I didn't want to review this club, because I didn't want to share the best kept secret in…read moreMelbourne. But I will because it's just too awesome. It's hip, urban underground and smooth. Classy yet it doesn't even appear they are trying. Open from Wednesday through Sunday, each night the Mango Bar comes alive with different sounds and genres of music. They've certainly got their pulse on the hottest up and coming local acts, as well as playing host to a range of renowned international DJ's. Each night there's something diff; electro funk, deep house, jazz and blues - there's something for everyone at Mango. The drinks menu deserves a rave as well. Spirits, beer and wine, as well as a sensational selection of martini's, cocktails and the signature Mango Daiquiri. It's like an oasis away from home. Somewhere you feel totally comfortable, totally chilled out and completed entertained by the music and live acts. There. The secrets out. Now go and enjoy!

Another Hall st gem!…read more Great selection of drinks, from $5 Friday happy hour, to cocktails & top shelf whisky's Mango is the perfect amount of chilled tunes & chatty crowd, with a small dance floor to carve up listening to resident & guest DJ's later in the night if the mood so grabs you, or enjoy the outdoor seating & perhaps throw in a game of jenga. BYO food (pretzels / crisps / nuts onsite for sale), and drop in for a quiet one, or settle in for an awesome night with the staff, old friends & new! PS- word is the espresso martini is the bomb (I don't drink coffee myself. Yes, we do exist)

I've been to "The dead rabbit" and "Employees only" in NYC (voted top 5 cocktail bars in the world)…read moreand I must say that this beats both in service, venue and cocktails. Deffo will be back.

Nothing makes you feel special like having to ring a door bell to get in to a bar, a cheeky wink…read morefrom a bartender, or a specially concocted cocktail that gets served with a side of orange blossom scented smoke wafting from a little jar of dry ice. Welcome to The Attic. The place where all these fantasies come true. It's a little more grown up, a little less busy, and a lot more attentive than its kid brother downstairs - The Black Pearl. It's the kind of place in which it's easy to spend a few hours, staring in to the eyes of a hot date (or the bartenders) not realising that you've had two martinis too many and are slowly losing all feeling in your legs. It's great. Go there.

If you're a Brunswick East local (which I am) you should consider yourself lucky (which I do) to…read morelive so close to such an exceptional bar. Mr Wilkinson ticks all the essential boxes. + A warm and welcoming but trendy and hip vibe + A bartender who does The Sunday Age quiz with his patrons every week + Boozy cocktails, wines and local craft beers + A different food truck parked directly outside every night of the week + A charcuterie board so good you will weep No other venue will give you that "I've found something special" vibe, while also making you feel like you're right at home.

This is one of this bars that I discovered simply by walking past, so being the curious person that…read moreI am I decided to step inside and grab a drink. I was immediately impressed, and based on the other reviews I must have a reasonably good taste when it comes to bars. It's a fairly narrow affair, but it actually holds a lot more people than it immediately seems, and there is an outdoor area down the side, and one out the back (though the one out the back is much better than the one down the side). The staff were okay, but it was the atmosphere that really grabbed me. They also had some decent beers available. I wish I had more time to go and visit places like this.

I could really make this place a regular hangout, if only I actually had the time to do so. Sure, I…read morecould come here after work everyday with my book and laptop and simply absorb the atmosphere, but sooner or later I'm going to have to go home. Anyway, this is one of those bars that I had regularly passed while travelling down Sydney Road but had never actually been inside, so one Sunday, when I knew I was going to be early for church, I decided to jump of the tram and pop in here for a quick beer. I must say that I am really glad that I did because I finally got to experience this really laid back bar is one awesome beer garden. It is this type of bar than really gives Sydney Road it's character, and I'm really going to have to make the effort to come down here more often.

The relatively hidden pub is a real great find on the strip. Some friends and I came here after a…read moregig at Penny Black and i was surprised by how large the venue actually is. There's a small front entrance but it leads into an awkward cosy inside but very large outdoor area. We came and the place was pretty quiet, we knocked back a few pints and enjoyed the quirky 1920's B&W videos that showed crazy acrobatics, contortion and acting, it was mesmerising! We were a large group but the outdoor area accommodated us well and once the group began to dissipate we moved indoors and then finally (they kept hinting to us that they were closing) we left. Definitely a keeper!

I would say that this is an atypical Brunswick bar, but it is probably better to describe it as an…read moreatypical inner Melbourne bar. It is located in an old warehouse, and it has the charm that you would expect from such a bar. The service was pretty good and the atmosphere was pretty awesome as well. In fact, this place had pretty much everything that I would expect from a bar, including a great selection of beers. Oh, and being located near the railway station really helped as well.

Don't exactly trust the address... it's in a weird location, at the back of a dark car park. Look…read morefor the painted Zebra lit up with a street light. Next to it is the doorway, flanked by friendly bouncers ready to welcome you to this interesting new space! Is it a warehouse party? An art installation? A beer garden? A cocktail bar? A "asian-ish" tapas house? A music venue? Is it a mash up of all of these things? Yes. Is it good? Hells yes! I ventured in on a rainy cold night, so the first outdoor/indoor space was a bit wasted on my group. Instead we were in the true indoor space and spent time either mingling at the bar, sitting around the booth-like tables or (later in the night) showing off our moves as we enjoyed the DJ. The food was terrific - hot, flavoursome and beautifully presented in square steamer boxes that worked really well in conjunction with the cutlery holders, plates and sauce jars. It was obvious that a lot of thought has gone in to how the food is to be presented and consumed and it's this kind of attention to detail that always wins brownie points with me. Notable snacks: - The jars of pickled "things". I have no idea what it was (capsicum?) but it was delicious. - Crocodile spring rolls. No, I couldn't really taste crocodile but I felt badass eating them. - The bao, particularly the Kingfish. Fun to eat, though I think most of them came with mayo inside and I would have liked to have seen some variations on sauce. Wish a massive selection of beer, wine, impressive gin selection (though no Australian representation which I would have liked) and some inventive cocktails on the list there's pretty much something for everyone. I stuck to simple spirits and beer (Hitachino Nest White Ale on tap!) but I'd like to venture back to put the bartenders through their paces on the cocktails and see if they can cut it. The services was exceptional - super friendly and very attentive.

I can't believe no one has reviewed Amelia Shaw yet; though, I also can't believe it's taken me…read morethis long to make here for a cocktail. I've been meaning to check out this mysterious Art Deco cocktail bar improbably located above the Retreat Hotel for ages, and I'm glad I finally did. The drinks are fantastic and the staff are lovely (table service, hello!) The interior is spacious and wonderfully decorated -- you'll feel like you've stepped back into the 1930s. I'm not sure how busy it gets later in the evening, but we had the pleasure of pre-dinner adult cocktail hour without having to compete in a shouting match with the other patrons. I'll be back for another gin fizz!

Here exists, possibility the best drink in Melbourne. It's called the penicillin!…read more It is the perfect mixture of whiskey, ginger, lemon and... Bacon! Ok the last part sounds ominous, but if you're a fan of an old fashioned, you'll love a Penicillin!

When I first read about Bouvier Bar I was confused... it was consistently being described as a "New…read moreYork style" bar. What does that even mean? And upon visiting Bouvier, I became even more confused. If it reflected the style of any part of the world, it was certainly somewhere closer to Europe. So what is Bouvier Bar all about? In a nutshell, it's a fancy pants bar. You're not coming here to watch the footy or smash some craft beer tinnies. You're coming here for a crisp glass of chardonnay and perhaps some charcuterie. The fitout is gorgeous. Black and white tiled floors, a bar that takes up an entire wall and small, intimate, candlelit tables for two. It's a date venue through-and-through. On my visit I ordered one of their few cocktails - a blood orange margarita. What could go wrong? Unfortunately it was a shocker of a cocktail and despite NEVER having sent anything back in my 30 years on this earth, I had to on this occasion. All I could taste was cheap tequila. Freshly squeezed blood orange might be the way to go in future. I next went with a glass of prosecco (which was perfection) and shared a charcuterie platter with my partner. It was good but not as great as hoped, especially considering the owner is Adrian Richardson from La Luna - famous for their meats! We went on a Sunday afternoon and it was deathly quiet, but not surprising. Give Bouvier a few weeks and I am sure it will find it's feet. And hopefully some better blood orange juice.

It's a nice new (8 weeks old) bar on Lygon Street. It's cosy and I think it will become popular…read more However it's quite dark even in the middle of the day. Also it's too quite, it could've done with turning the music up. When a group of loud women came in and shouted a lot it also became apparent that it hasn't got much sound insulation. The atmosphere is good though and the bartender was very friendly. There beer selection on tap is poor. Only 4 beers in tap (Kirin, Little Creatures Pale Ale White Rabbit dark ale, Furfie) as well as a red and white on tap too. But there's more in the fridge. The menu looked good with some of tasty sounding share dishes. We only tried the pork dumplings and they were nice but not mind blowing basically because the dumplings had very little flavour but nice when combining with soy, chilli and coriander.

This is another one of those bars that I have known about for a while but it took, well, quite a…read morewhile to actually get around to visiting the place. Well, when I eventually did I have to say that it was certainly worth it. Yeah, it is probably a more a wine bar, but they do have been here, even though it isn't a great selection (one tap I believe). Yet, it is still quite nice, and the atmosphere, well, the atmosphere is also pretty good. In fact, I found the place to be a great place where you can do some work. Oh, and they have a pretty nice outdoor area out the back as well.

Hi folks, a massive word of warning since the bar doesn't see fit to advise their patrons: they're…read moreusing pasta straws, that look like typical paper straws. The venue is always very darkly lit, which makes it even harder to tell that they're not paper straws until you're sticking pasta in your mouth. There's no warning and no query on whether you want a straw at all, never mind one made of a major allergen (and an extremely common food avoided in the inner Melbourne suburb of Brunswick). The worst part of this was their attitude when my partner confirmed that it was pasta and explained the harm they caused in not advising that their straws were made of a serious allergen. The bar's attitude was to DARVO the situation, to say that I shouldn't have drunk through the straw - but that was the whole problem, there was nothing suspicious, it was incredibly deceiving. We were told that they didn't know about allergens because it 'wasn't their world' - they're in hospitality! Their practice and attitudes have caused me (and undoubtedly many others) a great deal of pain and illness, and it won't be over for months. Beware.

This is one of those accidental discoveries that I discovered as I was walking down Plenty Road one…read moreafternoon after work. Having not seen it before, and pretty much picking it out as one of those trendy innercity bars (not that Preston could be considered inner city, but it is on the south side of Bell Street, so as far as I'm concerned that pretty much classifies it as inner city) I decided to check it out. I have to say that as soon as I stepped into the warehouse (it looks like it used to me a mechanic of some sort) I was immediately impressed. This is definitely the type of bar that I could spend a lot of time sitting with friends or just reading a good book. What's even better is that you can order food from the burger joint next door and they have no issue with you eating it here. Definitely on my must visit again sometime soon list.

What do you mean you're going to let me bring in my OWN food, play all your board games and sit on…read moreyour comfy lounges while serving me drinks? Are we in some kind of alternative hospitality universe here, or what!? The Raccoon Club is incredible: a warehouse styled building in the middle of seemingly nowhere (but conveniently located right in front of a tram stop) this is the kind of place that more neighbourhoods need. A huge space, great tunes, welcoming publicans, board games, a pool table, the option to call the local thai/pizza/indian and have them deliver it right to your couch or oversized bar stool...you're going to want to silently high-five the world when you first come here, and that's before you even think about having a drink. Is that a giant list of locally crafted beers and ciders I spy? Why yes, I think it is. And hang on a second, what's with the incredibly well stocked back bar? 15 types of Gin? Weird stuff I've never heard of? Good god, can I bring my tent and pitch it in the corner for a few weeks?