Don’t you just love places that make you feel so special just because you meet the criteria to make it through the door? Combine the feeling...

No name or street number out the front but this retro space is small, friendly and great for knocking back a Tsingtao Chinese beer or...

A modern multi-level venue located in Chinatown featuring a restaurant and bar downstairs then two up-market rooftop bars with loved-up...

Between the National Gallery and the Arts Centre, Curve Bar is a hidden treasure. The interior designer has had free reign...

Sexily decadent, the new Chi Lounge has an intimate atmosphere and an antique Asian influence where couches and big armchairs...

More hippodrome than bar, Silk Road is big and hip and glam – all eight bars and two mezzanine levels of it. There’s bling, huge...

Be sure to make the journey only in the company of friends as you could think you were being led to your demise on the journey to this...

The Money Order Office (MOO) bar is all about style underground. Go down, way down into the depths under the shoe shops and to the...

Down your weapons as you enter this once notorious city bloodbath that has now been cleverly transformed into ‘Alice in Wonderland...

Cosy up to the post-work crowd in this chic chandeliered space. White, cool and a great place for singles – especially after the races...

Shove a shipping container in an old car park in Chinatown and deck it out as a bar, whack up a bit of temporary roof, toss around...

Coffee? Italians do it better. Pellegrini’s has been doing it for over 50 years. Peek out back for a glimpse of what’s simmering on the stove for...

Hidden away in a warehouse off a narrow alley, coffee connoisseurs flock to St Ali for gourmet grinds. New blends, roasting profiles...

The family with a strong java heritage opened a coffee emporium blending a training school, batch coffee roaster and café. Especially impressive...

Find the dark laneway strewn with bins, look for the little lit-up sign on your left and climb the stairs to this little haven away from the corporate...

It’s slick, it’s in and it’s usually the place to hang during Fashion Week. The Martini Bar lives under the Westin but has a different life...

Location, location, location! With elevated, sweeping views of Port Phillip Bay, Ríva is the ultimate hang-out for the glam set and a...

A diverse range of event spaces, from the Bruce Wayne nightclub where intimate soirees are held, to the Pretty Dulcie Bar, named...

This buzzy bistro is perfect for group eats. Cruise up to the bar and you can easily score a table by the time you have grabbed your drinks...

Quirky, fascinating and welcoming, the good old Gin Palace. Minus-zero pretension and 100 per cent cool. Love the myriad of framed...

A fabulous, lofty space perched high over Swanston Street, Cookie has ornate pillars, balconies and a bar that is as long as half...

RU-CO is certainly not what you would expect from a hotel bar – dark, moody, sexy with warm tones, stunning artwork and a swanky private...

Der Raum, German for ‘the room’, has just been voted third-best bar in the world by Australian Bartender Magazine. Spirits...

This establishment is named after the year 1806 when the word ‘cocktail’ was first defined in any form of media – or so you learn from...

This place has got that speak-easy thing going on. Meyers Place has really captured the laneway cultural scene and Lily Blacks...

A meeting place for Italians in search of scrummy biscotti. Trendy uni types sip espresso. Nonnas eat risotto. Mothers with babies...

As the Starbucks craze dies, specialty coffee houses come back. Relief for coffee addicts! This tiny café, dedicated to the art of coffee...

Perched on the steps on the Elizabeth Street colonnade of the GPO building, this is a welcome hangout for suits, shoppers and tourists...