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    The Croft Institute

    3.9 (39 reviews)
    Open 12:00 am - 1:00 AM, 5:00 pm - 11:59 PM

    The Croft Institute Photos

    THE CROFT INSTITUTE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Hipster
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Croft Institute

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    Syringes cocktails
    Chantee F.

    I'm a fan of sci-fi and horror films so when friends suggested we stop here because it had a science vibe, I was game. As we made our way down the windy alleyway past cool graffiti, I became intrigued. We entered the bar and made our way through the dark room past displays of beakers and other lab paraphernalia. As I had to quickly venture to the toilets I was completely creeped out on my way up the stairs. The bathroom was straight out of a bad movie. Dirty floors and walls, a hospital bed next to the sink, and the toilets were dark, bars on windows, just not the kind of place you want to be. I stayed for a drink, thinking their signature syringe cocktails would be worth the $15-16 price tag. They are not. Sweet, syrupy with no originality outside of the syringe itself. Everyone in my party had the same experience with their cocktails. We were also weirded out by the music that sounded like a soundtrack to Psycho. What could have been a cool concept was subpar and not worth the time. Venture somewhere else for your next cocktail experience.

    Ladies bathroom
    Michelle S.

    Found this place while on a bar hop, thanks to the DRINK.Melbourne app. I loved that the back alley maze was so dodgy. It was such a surprise to see the fit-out, looks like a science lab or a morgue or an insane asylum. Just super creepy and I love the way the ladies bathrooms are "decorated". Ray was working the bar at the time and is incredibly knowledgeable, my guy friends didn't know what they wanted, but told him what they liked and he made up the perfect concoctions with Mozart dry chocolate. He explained the chocolate liquor pressing and fermenting process to us, I learned so much! I told Anna, also working the bar, that I loved Mr T's and she made me something much, much better with honey and chocolate flakes. I can't speak for all of the staff, but these two can read people and put a lot of effort into making you the perfect cocktail. Though, make sure you tell someone where you're going before you head down that alley!

    Anne-Claire A.

    Pretty cool place really hidden at the end if a dark alley way! Typical Melbourne! Alley way with very cool Street art! Cocktails are served with seringues - don't bring your drunk friends there, they will pour drinks everywhere playing around with the seringues! Washrooms are pretty cool too - going for the hospital vibe with a patient bed!

    The bar
    Maria T.

    The ultimate dark and secluded alleyway to take an unsuspecting backpacker to when you've just told them that Wolf Creek is your favourite movie and you want to 'impress' them by showing off the REAL Melbourne. This is also a perfect first date venue (even better if your date is from out of town). Lastly, it is most recently one of the epicentres for Pokemon Go addicts. So basically this alleyway caters to a wide range of people and/or zombies. As for the bar itself, they serve some pretty unique cocktails (assuming drinking out of a syringe is indeed unique). Just don't order the Apricot flavoured one. It tasted like a bad martini. Upstairs is cool if the ground level bar becomes too claustrophobic for you. There is room to dance. Hip hop was playing on the Friday night I was there. Female loos are fun to take group selfies in, but if you actually need to pee, be prepared for a long queue coz for some reason chicks like to have long D&Ms inside these stalls rather than out.

    Nice colours
    David Duey S.

    Love this place. Been visiting here since i first moved to melbourne three years ago. I suggeat coming in during the week and beating the rush and lines that occur on a Friday or Saturday night. It also gives you a chance to have a chat with the amazing staff about their drinks list. Highly recommend a syringe drink for the first timers. The laboratory theme is also impressive in its own.

    Vanessa R.

    For me, all the fun of going to the Croft Institute happens before you even get there. No matter how many times I've been there, I still enjoy that long and winding road down pissed-stained alleyways, lined with wall to wall graffiti until I turn the last corner and see the graf-nurse, which marks the spot. It's almost as if the Croft itself cannot compete with the walkway leading up to it. It's an upstairs-downstairs bar with an old school medical theme, which looks pretty cool I guess, but I can't help thinking it's just a sad copy of Damien Hirst's 'Pharmacy' in Notting Hill Gate, London (RIP). The drinks are nice enough, but I'm not sure about the crowd. The dancefloor upstairs gets mega packed on weekends and it can be quite fun depending on the DJ. Mostly, I end up on one of the little benches outside the Croft in the alleyway talking to strangers, which is all part of a good night here at the Croft.

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    Review Highlights - The Croft Institute

    In the past I've only visited the outside of this place, admiring the street art.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    The Night Cat

    The Night Cat

    4.0(19 reviews)
    1.8 kmFitzroy
    $$

    I normally tend to stay away from the kind of place where the average age is 18 and a half and they…read morescan your drivers license upon entry - you know just in case you knife someone inside the club or change out of the unfashionable collared shirt they probably require you to wear to gain entry. But I have to say the Night Cat is slightly different. The first and major big difference is that they have live bands playing on a circular stage, usually surrounded by enthusiastic dancers. And the bands they have playing are often pretty good. When there is no live music ,they tend to have a DJ playing some pretty cheesy music - but in my view, cheesy in a good way. They often can be found spinning some old school classics that you jump up on the dance floor to have a bit of a laugh, only to realise you are having a lot of fun. So if you are looking for a boogie and prepared to admit to yourself that having fun is way better than hanging with hipsters and jazz musicians then give the Night Cat a go. What's the worst that could happen (sans Interpol being notified of the details on your drivers license)?

    It's a fascinating venue and one that has escaped me for many years…read more Boy does this place fill up. Its pretty trashy and cheap with a basic selection of average drinks. But when the music and band kicks in, it doesn't really matter. Everyone is dancing. It's the opposite to most places where the odd few are dancing whilst the majority remain as stone human statues. There's good areas to sit and relax as well. very interesting place to sit watch and observe people too.

    Photos
    The Night Cat
    The Night Cat
    The Night Cat

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    Circus Bar & Night Club - Circus VIP booth

    Circus Bar & Night Club

    3.2(5 reviews)
    4.4 kmSouth Yarra
    $$

    Ahh there are many fond memories from nights at Circus with the crew, following in true Melbourne…read morestyle the underground club plays a very good selection of dirty electro, techno and house music. They host regular Melbourne dj's as well as bringing in some internationals from time to time for their in house events. Circus Bar has recently undergone a hige refurbishment and the results are nothing short of impressive, spread across two levels Circus has the main room downstairs complete with rich red walls, chic circular booths and of course a decent dance floor. Upstairs is the balcony that has been fitted out in a way that resembles the beach bars in Miami. The balcony has a second bar as well as another dj booth and looks out over the top of Chapel Street and Commercial Road. Circus is open Thursday through Sunday and is available for both birthdays and private functions.

    Circus is where I've ended up at 4am on a Monday morning after getting knocked back from revolver…read more They are very generous on who they let in but I've only been here on there Sunday Night. Has a very weird mixed crowd of people which you never would of thought existed. The venue is very nice looking and plays the exact same music as revolver as they both have the same resident DJs. The rooftop is beautiful but they do close some of it off for functions. The only negative points of the venue are the crowd (essentially the revolver rejects, me being one of them at the time ) and gets very overcrowded being a small venue. Only time I would visit is when everything else is shut as it closes around midday Monday. On the positive super friendly staff and security, great music and nice looking venue.

    Photos
    Circus Bar & Night Club
    Circus Bar & Night Club
    Circus Bar & Night Club

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    Laundry Bar - @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

    Laundry Bar

    2.9(12 reviews)
    1.7 kmFitzroy
    $$

    I give this place a 3.5 Star thanks YELP…read more Been there twice, first time was pretty cool. Some nice old school hip hop tracks which was a thumbs up from me. YAY world! Bar service was a bit slow and nobody smiled they all looked like they wanted to die. Bathroom was okay- had chunder all over the floor but thats standard. I also got elbowed in the eye by some asian chink- wasn't too impressed.. Standard. Anyways- I danced a bit on the table which was interesting. Uhm- The place has a smoking area... Thank the lord- thumbs up. Second time, was a friday night. Pretty empty around 11-12 but got busier later with weird people in suits. HOWEVER. The girl who was playing initially was pretty decent. Then it all changed when another chick come up with short shorts that went up her anus. Her music was TERRIBLE. Some poppy hip hop crap. Sucked balls. Thumbs down. A jug of beer is at a pretty good price though, it was only 18 bucks compared to the standard average of 26. YAY AGAIN! Fun place overall. Totally recommend it. It's really laxed and pretty trendy. There were a couple painters there that night doing some canvas work. COOL-

    Laundry bar is an awesome two level club that offers a variety of events inclusive of drum and…read morebase, dubstep and even host an awesome gay night (danceteria). The venue is usually jammin' and has a pretty good crowd. Went to 'Danceteria' recently and the venue wad busy, upstairs offering deep ghetto beats and downstairs a little more 80's and retro. They do random events like open mic hip-hop which usually consists of white guys stoned out of their minds rhyming words that somehow string together into coherent sentences (sometimes that is).

    Photos
    Laundry Bar - @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

    @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

    Laundry Bar - @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

    @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

    Laundry Bar - @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

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    @ Laundry bar in Fitzroy where Hip-Hop is alive and kicking ass

    Inflation - The entrance

    Inflation

    3.7(3 reviews)
    1.3 kmMelbourne
    $$

    Very large venue known as Cloud Nine or cloud. This is probably the busiest night club in all of…read moreMelbourne every Saturday night. It has a very energetic vibe with the basement being my favourite area of this club. It opens around 10 and closes around 9am Sunday running a pretty good recovery. The demographic is mainly 18-20 year olds and the you might see a few younglings. Most people who come here go every week. It plays rnb on one level and the rest is either minimal or Melbourne bounce with the odd psy trance or hard style track being played. The ratio or girls to guys is very good. I would rate this place higher but I feel like the oldest there and would much rather head to tramp. I would recommend heading to cloud at least once as Melbourne's busiest venue.

    Essentially Inflation is several venues connected by a series of staircases, with the basement bar…read morenormally accesible only through a back alleyway entrance. Although Inflation hosts numerous themed nights, from Industrial to Trance, the main club is generally a casual place to meet up with friends, have a drink and move on. Open on Friday and Saturday nights til very late, Inflation is a testament to Melbourne's clubbing culture, having operated successfully for over 25 years. With an rooftop beer garden possessing some of the city's best views, not to mention a great way to experience vibrant King Street without the hassles, Inflation offers something for everyone, even if that something is just a pot of Carlton Draught.

    The Croft Institute - danceclubs - Updated May 2026

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