Time Out Food & Drink Award 2023: Best Cocktail Bar Nominees

Long before news broke of an opening date, we’d been thirsty for a first look at Apollo Inn. The mysterious cocktail bar is the newest sibling to the glowing jewel in Andrew McConnell’s crown Gimlet at Cavendish House, and is nestled deep within a 1920s Neo Renaissance-style building on the corner of Flinders and Hosier Lanes. As the cool kids exclaim these days: say less!

This intimate, clubby space just off Russell Street glows with an amber hue as the low lighting bounces off the 500 or more whisky bottles that are stacked behind the bar, locked in the glass cabinet on the wall, or sitting on the tables of punters as they compare and chat over a glass of grain. Seating is mainly barstools and bar food is limited, so it’s perfect for pairs or small groups on the hunt for a pre- or post-dinner dram. 

Nestled in an intimate second-storey space on the corner of Russell and Bourke Streets, a cocktail bar is rumoured to be serving in-the-know Melburnians some of the most innovative drinks in the city. Even when I let slip to another venue’s bartender that we’re headed there, a spark of recognition flickers in her eyes: “I’ve heard so much about that place!” 

Heading to Peter Gunn’s tiny Collingwood bar (a post-lockdown neighbour to his illustrious restaurant Ides), you might fret you’re in for a rather stuffy excursion. A swish cocktail bar can feel a little formal at the best of times, but a swish cocktail bar adjoined to a fine diner? Surely, a mere sneeze will feel out of place. Gratefully, we discover March to be nothing of the sort. Though the sleek womb-like space naturally smoulders with a sense of occasion, it dodges the pomp factor by taking its cues from izakayas and casual tapas bars. There’s a relaxed energy evident in irreverent splashes of contemporary art and bouncy funk music that buoys us along to our seats. It’s as comfortable as a modern cocktail bar can be, though it aspires to be more than that. March moonlights as a wine bar and late-night diner, too. 

Moody, intimate and tastefully lit, Black Kite Commune is the latest addition to the illustrious Russell Place – joining sister bars Gin Palace (a Melbourne institution), its lively adjunct Bar Ampere, and until earlier this year, Con Christopoulos’s celebrated all-day wine bar Neapoli.