This Preston bowling alley come social club and arcade bar is what nostalgia-filled dreams are made of. The team behind  Dexter, Takeaway Pizza, Kenny Lover and Dom’s Social Club has created this vintage venue that holds up to 600 people.

Hidden two flights above Section 8 on Tattersalls Lane, Ferydurke is the more laidback — though still loose — version of its sister venue. The small Melbourne bar offers regular live music and DJ sets, an impressive cocktail list and relaxed party vibes.

The multi-level CBD space, once home to Cheek and Peaches, was reborn post-pandemic as Dom’s Social Club — a casual three-storey haunt championing classic drinks, top-notch charcuterie and handmade pizza.

For lovers of sound and great cocktails, the most exciting offering of four-storey mega-venue HER (from the guys behind Arbory and Arbory Afloat) is Music Room. 

Bar Ampere is serving up back-alley Parisian bar vibes, in all the best ways. Head down Russell Place in Melbourne’s CBD any night of the week to find this small but mighty late-night drinking and dining spot filled with those in the know.

Beermash ain’t your standard grog shop. The industrial-style space has exposed brick walls and an impressive 20 taps built into the wall behind the counter. 

With an unusually late licence, this late-night Melbourne bar is a must for those partying in Collingwood. During these nights, the curtained booths down the back of this small prohibition-style bar fill up fast while night crawlers crowd the bar.

Situated opposite Parliament and alongside the theatre strip, City Wine Shop is not the place to venture for a beer and happy hour special. On the contrary, this is the Melbourne CBD bar you go to for a glass of chablis, cheese board and fried artichokes.

The Everleigh is so very Melbourne — hidden where only those in the know can find it, up a flight of stairs above a restaurant. This sophisticated speakeasy is fitted out in marble and mahogany, with a stunning vintage chandelier lighting up the polished bar.

Siglo is an old favourite among many a Melbourne city worker. It was once somewhat of a hidden gem, located up a narrow set of stairs on Spring Street — but these days the word is well and truly out. 

The team behind The Everleigh and Heartbreaker — two drinking haunts that also make our list of the best bars in Melbourne — has also created this chic but still laidback French underground bar and restaurant.

This standout Melbourne bar is a destination for flavour lovers who aren’t afraid to try new things. Sure, you could stick with your favourite rosé and charcuterie, but creativity reigns supreme here so it’s well worth digging a little deeper.

Wild child Heartbreaker is an easy addition to this list of the best bars in Melbourne. It’s an American-style dive bar through and through, oozing cool-kid attitude and promising good times aplenty. 

With people queuing for a table at 7pm on a Wednesday night, you can tell there’s got to be something damn good about Melbourne’s Bar Lourinha. 

What happens when a bunch of affable booze reps turn their hands to opening a bar? You get Mr West — a bottleshop and bar in Footscray that offers flagons of rosé and more beers than your mates could squirrel away for a winter weekend away. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Chapel Street was a rather long way away while spending some time in Leonard’s House of Love. Its vibe is log cabin-meets-house party, and even though there’s a fair serving of timber in the decor, it’s more saloon than sauna.

Opened in 2016, this tiny bar hidden one floor above Smith Street (atop Beermash) positioned itself among the city’s cocktail-slinging elite right from the get-go. 

When someone like Andrew McConnell opens a wine bar in Melbourne, the expectations are high. When that bar sits beside iconic, two-hat Fitzroy restaurant Cutler & Co., forming some kind of wining and dining super-spot, you can bet they’re even higher. 

Gerald’s Bar is more than just an idiosyncratic local for Carlton North residents. It’s the definition of what us grown ups want in a small bar: a relaxed atmosphere, golden service, and a compact but considered menu.