northcote bars

Goodwater

Bar

A welcoming spot for whiskey dates, cocktails with friends or just sitting at the bar. Make mates over a beer and bowl of pickle fries, while you learn your ryes from your bourbons.

High Note

Bar

This wine bar and music hub, in a heritage-listed theatre, feels like a hidden cave. Come for its lo-fi wines, DJs and fun vibes. The best part? The vintage Altec Landing sound system that once graced the Sydney Opera House.

Northcote Social Club

Bar

A bastion of live music for two decades, this is the spot to see buzzy acts from Melbourne and beyond. As well as the bandroom, it’s got an all-weather deck that blends into the rest of the pub, plus exceptional parmas and roasts.

Vex Dining

Bar

The clever veg-forward wine bar created by two former Neighbourhood Wine and Bar Romantica head chefs. In the sunlight-filled dining room, or under the fairy light-studded lemon tree out back, order smoky-sweet turnips, brown butter fish and boozy amaro sorbet.

Gray and Gray

Bar

This wine bar from the owner of All Are Welcome is in a former lawyer’s office. Step behind the original gold-leaf signage and vertical blinds for left-of-centre wines and Russian and Georgian dishes featuring lots of pickles, ferments and seafood.

Wesley Anne

Bar

This dimly-lit pub sits in a converted 19th-century church – and is adorned with wine barrels, wagon wheels and a large, wrought-iron chandelier. Get cosy inside, or head to the rear courtyard for hearty pub classics alongside Victorian wine and beer.

Oh Loretta!

Bar

This wine bar has a particularly welcoming design, with plump, comfy couches; carefree decor; a sharehouse-esque fairy-lit courtyard; and huge light-bringing windows. And the food is just as accessible – it’s a changeable, veg-led affair.

Welcome to Thornbury

Bar

Your favourite northside block party – every day of the week – in a former Morris Minor factory. Choose your own adventure across a handful of rotating food trucks, more than 35 beer taps and 699 of your closest friends. Plus, there’s a games arcade, DJ sets and trivia night.