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Cocktail bars

Barry Parade Public House was a welcome new presence on Brisbane’s bar scene in late 2024.

This brilliant new Brisbane bar is closing permanently

Its owners are blaming its demise on rising costs (taxes in particular) and inconsistent patronage. You have just over a week to see what made it so special.

  • Matt Shea
Nightbird is nesting at the back of Godby Hotel.

Eight new bars to try, from a secret rooftop to a pub in an old train station

There’s also a Thai cocktail bar hidden above a laneway restaurant, two cosy new spots for Abbotsford locals and a massive beer garden in Melbourne’s south-east.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Sonja Rose (left) and Samara Sequeira of Reading Party Melbourne, which encourages more reading, less scrolling.

The bars, bakeries and backyards where people are ditching screens to reconnect

Done with doomscrolling, Melburnians are getting off their phones and joining quirky gatherings where bars become reading nooks and bakeries double as dance floors.

  • Dani Valent
Santito in Collingwood is styled on Mexico City’s taquerias.

Seven of the hottest new Victorian restaurants to dine at this summer

The Greek wave arrives in Glen Iris, a Venetian wine bar lands in Brunswick, and 1970s Bangkok comes to Carnegie. Plus, two favourites up stumps – but don’t stray very far.

  • Daniela Frangos
The third-storey rooftop terrace on Bourke Street.

After-work drinks? Try one of these 12 hot new Melbourne bars

Post-5pm, beeline for mango and sake cocktails on a resurrected city rooftop, $15 martinis that come with a loyalty card, or something else frosty.

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Pornstar martini has made Google’s Year in Search list for the third consecutive year.

Who is drinking all the pornstar martinis?

More Aussies look up the recipe for this noughties-era drink than a Daiquiri. Here’s why it’s back and why you may be drinking it without even knowing.

  • Erina Starkey
Moondrop is bringing Chinese influences to cocktails in a legendary Fitzroy site.

First look: After a shock closure, The Everleigh is reborn as a fresh cocktail bar

The team behind a popular Carlton North spot is gearing up to open a Chinese-inspired bar with big ambitions. “We want to be the best bar in Australia.”

  • Tomas Telegramma
Lona Misa offers discount cocktails at its monthly Friday night deal, Havana Nights.

Two-sip martinis, chic snacks, Friday bargains: Melbourne’s 13 best happy hours

Raise a glass this spring without draining your wallet. We have $3 oysters, $5 tacos, $9 mini martinis and $15 Moet all around Melbourne.

  • Daniela Frangos
Double Deuce.

Former Bar of the Year Double Deuce Lounge to close on Bridge St as Friday drinks fizzle

“It hasn’t been the same since COVID,” says one operator as other venues also exit the northern CBD precinct.

  • Scott Bolles
Martini at Maybe Sammy.

Maybe Sammy team to open new bar, leading new wave of venues in the city

It’ll have water views and be inspired by Mexico’s Riviera. Other venues pivot to attract more people, with one operator saying, it’s “easier to make money with bars”.

  • Scott Bolles