The only thing Melburnians love more than a new bar is a brand new hard-to-find bar. We've scored three in as many months.

Corked Wine Bar opened in Werribee in early May. An A-frame sign directs thirsty patrons through the bottom of an apartment block in Watton Street to a wine bottle-rack wall. Look for the bottle with a button on its lid to reveal the secret entrance.

Inside, owners Chris and Mutena Scudamore (he's an electrician, she's a nurse) pour mostly Australian wines. There are cheese and charcuterie grazing plates, with hot food coming this week (welcome, duck fat potato chips and smoked barramundi arancini). Pull up a seat by the fire or at a wine barrel table on the deck overlooking the Werribee River.

The Coupette Group, which owns Woods of Windsor in Prahran, opened Bouvardia in Melbourne's CBD in May. Wedged between two Bourke Street Thai restaurants, the 55-seat bar is up two flights of stairs with a discreet entrance. A long green marble bar and plush musk-stick-pink lounges occupy the midcentury-inspired space, which had sat empty for a decade.

Cocktails are served on candy-pink trays and water is poured from matching Dinosaur Designs resin jugs. The 10 original cocktails incorporate house-fermented ingredients (the blackened apples in the B.A.B cocktail take two months to create and are mixed with basil and Australian brandy). Come August, they'll open rooftop bar Pomelo above Bouvardia with room for 75 people to enjoy house slushies, canned cocktails and sunshine vibes.

Heading underground, Valhalla Bar arrived in the basement of Olderfleet building, at the west end of Collins Street, in April. The burnished brass bar and granite cobblestone floor add old-world charm to the Nordic-inspired venue. The Loki cocktail (a mix of Marionette Peach Liqueur, Cocchi Americano, Gancia Brut and Never Never Aquavit spritzed with lemon mist) is the early favourite. Entry is via the elevator in the Olderfleet lobby.

Corked Wine Bar is open Wed-Thu 5pm-9.30pm, Fri-Sat 1pm-11pm, Sun 1pm-9.30pm at shop 9, 116 Watton Street, Werribee, corkedwb.com

Bouvardia is open Tue-Wed 5pm-midnight, Thu-Sun 5pm-1am at level 2, 169 Bourke Street, Melbourne, bouvardia.com.au

Valhalla is open Wed-Sat 5pm-midnight at basement level, 477 Collins Street, Melbourne, valhallabar.com.au