Nightlife
Best Cocktail Bars in Melbourne for Martinis, Whisky, and Late Drinks
Guide: Melbourne Cocktail Bars for Martinis, Whisky, and Local Produce
Melbourne's best cocktail rooms range from a tiny heritage cottage and a twelve-seat island to produce-driven experimentation, Champagne ceremony, whisky cellars, and late Fitzroy hospitality. Room size, booking policy, and price are as important as the drinks list.
- Caretaker's CottageCaretaker's Cottage makes sharply judged Martinis, punch, and seasonal mixed drinks in a tiny heritage cottage backed by a serious vinyl collection and a reliably cold Guinness tap. World's 50 Best recognition brings demand beyond the room's size; there are no bookings, so come as a pair or trio and be ready to wait.
- ByrdiByrdi uses Australian produce and seasonality as cocktail ingredients rather than garnish. Its current limited-time Ephemera format is wine-led and snack-driven, with ten cocktails rewritten weekly, so the exact menu is intentionally fluid; the bar remains walk-in only and opens daily.
- Above BoardAbove Board serves roughly twenty-five tightly edited signatures and classics around a twelve-seat island, with only two small banquettes beyond it. The seated-only room does not take bookings and struggles with groups larger than four, so a wait is part of the bargain.
- Bar ClaraBar Clara builds original seasonal cocktails around fresh produce in a pink-neon Chinatown basement of velvet seats and low light. The intimate room suits dates, pre-theatre drinks, and after-work conversation more than a rowdy group; reservations are available.
- Apollo InnApollo Inn serves ice-cold Gibsons, Champagne, and compact bar food—including its prawn club sandwich—in a thirty-seat room modeled on classic European cocktail bars. Reservations are accepted and walk-ins encouraged, but the small footprint fills quickly.
- One or TwoOne or Two is a twenty-six-seat whisky and cocktail bar shaped by Japanese wabi-sabi design and a monthly changing drinks list. The narrow Celestial Avenue room works especially well for one or two people around a Chinatown dinner; arrive early on weekends.