Best Hidden Bars in Adelaide: Secret Spots for a Night Out

Are you looking for something to do this weekend? 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, just waiting to be discovered.

Whether you’re after a decadent evening or something low-key, our local hospitality scene is filled with options for in-the-know drinkers. Here’s where to find the best-hidden bars in Adelaide.

Secret Chamber Bar 

As the name suggests, the Secret Chamber Bar team know they are tricky to find, which is fine by them - they love a secret. The newest (and tiniest) addition to the bar scene on Leigh Street, this is a magical bar 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 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 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.

Friday's from 4 pm

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 the responsibilities of the everyday. The menu changes often, but you'll always find at least 5 house cocktails, three beers and two wines on the drinks list.

Cocktails could include Monkey in a Barrel (dark rum, PX sherry, market sugarcane juice, three-stonefruit puree, and banana liqueur house casted gummies), or a Strawberry Gin concoction that's a little like liquid strawberries and cream (thanks to the additions of Caramilk and chartreuse).

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

78 on Rundle

What once was a charming local cafe in Kent Town, 78 On Rundle has been given the glow-up of the year, transforming the space into a stylish all-day cafe and - for those in the know - a vibrant 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

Five O'Clock Somewhere 

For one of the most relaxed wine tastings in McLaren Vale, the unassuming Five O'Clock Somewhere is run by a team of laidback locals who love good times and great wine.

Head to the Wine Room to sample a selection of Loom Wines, wines developed by the crew on site, and wines mixed with other wines from winemaking friends in the area, who made a little too much. Expect the unexpected, and make a few new friends along the way.

55a Main Road, McLaren Flat

Velvet Underground

When a dance is in order, head straight to Velvet Underground, the hidden dive bar in a basement that has quickly become one of Adelaide's best spots for late-night fun.

Weekend drink specials and 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? 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 - and award-winning liqueurs.

A tasting flight is the best way to try the gins, taking it at your 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, a bar that oozes laidback sophistication all year. Open from 4 pm - 2 am daily, the team are ready to welcome in 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 likely stay for the even better vibes 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 Willies. This Gilbert Street hidden 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 late at night, this place gets a great crowd. The good times start here from 4 pm, and we suggest getting in early to pull up a chair and get ready for live music 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

Maybe Mae

If you’re yet to go, it’s easy to miss Maybe Mae. Located in the tunnel between Peel and Leigh Streets, the stairs to this local haunt can be found next to the entrance of Bread & Bone. Decked out like a sophisticated speakeasy of years gone past, at Maybe Mae, you’ll find classic cocktails alongside more experimental options.

15 Peel Street, Adelaide

Ancient World

Self-described as a “DIY artist-run bar and performance venue in Kaurna Land,” Ancient World can be found on Hindley Street. But you’ll have to venture down a side street to locate the unassuming entrance. As unpretentious as they come, this bar serves up exclusively South Australian beer, spirits and wine, and often doubles as a music venue, depending on the night.

116A Hindley 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 menus here either – either check the drinks menus placed in bottles on the shelves or ask the barmen for any specials on the night.

63 Hyde 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. Hidden away upstairs in the archway is Mr Goodbar: a small bar with a lot of charm. Here, bartenders serve beer, wine and cocktails in a warm, cosy space. 

12 Union 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.