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
Cocktail bars: 18 bars
Swipe to see all 18 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
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
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
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
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
Polly
Cocktail lounge
A glamorous Brunswick Street lounge in crimson and velvet, for cocktails and absinthe.
📍 401 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
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
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
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
Map: cocktail bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Your questions
What are the best cocktail bars in Melbourne?
Start with Caretaker's Cottage, Above Board, Apollo Inn, Eau de Vie and Nick & Nora's. Our full list has 18 bars.
More Melbourne bar guides
- 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
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.