When it comes to running a venue, who knows better than the people behind the bar? Put these serious standouts on your hit list.
Bars owned by hardworking pint-slingers and creative cocktail makers are a special breed. These bartender-owned bars tend to be focused on the drinks, ingredients, fitout – everything that makes visiting a bar a beautiful experience.
In that spirit, we thought we’d share some of our favourite bartender-owned bars around the country. These are mostly small, independent bars that are endlessly creative spaces well worth supporting. So, let’s get bar-hoppin’.
1. Caretaker’s Cottage
Few bars in Australia (let alone Victoria) have a bigger reputation than the divine Caretaker’s Cottage (AKA number 19 on the World's 50 Best Bars list). Part of that is its idiosyncratic CBD location (literally the tiny former residence of a church caretaker) but, really, it’s all in the drinks, which come courtesy of bartender-owners Rob Libecans, Ryan Noreiks and Matt Stirling. The trio has a shared resume that boasts legendary bars like Melbourne’s Black Pearl, and they’ve funnelled that knowledge into this diminutive bar. They go hard on original cocktails and obscure classics, milk punch, pints of Guinness and proper bar snacks. Oh, and they’ve just opened a new bar down the road called Three Horses, so add that to the list, too.
2. Goodwater
Elsewhere in Melbourne, we can’t get enough of Northcote’s American whiskey bar Goodwater, which has a bartender-owner list a mile long, including friend of Dan’s Daily, Cara Devine. Lovers of bourbon, rye and co will be enamoured by Goodwater, which stocks some 250-plus bottles on its back bar (including some very rare and very old bottlings), though the inventive cocktail list, nitro Espresso Martini tap and exceptional small-plate menu should be more than enough for anyone, whiskey lover or not.
3. Bar Bellamy
Speaking of bars with good small plates, we have to pay our respects to Bar Bellamy in Carlton North. The bar/bistro is owned by Danielle and Oska Whitehart (Oska is formerly of The Everleigh, Gimlet and more) and they weave its vaguely ’70s styling into dishes like the signature devilled eggs. Add in a rotating list of Martinis (we particularly love the Gibson with its little pickled onion garnish) and some killer wine, and we’re sold.
4. Bar Demo
Tiny bars are big business with bartender-owners, which makes sense since these spaces are usually tightly curated and laser focused. One of the best in Sydney is a brand newie called Bar Demo (pictured), opened by former Double Deuce Lounge bartenders Claudia Morgan and Oliver Churcher. Packed into the small space in Newtown, you’ll find a freezer Martini (something we know a bit about ourselves), a mind-bending hot and cold Piña Colada, along with a natural-leaning wine menu.
5. Otis
Like Bar Demo, Leichhardt bar Otis is a little space, but the vibes are massive. Owners Conor O’Brien and Dan Teh (ex-Baxter Inn and Butter, respectively) pump ’90s and 2000s bangers, serve pet nats and grower Champagne, and mix up cocktails with funky twists like the house Old Fashioned, which intriguingly includes soy sauce.
6. Bitter Phew
Most bartender-owned bars skew heavily towards cocktails – and that makes sense, since cocktails are a craft of their own. But long-running craft beer bar Bitter Phew is an exception. After running bars in Japan, Aaron Edwards opened a beer-centric place with mate Jay Pollard and it’s become something of an icon. The Oxford Street bar is famous for its seemingly endless ever-changing beer list, bringing in everything from local up-and-comers to rarely seen internationals. It’s just about the best beer bar in the country, honestly.
7. Maybe Mae
For classic bartender-owned bars in Adelaide, few come close to matching the reputation of Maybe Mae (pictured). The hidden cocktail lounge with art deco, 1930s-style is the brainchild of bartender Ollie Margan, who has built Maybe Mae around the idea that cocktails should be made from the best and freshest produce possible. There are the ultra fresh – maybe a blend of black cardamom, artichoke, brandy and amaro – as well as those made fresh and laid into the cellar for the off-season. It’s interesting, inventive cocktail making at its best.
8. Latteria
Here’s a tip: if you see a bar owned by someone who used to work at Melbourne’s Black Pearl, don’t hesitate – just go in. That’s the deal with the recently opened Latteria, which comes from longtime bar star Luca Baioni. The Hutt Street bar in Adelaide calls back to Luca’s life growing up in Italy, putting aperitivi in the spotlight. There are Martinis with Mediterranean flavours, Spritzes and a cocktail with clarified Biscoff milk. Heck yeah.
9. Bar Peripheral
We’ve mentioned that bartender-owned bars can often be on the smaller side, but few are quite as miniscule as the 12-seater Bar Peripheral. Centred around a 12-metre bar (which we guess means a metre of space for each lucky guest), owner Vini Wang serves up drinks with no menu – you just answer some questions and Vini will shake or stir something from his encyclopaedic knowledge of cocktail classics. Oh, and, there’s no standing – so keep that in mind.
10. Cobbler
Cobbler (pictured) is one of those joints where, on any given night, the owner is probably the one behind the bar. At this Brisbane whisk(e)y bar, owner Martin Lange gets the chance to show off a very personal love of all things malt, with a big range of Scotch, bourbon, Japanese, Irish, Australian, Indian, Taiwanese and American whiskies on the extensive back bar. There’s a fun little cocktail menu, too, with original creations aligned to various old-school video games. Who said whisky and cocktails had to be intimidating?
11. Bar Hugo
We’re going to make a call – not enough places specialise in vermouth. Thankfully (for Brissy locals, at least), there’s Bar Hugo, a West End spot focusing on vermouth and wine from bar stalwarts Nick Sebar and Shaun Kelly. The wine and vermouth selection is tight and constantly rotating, headlined by the sorts of obscure local and international treats rarely seen outside these little specialty bars. There are plenty of vermouth-featuring Martinis and Negronis too, of course, as well as a compact menu of wine-friendly small plates.
12. Corbins
The best bars tend to be in our big cities, but it’s not a rule, as Maroochydore cocktail bar Corbins proves. Owner Jay Tuncer Tokmak started bartending in Turkey before ending up in Australia, and it’s lucky for us that he did because Corbins is everything great about bartender-owned bars. Jay’s cocktails are suitably fresh and fruity – like the Blackberry Wise, which blends gin, amaro, blackberry, absinth and lemon – and backed by a menu of dips, breads and cold snacks that hark back to his Turkish heritage.
13. Foxtrot Unicorn
We love an underground, hidden-in-plain-sight sort of bar, and that’s what you get with Foxtrot Unicorn (pictured). Occupying an 1887-era bank vault, Foxtrot Unicorn has a fitout that definitely lets you know you’re in a historical space, filled as it is with vintage bar paraphernalia and elegant Chesterfield couches. Coming from bartending veteran Dimitri Rtshiladze, though, Foxtrot Unicorn is really all about the drinks. You’ll find a heavy whisky focus, a small selection of vintage and antique spirits (which you can drink, of course) and a menu of fancy jaffles.
14. Bar Love
Bartenders Pippa Canavan and Murray Walsh met while managing local institution the Mechanics Institute but, with Bar Love, they’ve channelled their passion into something a little more personal. The first thing you’ll notice is the kitschy ’70s styling, which goes beyond the fitout and penetrates deep into the bar’s menu. There’s a clarified, milk-punch-style Peaches and Cream Negroni, Dirty Martinis and a ‘blended disco drink’ featuring melon, vermouth and eucalyptus. Food comes from Peasant’s Paradise next door, so there’s plenty of reason to settle in and try a few cocktails.
15. Terrarium
Another bartender-owned bar proving sometimes bigger is indeed better, Terrarium spans two storeys. This cocktail bar comes courtesy of David Stucken, and it includes a lush rooftop garden as part of the deal (hence the name Terrarium, we guess). Cocktails are mostly original, fruity and named after plants – like the Primrose, which is a Margarita featuring silver tequila, agave, lime curd and lemon myrtle salt. There’s a substantial selection of mostly local wine, too, plus a snacky menu of treats like baked cheese with fig and Szechuan-spiced jam, and chicken liver pate.
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