Adult Happy Meals: The Melbourne Snack and Sip Spots Worth Knowing

Not every outing requires a booking with three courses and a sense of obligation. Sometimes all you want is a neat little pleasure: a perfect bite, a sharp drink and a low-stakes seat at the bar. A grown-up Happy Meal, if you like. In Melbourne, that can mean everything from a tiny martini with fries to a cheddar tartlet with whisky, or late-night crème caramel with a hazelnut-laced sip. Here, the smaller indulgences are often the smartest ones.

Read on for the Melbourne snack-and-sip pairings worth knowing right now.

Cordelia

Sustainable seafood is the crux of Cordelia, Carlton’s casual Euro-style wine bar. But you don’t need the full sit-down meal to taste the sea’s briny finest. Cordelia’s very grownup Happy Meal sets you up with an ice-cold mini cocktail (martini, negroni or margarita) alongside your choice of a fresh oyster, torched oyster or genteel serve of crispy fries. Splash out for a mere $20 on Thursday or Friday, from 3pm to 5pm.

180 Rathdowne Street, Carlton 

Inuman

Craving a bite and a breath of fresh air in the CBD? Climb to Inuman, the rooftop bar above Askal, for Filipino-style refreshment. Snack on a chicken inasal skewer, an iconic taste of Bacolod: hot grilled cockerel with a fragrant marinade, annatto condiment, black vinegar and pickles. To pair, a zippy Kuya Archie a sour-style cocktail with calamansi citrus, ouzo, bitters and a touch of lime.

167 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

Daphne

If you’re not yet a member of the Brunswick East Martini Club, consider this your sign. Daphne’s $15 Martini Mondays are calling. The hip pub-diner from the Etta team even has a loyalty card, letting you work your way towards a well-earned 10th freebie-tini, one stamp at a time. Monday’s curated snack menu features salty little bites like pork cheek croquettes and anchovy toast, ideal partners for the bar’s suite of martini variations.

52 Lygon Street, Brunswick East 

Moondrop

Fitzroy’s new 1920s Shanghai-inspired cocktail bar oozes style, practically begging you to perch at the bar and linger over unusual signatures and specialties. Pair the house Manhattan riff, the Chanhattan, with the cheddar tartlet: cave-aged Dorset cheddar custard piped into a crisp gluten-free pastry flower, jewelled with quince paste and fragrant osmanthus. Then sip the Chanhattan, a dark, smoky mix of Japanese Nikka whisky, lapsang souchong sweet vermouth, chocolate liqueur and bitters.

Level 1/150-156 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Beverly Rooftop

A curated Cali-style snack pairing with an unbeatable city view. Beverly Rooftop’s $30 Golden Hour is a sky-high steal. Choose from a trio of oysters and a mini martini, a southern fried lobster roll and a spritz, a tuna tostada and a margarita, or a slider and a pint. Enjoy the Golden Hour from 4pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday, until June 30th.

Goldfields, level 24/627 Chapel Street, South Yarra

Bar Sophia

Snack like an Athenian at the latest spot from the Marameo team. That means settling in at the front bar for a simple solo indulgence of house-made haloumi, pan-fried until golden and luxuriously soft. From the Greek-leaning wine list, something like the Aristotelis Ke Anthoula ‘Retsini’ stands up beautifully to the richness: a skin-contact muscat fermented with Aleppo pine resin. It is the refined rustic repast of your Greek summer dreams.

161 Burke Road, Glen Iris 

Byrdi

Speed Bump is Byrdi’s one-sip martini with a built-in bite. Inspired by the pairing of white chocolate and caviar (ah, decadence), the mini-tini uses distilled cacao and toasted macadamia elements. It’s served at a bright -22 degrees with a bump of Yarra Valley trout roe caviar infused with house-made shoyu. First bump, then sip. And if you’d like an extra bite, the prawn toast with pepperberry mayo is one of Melbourne’s finest bougie versions.

Ella, 211 La Trobe Street, Tenancy GD075, Melbourne

Don’s

Craving pasta, but not the full bowl? Don’s has an elegant solution: Pasta On A Spoon. It’s a single flavour-packed bite of freshly made pasta, ever changing. And these aren’t your average everyday flavours: Moroccan braised lamb agnolotti, trout and chive ravioli with ikura beurre blanc, gochujang rose macaroni and caramelised onion cappelletti with kataifi. Whatever the spoon holds, you’ll find its pairing in the $17 wines of the day.

202 Commercial Road, Prahran

Apollo Inn

You don’t need a full meal to get to dessert. You have free will. Apollo Inn’s legendary crème caramel is available until late, making indulgence at any hour entirely possible. Lounge in dimly lit seclusion for spoonfuls of silky custard and dark caramel, paired with sips of the Hazelnut Martini: hazelnut eau de vie, amontillado sherry and house-made Frangelico. A little booth, a little darkness and a moment of sweetness to yourself.

165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Call it dinner, call it aperitivo, call it impeccable judgement. Either way, Melbourne is making a very strong case for keeping things short, sharp and delicious. Then keep the energy up with our guide to the city’s best social clubs and coolest secret spots.