Who doesn't love pairing Boggle with cocktails and imported beer? Kelvin Bar in Northcote is one…read morebloody cool place. The room is dim, the drinks are many and the orange scooter parked out front is the best indicator that the door will be open. The crowd here is very cool. No douche bags tend to frequent it and this is a massive plus. While monopoly and scrabble aren't the average patrons idea of a wicked night out, they have me exceptionally satisfied. Besides, incorporating bets and shots into these games is one way to encourage even the most unenthusiastic friend into an extreme word finding Boggle-off. The vibe in here is the reason I keep coming back and the comfy chairs, great service and good company do nothing to change my mind. Awesome place.

Its name might say 'Working man's club' but Kelvin Bar - or Kelvin's as the locals have it - is…read moremore like Mad Men, but with Boggle in lieu of secretaries and a soundtrack of Fat Freddy's Drop instead of Roy Orbison. A heady and seemingly irresistible combination to the retro obsessed, the unathletic but competitive, and, erm, New Zealand music fans. I.e. me. If, like me, the only reason you hunger after an iPhone is for the endless possibilities of the Scrabble app, you'll love Kelvins. The décor is faithfully early seventies, the wine list refreshingly organic, and the cocktails pretty damn good. But what really makes this place special is the veritable smorgasbord of board games on offer. Not only is gaming of the board variety accepted at Kelvins, it's positively encouraged. And with Kelvin's offering games numbering Yahtzee, Monopoly, Guess Who and more, you can easily while away the hours over a bottle of organic wine and a tryst with a board game in this unassuming and under-celebrated but really quite awesome Westgarth haunt.

We had a wonderful evening for dear friends belated 70th birthday…read moreand the food was delicious, the service by Morgan could not be faulted even provided a mini icecream with candle to sing happy birthday to our friend. The ambience in the dining room had a lovely feel to it. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting a special dinner for a special occasion. Yvonne 26.6.2021

3 in 1 - that's "The Terminus". We've been regulars here since 2009. The food and beer is…read morefantastic. It should go without saying this is a SENSATIONAL craft beer venue but I thought I'd mention it to make a point. Whenever in the venue you chose to drink you have an option of drinking from all bars. The selection of craft beers are sensational! This selection is not the case for the food sadly. There is the lovely restaurant at the back, the original pub part and the (no longer new) craft bar where the drive in bottle-o used to be. To me, as a customer, the oddest concept of this is the snobbery between the craft kitchen and the original kitchen. You can't order from both and eat in one area - they demand you order from the one you are in only. I get it from a kitchen point of view but for me the biggest issue with that is that the pub part doesn't have fish and chips because that's a fav of my husband whilst I adore the pub part steak. I would give them 5/5 if I could order food from either kitchen - just as I can with the beer.

Bar Nancy is a great first date place. It's rocking the mood lighting, they have a solid selection…read moreof beers and amazing cocktails. It also tends to be quiet, and there are lots of nooks and crannies in the seating plan, so you can tuck away somewhere for a lovely conversation. The decor is somewhat plain, dark wood, wide leather benches. There's nothing particularly unique about Bar Nancy, but it's a lovely place for a night cap.

This pub is awesome. It just has this really nice old-world charm about it that just seems to be…read morebefitting of one of those inner-city pubs. In fact, the service here was pretty good, and they certainly have quite a decent range of beers on tap as well. Oh, and they also have some quite nice and relaxing live music playing as well. Yeah, I'll have to say that this is definitely a pretty good pub.

This pub is really special, in every sense of the word. It's truly unique and that's evident on…read morethe approach, and reinforced when you get inside and see that the changes in the neighbourhood haven't affected the Pinnacle in the slightest. The ramshackle is this pub's most charming characteristic, and I hope to god nothing about it changes, ever. From the outdoor toilets to the regulars to the fantastic live music that seems to rise out of nowhere, the Pinnacle is unaffected by fashion, style or trend. It's beyond all of that which means nothing, and that makes it a precious and rare thing in Melbourne today. Long live the Pinnacle!

Asked to leave by squinty eyed woman who did not work there, look I'm sorry I thought she was…read moreChinese but I only had one glass of wine while there, none of the employees stood up for me, how are we supposed to feel safe with such ambiguous and confrontational characters about and none of the bartenders caring? Why was she even getting mad at my chinese jokes if she wasn't chinese in the first place? Do not recommend.

Monkey is a beautiful little wine bar with style and quirkiness that makes you wonder why you go to…read moresome ordinary pubs so often when there are places like this around. It's easy to find, just look for people loitering on the street out front. With super-popular Moroccan Soup Bar next door, Monkey is perfectly located to attract the overflow while people wait for a table. It's a really cute little bar, it plays records instead of cds, only opens a certain few bottle of wines at a time to avoid wastage and has a really chilled vibe. When I went in there was a few small groups of friends (girls) and plenty of couples - it's that sort of place. Bit romantic but not over the top - the sort of place girls love (because I'm an expert...) and would be an ideal spot to bring a date but not your footy mates. It's not cheap, the cheapest bottle of beer is $6.5 but they're all good quality, organic, boutique beers, many of which are local so they're great for a change from the regulars. Really worth a visit.

Lovely local bar in north Fitzroy. With a cute beer garden and a few booths there's much more room…read morethan there looks at first glance. Didn't try the cocktails but there seemed to be a reasonable booze list, and nice tunes. Perfect place for a sneaky bevy before or after your Moroccan soup bar

Deco is one of the coolest looking wine bars in the north side of the city. Located on St George's…read moreroad next to Red Olive restaurant, Deco has an extensive selection of beers and wines and excellent service from Steve and sometimes Abby. The décor is dark and sophisticated and the ambience and vibe very chilled. In summer the back beer garden is a great spot to hang out in. The clientele are usually very talkative and Deco is a good spot to meet a number of interesting people. You can also get a feed here with a number of small share plates on offer and you can even order in the wood-fired pizzas from Red Olive next door. On Sunday evenings there is usually live music on and good relaxing times to be had.

Look better in the dark? Well Deco is the perfect place to bring a prospective partner for a bit of…read morewining and (limited) dining supplied by the neighbouring food stores. The mood lighting in here is so dark you could process film while enjoying a good vino (younger punters probably won't know what processing film is - I can hear them now 'does he mean upload?') The cheese platter was really tasty and of course goes well with wine, I don't know about wine and pizza mixing - maybe that's what girls do on one of those 'girls night in' things - but for me pizza should be eaten with a beer, which is lucky because Deco also have a really extensive beer, cider and spirits menu. Try the Leffe, it's a light-coloured and strong Belgian beer, absolutely sensational. For the tight-arses there's a few good selections of cheaper wine available by the glass and bottle. The Margaret River SBS is a winner. Great place, comfy chairs, affordable, brilliant atmosphere that makes you feel a lot drunker than you are (hence a cheaper night).

There's a cinema out the back that you can hire out. It seats about 20 and you can show whatever…read moreyou want. You can't take food in there but you can take your perfect margarita or whatever classic cocktail you've ordered. The bartenders here are a talented lot. They know what they're doing and they'll make you a delicious drink, whatever that may be. The food is also great - simple flavours that really bring out the best in each dish. The room itself is pared back, elegant and not at all showy. I can't fault this bar. It's almost perfect, and that's the highest compliment I can pay it because to be absolutely perfect would be boring.

I gotta say, I don't frequent many 'bar' type bars, I'm generally more of a pub guy. LongPlay has…read morebeen a sweet awakening... The folk at LongPlay know about making the customer happy. They are super friendly, they serve very good cocktails, they play good tunes and they even show movies. They've started showing limited/no release films out the back here on a regular basis and their selections have had me intrigued. They'll pull out obscure rockumentaries and rarities and for this I salute them. My buddies turned me on to Handsome Sailors (the drink, not the seamen) and this spot has now become one of my favourites to stop in for a nightcap after dinner or a night out. We rocked up one night as the dude was locking up and he even opened the bar back up for us for just out of good nature. He even let us spin a few records and we did some cocktail sampling. He's a champ, this is a winner. Go there.

Great pub, here for the UFC and they have a great setup to watch. Big screen out in the beer garden…read moreand plenty of seating. Had a pint of Steam Ale and it was ice cold and tasty

The Empress (more like Impress, amirite?!) has relaunched this year with new beers, a new menu and…read morea rather ravishing facelift and should be at the top of your list (or at least in your top five) when it comes to a Sunday session. For those that like craft beer you'll be a happy chappy here. They have old favourites Mountain Goat and Vale Ale as well as a few newbies chucked in every now and then, most recently they had Moon Dog's pine-lime IPA tapped. As I said, this is a great destination for a Sunday session, and therefore my menu knowledge is limited to a parma (deelish) and a bowl of chips (also deelish), AKA Sunday Session meals. However they do have a $10 Pizza night on Monday and a $15 Burger and a pot night on Wednesday, which I intend to check out shortly. Their courtyard is decked out with astroturf and some admirable foliage but be warned, it can feel a bit like a peak-hour tram in summer. Packed. If sun is what you're after, try nabbing one of the outdoor seats on Scotchmer Street, you might have more luck plus more fresh air. All in all, a great spot to watch the footy and share a couple of jugs with good mates.