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From classic Martinis to mindbending mash-ups, this city’s best bars have it all.
Ascend the hidden staircase to a space where minimalism meets mastery behind the bar. Founded by star bartender Hayden Scott Lambert, Above Board runs around 25 cocktails at any one time – many of them clever, boundary-pushing takes on the classics you know and love. If you’re only taking one, make it the HSL Special – an amaro liqueur and absinthe-based spin on the Bramble. It’s a drink Hayden’s so proud of that he named it after himself.
A visit to Collingwood’s favourite cocktail hideout is a rite of passage for any drinks enthusiast in Melbourne – and with just 12 seats, scoring one can be as prized as the cocktails themselves.
It’s all about old-world opulence at the first drinks-focused venue from the crew behind Gimlet, Cumulus Inc and Cutler & Co, among others. And like its sibling venues, Apollo Inn is expectedly sharp. Slinky red velvet lines the seats and drapes over the windows, while suited waiters skilfully usher cocktails around the 30-odd diners and drinkers.
You’d be remiss not to start with the signature cocktail that’s been on page one since day one: the Picon Bière, a fancified riff on the Shandy that brings together Chinotto, blood orange and French lager in a truly exciting way. Prefer your cocktails without beer? The Martini menu is worth exploring in full and covers a full spectrum – from bone dry to a hazelnut miso-spiked number.
With over 20 years in the game, more than a handful of accolades, and several appearances on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, Black Pearl is the neighbourhood bar that could. This Fitzroy favourite serves reliable classics to an often-packed bar five nights a week. An Old Fashioned never goes out of fashion here – park up with one on a leather ottoman upstairs in the salon – or revisit the Nebula, a refreshing house fave full of Tanqueray gin and white peach, garnished with rocket, thyme and lemon.
Byrdi is one of those “if you know, you know” spots – and if you don’t, consider this your sign to get acquainted with one of the city’s most progressive cocktail bars. Inside, it’s all about earthy tones, unobtrusive lighting and experimental cocktails.
The menu moves fast, but several constants remain: its spin on the Rusty Nail – complete with oxidised quince, burnt miso, coffee and chocolate – walks the line between nightcap and dessert; the Snow, meanwhile, offers a more versatile Byrdi experience, with locally grown yuzu, citrus coconut ice and Geraldton wax.
Curious once won an award for “Best Ceiling in the World”, but that’s not the only reason you pay a visit to this subterranean dreamscape that takes its cues from Alice in Wonderland.
The cocktails are just as gregarious as the interior, with the latest limited-edition menu featuring a flaming Campari and tequila-based Wizz Fizz, a hard matcha, and a bacon-infused vodka cocktail served as an ice-cream.
Filipino-inspired cocktails served on a Melbourne rooftop? Say less. With marble counters, sunloungers and tropicana hues in every direction, restaurant Askal’s upstairs sibling feels like a resort bar somewhere in South East Asia – except with primo cocktails. The tart tang of calamansi, a citrus popular in the Philippines, features heavily across the menu at Inuman. If that sounds like your jam, kick off with the Bruno Margs – an inventive, citrus-charged take on the Margarita that swaps salt for fermented shrimp paste.
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Owner and bartender Andy Chu spent more than a decade on the stick at some of Melbourne’s better-loved cocktail bars before opening his own, One or Two. Three years on, it’s right up there with the best of them. The vibe? Intimate. The cocktails? Thoughtful. The concept? You stay for just one or two.
The diverse Highball program is a great place to start if you’re only having one. Going for two? Dial things up with the Caffeinated – a well-shaken mix of mezcal, Italy’s bittersweet Cynar liqueur, vermouth, figs and Aussie coffee liqueur Grada.
