Here’s cheers to Melbourne’s best new summer bars to check out
Whether it’s a beer hall with an indoor lagoon, a late-night dive bar or secret gin garden high in the sky, here are the 12 best new bars to check out this summer.
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Summer is just around the corner and with the hope of better weather willing us on, a host of new bars are coming to the party, rolling out the perfect spots to kick back with a cocktail or brew in hand.
Here is the pick of the 12 best new or expanded bars to check out this summer.
MOON DOG WORLD
In the industrial backstreets of deepest Preston you’ll find Moon Dog World, 12,000sq m of hop-fuelled fun times that includes a centrepiece indoor lagoon surrounded by deck chairs under a fully retractable roof. This dog and kid-friendly wonderland has fun in the summer sun written all over it.
Because, just like the beers brothers Josh and Jake Uljans and Karl Van Buuren of Moon Dog make, their new brewery is different. Very, very different.
Thirsty? Poured from more than 70 taps those beers include a bright and summery tropical lager, a zippy, zany pine-lime ice cream IPA and a boysenberry sour ale among eight core brews served by pot, schooner and jug. They join myriad one-off and experimental brews that are as inventively named — How Now Brown Cacao or Bad Boy Bubbly — as they are deliciously inventive. Aperol spritz and espresso martinis join carafes of wine on tap from super cool McLaren Vale winery Alpha Box and Dice, while the short wine list is a clever collection of accessible and interesting next-gen independents.
Hungry? Damon Philippakos (ex North Fitzroy’s Terminus Hotel) is looking after the food with a peripatetic menu offering something for everyone, from pork bao bites through rotisserie chooks, silken tofu through swordfish skewers. Japanese karaage is food tailor-made for beer and the squid tentacles here are terrific, while a couple of burgers are expectedly on sopping duties.
32-46 Chifley Dve, Preston.
ARBORY AFLOAT
It’s baaack. Melbourne’s favourite spot to drink on the Yarra, Arbory Afloat, has reberthed by Flinders St Station bigger than ever. Channelling 1970s Miami with palms, pastels, private cabanas and even a pool, the Yarra has never looked better.
Thirsty? Bright, fruity cocktails and a full selection of rum and spritz take care of sun-drenched thirsts, while wine guy Raul Moreno Yague has filled the fridges with aromatic, crisp whites and rose and other chilled reds.
Hungry? Chef Nick Bennett’s menu takes its cues from south Florida and serves up seafood on ice, a good line in pizzas from the wood-fired oven, empanadas and other Latin-inspired fare.
Yarra River, Northbank.
QT SECRET GARDEN
The QT rooftop terrace remains one of the city’s best spots to sip in the sun, but this summer push past the side door and be transported to a gin-swilling wonderland of botanicals swirled over ice. The one-time kitchen garden at the hotel has been transformed into a secret Four Pillars gin bar open on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm through summer.
Thirsty? Fitting just 40 people, it’s a verdant oasis in the sky where the selection of Four Pillars gins flow freely — including a small batch gin distilled especially for the space — which you can pick your own garnish to taste.
Hungry? Snacks make the most of Four Pillars’ famous “gin pig” — pure-breed black Berkshire beauties raised on the spent botanicals from the gin — in the form of gin pig skewers, sausage rolls and chipolatas.
133 Russell St, city.
qthotelsandresorts.com/melbourne
LOOP TOP
Putting the garden into beers, longtime Meyers Place arts space Loop has just added another level to its popular Loop Roof rooftop bar and filled it full of tropical plants. An extension of the arresting vertical garden that already climbs from the ground floor to the rooftop, Loop Top is a lush, colourful burst of botany high in the sky.
Thirsty? Among the tree aloe and Madagascar dragons, the Hollywood mint and Ficus flash and varieties of bougainvillea, sip highballs including the signature Thai-ball (bourbon, Montenegro, Kaffir lime), cool crafty cans and local wines with attitude.
Hungry? A kale and brussels sprout Caesar and mushroom “wings” make a veg pledge, while the double cheese, double bacon Loop burger does beef with double-handed style.
23 Meyers Place, city.
ELEKTRA
What was George Calombaris’s fancy Greek fine diner the Press Club has been transformed into late-night diner Elektra, where the Reuben Davis-helmed kitchen is serving butter chicken vol-au-vents and tarama hash browns and chilli-infused Pina Collins cocktails until the wee hours.
Thirsty? The worldly, eclectic list is made up of a tightly curated 30 bottles, all of which are offered by the glass, and whether it’s a South African chenin blanc or Austrian blaufrankisch, there’s interest at every turn poured by staff who know their stuff.
Hungry? With snacks that include a standout take on beans on toast through bigger bites — silken grilled chicken livers with tangelo and radicchio or anchovy-draped veal schnitzel on a tuna “fondue” — not eating is cheating, for this is a bar that raises it in the most delicious way.
72 Flinders St, Melbourne.
DESSOUS
Meaning “underneath or below” in French, Dessous is the subterranean yang to the light and bright day-through-night ying of bistro Hazel above. The handsome double act from The Mulberry Group (Liminal, Common Ground Project) has taken over three levels of the T&G Building on Flinders Lane.
Thirsty? The cellar of 120-odd wines is filled with thinking drinking, with a distinct Euro-centric air with almost two dozen — including a clever line up of fortifieds — poured by the glass.
A tight offering of local beers is of equal interest, while innovative cocktails put the spice into nice (see the Siesta, a tequila, Campari and grapefruit number).
Hungry? A menu separate to Hazel is offered from chef Dan Sawansak (Higher Ground, MoVida) that covers snacks (oysters with PX mignonette or pork belly sandos) through three-courses that follow skate served with grapes and hazelnuts, and saltbush-sprinkled lamb, with cheese and chutney and fruit clafoutis.
164 Flinders Lane, Melbourne.
dessous.com.au
JIMMY RUM
James McPherson has opened Victoria’s first — and only — rum distillery on the Mornington Peninsula. The ex marine engineer travelled around the world learning the craft of rum and distilled his first bottle here 18 months ago. A new bar has opened in the 500sq m distillery in Dromana’s industrial back blocks where Jimmy is distilling four types of rum from a 1500 litre copper still dubbed Matilda.
Thirsty? After tasting the range, settle back with a classic cocktail given a JimmyRum twist — perhaps a Cuba Libra (made with Capi spicy cola), a Stormy Jimmy (made with Strangelove double ginger beer) or Espresso Rumtini. A nice line in daiquiris are perfect for summer sipping, while a few local wines and other spirits and beers from Jetty Road offer plenty of non rum fun.
Hungry? Local meats and cheese aim to please but with fillings such as pulled pork, chicken and bacon, or cheese and pesto, the toastie platter piled high with crisps takes care of snacking with style.
6 Brasser Ave, Dromana.
WOWEE ZOWEE
Take one Something for Kate drummer (Clint Hyndman) add a winemaker (Garagiste’s Cam Marshall), a bar tzar (Craig Baum from Bar Barons) and throw in a chef for good measure (Paringa Estate’s Simon Tarlington) and you get Mornington’s Wowee Zowee — a rollickin’ dive bar that takes its name from a Pavement album and its attitude from rock ‘n’ roll’s finest.
Thirsty?
A weekly changing tinnie, wine and $15 boilermaker (shot and beer) keep things interesting while nicely priced cocktails ($15-16) are shaken with style.
A tight list of Vic wines and five beers on tap (including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Kona and Young Henry’s Newtowner) keep the party going long into the night.
Hungry? Fab fried chicken and buffalo wings are the main event, but the plant curious and full-blown vegan alike can get their chops around such beauties as the Broc’N’Roll — a spiced broccolini roll teamed with cashew feta and salt and vinegar crisps.
Rear 35 Main St, Mornington.
THE LUWOW
Fitzroy’s late lamented The Luwow has been reborn, taking its colourful kitsch and tiki totems to the city taking over what was most recently Hawaiian restaurant Hana but what many will remember as Hairy Canary.
Thirsty? It’s all about the mai tai, of course, the daggy-cool orangey, pineappley, almondy rum cocktail, but they also make a mean banana daiquiri (the Bo-Na-Na) and a three-rum Don Zombie that’ll put hair on your chest.
Hungry? Grab a basket of Hawaii Fries O or some Tahiti tacos filled with tiger’s milk-cured fish, while spicy fried chicken and beef brisket sliders are perfect after one mai tai becomes three.
212 Lt Collins St, city.
LAND OF PLENTY
A sprawling, palm-filled rooftop bar high above Carlisle St, Land of Plenty puts the barbecue into bar with distinctly Aussie flair.
Thirsty? An all Aussie line-up of drinks on the shelf and in the fridge is impressively on-theme, with such cocktails as the Flamin’ Galah (GGG gin, rosella infusion, lemon myrtle syrup) doubling down deliciously.
Hungry? A charcoal barbie makes up much of the menu, with skewers from around the world taking care of snacks, and a line in steaks taking care of feasts, with pepperberry tofu and Aussie breakfast tea-cured kingfish some of the elegant plates that might precede a you beaut Milo damper with wattleseed cream for dessert.
188 Carlisle St, St Kilda.
MARAMEO
Many will remember it as CBD longplayer Sarti, but while the name has changed and the red door is now white, the Italian style diner — and the hidden terrace — remain the same as it ever was.
Thirsty? Barrel-aged negronis and a long line in spritz have afternoon sips in the sun sorted before getting stuck into the 300-strong cellar filled with classy Italians and lovely locals.
Hungry? The $15 spaghetti cacio e pepe takes care of lunchtime hungers on the quick and cheap, but chef Geoff Martin’s menu is filled with housemade pasta hits (the paccheri with gurnard, fennel and nduja is particularly noteworthy) and bigger plates (pork cotoletta or grilled spatchcock). But grazing across the extensive antipasti, salumi and formaggi selection is also richly rewarding.
6 Russell Plc, Melbourne.
BYRDI
Melbourne Central’s new(ish) fun and funky food precinct, ELLA, now comes with serious thinking drinking cred with the long-awaited arrival of Byrdi.
The first Australian bar of Luke Whearty and Aki Nishikura (Singapore’s Operation Dagger) the team distil local botanicals and seasonal fruits and vegetables to create completely unique drinks.
Thirsty? The booze used isn’t listed on the menu in any of the drinks but nonetheless packs a punch in the terrific “Applewood #1” — a refreshing hit of smoky Davidson plum with a pepperberry tickle — and the “Not Mezcal”, which transforms pear into the spitting likeness of the Mexican firewater by fermenting, fortifying and smoking it.
A couple of similarly boundary-pushing wines are on the pour, with Footscray’s Hop Nation organic lager taking care of a coldie.
Hungry? The menu of bites to go with might be small but delivers big flavours and could begin with a tiny smoked meringue and strawberry compressed in its juice (both delicious and gratis) before segueing into smoked yoghurt with a pond of chilli oil and fermented honey to scoop on flatbread.
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Stracciatella topped with a “jam” of capers, coriander and parsley is a vibrant take on 2019’s trendiest cheese, while charry broccolini stalks come on a cushion of sublime macadamia cream bolstered with sherry vinegar.
ELLA, Melbourne Central.
AND COMING SOON …
PRINCE PUBLIC BAR
St Kilda’s much-loved down-and-dirty Prince Public bar is in the midst of a makeover and will reopen in time for summer. Looking to the future but referencing its colourful past, the entire ground floor has been opened up, with cold beers, counter meals and a daily roast on the menu. Scheduled to open early December.
WELCOME TO BRUNSWICK
A sister venue to the ever-bustling Welcome to Thornbury, this new 450-seat beer garden in partnership with 4 Pines brewery promises food trucks, exclusive 4 Pines beers and summer good times behind Sydney Rd’s Brunswick Mess Hall when it opens late November.
TULUM COCKTAIL BAR
The reigning delicious.100 No.1 restaurant in Victoria will have yet another reason to pay a visit when its back bar opens early in the new year. Expect drinks and bites created with the modern Turkish flair that has won the team such acclaim.
PATIENT WOLF DISTILLERY
It’s been beset by delays but Brunswick’s boutique gin distillery is getting ready to move into its new Southbank digs in the new year where the distillery door and bar will offer a seasonal drinks menu featuring gins and tonic, classic cocktails and experimental gin combinations.