The 22 Best Bars in Australia
Sydney and Melbourne hold this whole list, and the best bars in Australia show both cities at their sharpest. In Melbourne's CBD, Caretaker's Cottage, which really was once a caretaker's cottage, is a small, pub-like room run by a trio of bartenders; its freezer martini is made on the bar's own gin from a Victorian distillery, and it holds No. 45 on The 50 Best Bars list for 2026 plus the title of best bar in Australasia. In Sydney's The Rocks, Maybe Sammy, opened by Martin Hudak, Vincenzo Lombardo and Stefano Catino and pitched as a hotel bar with no hotel attached, seats guests on bubblegum-pink velvet banquettes and cracks an ice cap to reveal the drink beneath; it was No. 42 on The World's 50 Best Bars 2025 and is No. 75 on The 50 Best Bars 51-100 list for 2026. Caretaker's Cottage takes no bookings, and queues form from its 4pm opening. Maybe Sammy welcomes walk-ins and seats tables for 90 minutes. These are the twenty-two we would start with.
★ TOP 1050 BESTCocktail BarMaybe Sammy
Seven consecutive years on the World's 50 Best Bars list (No. 42 in 2025, No. 75 on The 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026) make this The Rocks venue Australia's most internationally acclaimed bar of the last decade. The program channels Golden Age Hollywood through a Rat Pack aesthetic and a cocktail menu built on generosity: big flavors, theatrical presentation, and a service style that makes every guest feel like the headline act. Maybe Sammy operates on the conviction that a great bar should be an event, not just a venue. After seven years, the event shows no signs of winding down. It was a Top 4 finalist for World's Best Cocktail Menu at the 2025 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
115 Harrington Street, The Rocks, NSW 2000Wed-Sat 4:30pm-1am, Sun 4:30pm-10pm, Mon-Tue closedFull profile
★ TOP 1050 BESTCocktail BarCantina OK!
Three-time Tequila Bar of the Year in a standing-room space for about twenty guests, Cantina OK! operates on intensity rather than scale. The agave program runs deep, with a collection spanning artisanal mezcals and heritage tequilas that rival specialist bars in Oaxaca. The tight quarters force proximity between bartender and guest, creating a conversational intimacy that larger venues struggle to replicate. Cantina OK! proves that size and influence share no correlation.
Council Place, Sydney NSW 2000Monday 4 pm–12 am Tuesday 4 pm–12 am Wednesday 4 pm–2 am Thursday 4 pm–2 am Friday 4 pm–2 am Saturday 4 pm–2 am Sunday 4 pm–12 amFull profile
★ TOP 1050 BESTCocktail BarTigra + Disco Pantera
Scottish brothers Gordon and Ross Purnell opened this dual-concept venue in September 2024 and collected the World's 50 Best Bar Design Award in 2025, a first-year result that validated a bold bet. Tigra occupies the ground floor as a moody cocktail bar; climb the stairs and Disco Pantera erupts into neon, sound, and late-night energy. The split personality gives a single address twice the range, and the cocktail program across both levels demonstrates the technical chops that the design spectacle might otherwise overshadow.
11 Young Street, Quay Quarter, Sydney, NSW 2000Mon-Wed 2pm-2am, Thu-Fri 12pm-2am, Sat 4pm-2am, Sun closedFull profile- The Baxter Inn★ TOP 1050 BESTCocktail Bar
The Baxter Inn
A subterranean whisky bar on Clarence Street with close to three hundred bottles and one of the finest Australian wine cellars in Sydney. The Baxter Inn featured on the World's 50 Best Bars list six times between 2012 and 2017, collected Best Bar in Australia from Ketel One three years running, and earned Tales of the Cocktail recognition for both Best International Bar Team and World's Best Spirits Selection. The Swillhouse Group venue operates on atmosphere rather than spectacle, dim lighting, no signage, and a staff whose whisky knowledge runs deeper than the spirits shelf itself. The underground bar that became Australia's whisky benchmark.
152/156 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000, AustraliaFull profile - Dean & Nancy on 22★ TOP 10PINNACLEHotel Bar
Dean & Nancy on 22
From the team behind Maybe Sammy, Dean & Nancy on 22 crowns the A by Adina tower with a room styled on the swinging bars of the 1950s, black, gold and marble, with a live grand piano. The list splits between its two namesake personas, Dean's jazz-leaning drinks and Nancy's rock'n'roll ones, alongside a signature Caviar Martini and The Rip It Up (Chivas 12, Rhubi, Montenegro, lapsang souchong).
Order thisCaviar Martini2 Hunter Street Level 22, Sydney NSW 2000Daily from 5pm (cocktails & dinner)Full profile
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- The Waratah★ TOP 10Cocktail Bar
The Waratah
Evan Stroeve, Australian Bartender of the Year 2021, built this Darlinghurst bar around indigenous Australian ingredients, producing a cocktail program that tastes unlike anything else in the country. Native botanicals, bush foods, and indigenous flavor profiles replace the European and American pantry that dominates Australian bars. The Waratah channels Stroeve's conviction that Australian cocktail culture should taste Australian, and the program delivers on the promise with drinks that educate as they satisfy.
308-310 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW 2010Wed-Fri 4pm-late, Sat 12pm-late, Sun 12pm-10pmFull profile - El Primo Sanchez★ TOP 10PINNACLECocktail Bar
El Primo Sanchez
El Primo Sanchez is The Maybe Group's Mexican cocktail bar in Surry Hills, a Crown Street sibling of Maybe Sammy with agave at the heart of the list.
410 Crown Street, Surry HillsFull profile - Bar Planet★ TOP 10Cocktail Bar
Bar Planet
Harrison Kenney, flagged as one of Sydney's most talented young bartenders, leads a Newtown martini bar that wraps serious technique in theatrical service. The program focuses on the martini as a canvas rather than a formula, exploring variations through seasonal ingredients, fat-washing, and clarification techniques that produce drinks with the clarity of gemstones. Bar Planet's Newtown location places it in the heart of Sydney's most dynamic bar neighborhood, and the room's energy matches the street outside.
16 Enmore Road, Newtown, Sydney, NSW 2042Mon-Fri 5pm-12am, Sat-Sun 4pm-12amFull profile 
50 BESTCocktail BarCaretaker's Cottage
A public bar in the church caretaker's old cottage: opened 2022 behind Wesley Church by Matt Stirling, Ryan Nordics and Rob Libecans, Caretaker's Cottage does 'smart drinks, top tunes & fun times', freezer-cold martinis on a custom gin, well-poured Guinness (the martini-and-Guinness boilermaker is the move), and a monthly-rotating list. No. 45 on The 50 Best Bars 2026 (No. 19 in 2025) and The Best Bar in Australasia 2026. It was a Top 4 finalist for Best International Cocktail Bar at the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
139-141 Little Lonsdale Street (behind Wesley Church), Melbourne VIC 3000Mon-Thu 4pm-12am, Fri-Sat 4pm-1am (walk-ins only)Full profile
50 BESTWine BarThree Horses
Three Horses is the Caretaker's Cottage team's second room, on Little Lonsdale Street in the CBD, and it puts its idea in three words: where sherry reigns. No bookings, walk-ins only, and the bar says it will always do its best to seat guests on arrival. Open Monday to Saturday from four in the afternoon until one.
106 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000Mon-Sat 4pm-1amFull profile
50 BESTCocktail BarAbove Board
Twelve seats around a shared American-walnut table, and Hayden Lambert serving you personally: Above Board is 'more dinner party than cocktail bar', hidden up a laneway behind Beermash on Smith Street. Classics and originals, no bookings, groups kept small. No.44 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2021 and back on the extended list at No.100 in 2024.
Level 1, 306 Smith Street, Collingwood, VIC 3066Daily 6pm-1am (walk-ins only)Full profile- Black Pearl50 BESTCocktail Bar
Black Pearl
A Fitzroy institution since 2002, Black Pearl is the neighborhood bar with global reach, credited with fostering some of the best talent the Australian bar scene has produced, named Best Bar in Australasia 2018 and No.30 on the World's 50 Best that year. Downstairs stays inclusive and unbookable until 3am; The Attic upstairs takes the private functions.
304 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065Wed-Sun 5pm-3am (walk-ins only)Full profile - Bar BellamyCocktail Bar
Bar Bellamy
A neighborhood bistro and cocktail bar on Rathdowne Street in Carlton. Both the food and drinks menus change seasonally, and the room includes communal seating for walk-ins. It trades from late afternoon into the early hours most nights.
164 Rathdowne Street, Carlton VIC 3053Mon 5pm-1am; Tue closed; Wed-Fri 5pm-1am; Sat 3pm-1am; Sun 3pm-lateFull profile - GimletCocktail Bar
Gimlet
A restaurant and bar from Andrew McConnell in Cavendish House, at the corner of Russell Street and Flinders Lane. It serves lunch and dinner seven days, with brunch at weekends and supper service on Friday and Saturday. The same group operates the adjoining Apollo Inn cocktail bar.
33 Russell Street, VIC 3000Daily 12pm until lateFull profile 
Cocktail BarAnte
A sake-focused bar on King Street in Newtown, drawing on the Japanese jazz kissa listening-bar tradition with a vinyl record collection. The drinks list centers on sake alongside Japanese-influenced cocktails and food. The venue does not take reservations and operates on a walk-in basis.
146 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042Mon, Wed-Fri 5:00pm-late; Sat-Sun 12:00pm-late; closed TuesdayFull profile
Cocktail BarOld Love's
A basement rum bar that opened in October 2023 in the same Clarence Street building as Old Mate's Place, which operates it. The drinks list is built around rum with tropical and Caribbean-influenced cocktails, supported by a short menu of snacks served late.
Basement, 199 Clarence Street, NSW 2000Tue-Sun 5:00pm-2:00amFull profile- PS4050 BESTCocktail Bar
PS40
A cocktail bar in the Sydney CBD entered from Skittle Lane, off King Street. The bar produces its own sodas and mixers in-house and uses them across its cocktail list. It runs a recurring guest-bartender program, Takeover Tuesdays, and offers packaged cocktails for delivery.
Shop 2, 40 King Street, NSW 2000Tue-Sat 5:00pm-12:00amFull profile - Apollo InnCocktail Bar
Apollo Inn
An intimate cocktail bar occupying part of Cavendish House on the corner of Flinders Lane and Russell Street, opened by the team behind Gimlet. The name references a Melbourne inn that operated on the site from 1844. The bar focuses on classic cocktail service alongside a short food menu.
165 Flinders Lane, VIC 3000Daily 5pm-late; Fri from 3pmFull profile 
Cocktail BarOne or Two
Twenty-six seats of wabi-sabi calm in an 1895 heritage building on Chinatown's Celestial Avenue, One or Two draws its spirit from the Japanese series Midnight Diner, natural wood, monotones, and founder Andy Chu's philosophy of quality over quantity across whisky, cocktails, sake and seasonal wines. The house lager is $12; the 'All-Time' classics run $26-28.
Order thisMargaritaPatrón Silver, Marionette curaçao, lime18 Celestial Ave, Melbourne VIC 3000, AustraliaTue-Sat 4pm-12amFull profile- Continental DeliCocktail Bar
Continental Deli
A combined delicatessen, bar and bistro in Newtown operating since 2015. The downstairs deli and bar serves snacks, charcuterie and tinned goods, including the venue's canned cocktails such as the Mar-Tinny, while an upstairs dining room handles sit-down service. The kitchen works in a European register with Australian produce.
210 Australia Street, Newtown NSW 2042Daily 12:00pm-11:00pmFull profile - Old Mate's PlaceRooftop Bar
Old Mate's Place
Ride the lift of an unassuming office block to Level 4 and Old Mate's Place opens up, a hidden bar with a rooftop 'treehouse' terrace above and cheesesteak-twisted bar food below; sister venue Old Love's carries the torch elsewhere in town. Signatures include the Baker's Dozen: butter-washed whisky with roasted walnut, croissant and demerara, garnished with a tiny croissant.
Order thisBaker's Dozenbutter-washed whisky, roasted walnut, croissant, demerara, garnished with a tiny croissantLevel 4, 199 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000Tue-Thu 4pm-2am, Fri-Sun 3pm-2am, closed MonFull profile 
Cocktail BarEau de Vie
Melbourne's 1920s Prohibition den hides down Malthouse Lane: theatrical serves, owner Sven Almenning's Smokey Rob Roy arrives under a cloud of wood smoke, a hidden Whisky Room behind a bookcase with rare bottles and lockers, and late-night dining from the Speakeasy Group (Mjølner, Nick & Nora's, Pearl Diver).
Order thisSmokey Rob RoyTalisker & Highland whiskies, Ron Zacapa 23, house sweet vermouth, orange bitters, wood smoke1 Malthouse Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000Tue-Thu 5pm-late, Fri-Sat 4pm-1am, closed Sun-MonFull profile
The best bars by city in Australia
Explore the whole Australia scene
These 22 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Australia, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.