World-Renowned Bar The Everleigh Is Celebrating Its Tenth Birthday with Two Months of Festivities

For a cocktail bar, clocking up ten years of life is no mean feat, especially given the many months of curveballs COVID-19 threw our way. So the fact that acclaimed Fitzroy cocktail haunt the Everleigh is gearing up to turn the big 1-0 is cause for serious celebration — two months of celebrations, in fact.

Yep, the Gertrude Street mainstay from Michael and Zara Madrusan (Made in the Shade — Heartbreaker, Connie's, Bar Margaux) is rightly going all out for its 10th birthday, with a slew of festivities planned for the coming weeks.

Zara and Michael Madrusan

It all kicks off with a bar takeover of somewhat epic proportions — famed New York bar Attaboy will descend on the venue for a one-off night of very fine boozing, on Sunday, May 29, helmed by owners Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy. Not just an excuse to indulge in some world-class sips, the event will also see Madrusan getting back to his roots, with the owner-bartender a proud alum of Milk and Honey, Attaboy's pioneering predecessor.

There'll be four ways to enjoy the Attaboy takeover: a front-row seat at the bar with a signature bottled cocktail included in your $150 ticket, a table for two in the main bar ($75pp), a table in the drawing room ($75pp), or, if you've got a crew of 10 to 15, an exclusive group-friendly spot upstairs ($75pp).

All tickets include a drink on arrival, two signature Attaboy cocktails and an array of snacks, served with the Everleigh team's usual hospitable flair. And if you miss out — or simply can't get enough — the venues have just dropped two signature bottled Attaboy cocktails, available on the website, one designed by McIlroy and the other by Ross. You'd best hurry though, as there's only 100 of each on offer.

One of the Attaboy x Everleigh cocktails

The festivities continue on Wednesday, June 29, with the return of the Everleigh's Classic Cocktail Book Club. Madrusan will join a bunch of special guests for an entertaining, cocktail-matched deep-dive into historic tome, The Bar-tender's Guide or How to Mix Drinks, by Jerry Thomas (1862).

And on Thursday, July 28, the bar's tenth anniversary gala will deliver an evening of signature sips, live entertainment and surprises, in what's set to be one of the most memorable parties of the year. More on that to come.

The Everleigh is among Melbourne's most esteemed cocktail spots and has made many an appearance on the World's 50 Best Bars List during its life.

Catch the Attaboy takeover at the Everleigh, 150-156 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, on May 29. For more info and tickets to all events, see the website.

Images: Gareth Sobey, Pete Dillon, Jake Roden.