asking if it’s an economic definition, a cultural definition; or if any of the definitions are true anymore – or if they’re all porous and constantly changing.” See what else is in Malthouse's 2019 season.