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
Pubs and beer bars: 3 bars
Swipe to see all 3 bars →
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
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
Map: pubs and beer bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Your questions
What are the best pubs in Melbourne?
Start with Young & Jackson, Imperial Hotel and Builders Arms Hotel. Our full list has 3 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'
- 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
- 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.