Time Out Melbourne Food & Drink Awards 2025: Casual Drinking Venue Nominees

Caretaker's Cottage is quintessentially Melbourne: cool without being pretentious, creative but not overwrought, and intimate without being isolating. It's not a place for big groups or rowdy nights out; this is a bar best enjoyed in pairs or threes. It's a space where you feel cared for, where every detail – from the sheer curtains to the music to the flawless Martinis – has been considered. In a city teeming with cocktail bars, Caretakers Cottage doesn't just hold its own – it's leading the charge. It's a reminder that a bar doesn't have to be big to make a big impact.

Goldy's Tavern is the Benjamin Button of pubs. At more than 150 years old, it should be creaking towards retirement. Instead, it’s cooler than ever. Once the haunt of Chopper Read back when it was known as the Leinster Arms Hotel, it now acts as a little oasis from the chaos in Fitzroy’s backstreets. Goldy’s is where your best friend is, because Goldy’s is your best friend. Yes, they are not perfect. But you don't love them for their perfection, you love them for their character. Their vibe. 

When Molly Rose Brewery first opened its doors in 2019 in a Collingwood backstreet, northside craft beer lovers rejoiced. Though it’s not difficult to find the local brewer’s creations at bars and good bottle shops around town, there’s something to be said for drinking at the spot where all the beer alchemy takes place – from the fermentation process to that final frothy pour. If you’re a liquor lover who lives north of the river, a chat with the experts here is an unmissable experience.

It's been almost eight years since Mr West swung open its doors to astonished Footscray locals. Some, rightly so, feared the young bar marked the beginning of the 'cray's dangerous edging into hipster territory. Others, also rightly so, encouraged naysayers to live a little. The latter camp welcomed a new casual drinking home for excellent craft beer, cocktails and locally produced wines – a friendly place where staff could talk tipples with anybody and everybody curious enough to step in for a drink. So how does Mr West fare in 2025? Has it seamlessly woven its offering into the colourful patchwork of Footscray's spirit? It certainly has, and it's still, simply, one of the best in the west.

If you were the type of old club head to trawl the pubs on Brunswick Street for pints, chats and boogie opportunities, you’ll probably remember the Punters Club of yore. While it was gone for a while, we can now confirm: yes, it’s back – and better than ever. A beloved live music venue from the time before anyone had a mobile phone, and before it was Bimbo (and then Kewpie), the Punters Club has come back to the future with a fresh lick of paint, stacked live music program and an inspired menu of nostalgia-inducing pub grub.

You’re unlikely to find Santana unless you know about it. We’ve had to creep down a laneway and climb up multiple flights of stairs to level three – just one floor up from Bouvardia. Santana was launched by the same owners, Abjar Kasho and his team, near the end of March 2024. It’s a niche offering, to be sure – South American cigars and spirits – and you’d expect it to attract a certain narrow kind of clientele. But our bartender reveals that Santana is far from a lads’ club, recounting a wonderfully diverse crowd on busy nights: groups of women, older folks, CBD workers and solo travellers alike.

In an era where grunge and keeping everything as casual as possible seems to be ubiquitous, it’s nice to head out to a bar that feels cool yet classy, where you feel like you want to dress to impress. It’s got that Southside promise of “maybe I’ll meet my soulmate, maybe I’ll have a dance, maybe I’ll stay out all night” energy to it, but it’s also just a fun place to hang out, eat some good food and listen to some good music. Young Hearts, you’ve made us feel free, for sure.