Expect the kind of service and atmosphere that’ll make you feel like a local, even if you’ve crossed town.
Many of the best bars in Melbourne can be found in that glorious inner north pocket of Brunswick and Brunswick East. With iconic buildings, character-filled streets, a perfect mesh of industrial and residential, and a regard for coffee that borders on religion, for many – including Beci Orpin and Raph Rashid – this is the true Melbourne. Thriving with creativity and imagination from its local designer boutiques, as well as live music meccas and restaurants from across the multicultural spectrum, this area is the envy of everywhere else in Australia. Like, Sydney wishes.
Then there are the bars – from chic and inventive wine nooks to classic corner pubs, there’s nothing cookie-cutter about where to grab a drink in Brunswick. What the best bars do have in common is an authenticity and drive for the exceptional. The people behind them really care about what they do. Created as neighbourhood destinations (though you’d gladly jump a few trams to get there), when you visit, you’ll eat and drink like a king, and be treated like family. There’s the Sydney Road icons and Lygon Street phenoms, of course, but these days the best bars in Brunswick stretch out into the side streets and over into Brunswick East and Brunswick West.
Top tip for Brunswick? Always order on your waiter’s recommendation. You won’t regret it. Promise.
