Time Out Melbourne Food & Drink Awards 2026: Best Bar Nominees

There's a reason Albert’s Wine Bar has earned its reputation with locals as the spot to hang out. Just as an ideal neighbourhood wine bar should, it serves as the perfect place for a plethora of purposes: a leisurely lunch on a Saturday afternoon; an afterwork drink; a midweek catch-up over a quick but excellent meal. If you’re not in a rush, we recommend ordering your food in small batches, pausing in between to pour over the weighty wine list. Albert’s widely sourced list is in fact so accomplished that it was awarded ‘three glasses’ by the Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards in 2024. This remarkable achievement reflects the enormous efforts taken to produce the classy, considered and competitive list.

Propped on the corner of Rathdowne and Kay Streets in Carlton, Cordelia is a certified sunshine magnet – and it has that elusive je ne sais quoi. Led by head chef and co-owner Josh Norris, the kitchen balances serious technique with a sense of play. The place hums from afternoon sunshine into late-night intimacy, and the drinks list is built for seafood, long lunches and spontaneous second rounds. Lively but never cramped, full of that easy conviviality that makes you want to linger. It’s refined, sure, but there’s an undercurrent of mischief to it all.

Moondrop is a 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 and East Asian flavour profiles, this dreamy venue mash-up blends Fitzroy cool and craft cocktails with the vibes of 1920's Shanghai. Guests are whisked away from Gertrude Street into a world lit by a giant glowing moon lantern that's draped in soft white fabric, with a red mosaic bar and Mahjong tables disguised as furniture. Chinese hip-hop and R’n’B set the tone, and the venue’s moon rabbit emblem – drawn from traditional Chinese mythology – appears everywhere: on uniform pins, menus, even the ice stamps.

Wine bars might be everywhere in Melbourne, but Ruzia’s stands out for its inventive menu that draws on co-owner and chef Ravi Presser’s Polish-Jewish heritage, matched with a thoughtful wine list. Warm, romantic and full of charm – think dim lighting, lace curtains and little homely touches – it’s the kind of neighbourhood spot everyone wishes they had. Complimentary popcorn and peanuts hit the table first, and they have a concise menu of shareable plates and snacks that draw on recipes passed down from the restaurant’s namesake, Ruzia, Presser’s grandmother.

Tucked away in the backstreets of Fitzroy North, Suze is a fun neighbourhood wine bar from two hospo veterans: Giulia Giorgetti, former restaurant manager at Marion; and Steve Harry, a man whose resumé reads like a Melbourne culinary icons list (we're talking Napier Quarter, Cumulus Inc, Auterra Wine Bar and Cutler). The dynamic duo has done the local community a service by filling this two-storey heritage building with all the necessary ingredients needed to make a consummate Melbourne wine bar: seriously well-trained staff, an easygoing energy, and rapidly evolving food and drink choices to reward maturer palates. Inside is cosy and artsy, courtesy of a few modern works splashed across the walls. But the most coveted slice of real estate on nice days is the terrace.

How do you follow up Caretaker’s Cottage, Melbourne’s most awarded cocktail bar? As it turns out, with sherry. Just a short canter from the bar that made their name, owners Rob Libecans, Ryan Noreiks and Matt Stirling have opened Three Horses on Little Lonsdale Street. Its soft blue façade and simple window lettering stand out against the industrial cityscape, quietly beckoning passers-by inside. Above the bar hangs a large painting of three galloping horses rendered in saturated, electric hues by artist Liz Stirling. As the record flips from croony ballads to upbeat ska, groups of office workers spill in for post-work drinks. Shakers move in rhythm. Glasses clink. Bottles tilt and pour with choreographed precision. They mix, stir and serve in seamless succession, the once-quiet room turning kinetic without ever tipping into chaos.