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
Hidden bars: 5 bars
Swipe to see all 5 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
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
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
Murmur Piano Bar
Piano bar
A late-night bar in Warburton Lane with regular live music.
📍 17 Warburton Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Map: hidden bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Your questions
Where are the hidden bars in Melbourne?
Start with Caretaker's Cottage, Above Board, Eau de Vie, Beneath Driver Lane and Murmur Piano Bar. Our full list has 5 bars.
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'
- 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.