In Melbourne, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to good watering holes. So unlike some places where you must ask, “Where is the best bar?” in Melbourne you can ask “What am I in the mood for tonight?” Sometimes the answer to that question is intimate spaces, small crowds, less distraction, and attentive...
Small bars and Chinatown. Two excellent things for a solid evening on the town in Melbourne. Union Electric, a new bar from Huw Griffiths (The Royal Saxon, Madame Brussels, and Le Bon Ton) and Shane Whiteley, is combining the two. Tucked down Heffernan Lane just off Little Bourke Street, you’ll need to be looking out...
Did you get the memo? Crows Nest is now cool. The signs are all there. Well, one very small sign. The discreet letters on the wall outside number 97 mark the entrance to The Hayberry, a cool new dive bar/burger joint that’s pumping out burgers and hot wings to the cool kids of the lower...
The drinks are smooth but the tunes are smoother at Redfern’s newest RnB inspired watering hole, Hustle & Flow. Swagger down Regent Street and stop when you hear the all-too familiar beats of Ginuwine’s Pony or sweet sounds of TLC’s Sexy Crazy Cool. Shimmy in the front door and pull up a stool at a...
Where art deco lamps meet jungle inspired wallpaper. Where pewter mugs meet cosy booths. Where you might just hear Irish folk songs slipping out from under the window seals. Meet The Wild Rover – Surry Hill’s newest small bar by the same crew who brought us Grandmas. Split over two levels, there’s plenty of space...
It’s all meatballs and marys at Sydney’s newest small bar, Bottleneck. If you’re a loyalist of both, rest assured the balls are meaty and the marys bloody – just the way they should be. So who do we have to thank for this welcomed addition to our casual eating and drinking scene? None other than...
First there was Pocket, then came Stitch, and now we have Button. Sounding more like a haberdashery than a trio of Sydney small bars, you can rest assured it’s all booze and no thimbles at this new Surry Hills drinking den. The lads behind the booze – Karl & Christophe (and their new ex-Ivy recruit Jimmy)...
A small dose of healthy neighbourhood competition has hit Glebe as The Little Guy and Mr Falcon’s fling open their doors (within a bottle top throw of each other) on heaving Glebe Point Road. With a blink and you miss it location, The Little Guy is proof that size doesn’t matter. Small and sexy, they...
Great small bars tend to travel in packs. Unfortunately, if Darlinghurst or Paddington isn’t on your hit list, then you might come up short on options. Thankfully, there are a few savvy bar owners who have set up in less likely neighbourhoods, and don’t you love them for it. When you think of CBD watering...
