*May 23 2023 update: It's World Burger Day this Sunday May 28! The Arbory team are using that as a great excuse to sling their famous burgs all day long for only $5 a pop. Pop in from 11:30am onwards on the day and get your burger and crinkle cut chips at this special price until they're sold out. Arbory's classic cheeseburger is a no-nonsense kind with tomato ketchup, mustard, American cheese and pickles (i.e. the kind that hits the spot). Mark your calendars and set your alarms, burger fiends. The below review was written in 2017 and some menu items may have changed since then.
This massive outdoor eatery and beer garden sandwiched between two Melbourne icons (the Yarra River and Flinders Street Station) stretches for 120 metres along the river bank and is officially Melbourne’s longest bar. They’ve got Espresso Martinis and Aperol Spritz on tap for quick-fire service so you can spend more time kicking back and less queueing, otherwise the juicy tang and fresh kick in the Tommy’s Watermelon Margarita is a just reward for your patience. Swap your rosé tinted glasses for the orange variety, specifically a bottle of the 2011 Pheasant Tears Katheti from the Georgian Republic.
Just when you thought your summertime tableau couldn’t get better, a cart of frozen boozy popsicles wheels by and you add a peach prosecco Bellini icypole to your tab. Bring on the heat wave, Melbourne: the Arbory has got this.
Melbourne bar and pub reviews
Looking for somewhere great to drink in Melbourne? Check out the latest reviews from our bar and pub critics
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This review was originally published in May 2013 and since has been updated to reflect any changes in operation.
Since 2011, the Last Jar has been flying under the radar as one of the best pubs in Melbourne. Sitting on an unassuming corner of North Melbourne, surrounded by nondescript commercial buildings, this could be mistaken for just another run-of-the-mill local. But the striking black-and-red exterior, reminiscent of a small-town European pub, gives a clue to the Irish heart that beats within. The pints you get here of Guinness or Kilkenny are among the very best in town: yeasty and sour-sweet rather than bitter and metallic. There’s also a good selection of imported and local craft suds by the bottle, and Cooper’s Pale on tap, so you don’t have to think too hard on a hot day. The warm interior is clean and simple, clad in dark wood and frosted glass, small framed photos the only adornment on the deep red walls. There’s also Irish traditional music on Sundays and their movie club showcases the likes of Veronica Guerin and The Crying Game on the last Thursday on the month. But the real draw here is the food. The menu is based on house-made seasonal ingredients and five-star creativity, while firmly rooted in Irish cooking traditions. With a pedigree that includes Michelin-starred restaurant the Commons in Dublin and Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus, head chef and co-owner Tim Sweeney is not here to mess around. Guinness Welsh Rabbit (rarebit) sees big slabs of dense and hearty hou
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This review was originally published in May 2016 and since has been updated to reflect any changes in operation.
Opposite Queen Victoria markets on Peel Street, the Drunken Poet is Melbourne’s cosiest little shebeen. These guys pour the freshest pint of Guinness in the land, Vegemite-rich with living yeast, and a cracker Kilkenny to boot. Behind the bar you’ll usually find one of our favourite publicans, Siobhan Dooley, who’ll remember your name a year later and always has a smile on. There’s no kitchen, but you can get a toastie or a pickled egg if Guinness isn’t enough to live on (as if).
As for all true Éireanns, music is the soul of the Drunken Poet, here four nights a week and always free. Regulars include Wine, Women and Whisky showcasing local female talent every Wednesday, and Irish traditional sessions on Fridays. It’s decorated with portraits of poets long dead but not forgotten: may we never forget the best little Irish pub this side of Galway.
It’s not very common (at least not in Melbourne) for a hotel bar to pop off but that’s exactly what happened to Curious, which opened at the W Melbourne in 2021.
Joining Adam D’Sylva’s Italian-leaning Lollo and Japanese fine diner Warabi, the subterraneancocktail lounge is in good company, but it’s managed to pull a much younger audience than itsneighours. All signs point to the music program as the primary culprit. On Wednesday through Saturday nights the space hosts a rotating lineup of DJs, both established and on the up, and the place packs out accordingly.
Earlier in the evening, however, there’s a calmer sensibility one would expect from a venue ofthis nature – hotel patrons grazing on cheese boards, office workers popping in for a knock-off. From our perspective, it’s in these quieter hours you can truly appreciate the bar’s best qualities – namely the cocktails, which are far more serious than their classifications (coffee, fashion, art) suggest.
If you think the first category’s limited to Espresso Martinis, think again. Like a spiced-up Irishcoffee, the South of the Border is served hot with a shot of mezcal and notes of hazelnut andchestnut, plus whipped cream. And the Counter-Coffee-Culture (the most expensive drink onthe menu at $30) is a spin on a Manhattan using Cherry and Coffee Infused Woodford ReserveRye.
There are plenty of light and fruity options too, all executed just as well even if their themedgarnishes are a bit on the nose. The Satine, a delicious bl
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This intimate, clubby space just off Russell Street glows with an amber hue as the low lighting bounces off the 500 or more whisky bottles that are stacked behind the bar, locked in the glass cabinet on the wall, or sitting on the tables of punters as they compare and chat over a glass of grain. Seating is mainly barstools and bar food is limited, so it’s perfect for pairs or small groups on the hunt for a pre- or post-dinner dram.
The bar is a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, an international club that seeks out and bottles its own whiskies – strictly single malt, strictly single cask – and then shares it with its members. Whisky and Alement acts like your best mate with a club subscription he can’t keep on top of and the bar offers the widest range of the Society’s limited-edition drops in the southern hemisphere that you can buy by the glass.
But if this is all sounding a bit pretentious, it’s not. This is a bar borne out of passion and one that wants to share the love of grain far and wide, not just to the whisky converts. So, if you order the blind tasting you will get an enthusiastic bartender plonk themselves onto a seat next to you and run you through each selection with knowledge and genuine excitement about what you have coming to you, from a peat-heavy Scottish masterpiece to a plucky upstart from Yackandandah. A chalkboard on the wall shouts out to the newest bottles on offer.
For the whisky-adjacent, they have a cocktail list with classics like a Whisky
A suburban bar that’s busy on a weeknight is always a good sign. It hints at reliable food, great wine and friendly service that keeps locals coming back for more. Essie is no exception. Huddled on Malvern’s Station Street strip, this heritage Victorian wine bar is also the perfect in-the-know-hideaway to flaunt to out-of-towners.
Inside, the feel is industrial-with-a-soul. Expect to be hit with an instant warmth thanks to the venue’s dark moody timbers, exposed brick walls, and glowy lighting. The fit out has been meticulously handcrafted and curated by the owner, Angus Brettingham-Moore, but nothing here feels laboured. Instead, settle in for a pretension-free, laid-back sesh.
Whether you’re cosying up on date night or adding to the already buzzing atmosphere with a group of mates, Essie has a space for every occasion no matter the season. Hang out on the leafy street during balmy summer nights for curbside dining, pull up next to the fire in winter, nurse a glass of red in the front room in autumn, or duck out to the courtyard for a pint under festoon lighting in spring.
The wine wall boasts over 200 bottles, making it a tempting siren for connoisseurs and rookies alike. Drops come predominantly from independent and minimal-intervention producers, and there’s a tipple from almost every continent, with a range of price tags to match. When asked if Essie has a wine specialty, Brettingham-Moore smilingly says, “everything.”
Service is friendly without being intrusive and
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If you turn up to Good Measure in the daytime you will see a studenty crowd quaffing down coffee and cheesecake while someone spins retro rock on the prominent turntable. This modest shopfront, sandwiched between the traditional Italian eateries on Lygon Street, is like an ’80s chardonnay inside: heavily wooded and going for big, bold flavours. Run by a team of mates, it’s a slashie that seems more confident in its daytime guise when it is turning out coffee and sandwiches but is a bit more hit-and-miss in the evenings when the cocktail shakers come out.
If you are going to offer a short, seasonal menu then every cocktail needs to hit the mark. Options like a Strawberry Cream Spritz or Bergamot White Russian sound exciting but an equally brave-sounding Choc Blood Orange Martini lacks the punch of either chocolate or orange or for that matter, alcohol. Similarly, a Mandarin Negroni Blanc also falls a bit flat and makes you yearn for the original. The housemade rhubarb lemonade has potential, but is lip-curlingly tart.
Things improve with the curated taps sitting behind the wooden bar. A wall full of ever-changing taps keeps the brew fans happy with craft offerings like Garage Project Peach Sour, Bellwoods Coffee stout and Stomping Ground’s Pale Ale. There is also a clever selection of wines from popular new styles like the Dirty Black Denim rose pét nat to creations from Melbourne Sake.
The place is busy day and night and the service is warm and friendly. The space was home t
There's not a lot going on in the Eastern Road pocket of South Melbourne: a few office buildings, quiet residential streets and scenic positioning near Albert Park Lake. Though there's a lot going on at Woodsyard, the little wine bar hidden amongst said quiet streets that draws locals, workers and visitors alike.
Conceptually, Woodsyard's a little local eatery. By day, it's more of an espresso bar, with coffee and a chalkboard doodled with varieties of gourmet sandwiches (think: roast chicken and salsa verde, stock-braised brisket with malt vinegar onions or porchetta with fennel fronds). By night, it's very much a wine bar, one that's serious about natural wine and produce-driven snacks.
The space itself is intimate and moody, with black walls and ceilings lit by Art Deco-style pendants. Natural, biodynamic and low-intervention wines line the shelves. On the tables are those makeshift candle holders that have been bistro lighting since time immemorial: old wine bottles with taper candles stuck in, the wax melted down to cover the bottles. It’s all pretty cool and cosy.
Woodsyard is the kind of place locals wander over to for a wine and then stay for the snacks and inevitably the pizzas. There’s a strong emphasis on skin contact wines here and one minute into chatting with co-owner Kris Wood (who opened Woodsyard with his brother Aaron just as the pandemic hit) and you’ll realise he’s serious about the offering, giving you the backstory to each bottle and helpfully guiding yo
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If the five and ten-kilometre lockdown radius rules taught us anything, it was to appreciate our local joints and be thankful for our neighbourhood staples. So we suspect that Port Melbourne residents are more thankful than ever to have a charming local cocktail bar to call their own - Clooney by XO.
Clooney by XO specialises in signature cocktails, and has a focus on gin and whisky, with a swoon-worthy, extensive spirit selection sitting pretty on a backlit bar. You feel immediately welcome at Clooney. The staff are attentive and accommodating, and seem genuinely enthusiastic to welcome each new guest into the space. While the velvet banquettes and chandeliers feel a little out of place, given the bar sits among a series of take out shops on an otherwise ordinary suburban street, if you take it with a grain of salt, Clooney by XO puts in a good effort to transport patrons to the golden age of sophisticated drinking.
The dark wooden bar is particularly aesthetically pleasing, cluttered with a selection of whiskycarafes filled with various golden liquids, and bottles of bitters that look like necessaryingredients for a magic potion. The plethora of perfectly placed bottles behind the bar hints at the fact that Clooney takes its drinks seriously.
The drinks menu is heavily focussed on the Clooney signature cocktails, with a limited selection of beers and wines available too. While the menu advises that most classiccocktails are available upon request, it is hard to go past tryi
The austere design of Above Board – with a simple wooden benchtop and all the alcohol hidden away in drawers in unmarked decanters – has bartender Hayden Lambert standing at the 12-seater bar like a blackjack dealer doling out drinks instead of cards. The difference here is that whatever you bet on from the short, thoughtful menu will be a winner. The precision with which Lambert designs the menu around the limited drawer space means that no drink is a gamble; all killer, no filler, if you will.
The backlit, mirrored cupboards give the place a futuristic atmosphere but there are some retro rippers on Hayden’s cocktail list. Celebrate the criminally underrated liqueur Midori in a Japanese Slipper with curaçao and just the right amount of lemon juice to balance the sweet melon flavour, or a Martini with just the added hint of orange bitters. The other half of the menu is dealer’s choice with Lambert’s own creations such as the Gentlemen Caller with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and gran classico, a rich and smoky number that is like a weathered leather briefcase in drink form. The Hot Minute riffs on a Margarita with tequila, lemon juice and bitters.
The end result of climbing the stairs to Above Board from the grafftitied Chopper Lane is you feel like you have dropped over to your mate’s place, if he was a cocktail prodigy with a penchant for Scandinavian design. Lambert is an attentive host whose bar skills are only rivalled by his dad jokes, the “bad banter” that is clearly te
The Palace remains one of the brightest jewels in the crown of Melbourne pubdom. On every scale one could judge a pub, these guys top the list. From beer, to sports, to food, to service, this unassuming little boozer has you covered.
First and foremost, the Palace is made for regulars. It has a community atmosphere that’s hard to find these days, as most pubs have become either sad old boozers or too bright and trendy. Not so here, where the crowd is diverse in age and employment, kids are welcome, and the big shady beer garden is proudly pooch positive.
But despite the fundamental lack of pretension here, the Palace is no slouch when it comes to quality. The simple pub meals are some of the best around – no-frills curries, parmas, pies and steaks that always hit the spot, plus the best Buffalo wings in town. Fifteen dollars will get you a different meal every day except Friday and Saturday. The rotating craft beer list is always engaging but never too challenging with local heroes like Wolf of the Willows XPA and Holgate Temptress, plus something dark and delicious on the hand pump, like an outstanding porter from Napoleon. They’re an official Good Beer Week venue, there’s always a fun brew-based event around the corner, too.
If you’re a sports fan, you’re in the right place. These guys are AFL obsessed, the walls adorned in footy memorabilia, and will play any game for you on one of multiple screens so you never miss a point. AFL not your thing? Fear not. You can try your h
The austere design of Above Board – with a simple wooden benchtop and all the alcohol hidden away in drawers in unmarked decanters – has bartender Hayden Lambert standing at the 12-seater bar like a blackjack dealer doling out drinks instead of cards. The difference here is that whatever you bet on from the short, thoughtful menu will be a winner. The precision with which Lambert designs the menu around the limited drawer space means that no drink is a gamble; all killer, no filler, if you will.
The backlit, mirrored cupboards give the place a futuristic atmosphere but there are some retro rippers on Hayden’s cocktail list. Celebrate the criminally underrated liqueur Midori in a Japanese Slipper with curaçao and just the right amount of lemon juice to balance the sweet melon flavour, or a Martini with just the added hint of orange bitters. The other half of the menu is dealer’s choice with Lambert’s own creations such as the Gentlemen Caller with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and gran classico, a rich and smoky number that is like a weathered leather briefcase in drink form. The Hot Minute riffs on a Margarita with tequila, lemon juice and bitters.
The end result of climbing the stairs to Above Board from the grafftitied Chopper Lane is you feel like you have dropped over to your mate’s place, if he was a cocktail prodigy with a penchant for Scandinavian design. Lambert is an attentive host whose bar skills are only rivalled by his dad jokes, the “bad banter” that is clearly te
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This review was written in 2019, please be aware that some elements may have changed since.
Melburnians never needed the succession of big international awards to know that the Black Pearl is where you go for a bloody good cocktail – though undoubtedly those accolades benefited the travellers who now flock to the bar as a checklist destination. Tash Conte’s family-run bar has been a beacon of excellence for decades, and they’re the place many of us learnt how to appreciate a fine drink.
Not content to sit pretty on tried-and-tested masterpieces, their list is always on the move, keeping step with moods and seasons. All summer they’ve been leaning into a tropical, fun-loving theme, taking the tacky cocktails you’d get at an all-inclusive resort and reimagining them into serious contenders. You won’t find many world-renowned cocktail bars serving up a frozen Cosmopolitan, but here they do, made with proper, locally crafted curaçao to give depth and fragrance to the good-times drink. It’s the same kind of pluck that sees them doing an inspired bourbon-and-banana number in the Lady Finger, with citrus, Earl Grey and falernum lifting then tempering their burly flavours for a refreshing tipple that defies logic.
A true legend is a magnanimous one, and in this regard the Black Pearl stands tall. The bar’s record for fostering talent is unmatched, with a litany of fresh faces turning into some of Australia’s best bartenders over the course of their time there. It’s made possible by
Wesley Place precinct is a time portal back to ye olden days, with preserved heritage buildings and conservation efforts paying tribute to an important historical moment in time for Melbourne. Nestled humbly within this precinct, behind the Wesley Church and beside a resilient olive tree with origins dating back further than 1875, is the Caretaker’s Cottage. It's now a bustling, albeit pint-sized public bar where you can feel part of Melbourne’s history, and its future, all at the same time.
While the outside of the cottage may say "Gothic Revival architecture", the inside says "intimate house party at your parents’ cool friend’s house". Stepping across the threshold, the D’Angelo record blasting through imposing speakers (from Tasmanian company Pitt & Giblin), built-in turntables and mixer behind the bar, and an envy-inducing vinyl collection make it clear that while the drinks comes first, music is a close second here. Just like any good house party really.
The drinks menu is strictly curated. Just three classic and three contemporary cocktails; a rotating Martini and Milk Punch (the latter an ode to its English pub inspirations); six varieties of wine by the glass; and a slightly larger selection of beers, with the Guinness on tap being a house favourite. That we need not spend an hour poring over the drinks menu, we are relieved.
Waitstaff and bartenders, clad in white aprons, well-informed and just the right level of friendly and attentive, are themselves a drawcard o
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Who could have guessed that in 2019 the Everleigh would only just be reaching the height of its powers? Eight years of brisk business and weighty awards, plus successful forays into bottling, books and even hand-cut ice have meant that its reign as king of the north has hardly been under threat. But for the ever-ambitious Michael and Zara Madrusan, nor has it been enough.
First, there was a big renovation. Then another. Where the Everleigh of yesteryear could at times feel a little removed, the Everleigh of today is breezy and generous, with plenty of seats at the bar, standing space for those passing through, and room for merrymaking groups. They even serve a formidable dinner now, with rustic Italian such as meatballs in chilli sugo and pillowy pesto ricotta gnocchi, although we still swoon hardest for inspired snacks like ‘boozy pickles’ and an achingly good ham and Gruyère melt with the zing of Worcestershire and whisky shallots.
When it comes to cocktails, the Everleigh forgoes puffed-up ingredient lists and fleeting fashions for perfectly executed traditional libations and modern classics. The flavours of a Mojito are reconfigured then shaken and strained into the Miami, with a potent mint liqueur jolting awake light rum and lime. And we can’t shake the memory of a Catavino, its light profile belying a rich trove of aromas from Amontillado sherry, Cocchi Americano and orange bitters. For a gamble that always pays dividends, put your chips on the bartender’s choice, th
This is among our very favourite pubs in the city, one of only four with a five-star rating in Melbourne, and better by far than anything this side of South Melbourne.
Tucked just off the unlikely corner of Carlisle and Balaclava, the Taphouse greets you with the comforting smell of heritage wood paneling. Warmly lit by tiny lamps ensconced in the walls, it feels like an old fashioned gentlemen's club that just happens to have one of the best craft beer lists in the city. As you head upstairs, the aroma of the wood fire on the rooftop terrace beckons, warming the space, which is packed even on one of the first truly cold nights of the year. From the upstairs bar you can order your pub meals, a winning selection of classics with some serious nosh thrown in like oysters, mussels in white wine, and a confit duck leg served in its own rich juices, every ounce of ducky deliciousness captured by the greens and swedes on which it lies. Hummus comes with minced lamb braised in earthy spices and chewy grilled pita, a highlight in our never-ending tour of Melbourne pub snacks.
This really is the house of taps, 20 of which pour a roster of delicious froth from all over the world. It's one of the easiest pubs to find something you want to drink, the offering always carefully balanced and covering the whole gamut of styles. Stouts and sours, saisons and session ales, Belgians and blondes, plus everything else your little beer-soaked heart could desire bubble forth. Tap takeovers, brewery
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This review was originally published in May 2013 and since has been updated to reflect any changes in operation.
Since 2011, the Last Jar has been flying under the radar as one of the best pubs in Melbourne. Sitting on an unassuming corner of North Melbourne, surrounded by nondescript commercial buildings, this could be mistaken for just another run-of-the-mill local. But the striking black-and-red exterior, reminiscent of a small-town European pub, gives a clue to the Irish heart that beats within. The pints you get here of Guinness or Kilkenny are among the very best in town: yeasty and sour-sweet rather than bitter and metallic. There’s also a good selection of imported and local craft suds by the bottle, and Cooper’s Pale on tap, so you don’t have to think too hard on a hot day. The warm interior is clean and simple, clad in dark wood and frosted glass, small framed photos the only adornment on the deep red walls. There’s also Irish traditional music on Sundays and their movie club showcases the likes of Veronica Guerin and The Crying Game on the last Thursday on the month. But the real draw here is the food. The menu is based on house-made seasonal ingredients and five-star creativity, while firmly rooted in Irish cooking traditions. With a pedigree that includes Michelin-starred restaurant the Commons in Dublin and Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus, head chef and co-owner Tim Sweeney is not here to mess around. Guinness Welsh Rabbit (rarebit) sees big slabs of dense and hearty hou
Part of Andrew McConnell’s Trader House group, the Builders Arms is one of the more low-key venues in the Melbourne-only collection. You might head further up Gertrude Street to Cutler and Co for a finer-dine date night, or to Marion for a wine-focused long lunch; the Cumulus twins in the CBD are otherwise perfect for a business bite.
But the front bar of the Builders Arms still feels like the neighbourhood boozer it has been since 1853. It retains the historic shoulder-height yellow tiles now teamed with a simple dark wood floor and Art Deco-inspired hanging globes. There may be less of the titular tradies propping up the bar these days but it’s a mixed crowd and the welcoming bar staff continue to pump out pots and schooners faster than a six o’clock swill. There is a strong craft beer bent now, so expect Sydney’s Young Henrys, local brew Hawkers and Pirate Life on the ample taps.
You can order counter meals to eat at the high bar tables, but the real action is in the attached bistro that has been through a few changes of its own over the years. Under McConnell it began as Moon Under Water, then came Ricky & Pinky’s modern Chinese. Now, its European-leaning menu exists in a simply dressed room with banquettes along one wall and minimalist old pub touches like mounted stag antlers on cream-coloured walls.
The bistro menu is ‘just’ pub food in the same way that truffles are ‘just’ fungus. These are pub classics by name but delivered with balance and finesse by McConnell’s te
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The doors to the best speakeasies act like magic portals, instantly transporting you to somewhere that seems a thousand miles from where you just stood. At Naught Distilling, one minute you’re in a near-deserted industrial park in Eltham – home to Naught’s gin distillery – and the next you are in a speakeasy-cum-tropical bar (troppospeak?) with nods to LA’s true hipsters bars like the Dresden Room, as popularised in Swingers.
The place is designed by Studio Y, a group that already has mid-century form kitting out Nick and Nora’s and Boilermaker House; it’s a riot of pressed-metal ceilings, velvet, bold wallpaper and pensive JH Lynch-inspired portraits. The stonework-fronted bar is long, langorous and designed for making new friends as you sit under a dried botanical creation suspended from the ceiling. The soundtrack is swing and jazz from the likes of King of Swing Louis Prima, there’s a mezzanine couples' hideaway and a wall of ample-sized booths for groups on the giggle water. The whole scene is watched over by Carl, the steampunk-looking gin still that cranks out Naught’s award-winning craft spirits.
Try some of Carl’s creations in a list of cocktails that celebrates some lost classics from the Prohibition era, like the Corpse Reviver No 2 and the Casino (sibling to the Aviation). There is also a page of G&Ts and a tasting flight where you can sample some of Naught’s more offbeat creations like the Sangiovese gin.
The real fun is in the pages of Smuggler’s Cove with twi
This intimate, clubby space just off Russell Street glows with an amber hue as the low lighting bounces off the 500 or more whisky bottles that are stacked behind the bar, locked in the glass cabinet on the wall, or sitting on the tables of punters as they compare and chat over a glass of grain. Seating is mainly barstools and bar food is limited, so it’s perfect for pairs or small groups on the hunt for a pre- or post-dinner dram.
The bar is a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, an international club that seeks out and bottles its own whiskies – strictly single malt, strictly single cask – and then shares it with its members. Whisky and Alement acts like your best mate with a club subscription he can’t keep on top of and the bar offers the widest range of the Society’s limited-edition drops in the southern hemisphere that you can buy by the glass.
But if this is all sounding a bit pretentious, it’s not. This is a bar borne out of passion and one that wants to share the love of grain far and wide, not just to the whisky converts. So, if you order the blind tasting you will get an enthusiastic bartender plonk themselves onto a seat next to you and run you through each selection with knowledge and genuine excitement about what you have coming to you, from a peat-heavy Scottish masterpiece to a plucky upstart from Yackandandah. A chalkboard on the wall shouts out to the newest bottles on offer.
For the whisky-adjacent, they have a cocktail list with classics like a Whisky
If you like cocktails, whisky, blues, good service and eating Reuben sandwiches at 2am, Beneath Driver Lane is your basement of dreams. Occupying an old bank vault in the CBD, this bar has a Harry Potter feeling that’s rare in a city whose subterranean spaces are sorely underused.
If you remember the defunct Nant Whisky Bar you’ll be familiar with the space, but the new guise feels much more lived-in. It’s a vision of rustic Victorian style: the brick arched booths, the walls cluttered with black and white photos, and the warm light from candles and low-hanging lamps feels more comfortable and complete than Nant ever did. John Lee Hooker grinds his twelve bar over the soundwaves, combining with the fit out and the sharp service to give this place a feeling that’s equal parts Melbourne, Chicago and Diagon Alley. Water bottles rest on vintage chrome serving trays, and drinks come on coasters of thick leather – the magic is in the details.
The folks behind the bar are all practised professionals; personable, knowledgeable and looking sharp in black chef coats. What they’re mixing up is pretty sharp, too. For a bit of wow factor, custom build your Martini in a delicate wine glass chilled with swirling liquid nitrogen. Or get tropical with the deliciously sweet and complex Storm Master dominated by guava but with a refreshing sour finish.
The floral sweetness of a cucumber and lavender Old Fashioned is a bit cloying without the balance of acid or significant bitterness, and an ot
Nobody would be shocked to hear that the cocktails at Bar Margaux are good. The CBD basement bar has excellent DNA, with a lineage that includes trophy-laden cocktail saloon the Everleigh and dive bar-esque Heartbreaker, where the booze quality is equal to the late-night debauchery. What is perhaps more surprising is that the cocktails at Michael and Zara Madrusan’s third bar are only one part of a very smart equation that, in true Melbourne style, thoroughly and successfully blurs the lines between bar and restaurant.
A Melbourne take on a New York version of a Parisian bistro, Bar Margaux ticks all the right design tropes – chequerboard floor, shiny white subway tiles, booths, wired glass dividers, golden back bar lighting – and deftly assembles them so that the space sidesteps cliché and becomes very much right place, right time. Michael Madrusan’s time tending bar in New York was well spent, given how intrinsically he understands the kind of spaces a late-night joint like this needs – privacy in shadowy booths down one end, room for display around the bar.
There’s also been serious thought put into the food. Like the fitout, the menu is a roll call of classics, offering the kind of French bistro dishes you’d expect in a place that looks like this. What you might not expect in a watering hole where the kitchen’s open until 3am (and beyond on weekends) is that you’re going to get such a good French onion soup or credible steak frites or such a ridiculously rich lobster croq
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It’s not very common (at least not in Melbourne) for a hotel bar to pop off but that’s exactly what happened to Curious, which opened at the W Melbourne in 2021.
Joining Adam D’Sylva’s Italian-leaning Lollo and Japanese fine diner Warabi, the subterraneancocktail lounge is in good company, but it’s managed to pull a much younger audience than itsneighours. All signs point to the music program as the primary culprit. On Wednesday through Saturday nights the space hosts a rotating lineup of DJs, both established and on the up, and the place packs out accordingly.
Earlier in the evening, however, there’s a calmer sensibility one would expect from a venue ofthis nature – hotel patrons grazing on cheese boards, office workers popping in for a knock-off. From our perspective, it’s in these quieter hours you can truly appreciate the bar’s best qualities – namely the cocktails, which are far more serious than their classifications (coffee, fashion, art) suggest.
If you think the first category’s limited to Espresso Martinis, think again. Like a spiced-up Irishcoffee, the South of the Border is served hot with a shot of mezcal and notes of hazelnut andchestnut, plus whipped cream. And the Counter-Coffee-Culture (the most expensive drink onthe menu at $30) is a spin on a Manhattan using Cherry and Coffee Infused Woodford ReserveRye.
There are plenty of light and fruity options too, all executed just as well even if their themedgarnishes are a bit on the nose. The Satine, a delicious bl
Put it down to the bartenders in waistcoats sharp enough to cut a lime or the magician’s library vibe of the low-light, booths and dark wood, but Eau de Vie is one of the few Melbourne bars that has the gravitas to serve you a drink in a hollowed out bull’s horn with a straight face. The Banderillero is tequila, chorizo mescal, pineapple vinegar, Aperol, lime and bitters served in said horn and is an example of the unashamed theatrical flair on show here.
All around you tables will be served drinks that are flaming, smoking or in a glass shoe but, as flamboyant as the drinks are, they are always brilliantly balanced and perfectly made by the well-trained staff. Even the grandiloquent menu is fun, beautifully illustrated, playfully written and sorted with a visual flavour key to help you find what you love; take your time to sort through one of the most original menus around.
You’ll need even more time if you are thinking of taking on the whisky trophy cabinet behind the bar or the even larger collection of rare drops that is hidden in the whisky room behind a fake bookcase. Ask the knowledgeable staff to run you through the options one of the great joys of Eau de Vie is the slick service and the care that is shown in pairing the right drink with the right drinker.
Food sticks to the Prohibition-era theme with classic munchies like freshly shucked oysters, a charcuterie plate with pickles, Dijon mustard and a baguette or salmon cured and Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin caviar
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The city’s oldest pub has a secret. Loch and Key is hidden up a rickety staircase, behind a bookcase in the Captain Melville bar. It’s a handsome space of rich timbers, mounted deer heads and a broad deck lined with salvaged coffee tables, a beaten peacock-blue sofa and deep wooden banquettes. A blackboard menu lists the seasonal special, perhaps a citrusy, smoky blend of mezcal, Solerno and blood orange juice. But if that doesn’t grab you, leave your drink in the hands of the supremely capable bar staff, who'll ask you what you're craving and pour something appropriate, be that an Americano or a craft beer.
Loch and Key is best known as a late-night reveller, when the couch-filled warren of rooms come to life, but its early evening appeal shouldn't be ignored, as the setting sun filters onto the balcony and the electronica makes way for ’70s funk.
The Palace remains one of the brightest jewels in the crown of Melbourne pubdom. On every scale one could judge a pub, these guys top the list. From beer, to sports, to food, to service, this unassuming little boozer has you covered.
First and foremost, the Palace is made for regulars. It has a community atmosphere that’s hard to find these days, as most pubs have become either sad old boozers or too bright and trendy. Not so here, where the crowd is diverse in age and employment, kids are welcome, and the big shady beer garden is proudly pooch positive.
But despite the fundamental lack of pretension here, the Palace is no slouch when it comes to quality. The simple pub meals are some of the best around – no-frills curries, parmas, pies and steaks that always hit the spot, plus the best Buffalo wings in town. Fifteen dollars will get you a different meal every day except Friday and Saturday. The rotating craft beer list is always engaging but never too challenging with local heroes like Wolf of the Willows XPA and Holgate Temptress, plus something dark and delicious on the hand pump, like an outstanding porter from Napoleon. They’re an official Good Beer Week venue, there’s always a fun brew-based event around the corner, too.
If you’re a sports fan, you’re in the right place. These guys are AFL obsessed, the walls adorned in footy memorabilia, and will play any game for you on one of multiple screens so you never miss a point. AFL not your thing? Fear not. You can try your h
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Just off Johnston Street within the Collingwood Yards precinct, Hope St Radio is serving simple eats, great wines, but more importantly, it's serving a community. A beret-and-beanie clad community of creative types, emerging artists and electronic music enthusiasts. Now the permanent home of a long-loved community radio station, Hope St Radio is the ultimate neighbourhood hangout where the plentiful pet nats and pastas and lighthearted atmosphere convince even the most uptight among us to leave our worries at the door and enjoy the pleasures of the present moment.
Colourful festoon lights strung between trees, hordes of rugged-up friends gathered around open firepits and thumping music in the courtyard out front hint more towards a music festival than a restaurant. The impression persist as you enter the venue, with the DJ station taking up the prime real estate of the space. Playful, childlike crayon drawings cover the walls. Low-hung light fittings imbue the otherwise slightly chaotic space with a serene orange hue; this golden light echoed in the countless glasses of orange wines being enjoyed across the restaurant.
A glass of the Momento Mori ‘Hope St Rodeo’ Lagrein from Gippsland, ordered from a tracksuit-clad waiter, goes down particularly well on a cold and miserable Thursday evening, as we play catch-up to those around us clearly a few stops ahead of us on the wine train. Collaborations, such as this one with a local Victorian winemaker, seem to be at the heart of H
This review was written in 2019, please be aware that some elements may have changed since.
Melburnians never needed the succession of big international awards to know that the Black Pearl is where you go for a bloody good cocktail – though undoubtedly those accolades benefited the travellers who now flock to the bar as a checklist destination. Tash Conte’s family-run bar has been a beacon of excellence for decades, and they’re the place many of us learnt how to appreciate a fine drink.
Not content to sit pretty on tried-and-tested masterpieces, their list is always on the move, keeping step with moods and seasons. All summer they’ve been leaning into a tropical, fun-loving theme, taking the tacky cocktails you’d get at an all-inclusive resort and reimagining them into serious contenders. You won’t find many world-renowned cocktail bars serving up a frozen Cosmopolitan, but here they do, made with proper, locally crafted curaçao to give depth and fragrance to the good-times drink. It’s the same kind of pluck that sees them doing an inspired bourbon-and-banana number in the Lady Finger, with citrus, Earl Grey and falernum lifting then tempering their burly flavours for a refreshing tipple that defies logic.
A true legend is a magnanimous one, and in this regard the Black Pearl stands tall. The bar’s record for fostering talent is unmatched, with a litany of fresh faces turning into some of Australia’s best bartenders over the course of their time there. It’s made possible by
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The austere design of Above Board – with a simple wooden benchtop and all the alcohol hidden away in drawers in unmarked decanters – has bartender Hayden Lambert standing at the 12-seater bar like a blackjack dealer doling out drinks instead of cards. The difference here is that whatever you bet on from the short, thoughtful menu will be a winner. The precision with which Lambert designs the menu around the limited drawer space means that no drink is a gamble; all killer, no filler, if you will.
The backlit, mirrored cupboards give the place a futuristic atmosphere but there are some retro rippers on Hayden’s cocktail list. Celebrate the criminally underrated liqueur Midori in a Japanese Slipper with curaçao and just the right amount of lemon juice to balance the sweet melon flavour, or a Martini with just the added hint of orange bitters. The other half of the menu is dealer’s choice with Lambert’s own creations such as the Gentlemen Caller with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and gran classico, a rich and smoky number that is like a weathered leather briefcase in drink form. The Hot Minute riffs on a Margarita with tequila, lemon juice and bitters.
The end result of climbing the stairs to Above Board from the grafftitied Chopper Lane is you feel like you have dropped over to your mate’s place, if he was a cocktail prodigy with a penchant for Scandinavian design. Lambert is an attentive host whose bar skills are only rivalled by his dad jokes, the “bad banter” that is clearly te
For the uninitiated, walking into a tiny sandwich shop and yanking open their refrigerator door seems rude, but that’s how you get to the rum cocktail bar out the back. Popping into Jungle Boy (out back of Boston Sub) for a drink is not unlike stepping through a portal that takes you from bustling Windsor to a little pocket of the tropics.
Here you can perch up at the bar with a Hemingway Spritz, the long, cool, love child of a grapefruit and maraschino Daiquiri and Italy’s beloved afternoon refresher. Or go for something brighter and punchier, like the B Bizzle Swizzle that packs rum, lime, falernum and nutmeg in with a whole lot of ice to prop you up and cool you out.
The snack menu of sandwiches or poutine doesn’t exactly “go” with the theme, but there’s never a bad time or place for chips, gravy and cheese, so have at them. They do it all in the name of a good time here.
The austere design of Above Board – with a simple wooden benchtop and all the alcohol hidden away in drawers in unmarked decanters – has bartender Hayden Lambert standing at the 12-seater bar like a blackjack dealer doling out drinks instead of cards. The difference here is that whatever you bet on from the short, thoughtful menu will be a winner. The precision with which Lambert designs the menu around the limited drawer space means that no drink is a gamble; all killer, no filler, if you will.
The backlit, mirrored cupboards give the place a futuristic atmosphere but there are some retro rippers on Hayden’s cocktail list. Celebrate the criminally underrated liqueur Midori in a Japanese Slipper with curaçao and just the right amount of lemon juice to balance the sweet melon flavour, or a Martini with just the added hint of orange bitters. The other half of the menu is dealer’s choice with Lambert’s own creations such as the Gentlemen Caller with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and gran classico, a rich and smoky number that is like a weathered leather briefcase in drink form. The Hot Minute riffs on a Margarita with tequila, lemon juice and bitters.
The end result of climbing the stairs to Above Board from the grafftitied Chopper Lane is you feel like you have dropped over to your mate’s place, if he was a cocktail prodigy with a penchant for Scandinavian design. Lambert is an attentive host whose bar skills are only rivalled by his dad jokes, the “bad banter” that is clearly te
You are in danger of feeling too comfortable at Amarillo, the low-lit, mid-century-styled wine bar and café on Brunswick Street. Once you sink into those rump-cupping swivel chairs in the front window you might start thinking about taking off your shoes while you sip that Minius Godello, a Spanish white that tastes like ripe melon and lemon drops and is one of their best sellers.
We certainly aren’t the only ones treating this bar like a second home. On a Sunday night someone has booked a birthday dinner for ten, only to have 24 people to show up. The staff just tacked more chairs onto the snaking group table and went out the back to break it to the chef.
Imagine if someone took a little European café and Marie Kondo’ed the hell out of it, paring it right back to tall white walls, blond timbers, flatteringly low lighting, a few choice art works and a shining Simonelli coffee machine on the bar. That’s the vibe here.
The wine list reads like an 18 year-old’s gap year hit list with most of central and western Europe getting a look in, plus a whole lot of Victorian drops leading the local charge. But we can’t help but live a summer holiday fantasy through a smashable Sicilian (Ciello Bianco Catarratto) with just a hint of soapy grip to it.
The menu definitely has Spanish sensibilities to it, with plump mussels served on the half shell and doused in a tomato sauce punctuated with rich, porky sobrasada pieces. It’s less surf-and-turf than paddock-and-estuary, with a whole lot of
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Brunswick’s finally got a real cocktail bar. You may not know about it yet – it’s brand new. But chances are you’ve been here before. Amelia Shaw occupies the upper floor of Brunswick pub legend the Retreat, and this high-falutin' lady is just as elegant and sophisticated as her nether regions are beer stained and rowdy. Like a bonnet, on a bogan.
Powerhouse can shakers Lou Dare (New Gold Mountain, the Alchemist) and American muso Elizabeth Barker, are dividing their time here between making cocktails and vigorously stoking the three fires that grace Amelia’s art deco rooms.
The fitout is incredible, masterminded by designer Danielle Brustman who’s pulled together an artist's trove of treasures. Check out the cubic chandelier of pearlescent glass boxes from a Japanese casino, and the lush, red, round pool table. Make sure you cop an eyeful of the goodies inside Gonzalo Varela’s circus-style peep show too. These centrepieces, along with wicker chairs, and bushels of peacock feathers are all posed against the elegant bones of the Victorian rooms. Painted in reds, or large geometric murals it’s Bauhaus meets parlour party, and it’s all glam as hell.
The drinks, meanwhile, are all Australian. On the rail is Tromba tequila, West Winds gin, Tassie vodka 666, and as many Australian infused liqueurs as they could get their mitts on. The result is a cocktail list of classics with a Dame Edna accent. Settle by the hearth with a Qantas, (their Aviation) with a violet liqueur from Tambou
Añada is Spanish for ‘year’s harvest’, an apt choice of name for a restaurant with a commitment to seasonal ingredients and a constantly shifting menu.
Established by a pair of Australian Hispanophiles, previously of London’s River Café and Melbourne’s much-loved Movida, this diminutive, warmly lit venue serves Spanish-style tapas and raciones without slavishly imitating ‘traditional’ Spanish cuisine.
Añada hold two dinner sittings per evening, at 6 and 8pm, and boasts a row of comfortable leather barstools for those only looking for a quick bite or a drink. Parties of eight or more are confined to a set menu, at $50 for a generous nine courses or $65 for an extravagant 12.
The kitchen has no difficulty catering to special diets – ours was a particularly awkward party of two omnivores, two vegetarians, two pescatarians and one vegan, and all of us dined like obnoxious Saudi princelings.
Highlights include natural oysters with lemon; fried eggplant with sour cream and slivers of very hot chilli; green tomato gazpacho with cucumber and green onion; whole mackerel wrapped in vine leaves; and sweet, tender mushrooms fried in ghee.
The very large sherry list is exclusively Spanish, while almost every wine, beer and liqueur offering is either Spanish or Australian.
The service is excellent: waitstaff are both observant and knowledgeable and the restaurant abounds in thoughtful, un-showy little touches, from the tiny pots of black salt on the tables to the fresh flowers in the toile
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Angel Music Bar is the meeting of two very different minds. In one corner, you have Con Christopoulos, the powerhouse restaurateur with City Wine Shop, The European, Syracuse, Neapoli, Spring Street Grocer, Kirk’s, Kirk’s Wine Bar, French Saloon and Butchers Diner under his belt. In the other, you have Georgina O’Connor, one of Melbourne’s best-dressed, Gen-Y artist types, who is the ultimate cool girl. On paper, it is an odd pairing, but together, they’ve brought the sometimes low-key, always pumping Angel Music Bar to the CBD where the old Korova Milk Bar used to be.
Music is front and centre, with a collection of records pumping out of Funktion One speakers specifically installed to fill the room with one of the most enjoyable soundtracks we’ve come across in a bar. We visit on a Tuesday, where it is unofficially Jazz Night, and Angel Music Bar’s definition of jazz is pretty loose. The speakers drip with John Coltrane, Susan Wong, Esther Phillips and Ute Lemper with scatterings of David Bowie and the newly released Tarantino playlist while the laid-back, midriff-baring bartender, who is the very embodiment of contradictory cool, is mixing a Martini while admitting that she is a teetotaller. Gotcha. So how does a Martini by a non-drinker taste? Not wet as requested and a little over diluted, but it does the trick. At $20 a cocktail, it isn’t the worst version of a Martini we have received, so colour us stunned.
Wines and fortifieds get a bit more consideration, as they’re
*May 23 2023 update: It's World Burger Day this Sunday May 28! The Arbory team are using that as a great excuse to sling their famous burgs all day long for only $5 a pop. Pop in from 11:30am onwards on the day and get your burger and crinkle cut chips at this special price until they're sold out. Arbory's classic cheeseburger is a no-nonsense kind with tomato ketchup, mustard, American cheese and pickles (i.e. the kind that hits the spot). Mark your calendars and set your alarms, burger fiends. The below review was written in 2017 and some menu items may have changed since then.
This massive outdoor eatery and beer garden sandwiched between two Melbourne icons (the Yarra River and Flinders Street Station) stretches for 120 metres along the river bank and is officially Melbourne’s longest bar. They’ve got Espresso Martinis and Aperol Spritz on tap for quick-fire service so you can spend more time kicking back and less queueing, otherwise the juicy tang and fresh kick in the Tommy’s Watermelon Margarita is a just reward for your patience. Swap your rosé tinted glasses for the orange variety, specifically a bottle of the 2011 Pheasant Tears Katheti from the Georgian Republic.
Just when you thought your summertime tableau couldn’t get better, a cart of frozen boozy popsicles wheels by and you add a peach prosecco Bellini icypole to your tab. Bring on the heat wave, Melbourne: the Arbory has got this.
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Beat a path through the hungry taco fans at Fonda (Windsor edition) to the staircase at the back. At the top you’ll find Atico: a bright, breezy bar that puts the chilli on this crazily busy eatery’s enchilada. A lot of punters wind up getting corralled in here for pre-dinner Pacifico beers, but it works as a stand-alone bar. You’re looking down the barrel of a whole lot of fruit-driven drinks in jars that wouldn’t look out of place on a beach. A Spanked Basil Gin Smash is a tall glass of citrusy freshness. Go for a Mexicano of tequila, red vermouth and Campari served straight if you’re after something a little more red blooded. They also do a roaring trade in grapefruit, tequila and Aperol slushies if you really want to channel Cancun. The space is set up for leaning and lounging. There’s a scattering of low, candlelit tables and the room is bordered by benches stacked with bright cushions. If it gets busy, drag some down and make a nest on the floor. Hit the deck if you like late afternoon sun or smoking. The menu is just meant as a warm-up for downstairs, but you could always order up some guacamole, rock ling croquettes and dishes of fried potatoes with spicy aioli and build yourself a little Mexi-tapas meal.
As the name suggests, Brunswick’s Atticus Finch is a bar of the literary persuasion. Directly opposite the Alderman, it’s a deep, dimly lit venue that combines modern comfort with old-fashioned eccentricity. Scattered with old books and housing a collection of rustic ephemera including paraffin lamps, pinned insects and a handsome stuffed pheasant, it feels a little like the hunting lodge of a well read country gentleman.
Contradicting that impression however is a full set of decks, a record collection that ranges from bluegrass and modern folk to Grace Jones and Daft Punk, and a Storm Trooper helmet displayed like a prized artefact behind the bar.
Large, comfortable leather booths that seat up to six occupy the front of the bar, with more formal seating to the rear. There’s a sweet garden, and a small shed containing a free pool table at the very back.
Returning for the moment to matters literary and libational: the cocktails, which you’d be well advised to try, include the Catcher in the Rye, the De Balzac and the gentle Rose of Carringford. An impressive whisky list is prefaced with the tale of the SS Politician – the sinking of which inspired the book Whisky Galore! Sixteen bucks buys a ‘whisky flight’, a tasting selection of half-shots of any three whiskies.
There are wines from all over Europe and Australasia, and a large selection of bottled beers organised by type, including lagers and pilsners, English real and Belgian ales. The tap beer selection changes regularly,
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The exterior of this Hawthorn East mainstay has a commanding, fortress-like presence along the skyline as you approach via its namesake road. Inside the Auburn, however, you’re greeted with a pristine warmth akin to an upmarket country pub. Big screens populate most walls, with bar staff more than happy to accommodate requests for background music to be subdued in favour of blaring commentary.
The elegance of the connecting wine room permeates a touch of class into the front bar, carried over into the immaculately presented, astro-turf-lined beer garden. Both the bar menu and the tap beer range feel as if they’re the cream of the current crop. Longstanding champion Asahi neighbours the crisp, trendy Geelong ale Furphy occupying the row of taps along with Little Creatures Bright Ale and Boags Draught.
Iberian chorizo shares menu space with chicken wings in a tamarind sauce. To use the football term du jour, the bar menu has depth. The best gameplan is to bring a crew and share snack options. Proudly operating since 1888 (with a stint as the Geebung Polo Club), the Auburn pulls off a classy demeanor while never feeling anything short of a welcoming to sports fans.
The flowy linen smocks in muted tones for sale at the shops of Armadale’s main drag want to seem casual, but there’s a self-consciousness to their boutique-ness. Not so at Auterra, where excellence is charmingly unassuming. Here, easy going neo soul plays and light streams in from the heritage shop windows over a beautiful but unfussy room in tones of white and deep red with accents of copper. It’s an inviting space, made more so by the warm greeting of the staff.
A glass of orange wine from ARC in Gippsland is recommended with a side of engaging conversation from our young but savvy server, and it’s just the thing to kick off on a sunny Saturday arvo - all soft peach skin, grapefruit pith grip and bright acidity without tipping over into kombucha funk. It goes great with the lighter seafood options on the snack menu, all super reasonably priced and probably reason #1 among many to settle in here.
The food is designed with wine in mind, and with some real imagination. Ranging from the Instagramable (fancy hot dog) to the high concept (cured bass grouper with hemp seed, quark and burnt citrus), there’s some serious skill and creativity on display, all infused with a sense of fun. If you’re worried it sounds too serious, the unpretentious service and the “F*ck it, we’re all in” feed-me option should prove that it’s more about sharing the quality than putting it on a pedestal.
A bite of steamed scallop with bonito hollandaise is a surprisingly light harmony of savoury, sal
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Melbourne's bar scene continues to be the envy of the nation, and our late-night credentials only get stronger with every new opening. Here is Melbourne viewed through the bottom of a glass: from its world-beating cocktail lounges to its down-and-divey saloons.
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