Bar entertainment in Melbourne
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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.
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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).
reviewed
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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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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.
reviewed
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Gin Palace
If you love martinis, then this is your castle. With a drinks list to make your liver quiver, Gin Palace is the perfect place to grab a soft couch or secluded alcove, sip, and take it slow. Its seductive lighting, velvet drapes and cushioned nooks give it a top first-date rating. It's best on weeknights, when a conversation can be conducted without resorting to sign language.
reviewed
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Atticus Finch
There’s a judicious wine list and back-in-fashion cider at this Brunswick haunt named for everyone’s favourite lawyer from literature. The space is smartly and simply done with a slight brooding quality (though perhaps we’re overidentifying with the novel). A nice alternative to the bigger pubs in these parts, it still sports the requisite beer garden.
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Sister Bella
The St Jerome’s crew colonised this dilapidated laneway warehouse and it’s definitely staked its claim as the older sibling. Still, the ramshackle is only knocked back by degrees and they keep the formula similar: cheap beer and wine, cheap food and kids running the place that know they’re cooler than you but won’t let that ruin the friendship.
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Carlton Hotel
Once upon a time, you went to the Carlton because there was nowhere else to go. These days, you can still prop up the bar but you’ll be drinking a Peninsula pinot gris. OTT Melbourne rococo gets another workout here and never fails to raise a smile. Check the rooftop Palmz if you’re looking for some Miami-flavoured vice or just a great view.
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Siglo
Bless the flourish of rooftop bars in Melbourne’s CBD – they bring fabulous sunsets and sky-high al-fresco cocktails to the city’s drinking scene. Suits fill Siglo on a Friday night, which may lure or horrify you. Regardless, pick a time to mull over a Semillion, snack on upper-crust morsels and admire the vistas over the gracious parliament building.
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Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secret
Speakeasy chic with a couple of snugs for contriving your own cocktail-fuelled dirty secrets. Down the tiny stairs, there’s a cosy (or claustrophobic) bluestone basement. If there’s not a private party going on here, you might find djs, acoustic acts or comedy. The drinks menu is broad and they have an excellent range of spirits.
reviewed
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New Gold Mountain
Unsignposted, New Gold Mountain’s intense Chinoiserie interior comes as a shock. Two upstairs floors are filled with tiny screen-shielded corners, with decoration so delightfully relentless you feel as if you’re trapped in an arthouse dream sequence. Sours are the thing, though they do great things with vodka too. Harbin heaven.
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Troika
Troika has a loyal bunch of mostly older unconventional followers who get on board for the intimate, gimmick-free surrounds. It's about decent drinks and good tunes, with booths and bar stools set close - conducive to conversation. And if conversation is waning, the walls are usually adorned with interesting art works on which to comment.
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Veludo
It's big, it's brassy, and it's got a balcony. Over two levels, Veludo's relatively late closing means that most St Kilda-ites have ducked in here after everything else has closed. A dark and sultry way to lose a few hours, especially during the cooler months, when you can couch it next to a roaring open fire. Humdrum food runs till late.
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Section 8
Located in a laneway you say? Yawn. How about: in a laneway, in a car park, and made from shipping containers? Like the city's street art, which is in part so arresting because it appears in unexpected places, Section 8 is a fabulous surprise. It has makeshift seating made from packing crates, funky music and lantern lighting.
reviewed
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Joe’s Shoe Store
Someone called Joe will no longer sell you lace-up brogues but you’ll be pleased with the wine list, featuring around 20 both Australian and ‘Continental’ wines by the bottle or the glass. It’s packed with Northcote cool kids who order pizza from Meine Liebe or just stick to drinks.
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Hoohaa Bar
Pressed-metal panels make an impression at this otherwise restrained upstairs bar - a refreshing change from the area's deluge of gimmick and lounge bars. Hoohaa is young and fresh, a popular haunt of students at the nearby circus school and arts uni. Booths, a courtyard and a schmoozing area around the slick bar fill up fast.
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Scubar
As you descend along polished pine panels to the plush warmth below, this underground bunker is almost reminiscent of a Swedish sauna. Submerge yourself in one of two bars, with plenty of comfort by way of flocked wallpaper, polished-wood floors and a pool table. Just don't feed the fish in the wall-length signature tank.
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Croft Institute
Located in a laneway off a laneway, the lab-themed Croft is a test of drinkers’ determination. Prescribe yourself a beaker of house-distilled vodka in the downstairs laboratory and venture up the rickety stairs to inspect the Departments of Male and Female Hygiene (aka the toilets, complete with hospital beds).
reviewed
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Riverland
This bluestone beauty, another by architects Six Degrees, keeps things simple with good wine, beer on tap and bar snacks that hit the mark: charcuterie, cheese and BBQ. A rare riverside drinking hole that doesn’t give off the scent of corporate investors. Outside tables are a treat when the weather is kind.
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