Melbourne Bars, Melbourne Bar, Bars in Melbourne

Pubs are the cornerstone of any bar industry and Melbourne is home to a diverse range. There are pubs that suit everyone’s needs from the ‘crusty old men’ pubs to the sleek, new corporate styles. Pubs have undergone a massive transformation in the last few years and I have showcased the best of these in the best “Gastro Pubs” list I did in a previous post. There is something about the traditional pub that Australians just love to be part of – be it the relaxed atmosphere, friendly vibe or just the general lack of pretension – pubs are an important facet of the Melbourne bar industry. In a previous post I also detailed all the “non-corner pubs” that I could think of, but this time I am doing the ‘daddy; of the pub category… Best Melbourne Pubs. Happy Drinking!!!

1.  Napier Hotel – 210 Napier Street, Fitzroy

2. Retreat Hotel – 430 Sydney Road, Brunswick

3. Hotel Max – 32 Commercial Road, Prahran

4. Nash Hotel – 344 Victoria Street, Richmond

5. Mitre Tavern – 5 Bank Place, Melbourne

6. Hotel Lincoln – 91 Cardigan Street, Carlton

7. The Gem – 289 Wellington Street, Collingwood

8. Richmond Club Hotel – 100 Swan Street, Richmond

9. Rose Hotel – 406 Napier Street, Fitzroy

10. Village Belle Hotel - 202 Barkly Street, St Kilda

Pubs in Melbourne are always a fun and entertaining experience. The above is ultimately my favourite pub list, but I would love to hear about your favourite Melbourne pubs, so feel free to email me at benwild@barengine.com, or simply leave a list in the comments section below. As always you can find out more about these venues by following the links to Barengine.com.

To be honest when the wet and cold weather hit Melbourne, I thought that it would pass pretty quickly. To my complete surprise (and annoyance) it is still here and doesn’t look like shifting. So in honour of this ridiculously cold weather I have put together a list of the ten best bars to drink the winter away. Sitting back with a cocktail in one of these venues is just the right thing to do. Happy Drinking!!!

1. Galley Room – Level One, 510 Flinders Street, Melbourne

2. Supper Club - 161 Spring Street, Melbourne

3. Match Bar – 249 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

4. Grace Darling Hotel – 114 Smith Street, Collingwood

5. Troika – 106 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

6. Red Bennies – Level 1, 373 Chapel Street, South Yarra

7. Golden Monkey – 389 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

8. Seamstress – 113 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

9. Gin Palace – 10 Russell Place, Melbourne

10. Double Happiness – 21 Liverpool Street, Melbourne

So rug up, get out of the house and settle into one of these bars tonight. Or better still visit them all. You can find more information by following the links to the bar’s profile page on Barengine.com. Feel free to make suggestions by emailing benwild@barengine.com or simply leave comments in the section below.

This will be a somewhat unique post… My partner and I were lucky enough to be part of the ‘Lost & Found‘ Hotel experience that has started in Melbourne. Lost & Found is an online magazine which describes itself as “the seminal insider guide for culturally conscious people wanting to visit Melbourne.” Lost & Found have created a room in the ‘Little Collins Hotel‘, located at the top end of Little Collins Street. This room is jam packed full of very cool wares from some of Melbourne’s best designers, artists and musicians. The premise is that visitors to Melbourne have a place to rest their heads whilst being surrounded and immersed in all things Melbourne. The website, online magazine and guestbook will assist you in finding those secret little gems that Melbourne has hiding throughout its laneways, but if further assistance is required a concierge is also at your disposal. To be part of this amazing experience register your details online by following this link – Lost & Found Hotel.

So, after our fantastic three-day stay, I have decided to put together a list of the 10 best places we ate, drank and visited during this time.

1. Loop – 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne

It all started with Friday Night Drinks at one of my favourite bars in Melbourne. Loop is a hybrid bar / project space that has an interesting array of shows, performances and of course – drinks. Fitted with large screens and projectors, Loop has an ever changing visual backdrop that is well worth seeing.

2. Nudel Bar – 76 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Approaching 15 years of trade this stalwart in the Melbourne food scene is famous for its noodle dishes, but still and somewhat bizarrely, offers some classic Italian dishes such as macaroni and cheese. Try the duck noodle soup or potato curry.

3. 1806 – 169 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

Possibly Melbourne’s best cocktail bar, 1806 has cemented itself as one of the world’s leaders in its field. Headed by the talented and all round Mr Nice Guy, Sebastion Raeburn, 1806 is a ‘must’ for lovers of fine spirits and sophisticated drinks.

4. Min Lokal – 422 George Street, Collingwood

This cute little cafe located between Brunswick and Smith Streets is perfect for a late brekkie. With amazing coffee, friendly staff and possibly the best baked eggs in Melbourne, its well worth the walk to this little beauty.

5. Atomica Cafe – 268 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Arguably, the best coffee in Melbourne! You know how everyone has their ‘one’ place that makes the best coffee in town and this is mine. Check it out and compare for yourself.

6. Mamasita – 11 Collins Street, Melbourne

Hola, amigo… A recent arrival to the Melbourne bar dining scene is Mamasita. This is authentic Mexican food at its best – you won’t find any hard shell tacos or ‘Tex Mex’ here. To complement the food Mamasita also boasts an impressive selection of tequila and mezcals that will help wash down the quesadillas. The Esquites De Maiz (sauteed sweet corn, epazote, chilli and lime) is to die for.

7. Forum Theatre – 154 Flinders Street, Melbourne

One of Melbourne’s most unique and beautiful buildings, the Forum is a versatile space that hosts an eclectic mix of events. The gothic style architecture of this building, with its romanesque statues and gargoyles is perfect for  a rocking party and that’s what Three Thousand Magazine were throwing on this particular night. With a line up of great Melbourne bands this little party went well into the wee hours of the morn… ouch.

8. Shark Fin Inn – 50 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

With the hangover just lingering enough to be annoying, what better way to cure ones ails than by a healthy dose of Yum Cha. There is no better place in the CBD than Shark Fin Inn and if the amount of people inside the place is anything to go by then you are in safe hands. To be honest, you are not always 100% sure of what you are eating, but gee does it taste good.

9. Malthouse Theatre –  113 Sturt Street, Southbank

The Malthouse is one of the artistic homes in Melbourne. We saw a Lucy Guerin dance show whilst here “Human Interest Story”, it was a fantastic performance. There is always an interesting array of shows and performances at the Malthouse, there is also the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) just next door as well.

10 The European – 161 Spring Street, Melbourne

An iconic Melbourne restaurant, any visit to this city has to include a stopover here. Be it for  breakfast, lunch or dinner the food will not let you down (try the chateubriand). Or perhaps you are just in the mood for people watching whilst sipping on a coffee or a glass of wine! Basically, this is the quintessential Melbourne venue.

So there you have it… You really can squeeze a lot into three days. This was an amazing experience and one that you all can be part of. Just register your details online and you could be the next person writing about their stay.  If you have any other thoughts about ‘quintessential’ Melbourne bars, I would love to hear from you. Just email benwild@barengine.com or leave your comments below. You can find out more information about the venues listed by following the links, or for more information about Melbourne Bars go to Barengine.com. Happy Drinking!!!

Collingwood would have to be the best inner city suburb in Melbourne. The area has undergone a major change in the last few years with cool designer bars, shops and studios now dominating the landscape. The beauty of Collingwood is that the ‘feral’ aspect still exists and until recently the resident ‘drunks’ still used to hang out daily on the corners. The cleaning up of Collingwood will probably make it lose its charm to some degree, but it won’t detract from the number of great bars that are now popping up. Collingwood is what Fitzroy used to be 10 years ago, so if you are looking for cutting edge cool, with a mix of local crazy get into a Collingwood bar today. Happy Drinking!!!

1. Collingwood World – 97B Smith Street, Collingwood

2. Yah Yah’s – 99 Smith Street, Fitzroy

3. Boire – 92 Smith Street, Collingwood

4. Panama Dining Room – 3/231 Smith Street, Collingwood

5. Grace Darling Hotel – 114 Smith Street, Collingwood

6. Cavallero – 300 Smith Street, Collingwood

7. The Gem - 289 Wellington Street, Collingwood

8. Kent Street – 201 Smith Street, Collingwood

9. Baden Powell Hotel - 61-65 Victoria Parade, Collingwood

10. Prince Patrick Hotel – 135 Victoria Parade, Collingwood

There is a great night out in the bars listed above. Collingwood certainly has come a long way in recent times. As always, you can find out more information about the bars by following the links to their profile page on Barengine.com. Feel free to make suggestions for lists by emailing benwild@barengine.com or simply leave comments in the space below.

Sports Bars or more to the point, bars that show live sport are an institution in Melbourne. For a long time, as long as sport has been televised, pubs/ bars have made this entertainment available to its punters. Any visit to one of these venues on a weekend will see hordes of ‘footy fans’ cheering on their favourite team. Dominated by AFL in Melbourne, most venues will show alternative sports such as cricket, soccer, rugby and union as well. So why sit at home and watch your team all alone, get out to one of Melbourne’s Best Sports Bars and watch all the action with a couple of mates and a few drinks. Happy Drinking!!!

1. London Tavern Hotel – 238 Lennox Street, Richmond

2. Imperial Hotel – 4 Bourke Street, Melbourne

3. Doulton Bar - 202 Barkly Street, St Kilda

4. Richmond Club Hotel- 100 Swan Street, Richmond

5. The Union Hotel – 90 Chapel Street, Windsor

6. Rose Hotel – 406 Napier Street, Fitzroy

7. The Rising Sun – 395 Swan Street, Richmond

8. Glenferrie Hotel – 324 Burwood Road, Hawthorn

9. Oxford Scholar Hotel – 427 Swanston Street, Melbourne

10. The Local - 24 Bay Street, Port Melbourne

Now I know there is a bunch of other great venues to watch sport in and I would love for you to let everyone know by leaving your favourites in the comments section below. As always feel free to email me at benwild@barengine.com to make suggestions for a list. You can find out more information about the bars by following the links to their profile page on Barengine.com. Cheers.

Melbourne is home to some of the coolest bars in the country. One may go as far to say that Melbourne is an industry leader in this regard and has developed some of the most unique and interesting bar concepts, not only in the country, but also in the world. But don’t get me wrong, the other major Australian cities also have some very cool bars and you can check them out in their respective cities blog on the right hand side. This list of bars is what, in my opinion, highlights why Melbourne is known around the world as ‘the city of cool‘. Happy Drinking!!!

1. Meyers Place Bar – 20 Meyers Place, Melbourne

2. Gin Palace – 10 Russell Place, Melbourne

3. Section 8 – 27 Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne

4. Murmur – 17 Warburton Lane, Melbourne

5. Robot – 12 Bligh Place, Melbourne

6. Emerald Peacock – 233 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

7. Double Happiness -  21 Liverpool Street, Melbourne

8. Southpaw – 189 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

9. 29th Apartment - 29 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda

10. Loop – 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne

Obviously, there are a lot of other ‘cool bars‘ out there, but I think this is a good diverse spread of what help made and what help makes Melbourne cool. As always you can follow the links from the bar names to the bars profile page on Barengine.com for more information. Feel free to make suggestions for lists by emailing benwild@barengine.com or simply leave comments below.

Trivia Nights have well and truly entered the mainstream of society, with a number of venues now offering this entertainment. They vary in difficulty and some are even theme based ie. music trivia. The biggest problem I have always encountered (apart from the questions themselves) is being able to find a regular and quality trivia night. So, I have created two lists for Melbourne; a Tuesday trivia night list (which you will find on the menu bar on the right) and a Wednesday Night Trivia list (which you will see below). Happy Drinking and Happy Quizzing!!!

1. The Royston - 12 River Street, Richmond

2. The Corner Hotel – 57 Swan Street, Richmond

3. Sentido Funf – 245 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

4. The Local – 24 Bay Street, Port Melbourne

5. College Lawn – 36 Greville Street, Prahran

6. James Squire Brewhouse – 439 Docklands Drive, Docklands

7. Peacock Hotel – 210 High Street, Northcote

8. Hotel Kew – 99 High Street, Kew

9. Old Colonial Inn – 127 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

10.

Go on, get out of the house, grab a posse, a pint and perhaps a parma and get to a trivia night. I would recommend booking a table and confirming what time the trivia starts, so give the bars a call.To find out more information about the venues follow the link off the bar name to their profile page on Barengine.com. If you know of a better trivia night please feel free to email it through to benwild@barengine.com, otherwise leave comments and/or suggestions below.

Trivia nights have long been a fun and challenging bar activity; a great way for friends and family to hang out and mingle. The problem has always been you never know when one is on. They seem to be randomly held on random nights with no order whatsoever. The one thing I have learnt is that they always seem to be on a Tuesday or Wednesday. So I have decided to put together the ultimate bar trivia night venue list… This list is for Tuesday nights around Melbourne and the subsequent list will be for Wednesday nights. It would be great if you know of any others to let me know and I will add them in. Happy Drinking & Quizzing!!!

UPDATE 1

. 29th Apartment - 29 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda

1.Standard Hotel - 293 Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy

2. The Terminus – 492 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill

3. East Brunswick Club – 280 Lygon Street, Brunswick

4. Micawber Tavern – 61 Monbulk Road, Belgrave

5. Mitre Tavern – 5 Bank Place, Melbourne

6. The Provincial – 299 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

7. Sherlock Holmes - 415 Collins Street, Melbourne

8. Swan Hotel – 425 Church Street, Richmond

9.Bridie O’Reillys – 29 Sydney Road, Brunswick

10. Pub at Crown - 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank

Remember there is a Wednesday Bar Trivia Venue List as well that you can find on the menu bar to the right. The starting times for these nights are generally around the 7.30-8.00 mark, but it would be advised to ring the bars and book a table. To find out more information about the venues, click on the bar names or pictures to see their profile page on Barengine.com. Feel free to email benwild@barengine.com to add bars to the list or leave comments or suggestions in the box below.

The World Cup – the biggest sporting event in the world is upon us. Unfortunately for Australian viewers the games are telecast at ridiculous hours of the morning, but this does not mean that one should not go out and watch. Getting extended trading hours and additional licenses are almost impossible in this day and age, so it is extremely hard to find venues that are showing the games. This is a list of Melbourne bars that are, if you know of any other venues, please send them through and I will add them to the list. Go the Aussies!!!

1. Charles Dickens – 290 Collins Street, Melbourne

2. 1000 Pound Bend – 361 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

3. Sherlock Holmes – 415 Collins Street, Melbourne

4. Turf Bar – 131 Queen Street, Melbourne

5. Imperial Hotel – 4 Bourke Street, Melbourne

6. Tryst – 3 Wilson Street, South Yarra

7. European Bier Cafe – 120 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

8. Bridie O’ Reilly’s – 62 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

9. Elephant & Wheelbarrow – 169 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda

10. Exford Hotel – 199 Russell Street, Melbourne

As I said above if you know of any other venues send them through to benwild@barengine.com or leave them in the comments section below. You will need to contact the venues directly to find out if they are showing all the games or just the Australian ones, you can find out more information at Barengine.com, by clicking on the links. Happy Drinking!!!

WORLD CUP BAR UPDATE

A big thanks out to all those people that emailed and commented about other venues showing the World Cup games. I have updated the list below to include another 10 bars. Lets hope the next performance of the Aussies is a little better.

11. Portland Hotel – 127 Russell Street, Melbourne

12. Limerick Arms Hotel – 364 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne

13. Pugg Mahones – 112 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

14. The Local – 24 Bay Street, Port Melbourne

15. Abbey Road – 131 Acland Street, St Kilda

16. Steam Packet Hotel – 13 Cole Street, Williamstown

17. Copacabana – 139 Smith Street, Fitzroy

18. Powell Hotel - 202 Ballarat Road, Footscray

19. Seaford Tavern – 362 Frankston-Dandenong Road, Seaford

20. Doncaster Hotel – 855 Doncaster Road, Doncaster

Melbourne has World Cup Fever… There was nearly 20,000 people standing in near freezing at 5am to watch the Aussies get thrashed by Germany. People, there is a better way. Watch the next game of the World Cup in one of the venues listed above, its warm, full of atmosphere and most importantly, you can drink. Go the Aussies!!!

Remember you can click on the bar names or pictures to go to their profile page on Barengine.com – you will have to contact the bars directly to find out which games they are showing.

It’s been a tough week hasn’t it – working for the man, grinding away… but the end is nigh, Friday night is approaching, drinks are on the horizon. Go on you deserve it, life’s too short to go straight home and hibernate, grab some friends and get out and about. If you have no friends, why not go out and meet some – either way you need it. Friday night drinks is a long established tradition, dating back to the Ancient Egyptians where pyramid builders used to arrange a weekly get together to celebrate the God of good times – “Fridacisis”. In the ritual, workers would get together, drink copious amounts of alcohol, talk themselves up, brag about their conquests, make lewd comments to female drink servers, usually get thrown out of the party and then stumble home via the camel-aki van. As you can see, not much has changed over the centuries. Always busy, it is at times very hard to find the right Friday night establishment, the following list is definitely worth checking out.

1. Riverland – 1 Princess Walk, Melbourne

2. Collins Quarter – 86a Collins Street, Melbourne

3.  The Apartment – 401 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

4. Saint & Rogue – 582 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

5. Trunk – 275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

6. Long Room – 162 Swanston Street. Melbourne

7. Spice Market – Beaney Lane, Melbourne

8. Cookie – 252 Swanston Street, Melbourne

9. Loop Bar – 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne

10. Mitre Tavern – 5 Bank Place, Melbourne

So there is a good start for you. Any of these venues will get your weekend off to a flying start. You are pretty much guaranteed a crowd when imbibing at any of these establishments – so get organising now. Please feel free to make suggestions by emailing benwild@barengine.com or simply leave comments below. As always you can find out more information by following the links off the bar name to Barengine.com. Happy Drinking!!!