Unmarked doors, basements and back rooms: the Newcastle NSW bars you have to know about to find.
Last checked 14 November 2026. No bar paid to be included.
Swipe to see all 3 bars →
Speakeasy
Australia's Best Regional Bar 2016
A hard-to-find Prohibition-style speakeasy with no sign outside: text the code on the wall and wait for the door to open. Popular since 2014, it was named Australia's Best Regional Bar in 2016. The bartenders will make a drink to your taste. It also runs cocktail masterclasses.
📍 380 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW 2300
🕒 Daily 4pm to 11.55pm (OpenStreetMap; check before you go)
Diner with a hidden bar
A retro diner out front with a cocktail bar out the back pouring nostalgic classics with a twist. Upstairs is an 18+ late-night room with booths, its own bar and a neon-lit pool table.
📍 102 Darby Street, Cooks Hill NSW 2300
Basement bar
A cosy bar beneath The Grand Hotel, with alcohol-free cocktails on the list and antipasto and pub food from upstairs.
📍 Lower Ground, 32 Church Street, Newcastle NSW 2300
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Start with Coal & Cedar, Newy Fried Chicken and The Underground. Our full list has 3 bars.
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 and trusted local guides, including Hunter and Hunter.
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
Run a bar in Newcastle NSW that should be here? Get in touch at hello@cocktail-week.com and tell us about it.
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