Sleep, schmeep. Plenty of great late-night bars, eateries and clubs have opened in the last few years, which means the only thing putting an end to your night is the sunrise
Bedtime is for babies, and Melbourne's late-night offerings are just too good to pass up. Consider this your guide to making the most of an increasingly all-hours city – whether you're keen for a cocktail and a dance or dinner and a movie. Because we all know the best things happen after midnight, right?
Screening at 11pm
Since 2010, the northside’s beloved independent cinema has dedicated the first Saturday of every month to screening Tommy Wiseau’s The Room; a cult film that is so, so bad it’s brilliant. Much like a screening of Rocky Horror, there are plenty of crazy traditions to be followed; some of them involve throwing spoons at the screen and drinking ‘Scotchka’.
Open until 3am.
Black Pearl's legendary cocktails are a great way to kick off the night properly. Stay downstairs and flip through the cocktail menu cards or buzz yourself into the Attic, a secret cocktail bar upstairs for some snacks and classic cocktails.
Open until 3.30am
Karaoke doesn’t get much better than KBOX. You can book your own room, order snacks and drinks throughout the night and belt out hit after hit with your crew. Our tip: go head to head in a battle for the best (or worst?) performances of guilty pleasure songs. Don’t let your questionable high notes hold you back.
Open until 2.30am
Supper Inn is a venerable establishment perched aloft Chinatown that built its reputation the old-fashioned way – with straight-up excellent Cantonese food served until 2.30am, making it a magnet for the city’s hospo crowd looking for a post-work feed that wouldn’t break the bank.
Open until 3am
Bar Ampere is a late-night haunt you can rely on. The signature drink here is Absinthe, so follow the green fairy and opt for the spirit served the authentic French way: accompanied by a fountain that drips cold water onto sugar cubes and into your drink.
Open until 3am
A night at Heartbreaker – the grungy sister bar of Fitzroy’s Everleigh – is a guaranteed good time. It’s something about the chilled-out attitude of the bar staff, the great music selection on the jukebox and the pool table. If all you want to do is spend the night talking over beers and bottled cocktails with your mates, this dive bar is the place to do it.
Open until 5am
What do you do when you’re closer to dawn than midnight and you feel like onion rings and chilli cheese fries? Go to Le Bon Ton. The bar and beer garden rages on long after the restaurant is shut.
Open Friday 5pm to Monday morning
Revolver, better known as Revs, will take you in on a Friday evening and treat you to a bit of soul-tinged deep house and then spit you out onto Chapel Street Sunday morning, ears still ringing with throbbing techno.
The definitive Melbourne bucket list: knock off these 101 activities and you'll really, properly know our great city.
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