April 2025: We may still yet have a few warm days ahead of us, but there's no denying it: Melbourne's skies are taking on a grey-ish look and you may want to bring a jacket before heading out for a night on the town. Autumn is the perfect season for cosy cocktail lairs and wine bar catch-ups to turn that post-summer frown upside down.
Melbourne has some of the greatest bars in the world, whether you're looking for the laser-like focus of 16-seater Above Board or the rock‘n’roll ‘she’ll be right’ spirit of Lulie Tavern. You can find temples heroing whisky and palaces dedicated to gin, hole-in-the-wall nooks for sipping natural wines or classy spots for suited-and-booted cocktails. How about a prawn club sanga and a bottle of Champers from tiny charmer Apollo Inn? Or crocodile bites and ice-cold Martinis from Black Kite Commune?
If it's sky-high action you're after, then take a squiz at our guide to Melboune's best rooftop bars instead. For tipples a bit more out-of-the-box, we've got the scoop on some of Melbourne's weirdest drinking experiences. Yep, your options in this town are truly endless – even if you don't drink booze, since most bars in Melbourne have seriously upped their mocktail game in recent years.
We've rounded up the top 50 bars that we're really loving right now – and we're sure you will, too.
Lauren Dinse is Time Out Melbourne’s Food and Drink Writer. Having visited some of the best bars around the globe (from Berlin to Bangkok), she still reckons the bar scene in Melbourne is truly special and one-of-a-kind. Thanks to the recent spate of long, hot days, her go-to drink right now is the safe-yet-satisfying Mojito – but watch this space as it tends to change often!
For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.