The Best Bars in Melbourne’s CBD
We’re lucky in Melbourne. Most of our best bars are packed into the postcode 3000, all within short walking distance from each other. And there’s a spot for most moods – from characterful laneway bars to rollicking corner pubs and fun rooftops great for sunset views.
If you’re drinking late, this is also the place to be. Although there have been a few high-profile club casualties in recent years, the CBD remains flush with late-night licences that allow drinking until the wee hours, or even round the clock. Without further ado, this is our curated list of the best places to drink in Melbourne’s CBD. See you along the bar crawl.
Chinatown and Surrounds
East End
West End
Chinatown and Surrounds
Bar
Caretaker’s Cottage
Squeeze into this tiny, 100-year-old caretaker’s quarters for what may be Victoria’s smallest pub. Behind Tassie oak bar you’ll find Guinness on tap, a short cocktail list and British pub snacks to keep you mint.
Restaurant
Her Rooftop
Five storeys up, this compact open-air bar offers fruit-forward cocktails and punchy, barbeque-driven Thai food from downstairs sibling BKK.
Bar
Music Room
Her's first-floor bar is dedicated to vinyl, premium spirits and sparkling wines. Inspired by Japanese and European record bars, it's where you'll hear DJ-curated soundtracks nightly, from the 3000-strong vinyl collection.
Bar
Angel Music Bar
This audiophile spot serves bar snacks with a side of sub-bass. Things are fun and loud downstairs, with great drinks and a few bar stools to enjoy them on. But it's on the upstairs dancefloor where the volume really turns up.
Bar
Heartbreaker
The cherry-red neon sign at Heartbreaker is a beacon for late-night punters chasing a good time. With pre-batched cocktails and classic rock on the jukebox – there’s only one result here. Wear your dancing shoes in case.
Restaurant
Dom’s Social Club
A three-storey Italian joint geared for good times. Head to the first floor for a woodfired pizza feast, or up again to the public bar for lambrusco and pool. The rooftop is one of the city’s best spots to drink with a view.
Bar
Rooftop Bar
Meet Melbourne’s quintessential CBD rooftop bar. It’s appeared in films, has great views, and serves damn fine burgers. And in summers past, it’s morphed into an open-air cinema showing cult films and blockbusters.
Bar
Lui Bar at Vue de Monde
The cocktails and snacks at Vue de Monde’s adjoining bar are served with all the creative flair you’d expect from one of the country’s finest diners. Walk-ins are always welcome here, which means you don’t have to pay high-end degustation prices to experience the sparkling city view.
Bar
Whisky and Alement
With an enormous whisky list and knowledgeable bartenders to guide you, this mood-lit den has the goods to rival some of the world’s best whisky bars. Real enthusiasts can book in for a tasting session led by top distillers.
Bar
Cookie
Cookie combines rowdy European beer hall with standout Thai food that beckons to be shared. It’s fun, versatile and subtly influential, preceding similar restaurants like Chin Chin. Bring a crew, order the banquet and plan to drink.
Bar
Berlin Bar
Opulence meets wartime misery at this hidden cocktail bar. It’s split into East and West Berlin; fancy on one side and grungy on the other. No matter where you sit, the drinks are world-class – just ring the doorbell to get in.
Bar
Storyville
This fairytale-themed bar is like portal to another land. Beeline to the Narnia section, with its big wooden bar and pounding dance floor.
Bar
1806
A bar experience that’s part-theatre, part-history lesson and all class. Its menu begins in 1806 (when "cocktail" first appeared in print), and there's a classic libation to represent each decade since.
Bar
Goldilocks Bar
At this long-running rooftop bar, there's an emphasis on cocktails and comfort. The team lets the cocktails, snacks and view do the talking. And the retractable rooftop makes it a great all-weather option.
Bar
City Wine Shop
Melbourne’s answer to the old-school Italian wine bar. Choose a bottle to take home, or crack it open at the restaurant (with a corkage fee) and enjoy with pastas and small plates, alongside the rest of the post-theatre crowd.
Bar
Siglo
This rooftop bar above the Melbourne Supper Club has unrivalled views over Spring Street. It’s also one of the few CBD spots with a cigar menu (and humidor with hard-to-find Cubans). If smoking’s not your style, the cocktails will be.
Bar
Seamstress Cocktail Bar
A rustic upstairs bar set in a former textile factory. The team will walk you through the sharp cocktail list and extensive bar selection. Add on Asian-fusion share plates like crispy pork belly and softshell crab with papaya slaw.
Bar
Sweatshop
The “mischievous little brother” to Seamstress upstairs is so small and dimly lit, it feels like it could be anywhere in the world. Rest assured, the bartenders know what they’re doing here – and they do it with a total lack of pretension.
Bar
The LuWow
It’s pure fantasy at Melbourne’s favourite tiki bar. There’s bamboo, leopard print and tiki statues everywhere. If you can’t get a good Painkiller, Zombie or Mai Tai here, you can’t get it anywhere.
Bar
Double Happiness
While not as well-concealed as its sibling, New Gold Mountain, this Chinatown laneway bar still prides itself on being a drinking den for those in the know. Cheekily-named cocktails, Asian beers and dumplings await inside.
Bar
Union Electric Bar
Fresh, modern tiki drinks await you inside, named after many of the heavy-hitters featuring on the hip-hop soundtrack. If you’re hungry, you can bring in takeaway from one of the excellent neighbouring restaurants.
Bar
Byrdi
Two world-class drinks innovators are behind Byrdi, who work with native Australian ingredients in an on-site lab to create their peerless, Aussie-inspired cocktails.
Bar
Arlechin
Whether it’s bolognaise jaffles, midnight spaghetti, or tiramisu, the Grossi family’s revived bar will keep you eating (and drinking) in style, post midnight. Don’t miss the cocktail that puts puttanesca in a glass.
Bar
Pearl Chablis & Oyster Bar
In the same way as its sibling Pinchy’s is all about champagne and lobster, this swish bar champions another age-old pairing – with oyster degustations and around 500 Burgundy wines to choose from.
Restaurant
Bomba
You can choose your own adventure at Bomba. Come for tapas and imported Spanish wines at the restaurant downstairs, or escape to the fifth-floor rooftop for cocktails and DJs every weekend. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
Bar
Heroes
Is it a karaoke bar? Is it a dumpling joint? Is it a great rooftop bar? Yes, to all of the above. Either way, odds are you'll find yourself with a barbeque pork bao in one hand and a mic in the other at some point during an evening here.
Bar
Fable
Thirteen floors up, the stunning venue boasts uninterrupted city views and a retractable roof for year-round dining. Inspired by its heritage, it’s serving Greek-inspired fare from an ex-Press Club chef.
Bar
Pearl Diver Oyster Bar and Bistro
The name says it all. Come to this swish, nautical-themed cocktail bar for oysters served at least eight ways, and Martinis with spherified olives in tiny oyster shells, among other creative cocktails.
Bar
Arbory Afloat
Melbourne’s favourite floating bar returns each summer with a fresh look inspired by a balmy international spot. In the past, we've travelled to Palm Springs, Mexico and Capri.
Bar
Longsong
Scott Pickett’s atmospheric bar above Longrain will transport you someplace else. Enjoy sharp cocktails alongside sharp snacks like prawn toast, smoked duck breast and freshly shucked oysters.
Bar
Black Kite Commune
This dark and moody spot celebrates a bygone era of late-night drinking and dining. Come for an inventive cocktail menu inspired by Beethoven’s fifth symphony, rare spirits and wild boar croquettes.
Bar
Bijou Bottle Store and Bar
One of the city’s most prolific bar owners is behind this pint-sized bar and bottle-o. Like a mini wine library, Bijou invites you to grab a table, peruse its floor-to-ceiling wine shelves and settle in to watch the world go by.
Bar
Inuman
The rooftop bar is another accomplishment from the brains behind Askal and Kariton Sorbetes. Find experimental cocktails highlighting Filipino flavours, plus snacky dishes like feijoa jam on a toasted Chinese doughnut.
Bar
Mr Mills
Spain’s late-night dining culture is alive at this moody basement bar by two top Sydney restaurateurs. Come for Iberian snacks and a banging tomato and anchovy oil Martini.
Bar
One or Two
This tranquil bolthole amid the bustle of Chinatown is built on the motto “drink less, drink better”. It’s pouring small-batch whiskies and a tight list of cocktails. Why not stay for just one – or two?
Bar
Aster Bar
In a heritage building on Tattersalls Lane, this moody bar is all about late-nights, good times and killer cocktails. Come on weekends for DJs and a decent chance of a boogie.
Bar
Three Horses
Enter for whipped sorbet cocktails, vinyl albums played end to end and a sherry thread that spools through a room stamped with galloping horses.
East End
Restaurant
Gimlet at Cavendish House
Andrew McConnell's signature flair is all over this grand bar and dining room, from the exacting service to the comforting European dishes. It’s named after the classic cocktail, and the calibre of drinks here speaks to that. You’ll find us at the marble bar, Gimlet in hand.
Bar
Apollo Inn
In a timber-panelled room that feels of another time, get ready for four types of Martini, a daily menu of shellfish on ice, and a stand-out crème caramel dessert.
Bar
GoGo Bar
Chin Chin’s classy little downstairs bar feels like a VIP area. Like upstairs, the Asian-inflected cocktails here are made with care, and the wine list favours small, independent vineyards above all others. Better still – Chin Chin’s entire menu can be enjoyed down here.
Bar
Garden State Hotel
This massive pub has room for 800 punters across four leafy levels. And you can’t go wrong in any direction. Hit the front bar for parmas and pints, the basement-level cocktail bar, or Tippy Tay for fun Italian vibes and Negronis.
Bar
Eau De Vie
It’s not the theatrical cocktails, world-beating whisky list or European-inspired snacks that put Eau de Vie up there among the world’s best bars. It’s the laser-like attention to detail at every turn, and the fact that someone here knows what you want to drink – even if you don’t.
Bar
Dessous
Lively cocktails and refined snacks are on the cards at this dark and daring basement bar. But it’s really the wine list you come here for – it’s an adventure in unfamiliar regions and varietals, and focuses on biodynamic and sustainable drops.
Restaurant
No. 100 Flinders Lane
The espresso machine stays on till late. But coffee’s not the prime focus at this all-day Lebanese eatery, where you can tuck into a selection of house-made hummus, cured kingfish with toum, snapper with spiced tahini, and more.
Restaurant
Embla
Nominally it’s a wine bar, but Embla’s charms are far more profound than those two words suggest. Come here for some of the city’s best food, paired with an idiosyncratic wine list poured by staff who give a damn.
Bar
Gin Palace
There are few surprises in a place called Gin Palace. This specialist basement bar has been shaking since ’97, with a page of its extensive menu devoted to Martinis. Its combo of velvet, dim lights and plush seating hasn’t aged a day.
Bar
Bar Ampere
An ingenious venue from the team behind Madame Brussels and Gin Palace. Drinks-wise, expect a strong line-up of European aperitifs and digestives, with a heavy presence of vermouth, amaro and absinthe. Plus, burgers and grazing plates to snack on.
Bar
Pomelo
Above ambitious (and ridiculously pretty) cocktail bar Bouvardia, this colourful rooftop has the same inventive streak as its sibling downstairs, but dials up the fun with house-made seltzers, boozy slushies and park-ready wines.
Bar
Bouvardia
Up a discreet staircase in the CBD, this beautiful and boundary-pushing cocktail bar takes a scientific approach to its drinks – some of which take days to prepare. But the results are palate-awakening, not polarising.
Bar
Cherry Bar
This dimly-lit dive bar is one of Melbourne's most treasured and iconic rock’n’roll venues. Though it's moved out of its original ACDC Lane location, it's rocking just as hard as ever, with live music multiple nights a week. Expect anything from psych-rock to doom metal, sometimes followed by a DJ to close.
Restaurant
Magic Mountain Saloon
A neon-lit Thai joint serving fun, modern twists on the country’s cuisine. Whether you’re here for bottomless brunch or a late-night snack, there are plenty of versatile spaces to drink and dine in. The mezzanine hosts DJs most nights of the week.
Bar
Loop Roof
Loop has been a pillar of the Melbourne arts community since 2003. While the original downstairs events and exhibition space is no more, the rooftop bar is very much alive and kicking.
Bar
Bar Carlo
Bar Carlo sits below The Waiters Restaurant, one of Melbourne’s oldest Italian institutions. It’s a little more refined, plus it’s open in the morning for Italian-style breakfasts. Later, it’s grappa, spritzes and an all-Italian wine menu to go with cicchetti – little Italian snacks to go with your drink.
Bar
Lily Blacks
Lily Blacks is more than just another art deco Melbourne bar. It’s a cocktail aficionado destination, mixing precisely diluted classics as well as inventive house creations. Come early on a Friday to grab prime position before the post-work crowd files in.
Restaurant
Pizza Pizza Pizza
New York-style pizzas out front; one of Melbourne’s best-kept secrets out back. Once you’ve finished a slice or two, push past the black curtain at the end of the dining room to find a comfy, sitting-room-only bar specialising in classic cocktails.
Restaurant
Chin Chin
The fiery Southeast Asian diner Melburnians and tourists have been queuing for since 2011. The energy is always high and Benjamin Cooper's food continues to nail that sweet spot between flavour, tradition and fun.
West End
Bar
La Rue
The dark, moody bar highlights American wines alongside greats from Australia and France. Stop by for a glass and bar snacks, and experience part of the historical CBD space.
Bar
Nick and Nora’s
This opulent bar channels old-world glitz and glamour with champagne towers, fancy canapés and theatrical cocktails. To really start the party, order the pineapple punch – served inside a huge bronze swan.
Bar
Ototo
Ototo is set inside Japanese fine diner Akaiito. Follow the luminous red thread downstairs to find this subterranean bar serving pan-Asian snacks and low-waste cocktails.
Bar
Curious
Descend a dark spiral staircase into this theatrical basement cocktail bar. Wrapped in a cocoon of timber, it’s the recipient of some major international design awards. Expect smoke, bubbles and plenty of flair.
Restaurant
Natural History Public Bar
There’s nothing quite like sipping a beer amid a menagerie of taxidermied creatures at Natural History Bar. If you’re sticking around, the late-night diner also has steaks, oysters, natural wines and fruity cocktails.
Restaurant
Kirk’s Wine Bar
A charming bar from the City Wine Shop team. There are few places in town that manage to balance new-world informality with old-world sophistication, but Kirk’s pulls it off with aplomb. Like the wine list, the European-influenced menu has something for everyone.
Bar
Whitehart
No other city in the country would slap a shipping container, some massive steel girders and a collection of ferns together and call it a beer garden. But Melbourne would, and there’s a solid rotation of drinks to go with the breezy, open-air vibe.
Bar
The Q Rooftop Bar
The rooftop bar at the Quincy Hotel on Flinders Street offers 360-degree views of Melbourne CBD, all the way to the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay. Come for cocktails and small plates inspired by the punchy flavours of Southeast Asia.
