The best cocktail bars in Melbourne

Hayden Lambert is a former Time Out Bartender of the Year for his tenure at the sorely missed Bar Americano. He must have gotten used to close quarters at Presgrave Place, because his current digs are almost as compact. His bar is a command centre at the heart of a tiny room, with only a handful of seats facing Lambert as he dispenses drinks that put the art back into artisanal. 

The Black Pearl formula is simple: great cocktails, good chat and a classy, understated atmosphere that welcomes all types. It’s a treasured pocket on Brunswick Street where Melburnians can delight in a taste of some of the most sophisticated drinks born of global and historical cocktail culture, crafted by a bar team unmatched in their knowledge and commitment to perfection. As a result, the team have won reams of various accolades over the years. The liquor masters here are up for any challenge; dream up an obscure cocktail recipe and their rendition will surely impress.

On a Wednesday night, the Wesley Place precinct is anything but quiet. After dark, what should be a corporate ghost town transforms into one of the city's most coveted spots for a world-class cocktail. Caretakers Cottage, "probably" Victoria's smallest bar, has built a reputation that looms large. Being crowned one of the globe's finest in the World's 50 Best Bars list is just the tip of the highball iceberg when it comes to accolades under its belt.

Moondrop is a new drinking den from the team behind cult fave Carlton North café-bar Sleepy's (Steve Chan, Jesse Kourmouzis and Jacob Muoio). Loosely inspired by an enchanting fusion of Chinese folklore, East Asian flavour profiles and world-class bar culture, this dreamy venue mash-up blends Fitzroy cool and craft cocktails with the vibes of 1920s Shanghai. 

Taking its name as a nod to America's great waterways, Goodwater is rapidly becoming Northcote's worst-kept secret. Inspired by the mighty Ohio – a river integral to America's whiskey heritage – the connection here runs far deeper than just the moniker. From the framed Mississippi River maps by US Army Corps engineer Harold Fisk from 1944 that grace the exposed brick walls to the carefully curated selection of more than 250 American whiskeys flowing as freely as the rivers themselves, every detail reflects a profound sense of place and history. Welcome to Goodwater.

Softly buzzing on leafy Rathdowne Street, Bar Bellamy immediately gets the ‘cool’ tick of approval; lighting is golden-warm and moody, the small space is cosy yet not at all squishy and tasteful custom artworks give the impression of a thoughtfully curated offering to come. The bar is run by married couple Danielle and Oska Whitehart, who together bring experience from a variety of popular Melbourne venues – Archie’s All Day, the Everleigh and Gimlet, to name just a few. 

It’s hard to imagine a Melbourne where Apollo Inn doesn’t exist, such is the impact this handsome and swanky spot has had on the city’s bar scene in its short lifespan so far. Andrew McConnell’s first standalone cocktail bar – which swung open its leatherbound doors in June 2023 – has seamlessly settled into its location at McDonald House on Flinders Lane, maintaining a strong and steady stream of visitors nightly, all hoping to squeeze into one of just 30 highly coveted seats. 

How do you follow up Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne’s most awarded cocktail bar, and the 19th best bar in the world?  As it turns out, with sherry. It’s about time sherry received a PR refresh. Long associated with grannies, murder-solving or otherwise, the fortified wine has struggled to shake its dated reputation. But if anyone can rewrite the sherry story, it’s the team behind Caretaker’s. Owners Rob Libecans, Ryan Noreiks and Matt Stirling have done it again.

It's high time that a whimsical, fairy-themed bar with a rock'n'roll edge came to Melbourne's CBD. And even higher time (no pun intended) that our drinks were delivered to us by way of zipline. Enter: Arcane Fairies, a strange, theatrical and all-together otherworldly late-night bar that's just fluttered down onto Lonsdale Street.

Kew, long known for its leafy streets and let's just say well-to-do residents, has been crying out for a proper cocktail bar. Chef Joseph Vargetto, the mastermind behind Mister Bianco, has finally answered that call with Bianchetto. It's moody, it’s intimate, and it feels like it was plucked from a Fellini film.

Death and Co is now a hot new fixture Down Under – and she's looking dark, moody and just what the doctor ordered. The New York-born bar group – famous for its innovative cocktails and contributions to modern bar culture – first established its roots in Manhattan in 2006 before opening additional venues in L.A., Washington D.C. and Denver. A slick new two-level venue at 87 Flinders Lane is the team's very first venture outside the United States.

Any epicure worth their dirty martini knows that an unassuming alley often holds the best treasures. One or Two is further proof of this. Located down a backstreet in the heart of Chinatown, this cocktail bar delivers cool and contemporary without pretence. Stepping through the understated black door will immediately transport you to Shimokitazawa in Tokyo.

Nestled in an intimate second-storey space on the corner of Russell and Bourke Streets, a cocktail bar is rumoured to be serving in-the-know Melburnians some of the most innovative drinks in the city. Everything at Bouvardia is giving fun chemistry lab vibes, from luminescent orb lamps lining the walls and matching olive-green aprons worn by the bartenders to the breakdown of each drink’s various make-up parameters in the menu. You get the volume, ABV, pH, acid, allergens and profile information for every creation, a refreshingly transparent and fascinating insight into the science behind the art of mixology. 

There's an art to inheriting a beloved space. When Ferdydurke closed its doors in April 2024 after 12 years of deliberate grit and good times, the question wasn't just what would replace it, but how. Aster, the latest venture from Office of Public Works (the crew behind Section 8), answers with quiet confidence. The balcony alone is worth the visit. In fact, it's a bit of an enigma — it's seemingly never packed and there's always a spot, which is perplexing as it overlooks such a beautiful slice of Melbourne's inner city.

We can't resist the allure of a hidden bar, and now Melburnians have another secret hideout to add to their repertoire: the Valiant. The swish event space sits inconspicuously above a convenience store on Queen Street, with an intriguing entrance in a car park on Little Collins. 

Byrdi is ambient and peaceful, an oasis among the chaos of Melbourne Central. The brainchild of owners Luke Whearty and Aki Nishikura, who together have over 20 years of experience and almost the same number of awards, Byrdi's ethos is about adaption, evolution and inspiration. Their menu rotates seasonally and changes day to night. 

Moody, intimate and tastefully lit, Black Kite Commune is the latest addition to the illustrious Russell Place – joining sister bars Gin Palace (a Melbourne institution), its lively adjunct Bar Ampere, and until earlier this year, Con Christopoulos’s celebrated all-day wine bar Neapoli.  But fret not – Black Kite Commune has stepped into Neapoli’s shoes, ticking all boxes and then some. Spread across two levels, the mood is '70s bar meets French bistro – wooden panelling and low ceilings meet black walls and dark carpeted floors. A birdcage contraption on the far corner of the first floor adds a playful energy, while the purple hues of a lightbox night sky installation overlooking the entire venue creates an ethereal feel. 

Nick and Nora's is one of the latest cocktail bars to evoke Gatsby levels of opulence. The bar is by the Speakeasy Group, who're also behind award-winning venues like Eau de Vie, Mjølner and Boilermaker House. Like its Sydney counterpart or sibling venue Eau de Vie, the name of the game here is a love for the playful (think theatrics and lots of liquid nitrogen) and the sophisticated (an extensive Champagne menu does the trick).

At any given time someone at Eau de Vie is shaking, freezing or setting drinks on fire, which makes this bar both a thrilling and hazardous place of refreshment. They have a whole room dedicated to whisky, and your Martini is snap chilled with liquid nitrogen. This beautiful Prohibition-style speakeasy is washed with jazz music and daring drinks.

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 comfortable and cosy. 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. 2025/2026 update: There's now Baby Driver upstairs! Stick around on street level for soul music, Detroit-style pizza and vinyl listening parties.

Askal’s cocktail destination Inuman is the latest in bar ventures from restaurants – think Maha’s opulent art deco bar Bar Jayda, Vue de Monde’s rooftop marvel Lui Bar, Longrain’s cocktail bar Longsong. The drinks list at Inuman is forever evolving, but it always has a distinct Filipino twist. The Southeast Asian grass jelly dessert cendol is given the cocktail treatment in the Hennessy-based Ais Cendol, while the gentle funk of durian is the lingering aftertaste of the calamansi-rich Tito Ray, an homage to Filipino bartending legend Ray Buhen. Gins infused with lemongrass and pandan, buttered popcorn rum and fried bay leaf oil are the flourishes you’ll find throughout the cocktails list. 

Mill Place Merchants is a speakeasy that harks back to Melbourne’s golden age. It’s tucked away in a heritage-listed 19th century building, down a laneway that was once known as a bustling hive for hat, soap, clothing and candle makers and traders. You enter the bar via a space disguised as a Victorian-era dressing room. Do a final fit check in front of a full-length mirror door, before entering a wardrobe that conceals the secret watering hole inside. 

Ides may be the fancier option for a multi-course elevated meal, but this slinky space next door is a hell of a lot sexier. Our only advice is to go hungrier than not – the elevated bites are worth the extra spend, and they’ll line your belly for some of the most impeccably crafted drinks money can buy on Smith Street.

Sultry Latin-inspired bar Santana is offering one of the CBD’s most sensual and thoughtfully curated casual drinking experiences above ground level. Consider puffing away on a Montecristo Short while nursing an El Presidente – a perfect balance of dark rum, dry vermouth, curacao and cranberry grenadine. Or swirling a glass of Emiliana Natura carménère from Chile while you take in moody views of the city’s nightscape. 

What sets this bar apart isn’t just their warm service that’s as happy to guide a novice as it is to talk serious shop with a firewater devotee; it's the fact that they also go so far as to import hard-to-find gems and sell them both by the shot and by the bottle, and then mix them into some kickass cocktails.

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 Japanese fine diner Warabi, this subterranean cocktail lounge is in good company, but it’s managed to pull a much younger audience than its neighours. All signs point to the music program as the primary culprit. Later in the week, the space hosts a rotating lineup of DJs, both established and on the up, and the place packs out accordingly.

Fresh produce is serious stuff at Union Electric. While many bars may avoid using too many raw ingredients, Union Electric use daily pressings of fruits, micro herbs and housemade vinegars and syrups to bring their menu to life. A section dedicated to spiked apple juice is a cheap and cheerful way to take in the sun from their courtyard. Just 11 smackers will get you freshly pressed apple juice with a touch of citrus and a choice between rum, gin or whisky. 

Pearl diving is hard work. It takes a good eye, patience, and a passion for oysters. Coincidentally, these are three traits shared by Alex Boon and Pez Collier, the lauded Brisbane bartenders who spent two years gently buffing their idea for a shucking great oyster bar into a polished pearl. 

Grab a date and get cozy in this Chinatown den, an emerald green and gold-beaded pocket rocket with plenty of nooks for knee squeezing and a bit of a burlesque-parlour-meets-oriental-tea-house feel. Get barside and nerd out on cocktails or grab a Bia Ha Noi beer and venture upstairs to the red lantern level. Looking for somewhere that has even more IYKYK exclusivity? Check out its sister bar Double Happiness.

This Spanish rooftop bar is a good place to kick off the weekend with a frosty Estrella. Or if vermouth is more your style, Bomba has fortified wines coming out of their ears. Get the sommelier to pour you the red Viernes Mencia. It’s as sweet and juicy as the sticky, sherry-braised pork jowl – king of Bomba’s meat dishes.

Out to impress? Then swoosh up to the ear-popping 55th floor of the Rialto. No, we're not suggesting you drop a week's pay on dinner at Vue de Monde, but rather take a sharp left towards the bar. Here, among overstuffed lounges and flouncy lampshades, shiny folk sip Martinis as Melbourne twinkles below. It takes a knockout food-and-drink offering to distract from that view. Fortunately, Lui is more than up to the task, with an Australian-accented selection that is deferential, rather than tongue-in-cheek.

This bar is named after the year in which the word ‘cocktail’ first appeared in our vernacular, and they take the art of cocktail making very seriously here. From the 1930s gentlemen’s clubs of Philadelphia to the classy small bars of Florence and the beaches of Brazil, the cocktails seduce you with curious backstories, but it’s the skill of the staff here that seals the deal. 

Nothing is worse than a cocktail bar that leaves you feeling foolish. Or a bartender that makes you ashamed that you don't know what makes a martini wet or dry and insinuates your preference for sweet over smoky is distinctly "uncool". Thankfully, that's not Bar Clara. Rather, it's a cocktail bar for the everyman – with excellent drinks to boot. 

One of Melbourne's OG laneway bars, Gin Palace has been keeping folks loose and liquored for over 25 years. There have been many keys to the cocktail haunt's longevity: those famed chicken and mayo sangas, 90-milliletre Martini pours, a generous closing time of 3am (ideal for post-shift workers), a certain brand of bohemian swagger, and a mastery of all drinks juniper. It's such an institution it even won our Legend Award back in 2016. It's had a little love recently  – that's code for much-needed renovations – so pop in when you're next in town to say hello.

Despite the name, Good Heavens isn’t a pearl-clutching kind of place. One Melbourne’s hottest sun traps is brought to you by the team behind Fancy Hank's, and the vibe at this rooftop bar is a little bit Palm Springs, with pink signage and pastel blue paintwork. The cocktail list is making bright, retro cocktails a thing again, so if you love a creamy Piña Colada you'll be in good company.