Meet the sustainable superstars shaking up Melbourne's bar scene

This Carlton pub has the heart of a casual diner and the palate of a wine bar. The kitchen, led by Michelin-trained head chef, Richard Hayes, is focused on using the highest quality regional, sustainable and seasonal produce, buying direct from fishers and farmers where possible.

In 2018, the Lincoln installed brand new water taps, which are also used to carbonate their water for sparkling water on tap and dispense house wine by the keg. The initiative removed the need for over 7,500 single-use glass bottles, while also reducing their cardboard packaging and transportation costs. The public bar has about 12 craft beers on tap (which means less bottles and cheaper beer for the public).

Bar Thyme champions sustainability both in its relationships to producers and 'less-is-more' approach to using local and native ingredients. The drops at this charming Footscray wine bar are international, but all from producers who practise sustainability. There’s a focus on natural, minimal intervention and biodynamic wines, and there’s no by-the-glass menu, instead a selection of the best cracked open throughout the day. This also applies to the food on offer, which changes according to what’s in season and fresh from the market.

Fable is a Mediterranean cocktail bar set high in the Melbourne skyline. If there’s one thing that sticks out about this bar – aside from the 13-floors-up view of the city – it's the attention to detail. That attention extends to a sustainable focus on minimising waste, thanks to a plant-based approach to cocktail making. Drinks are designed to use minimal ice through pre-chilling, pre-batching and pre-dilution. Fable also uses aquafaba (the brine from canned chickpeas) to create foamy cocktails, eliminating the need for eggs and their environmental impact. Better yet, they have a sweet deal with Stalactites across the road, where they head over each week to collect excess aquafaba from the hummus made by the restaurant.