Secret’s Out: The Best Hidden Bars in Adelaide

Are you looking for something different to do this weekend, perhaps in the form of a lesser-known yet full-of-fun bar to show to your friends? If you live in Adelaide, you’re in luck, because there are options aplenty. While we will always love the city’s most-hyped venues, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find the hidden bars of Adelaide CBD and inner suburbs, waiting to be discovered in plain sight.

Whether you’re after a decadent evening of cocktails and elevated eats or something low-key to stumble into, our local hospitality scene is filled with options for curious drinkers. When it’s time to try somewhere new with the crew, this guide to the best-hidden bars in Adelaide should do the trick!

Bar Canopy

Adelaide’s West End has welcomed an impressive new watering hole with Bar Canopy, and we have a feeling this gem won’t stay hidden for long. The new wine bar has taken over the former Stem Restaurant site on Hindley Street, led by acclaimed sommelier Henry Brampton and Lorenzo Di Pasquo. Canopy promises high-quality wine without the stuffiness, with rare international drops, boutique local wines and half-bottle pours for easy sipping and tasting.

The in-house cocktail program is just as impressive, with inventive concoctions like a coconut-aged Negroni catching our eye. Throw in a few fancy snacks like truffle melts, caviar, and chips, and you’ve got your next date night sorted! If you’re looking for a fabulous spot to sample local and European varietals by the glass beneath the green canopy, this is the place for you.

188 Hindley Street, Adelaide

Septimus House of Cheese & Wine

If you love a classic wine and cheese combo and a little retro charm, this one is for you. 10 years in the making, Septimus House of Cheese and Wine blends contemporary flair with timeless touches to create a cosy ambience across two levels in Adelaide’s East End—think lilac walls, local art, vinyl records, green marble, and French curtains beneath stained glass windows. It’s the kind of place where you can stop in for a quick drink or spend a leisurely afternoon sampling premium tastings and cheese pairings, learning as you go from the experts behind the bar.

The highlight? The signature seven cheese and wine pairing featuring French vintages and South Australian drops is the perfect start to a chic night out.

220 Grenfell Street, Adelaide

Secret Chamber Bar 

As the name suggests, the Secret Chamber Bar team knows they are tricky to find, which is fine by them – they love a secret. The newest (and tiniest) addition to the buzzing bar scene on Leigh Street, this is a magical spot to visit. Sister venue to The Sorcerers Bar (which you’ll find a little further along this list), expect smoke and mirrors, confessions of sins, exceptional cocktails, and shots inspired by your star sign. One Virgo shot, please.

20 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Ferg’s

While the locals of Stepney may want to keep this one a secret, we’re spilling the beans on Ferg’s – a unique urban wine bar and cellar door combo.

Created by Massey Wines in the Adelaide Hills as a place to mingle and sample their drops, this experience is exclusive to Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons sessions, so bookings are recommended to snag a limited spot at the wine bar. Settle in to try Massey Wines varietals, enjoy live music, and likely stay a little longer as the cellar transforms into a wine bar serving fun drinks and fresh pizza for dinner.

Fridays from 4:00 pm & Sundays from 2:00p m

8a Union Street, Stepney

trap. 

The bartenders at trap. know how to make a cracking cocktail. This hidden gem is an underground bar where you can free yourself from your usual responsibilities. The menu changes constantly, but you’ll always find at least five house cocktails, three beers and two wines on the drinks list.

Sitchu tip: Keen to learn the art of mixology from some of the best in the biz? Sign up for a trap. cocktail making masterclass!

Basement, 96 Currie Street (enter via Cold Chisel Lane), Adelaide

78 on Rundle

What once was a charming local cafe, 78 On Rundle, undertook a serious glow-up of the year, transforming into a stylish all-day cafe and a Friday and Saturday evening wine bar. Formerly known as G + Gracin, the new owners have given this venue a new vibe and fit-out, complete with a new marble bar and a cosy courtyard calling our name on balmy summer evenings.

With monthly cocktail specials and big and small share plates, this is the perfect place to visit for a casual catch-up without the pretension.

78 Rundle Street, Kent Town

Velvet Underground

When a dance in the dark is in order, head straight to Velvet Underground, the dive bar hidden in a basement that has quickly become one of Adelaide’s best spots for late-night fun. Weekend drink specials, a rotating lineup of DJs, bands and singers spice up the party. It’s a place where you can lose track of time as you enjoy a couple of cocktails and make a whole heap of friends along the way. We can’t get enough!

107 King William Street, Adelaide

Ounce Bar at Imperial Measures Distilling

Do you love burgers and gin? Well, chances are you’ll love Ounce Bar! Tucked inside Thebarton’s Imperial Measures Distilling, this is the place to go for mouthwatering burgers, ranging from Wagyu and truffle to completely vegan. Throw in award-winning liqueurs, live music and an ultra-relaxed vibe, and you’ve got the recipe for a weekend treat.

A tasting flight is the best way to try the gins, taking it at your own pace with Fever Tree mixers. Once you’ve found your drink of choice, buy a bottle to go and continue the fun at home.

31 West Thebarton Road, Thebarton

Hains & Co

Tucked down one of Adelaide’s West End laneways, Hains & Co is a bar that oozes laidback sophistication all year. Open from 4:00 pm – 2:00 am daily, the team are ready to welcome one and all for a good time, whether it’s a casual knock-off, a first date, a celebration or a late-night tipple. With premium gins, whiskey, rum, expertly made cocktails and cigars, you’ll come for the great drinks, and stay for the even better banter at this CBD hidden gem.

23 Gilbert Place, Adelaide

Shotgun Willies

For a night you won’t forget, stop in and discover the honky-tonk fun at Shotgun Willie’s. This Gilbert Street bar is brimming with good old Southern USA fun, with country music, American BBQ, a wide selection of whiskey (plus the rest) and a dance floor that’s hard to resist as the day turns to night.

It may be in a hidden location, but at night, this place draws a great crowd. The good times start here from 4:00 pm, and we suggest rolling in early to pull up a chair and get ready for live music, boot-scooting and great drinks.

22 Gilbert Place, Adelaide

The Sorcerer’s Bar

Did you know there’s a magical bar located in the heart of Adelaide? Well, now you do! The Sorcerer’s Bar is a tiny space packed full of wizarding delights that seem directly inspired by the world of Harry Potter. Enjoy butterscotch caramel toffee shots, flaming cocktails and German craft beer in this cosy and social bar, where the bar is well stocked, the seats spill out onto the street, and the fun can be heard from around the corner.

25B Bank Street, Adelaide

Mr Goodbar

How many times have you walked through the East End Produce Market? Next time, pause as you walk through the archway near Ebenezer Place, as you’ll find Mr. Goodbar tucked away on the corner of Union Street. A deep Southern soulful vibe and stylish interiors lit with a neon glow make this one of the best cocktail bars in Adelaide. And we haven’t even started on the drinks! A stellar menu awaits, with classic favourites alongside signature specials for the choosing. There’s sweet, sour and bitter to try. Just sit back, enjoy the tunes and let their award-winning staff shake up a storm!

12 Union Street, Adelaide

Maybe Mae

Escape the hustle of Peel Street and find the hidden gem that is Maybe Mae. Found through a secret door beneath Bread and Bone, this Art Deco oasis feels like a time machine to a 1920s New York speakeasy, complete with deep green velvet, vintage glassware, and a cocktail menu inspired by South Australian produce.

Maybe Mae has clinched the South Australian Cocktail Bar of the Year award several times, proving this place truly lives up to the hype.

Basement, 15 Peel Street, Adelaide

Nevermind

Nevermind is tucked away in an alleyway behind Leigh Street Luggage. A casual bar with seriously impressive drinks, the staff here are very knowledgeable, serving beer, wine and some of the city’s best cocktails. On weekends, it’s open late, so if you find yourself looking for somewhere to kick on, Nevermind is the place to be.

22A Leigh Street, Adelaide

Baddog

If whisky is your thing, you need to try Baddog. Hidden behind a wooden door on Hyde Street without signage, Baddog is an unassuming cocktail bar for those in the know. For the record, there are no regular menus here either – you’ll need to check the drinks menus placed in bottles on the shelves or ask the barmen for any specials on the night.

63 Hyde Street, Adelaide

Cry Baby

Anyone for a game of pool? Cry Baby is seriously cool, all rollicking, edgy and old-school vibes featuring billiards, wicked whiskey and beer, plus a jukebox filled with rock and roll mayhem from the ’60s through the ’80s. The only tears you’ll be spilling here are happy ones because it’s good times only. 

11 Solomon Street, Adelaide

Deli Cellar

Concealed beneath Delicatessen Kitchen & Bar, this speakeasy is so small that it’s licensed for only 35 people. Taking on the same French influence as the bistro above, Deli Cellar is as cheerful as it is cosy. With an emphasis on quality in everything they do, you can find some of the best gin, wine, whiskey and cocktails in the CBD.

12 Waymouth Street, Adelaide

Need some food before you venture out for drinks? Our list of Adelaide’s best new restaurants is a great place to start. Need more? Try the best Italian and French restaurants in town.