Entertainment in Melbourne
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Stylish and cheeky, this bar tiles its high walls with kitschy books and vinyl, and pours fine European, Asian and Oz beers. The wine list is commendable, the Thai-inspired tapas is classy, and jeans and a T-shirt are just as welcome as designer duds.
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Carlisle Wine Bar
Dark and inviting, this is the kind of place that makes you wish you were a regular. In summer, pavement tables are perfect for a beer and a long segue into a rustic Italian dinner. The wine list is top notch, including reasonably priced old and rare bottles. But it's not all about wine. A handsome barman will whip you up a fine cocktail, in between flipping over the vinyl. Friday and Saturday can get rowdy.
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Deco
Why is it that journalists always open the best bars? Here the adventurous and considered wine list is well respected by connoisseurs, but still Deco manages to avoid any inkling of pretension. In the darkness you'll find locals ensconced in couches drinking red wines and eating delicious cheeses, while sports writers nurse Belgian beers and talk football at the bar.
On Friday and Saturday nights the cocktail crowds descend for the driest martinis this side of the Yarra.
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Builders Arms Hotel
A completely re-imagined bad old boozer that’s retained its charm despite theatrical new threads. Come for a pot by all means, but there’s also decent wine by the glass, a blackboard cocktail list and big Middle-Eastern flavours at the bar or in the dining room. Picnic style tables on the footpath outside are perfect for taking in Gertrude St.
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Union Club Hotel
A die-hard local swimming in earthy good vibes, and happy chatter from the relaxed indie crowd. The large curved bar is one of Melbourne’s best spots to park it, the food is good honest pub nosh and the beer garden is lazy Sunday begging on a hot day.
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Federal Coffee Palace
Atmosphere-plus, with tables beneath the colonnades of the GPO and the fashion retailer fave. Space heaters keep you toasty when the city turns chilly.
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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Averaging 130 performances a year, the MSO has a loyal following. Their reach is broad: while not afraid to be populist (they’ve done sell-out performances with Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka and the Whitlams), they can also do edgy. The Metropolis series premieres new Australian composition and challenging works from international contemporary composers. The well-regarded Melbourne Chorale has joined forces with the orchestra and is now known as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus. The MSO performs regularly at Hamer Hall, but also at other venues around the city, including the Malthouse and St Paul’s Cathedral.
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Melbourne Theatre Company
Melbourne’s most high-profile professional theatre company, the Melbourne Theatre Company, is also Australia’s oldest. It stages up to a dozen performances year-round at the Victorian Arts Centre. Productions are often firmly focused on satisfying the company’s middle-market subscriber base. It features works by well-known Australian playwrights such as David Williamson and locals Hannie Rayson and Joanna Murray-Smith, as well as international works. The MTC also runs a readings program to promote and develop the works of emerging playwrights.
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Gertrude St Enoteca
The Fitzroyalty regulars don’t mind sharing the banquette space and there are a few more tables out the back among the wine. The ‘list’ at this svelte wine bar/bottle shop changes regularly and favours European grapes with erudite advice on same. Bar snacks are sourced from Victoria’s top suppliers; you can easily make a meal of a couple of plates. While cake doesn’t normally score a mention in bar reviews, the Enoteca’s are made fresh each day and are wonderful. Order a sticky if you need an excuse.
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Flor
Flor Wine Bar is one of those great places you wonder if you should even tell your friends about - maybe it'd be better to keep it to yourself. It's small, with one cosy corner, a few tables, a courtyard for summer, and a really big wine rack. If wine's not your thing, you can get stuck into one of many fine single malts, or try a whisky flight - 15mL serves of five different whiskies.
The tapas dishes vary in quality (pâtés and terrines are good choices), but the mains are a solid accompaniment to your more liquid entertainment.
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M.O.O.
This sumptuous hideaway has the air of an exclusive gentlemen’s club. Overstuffed leather couches, private booths lining the walls and excellent service complete the picture. It’s the perfect place to work your way through a wine list. Its street-level little sister Penny Blue is more of the same décor wise, but with big street-side windows and outdoor seating that suits afternoon imbibing. They spin some great tunes from the dj cage, but the staff can be a little offhand.
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Madame Brussels
Head here if you’ve had it with Melbourne moody and all that dark wood. Although named for a famous 19th-century madam, it feels as though you’ve fallen into a camp ‘60s rabbit hole, with much Astroturfery and staff dressed à la the country club. And just like in a Richard Yates novel, they certainly know their booze. The décor might veer towards the hysterical, but it’s just the tonic on a chilly winter’s day; they even provide lap rugs for the terrace.
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Spanish Club
Serving the area's Spanish community for over 25 years, the Spanish Club is now hosting bands and DJs between elderly citizens' meetings and salsa dance classes. The back Salon Room is beautiful, complete with fancy patterned carpet, and it's smoke-free. The front bar has good black vinyl booths to drink at, and - if it's Saturday - to eat a Matador Breakfast with Bloody Marys.
A rockin' soundtrack (no Jamiroquai or Moloko, just straight up Johnny Cash, Detroit Cobras etc) is the final touch.
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Australian Ballet
Based in Melbourne and now more than 40 years old, the Australian Ballet performs traditional and new works at the Victorian Arts Centre.
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Aviary
If you want a nightcap after your rice-paper rolls and beef in betel leaf dinner, this is a nice, laid-back inner-city bar in an area that’s never been too flush with them. There’s a good range of beers and wines (including sangria), plus enough vodkas to keep a serious drinker happy. It’s also great if you fancy a dessert but are thinking chocolate mousse rather than bean-thread jelly; the menu is interesting to warrant a second visit.
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Arthur's
Go glam at opulent Arthur's. Located down rockin' AC/DC Lane, Arthur's sits incongruously: like teaming a tiara with a tracksuit. Walk the length of the rubbish-bin lined laneway and turn left. Once inside, it's all cartoon colours, brightly upholstered wingback chairs and velvet padded pillars. Arthur's outlandish flair extends to Dirty Disco nights and underground-house tunes. Or tone it down a notch by slipping into the 'secret' back room.
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Bar Open
Come to Bar Open with an open mind and you could discover the joys of experimental jazz improve, be moved by poetry readings or by a swinging big band; they, and many more, all perform in a not-so-big space upstairs. Downstairs, pull up a beer keg or slouch on a grubby couch and peer through the dimness to check out regularly changing exhibits. Bar Open is mostly free, always entertaining and usually stays open later than most.
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After the Tears Elsternwick
This offshoot of long-time Prahran hangout Borsch, Vodka & Tears is next to the Classic Cinema. It serves an astonishing range of vodkas and its Polish feel is authentic; many of its regulars are Eastern Europeans who settled in the area quite a few decades ago. If you’re daunted by shots, ask for a wonderfully warming sharlotka zubrówka (Bison vodka and cloudy apple juice).
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Little Creatures Dining Hall
With free wi-fi, community bikes and a daytime kid-friendly groove, this vast drinking hall is the perfect place to spend up big on pizzas and enjoy local wine and beer.
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St Jerome’s & Shit Town
Tiny St Jerome’s does great coffee and toasties all day for the students that flock here. Come sundown, its time for longnecks and beats in the cloistered back alley. It’s also time for Shit Town, its twisted next-door sister, to open the door (actually a hole in the wall). Here the 80s crack-house aesthetic is fully realised and the music is loud and left-field.
reviewed
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Great Britain
This big corner pub does the dingy local thing with panache. Noted for its own brand of beer called 'Piss' and a low-alcohol version called 'Piss Weak', there are few other pubs where you can ask for a pot of Piss without anyone batting an eyelid. The GB will even call in a pizza from across the road. This gladly gloomy stalwart livens up later in the week, with a clubby basement - open late.
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Saint
Good-looking young things crowd the two levels of this cocktail and wine bar. Kittens are smitten with the Saint's nouveau-St Kilda fitout, which is sparsely furnished to optimise space. There are a number of little nooks to settle into and a large number of beverages to choose from. Visiting the Saint feels like crashing a wealthy friend-of-a-friend's home: it's comfy and kind of familiar.
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Blue Diamond
This ‘social salon and cabaret’ is ostensibly a private club, but nonmembers do make it in, especially on Thursday and Sunday nights. It’s a dark, dramatic space but the main attraction is the view; it’s as good as it gets this side of the Rainbow Room. There’s live entertainment from 10.30pm Friday to Sunday, with live soul and funk acts taking the stage.
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Rue Bebelons
For such a small space this bar's reputation is gigantic. It's been around a while (over 10 years), so in bar years it's considered ancient. But it's no relic. Affordable drinks, great coffee and an in-house vinyl collection never go stale. By day, grab yourself a slice of Brazilian bohemia and a salad roll to die for. By night, grab any space you can and contribute to the hubbub.
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Empress Hotel
The Empress continues to grace the Melbourne music scene with its presence. This quintessential Fitzroy pub was one of the first to book Silverchair. It stages a variety of genres from folk to unplugged rock every night of the week. Monday to Wednesday and Sunday are free, admission Thursday through Saturday costs under around A$10. The Empress also serves decent counter meals.
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