Byrdi Has Permanently Closed at Melbourne Central

Melbourne cocktail bar Byrdi has suddenly closed. Co-owner Luke Whearty announced the news earlier this week. “This has all happened very quickly,” he said in the video. “This is not the way we saw things ending here. However, we were forced into a situation we didn’t have control of. It’s been pretty challenging, to say the least.”

Whearty added that “the last few days have been really difficult”, before thanking customers and the team. He also said that he doesn’t see the closure as a permanent goodbye, but that Byrdi had to wrap things up “in its current form”.

“We’re currently still navigating what the future looks like. For now, we are closed at this location.”

The accomplished bartender and his partner Aki Nishikura famously founded Singapore bar Operation Dagger before returning home to open Byrdi in 2019. Until its closure, it was on The Hot List, Broadsheet’s definitive guide to the best eating and drinking experiences in Melbourne. Cocktails were the main attraction, though the bar was always refining itself. Byrdi’s most recent iteration, which the team dubbed Ephemera, featured a larger focus on wine and and a refreshed and more affordable cocktail list.

Broadsheet contacted Whearty for more information but didn’t hear back in time for publication.

Update, 7.45pm, September 18: an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Byrdi opened in 2022.