Caretaker's Cottage
Cocktail bar
On The World's 50 Best Bars list for 2026
A tiny bluestone cottage behind a church on Little Lonsdale Street. Small, friendly and easy to miss.
📍 139-141 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Our top 10 Melbourne bars
If you only have one night, start here.
- Caretaker's Cottage
Australia's bar on The World's 50 Best Bars list for 2026.
Flinders Lane, Chinatown and the east end - Above Board
One island bar, perfect drinks and a hidden door.
Fitzroy and Collingwood - Apollo Inn
Classics done properly on Flinders Lane.
Flinders Lane, Chinatown and the east end - Eau de Vie
A speakeasy with a whisky room behind the bookcase.
Flinders Lane, Chinatown and the east end - Nick & Nora's
Champagne and cocktails in art deco style.
Flinders Lane, Chinatown and the east end - 1806
A cocktail menu that runs through four centuries.
Flinders Lane, Chinatown and the east end - Black Pearl
A Fitzroy favourite for good reason.
Fitzroy and Collingwood - Lui Bar
Cocktails 55 floors above the city.
Swanston Street and the west end - Siglo
The rooftop over Parliament House.
Flinders Lane, Chinatown and the east end - Polly
Velvet, absinthe and a late Brunswick Street night.
Fitzroy and Collingwood
Map of Melbourne bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Bars in the east end of the CBD
The east side of the CBD, from Flinders Lane and Collins Street up through the Chinatown laneways to Spring Street and Parliament.
Swipe to see all 17 bars →
Apollo Inn
Cocktail bar
A small Flinders Lane bar for classic cocktails, from the team behind Gimlet.
📍 165 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Eau de Vie
Speakeasy cocktail bar
A speakeasy on Malthouse Lane with a whisky lounge hidden behind a bookcase.
📍 1 Malthouse Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Nick & Nora's
Cocktail and Champagne bar
An old-world cocktail and Champagne bar off Collins Street, with a raw bar and small plates.
📍 80 Collins Street via, 11 Benson Wk, Melbourne VIC 3000
1806
Cocktail bar
A cocktail bar on Exhibition Street whose menu runs by era, from 1650 to now.
📍 169 Exhibition St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Siglo
Rooftop bar
A rooftop terrace on Spring Street looking over Parliament House, for cocktails, wine and food. No bookings.
📍 2/161 Spring St, Melbourne VIC 3000
The Melbourne Supper Club
Late-night lounge
A late-night first-floor lounge on Spring Street with Chesterfields, a long wine list and a big bay window.
📍 First Floor/161 Spring St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Beneath Driver Lane
Basement cocktail bar
An underground bar for cocktails, spirits and French bites, with live music on some nights.
📍 Shop/3 Driver La, Melbourne VIC 3000
Union Electric
Cocktail bar and rooftop
A Chinatown laneway bar with exposed brick and a rooftop garden.
📍 13 Heffernan Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Bomba
Tapas bar and rooftop
A Spanish tapas bar on Lonsdale Street with a rooftop bar above.
📍 103 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Gimlet
Restaurant and bar
A grand restaurant and bar in Cavendish House on Russell Street, with oysters, wood-fired food and classic cocktails.
📍 33 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Heartbreaker
Rock 'n' roll bar
A loud rock 'n' roll bar on Russell Street with whiskey, beer and late nights.
📍 234A Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Section 8
Laneway bar
An open-air laneway bar in Chinatown serving drinks from a shipping container, with DJs and graffiti walls.
📍 27-29 Tattersalls Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Young & Jackson
Historic pub
Melbourne's most famous pub, opposite Flinders Street Station: built in 1853, with the painting Chloe upstairs since 1909 in a craft beer bar named after her.
📍 1 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Imperial Hotel
Rooftop pub
A pub with one of the best rooftops in the CBD, looking across at Parliament House, with live sport and a mostly Australian beer list.
📍 2 to 8 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Embla
Wine bar
One of Melbourne's most loved wine bars, with a world-ranging list and wood-fired dishes.
📍 122 Russell Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
City Wine Shop
Wine bar
The quintessential Melbourne wine bar and bottle shop on Spring Street, from the team behind The European and Siglo.
📍 159 Spring Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Bars in the west end of the CBD
Swanston Street, Collins Street west and the lanes around Hardware Street, with two of the city's best views.
Swipe to see all 6 bars →
Lui Bar
Cocktail lounge
A cocktail lounge on the 55th floor of the Rialto on Collins Street, with views across the city.
📍 Entry via, Rialto Piazza, Level 55/525 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Rooftop Bar
Rooftop bar
The open-air bar on top of Curtin House on Swanston Street, with city views, burgers and a summer cinema.
📍 Curtin House, level 7/252 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Loch & Key
Cocktail bar
A dimly lit bar on Franklin Street with several rooms and a balcony.
📍 34 Franklin St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Murmur Piano Bar
Piano bar
A late-night bar in Warburton Lane with regular live music.
📍 17 Warburton Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Mjølner
Bar and restaurant
A Viking-themed bar and restaurant on Hardware Street, with drinking horns and big plates.
📍 106 Hardware St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Kirk's Wine Bar
Wine bar
A Hardware Lane wine bar with food sent down from its sister venue upstairs, French Saloon.
📍 46 Hardware Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
Bars in Fitzroy and Collingwood
Brunswick Street, Johnston Street and Smith Street, a short tram ride north of the CBD, with some of Melbourne's longest-running bars.
Swipe to see all 7 bars →
Above Board
Cocktail bar
A small, moody bar built around a single island bar, reached through the back of Beermash in Collingwood. No bookings.
📍 Chopper Lane, behind Beermash, 1/306 Smith St, Collingwood VIC 3066
Black Pearl
Cocktail bar
A long-running Brunswick Street bar with a relaxed ground floor and table service upstairs.
📍 304 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Polly
Cocktail lounge
A glamorous Brunswick Street lounge in crimson and velvet, for cocktails and absinthe.
📍 401 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Naked for Satan
Bar and rooftop
A Brunswick Street bar with infused vodkas, Spanish-style snacks and a rooftop with city views.
📍 285 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Bar Liberty
Wine and cocktail bar
A bar on Johnston Street for wine, cocktails and snacks.
📍 234 Johnston St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Marion
Wine bar
Andrew McConnell's Fitzroy wine bar, next to Cutler and Co, with a long wine list and seasonal food.
📍 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Builders Arms Hotel
Historic pub
A Gertrude Street pub from 1853 whose front bar still feels like a neighbourhood local. A plaque out front remembers its history as the black pub of Melbourne.
📍 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Melbourne cocktail trails
Three routes in walking order, with the time between each bar. See them all on a map.
Flinders Lane and the east end
6 bars · about 22 minutes on foot in total
- 1Apollo Inn165 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 4 min to the next bar
- 2Eau de Vie1 Malthouse Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 4 min to the next bar
- 3Nick & Nora's80 Collins Street via, 11 Benson Wk, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 5 min to the next bar
- 4Siglo2/161 Spring St, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 4 min to the next bar
- 51806169 Exhibition St, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 5 min to the next bar
- 6Caretaker's Cottage139-141 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
The Chinatown laneways
4 bars · about 9 minutes on foot in total
- 1Heartbreaker234A Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 3 min to the next bar
- 2Section 827-29 Tattersalls Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 2 min to the next bar
- 3Union Electric13 Heffernan Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
- 🚶 about 4 min to the next bar
- 4Bomba103 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Fitzroy and Collingwood
5 bars · about 18 minutes on foot in total
- 1Naked for Satan285 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
- 🚶 about 1 min to the next bar
- 2Black Pearl304 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
- 🚶 about 5 min to the next bar
- 3Polly401 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
- 🚶 about 9 min to the next bar
- 4Bar Liberty234 Johnston St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
- 🚶 about 3 min to the next bar
- 5Above BoardChopper Lane, behind Beermash, 1/306 Smith St, Collingwood VIC 3066
More Melbourne bar guides
- Cocktail barsEvery cocktail bar in our Melbourne guide in one place: speakeasies, hotel bars, award win
- Date nightRomantic cocktail bars in Melbourne for a night for two: Caretaker's Cottage, Nick & Nora'
- Hidden barsMelbourne's hidden bars and speakeasies: Caretaker's Cottage, Above Board, Eau de Vie and
- Rooftops and viewsMelbourne bars with a view or a rooftop: Lui Bar, Siglo, Rooftop Bar at Curtin House and N
- Fun bars for groupsLively Melbourne bars for birthdays and nights out: Section 8, Mjølner, Heartbreaker and B
- Late night and musicMelbourne bars for a late drink or live music: The Melbourne Supper Club, Murmur Piano Bar
- Pubs and beer barsThe best pubs in Melbourne: historic boozers, real ale pubs and craft beer bars.
- Wine barsThe best wine bars in Melbourne: natural wine, long lists by the glass and candlelit rooms
- Cocktail trailsReady-made Melbourne cocktail trails on foot: Flinders Lane and the east end, the Chinatow
Know before you go
- 🗓️ Go earlyMany of the smallest bars don't take bookings and fill up fast on Friday and Saturday.
- 🚋 Free trams in the CBDTrams are free within the CBD's Free Tram Zone, which makes hopping between bars easy.
- 🚋 Fitzroy by tramBrunswick Street and Smith Street are a short tram ride north of the CBD.
- 🆔 Bring IDYou must be 18 to drink in Australia and bars often ask for ID. Tipping isn't expected, though it's welcome for good service.
Your questions
What is the best cocktail bar in Melbourne?
Caretaker's Cottage on Little Lonsdale Street is on The World's 50 Best Bars list for 2026. Above Board in Collingwood and Apollo Inn on Flinders Lane are close behind.
Where is the best area for cocktail bars in Melbourne?
The east end of the CBD, around Flinders Lane, Spring Street and the Chinatown laneways, has the most bars within a short walk. Brunswick Street in Fitzroy is a tram ride away and worth a night of its own.
Is there a Melbourne Cocktail Week?
Not yet. Cocktail Week runs ten-day cocktail festivals across the UK and Ireland and is coming to Melbourne. Sign up on the Melbourne Cocktail Week page to hear first when dates and venues are announced.
Do I need to book Melbourne cocktail bars?
Many small bars, including Above Board and Siglo, don't take bookings, so go early. Bars with restaurants, like Gimlet, are easier to book.
What is the most famous pub in Melbourne?
Young and Jackson, opposite Flinders Street Station, built in 1853. The painting Chloe has hung there since 1909, now in Chloe's Bar upstairs.
Who wrote this guide
This guide is written by the team at M.AD Agency. We run Cocktail Week, the ten-day cocktail festival held town by town across the UK and Ireland. Now we're bringing it to Australia. Since 2022 we have taken it to more than 20 towns and cities and worked with hundreds of bars. We put this guide together from our own research, Google Maps and trusted local guides, ahead of bringing Cocktail Week to Melbourne.
No bar paid to be included and nobody can buy a place. We check the guide regularly as bars open, change and close.
Cocktail Week in Australia
Want your bar in this guide?
Run a bar in Melbourne that should be here? Get in touch at hello@cocktail-week.com and tell us about it.