Here is the winner of Best Cocktail Bar in the Time Out Melbourne Food & Drink Awards 2023
When it comes to famous cocktail cities, there’s no doubt that Melbourne has a place on the world stage – and a shiny spot-lit one, at that. From multi-award-winning legends to newer shiny gems, we truly have it made.
This year, we wanted to hone in on some of the more daring newcomers to the scene and give them a chance for some much-deserved recognition. These are innovative bars that playfully spin bolder riffs on their top-shelf tipples, while still exhibiting adept skill in serving up all the historic faves you know and love. You could say they’re masters of the trade, though their cocktail craft is really more like an art.
One of the most exciting bar debuts of the year, Trader House’s Apollo Inn charmed us with its Gimlets, snazzy bar snacks and fancy take on a Shandy. We were also entranced by the ethereal Black Kite Commune, a moody new spot on Russell Lane pairing rare and exciting bites like wild boar croquettes and saltbush-fried croc with elixirs that imaginatively make use of Kakadu plum, bush liqueur and other native-tinged ingredients.
There was no denying that Whisky and Alement, a CBD icon pouring some of the best drams in the world, deserved a spot on our list, while two newcomers – March and Bouvardia – bowled us over with their slick science-meets-art cocktail crafting and infectious party energy.
Next time your whistle wants to be wetted by something special, give one of these slinky haunts a red-hot go. Less stuffy and more fun, they’re offering something a bit different to Melbourne’s elite cocktail scene, but don’t take it from us: scoot up to the bar and let their drinks do the talking. Now we'll cheers to that.
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. Even when I let slip to another venue’s bartender that we’re headed there, a spark of recognition flickers in her eyes: “I’ve heard so much about that place!”
Long before news broke of an opening date, we’d been thirsty for a first look at Apollo Inn. The mysterious cocktail bar is the newest sibling to the glowing jewel in Andrew McConnell’s crown Gimlet at Cavendish House, and is nestled deep within a 1920s Neo Renaissance-style building on the corner of Flinders and Hosier Lanes. As the cool kids exclaim these days: say less!
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.
Heading to Peter Gunn’s tiny Collingwood bar (a post-lockdown neighbour to his illustrious restaurant Ides), you might fret you’re in for a rather stuffy excursion. A swish cocktail bar can feel a little formal at the best of times, but a swish cocktail bar adjoined to a fine diner? Surely, a mere sneeze will feel out of place. Gratefully, we discover March to be nothing of the sort. Though the sleek womb-like space naturally smoulders with a sense of occasion, it dodges the pomp factor by taking its cues from izakayas and casual tapas bars. There’s a relaxed energy evident in irreverent splashes of contemporary art and bouncy funk music that buoys us along to our seats. It’s as comfortable as a modern cocktail bar can be, though it aspires to be more than that. March moonlights as a wine bar and late-night diner, too.
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.
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