The 12 best bars in Darwin

Tucked on the fringe of the city, this chic garden bar creates an atmosphere where you’ll feel like you’re sipping cocktails at a fancy friend’s house. The Trader Bar is a beautifully converted old Darwin house – a garden sanctuary that welcomes guests from Thursday mornings until Sunday nights. You can pop in for a coffee and a croissant in the morning and return later in the arvo for a trendy cocktail during the house DJ set. Sit on the steps under the vines for a tried and tested Instagram backdrop.

In the centre of the CBD, a walk down Austin Lane will take you past an inconspicuous graffiti-covered door. If not for the light beaming onto the footpath, you’d never know about the delight that awaits you up the stairs. Inside the doors, the leather chesterfield lounges and dark wooden tables of Charlie’s will make you feel like you’ve stepped straight into another city – but it brings you straight back to Darwin with its signature gin: a crocodile on the label and Kakadu plum, water lily and native lemongrass infusions. 

It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday… and Darwin’s newest hotspot is booming with the sound of not one, but two pianos. As the first addition to the multi-million-dollar Cinema Collective on Mitchell Street, Sweethearts promises to keep the party going until 3am every day of the week, offering live music, elevated pub fare and an all-Aussie drinks list. Start the night with Territorian tucker at Flick’s by MasterChef alumni Dan Lamble, then slide next door to Sweethearts, where the after-party kicks off nightly with talented, local musicians playing between the duelling pianos.

Darwin isn’t usually associated with the discerning wine connoisseur, but in Stone House, you’ll find a selection of cocktails and mocktails, grazing platters, charcuterie, cheese – and most importantly, an extensive wine list with more than 200 wines. For beer lovers, there’s still a great range of local craft brews on tap, and the courtyard is the perfect place to enjoy a pre-dinner tipple. 

In recent years, Darwin has seen multiple hidden bars open behind graffiti doors, most recently Hanky Panky Lounge. With the identifying phrase “behind the birds on Mitchell Street”, it’s almost Darwin’s worst best-kept secret. Once you find the door, give your eyes time to adjust so you can take in the sparkling chandeliers, marble bar and velvet upholstery – there are no windows in here. What there is, however, is a cocktail menu that is pages long, plus cosy booths perfect for date nights or after-work drinks with friends. 

A very literal hole in the wall, Poco Bar has been born out of what used to be a loading zone. However, once the shutters are up and the European-style furniture is out, you can’t walk past without wanting to pull up a seat and order a drink. Open only during the Dry Season months from May to August, this small bar has kept to the theme and only offers five cocktails, five white wines, five reds, five beers and five drink-friendly snacks. 

A glowing red neon sign that says ‘booze’ welcomes you at the entry of Smoke and Oak, and that’s not even the best part. There are tasty Asian-style bites, dark spirits, bold wines, craft beers and cocktails. They’ve got a regular $6.50 ‘shitty tinnie’ special, which is always a good laugh if you dare to take the risk, and if you’re looking for a drink in Darwin on a weeknight, Jam Night at Smoke and Oak from 8.30pm on Tuesday’s is always entertaining. 

Dom’s has drawn people from far and wide into an old 70s laneway in the seaside suburb of Nightcliff. Try their award-winning Territori-Tini, a mango-flavoured cocktail with a very Territory garnish: a salty plum. If alcohol isn’t your thing, you can try the cleverly named Free Spirited menu (yes, free of spirits) and head in for one of the often-held games nights, trivia competitions or giant Jenga tournaments. 

In an inconspicuous shed in Winnellie, Darwin’s industrial area, you’ll find one of the Top End’s coolest breweries. One Mile wouldn’t be out of place in Melbourne with its industrial graffiti feel, but the brews are very Darwin. Try a paddle featuring beers with names like the ‘RDO’ and ‘4:21’ (which is actually the real-time that government workers clock off in the NT), or get a refreshing cider in a slushie. For the non-beer drinkers, they even have alcoholic pink lemonade and a recently released vodka range. The Brewery is open Thursday and Friday nights and all day Saturday, and they have a pizza truck on-site during opening hours.

Willing Distillery is also just down the road, in another unassuming warehouse. It caters to the everlasting thirst for refreshment in the tropics – with a gin distillery and cellar door out the back and an air-conditioned cocktail bar in the front for those high-humidity nights. The motto adorning their bar mats is “We’re willing, you’re welcome” and if you try their Rosella Gin, you will understand. It’s truly delicious, as is their cocktail menu with alterations to old favourites, like the Darwin Sling and the Bush Negroni.