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Your Guide to Melbourne’s Best New Bars for 2026
Melbourne’s standout new bars defining the way we drink now.
Melbourne’s bar scene is a story in constant motion — an ever-shifting constellation of rooftops, laneway hideaways, and candlelit boltholes. Each neighbourhood pours its own character into the glass: summer evenings unfurl high above the city with a spritz in hand, while winter finds us drawn to snug pubs, wine bars and cocktail lounges that glow against the chill.
From rare vintages to boundary-pushing mixes, from glamorous occasions to everyday escapes, these are the new bars in Melbourne where atmosphere and craft combine — and every drink feels like a chapter worth savouring.
The Pinnacle
Fitzroy North’s sharp-cornered local is entering a new era, with Michael Bascetta and Scott Eddington taking the reins and giving the 1886 building a renewed sense of purpose. The live-music setup is making way for a 40-seat bistro, tighter interiors, a revitalised beer garden and a menu built on honest pub cooking shaped by the seasons. That means dry-aged cuts, house-made sausages, mussels, rotating Sunday roasts and the small details that make a neighbourhood pub feel entirely itself.
You’ll also find smoked cheddar croquettes, chicken terrine with kebab pickles, rainbow trout with beetroot salad, and a Loddon Valley chicken schnitzel with peppercorn sauce, baby gem salad and chips — and yes, schnitzel with peppercorn sauce is an utterly underrated combo.
With a more considered drinks program and a gentle lift throughout, it’s set to be a doozy of a time.
251 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North
Kent Hotel
Carlton North’s Kent Hotel returns with a fresher stride and a confident pour, embracing its heritage while feeling brighter at every turn. The front bar sets an inviting pace, the upstairs terrace carries a soft breeze, and the dining room settles beautifully into the night. Come for oysters dressed in apple mignonette, a prawn cocktail with retro charm, beer-battered chips, a proper cheeseburger and a bar that rewards curiosity. Melbourne loves a neighbourhood classic with real presence, and this one delivers in spades.
370 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North
Bar Carnation
Carlton has a new glow with Bar Carnation now open in the beloved Rathdowne Street room once home to Gerald’s Bar. Guided by Carnation Canteen’s Audrey Shaw, the space feels instantly assured: aperitivo plates, hand-rolled pasta and steak frites served seven evenings a week, plus a marble-topped bottleshop hidden behind the dining room. A treasured address begins an inspired new era.
Now open
386 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North
Moondrop
Fitzroy’s after-hours scene just scored a sultry new addition: Moondrop, a Chinese-inspired cocktail bar from the team behind Sleepy’s. Set above Gertrude Street, the former Everleigh space has been reborn as a moody, Shanghai-1930s dreamscape, a vision in moonlit drapery, a red mosaic bar, Mahjong tables tucked into bluestone, and a playlist that slides between Chinese hip-hop and R’n’B.
Drinks lean bold and boundary-pushing: baijiu-spiked martinis, bubble-tea riffs laced with ube, and a Negroni stamped with a moon rabbit emblem. Add dumplings, bao, tartlets and a cheeky caviar moment, and you’ve got Fitzroy’s most exciting new nightcap address.
Level 1/150-156 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
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Bar Elsie
Bar Elsie is the neighbourhood bar Brunswick East has been quietly craving. European at heart and unmistakably Melbourne in spirit, it’s warm, confident and very easy to stay longer than planned. Pull up at the U-shaped bar, browse a wine list that leans classic without feeling stiff, then let the menu do the talking: smoked ham hock terrine with sauce ravigote, charred hispi cabbage glossed in orange and fennel butter, a crumbed pork chop with remoulade, or swordfish swimming in tarragon butter. We’re not drooling. You are.
Sitchu Tip: Sundays are made for settling in. Their two-course lunch is just $40, best paired with $15 martinis. Midweek, Wednesday’s Chicken Night brings a $25 marinated chicken Maryland with panzanella salad. Safe to say, that’s going to be hard to resist.
396 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
CLEO
Mid-Air has taken its bow; Cleo is the summer sequel. The twelfth-floor perch remains, but the brief shifts sunnier: an Eastern-Med menu built for sharing, a spritz-forward bar, and service tuned to golden-hour ease. Expect a refreshed terrace with more greenery and shade, a reworked central bar for faster pours, and a wine list leaning bright, saline and coastal. Mezze, charcoal-kissed seafood, warm breads and citrus-herb accents set the tone; design keeps the mid-century lines and adds softer, sun-washed textures.
Level 12/130 Russell Street, Melbourne
Gerald’s Bar
Geralds Bar has grown up, spread out and somehow stayed exactly itself. The new Lygon Street home brings space to roam, corners to claim and plenty of reasons to stay late, without losing the intimacy, humour and soul regulars love. There’s vinyl on rotation, art on the walls, familiar stools and food that moves easily from bar snacks to something more considered. It feels like the local gem Melbourne has always gravitated towards, now with a bigger orbit.
920 Lygon Street, Carlton North
Death & Co Melbourne
A New York legend has officially taken up residence on Flinders Lane, and the city’s bar scene just levelled up. Death & Co — the bar that reshaped modern cocktail culture — brings its moody elegance, meticulous craft, and world-famous drinks to Melbourne for its first-ever international outpost. The signatures are here (the Naked & Famous, the Oaxacan Old Fashioned), joined by Melbourne-leaning creations that showcase local spirits and seasonal nuance. It’s refined, atmospheric, quietly theatrical; welcome to the new night out that becomes a story.
87 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
The Waterside Hotel
After eight years in the making, The Waterside Hotel has returned — and Melbourne’s midtown has never looked this good. Reimagined by Sand Hill Road (of The Espy fame) with Techne Architects, this seven-level marvel marries heritage bones with modern brilliance: think lush terraces, moody lounges, and a rooftop that glows gold at sunset.
The headline act? PAST / PORT, a South-East Asian dining destination by Executive Chef Sarah Chan, serving tom yum prawn dumplings, crying tiger steak tartare, and chilli caramel eggplant with finesse. From the 18-metre Public Bar to skyline cocktails upstairs, it’s a symphony of flavour, texture and spectacle — a grand, glittering ode to Melbourne’s pub scene reborn.
508 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Melitta Next Door
Melitta Next Door channels the Mediterranean neighbourhood bar everyone wishes existed down their street — generous, unhurried, and radiating easy charm. The younger sibling to the acclaimed Bar Bellamy swaps polish for personality: freezer Martinis beside $14 taps, longnecks cooling in eskies, and a menu by Lorena Corso that’s pure Sicilian soul. The flatbread with spring onion whipped butter deserves its own fan club, and the seafood — smoked mussels with chilli and ricotta — seals the deal. Add a Cynar Spritz and golden-hour chatter, and you’ve found Carlton’s new addiction.
160 Rathdowne Street, Carlton
Hands Down
When Melbourne’s best bartenders join forces, the result is rarely quiet — and Hands Down makes that clear from the first pour. Taking over the former Bad Frankie site, this Fitzroy newcomer comes courtesy of the teams behind Bar Liberty, Above Board and Pearl Diver. The brief: create a neighbourhood bar where you can sip something bright and continental without the fuss. Vermouth-forward cocktails, sherry spritzes, and snacks made for easy conversation set the tone. With its lowered ceiling, mellow lighting and wood-panelled charm, it’s intimate, effortless, and built for your next easy night out this summer.
139-141 Greeves Street, Fitzroy
Whether you’ve discovered a new favourite haunt or added a few more destinations to your must-visit list, we hope this guide to the best new bars in Melbourne has inspired you to continue exploring our city’s dynamic drinks scene. And, until next time, may your nights be filled with romantic date spots and cinematic adventures.
