At first I thought this was just a bar however it is actually, as the name suggests, the back room…read moreof a craft beer bottle shop (though I will review that separately as it is a different sort of business. Anyway, as a bar it is pretty cool, and also quite conveniently located, which is why I have found myself back here a few times after my first visit. Anyway, this is the proper definition of a craft beer bar, especially since they have a huge number of beers available, though not at cheap prices. Another thing that stands out is that they don't just sell beer, they sell art as well, though they aren't cheap (but then again when it comes to art you aren't paying ridiculous prices, namely into the hundreds of dollars). Anywaym it is a pretty cool bar, and while the beers are a little pricey, they are also pretty good.

This is the best bar in Melbourne. Amazing selection of beer in tap, that rotates all the time…read more Plus you can buy packaged beer from Carwyn to enjoy in the bar. Mind blowing assortment of spirits (try the moonshine, go on). Plus you can order food from Moor's Head and Kustom Burger. Actually, don't go here. I don't want it to be crowded.

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)

The headline read "Tantalized by Trumpy" -Brought to you by…read morea drinking Yelper. If you walk by on High Street, you can easily miss it as you stroll by. But pay quick attention, there's a neon sign, and a creepy dark entrance. You look and there's nothing to tell you what's on the other side. You proceed with caution as you go up the ramp, open the heavy door and enter into Trumpy. Once you settle down, the world is again at ease. Arm yourself with their thick bible of drinks. You'll be pouring over choices as the bartenders gear you one way or the other. Sip on a Pococktail by Nick Darling. The description reads "charming and brutal, effective and mesmerizing, sweet and hard, all at once." This is followed by The Millionaire, and then some other yet-to-be-named delicious drinks. The bartenders get the gist of what you like, and they will look after you as if you are a regular. Set in dim lighting, the staff is bright and all knowing drink wise. They bring character, and the record player brings personality that all but make up Trumpy. The only thing missing, is you.

Destined to be one of my fave locals. Even though it was packed to the brim with bearded hipsters…read moreon the night of my visit. Nice selection of beers, wines & spirits. Great service. Tasty food designed for sharing.

Despite the fact that I have been living in Epping for a few years now I never realised that this…read moreplace existed. Then again, it isn't all that obvious, not being on a main road and all that. However, this seems to be a place for me to go if I want some craft beers, and it also has a pretty large outdoor area. However, I suspect that it is more a night club than a bar, since it is only open on weekends, and at night. Still, it is pretty cool, and I probably should go back sometime (though it is a little dark).

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?

As I was wandering around Northcote one afternoon I discovered this lovely place so I decided to…read morecheck it out. Well, it turns out that this bar pretty much meets all the expectations that you would want from an inner-city bar, especially one located to the north of Melbourne. The place is just so relaxing and chilled, and of course having some pretty awesome art on the walls, especially some rather unique ones, certainly adds a lot of spice to it. Oh, and not surprisingly they have some great beers to chose from, and the service is also top notch as well.

In the middle of last week I was sitting happily at home contemplating an alcohol-free day, and how…read moremuch my overworked liver may appreciate such a wondrous happening. Long story short, is I got a phone call saying there was a new wine bar down the road in Essendon, and that I should tag along to check it out. If you like a very competitively priced glass or bottle of wine, I suggest you do to. The wine bar down the road in Essendon turned out to be the Essendon Wine Bar. The night I went was the soft opening, and there was the odd fixture waiting to be fixed in the back of the venue, but it also gave us a chance to look through before it was all polished and suave. One of the highlights for me was seeing inside the old safe (the venue was a NAB branch in a previous life) which now serves as a liquor store (as in backup booze cache, not bottle shop). Somewhere between being a bank and becoming a wine bar, this was also a nightclub, so some of the furniture has been re-purposed, but much of it is slick and new. The back of the venue will retain a wide dance floor and as it will be open until late a few nights a week, but it will be given a facelift. The smoking area out the front is a nice spot when there are no smokers, and there is footpath seating. Food is outsourced to neighboring restaurants. Armed with my initial freebie-opening-night-celebratory-wine, I perused the wine list. It was still being printed, but the interim one was interesting and featured a number if wineries I had never heard of. Second glass of wine was a Heathcote Shiraz, and it was great, at $6 a glass or $22 a bottle. In consultation with my group, we invested in a bottle for the third round. Then another. A third, equally-well-priced bottle was purchased, but I can't remember what it was. Then there was a discussion about sampling a white, so we did that obligingly without doing too much damage to the bank account. Finally it was time to leave as the sober driver wanted some sleep. A beer for good health courtesy of the bar manager was all that stood in the way of a swift departure. Throughout all this I nibbled on samples of the catering, and can tell you the olives a good, the arancini balls delightful, fries moreish, and meatballs worth the wait. As a special tip for those of you who made it this far into my review, bottles of Champagne, real Champagne from Champagne, start at $65 a bottle for Mumm Cordon Rouge or Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. Now tell me you don't want to check this place out!

Got a groupon as a gift at this place and as mentioned on the coupon went made a booking for 9pm…read morethis evening. The place smelled of puke (or was it cheese), either way it was not too pleasant. The voucher was for a 'Wine Tasting Experience with a Meat and Cheese Platter' for two. Their menu states that a platters include 'cheese (4), cold meats (3) Marinated olives, water & gluten free rice crackers' and the pictures on the website looks scrumptious. Infact, I though it was one of those hidden gems, a cozy nook and and was eager to try their yum cha. However, when I made the booking last evening I was told that I could only order what was available as yum cha was outsourced. The wine list consisted of a few low to mid range wines and I settled for a glass of '2013 Mike Press Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills' and my husband settled for a glass of Pimm's. As for additional food, we were told told that the only food available was from the pizza menu. Husband came back with the drinks from the bar and it took approximately 30 minutes for the Tasting Platter to arrive upon questioning it's whereabouts. The slightly rude personnel behind the counter had the nerve to say 'It is because we are busy', when we politely questioned as to how much longer it would take. Made a mental note to not spend a penny more than what the voucher would cover and to take our dinner bill elsewhere. The cold cuts, prosciutto and the salami tasted funny, the cheese was alright, the water crackers were soggy and who the hell serves Peckish Crackers. I could have made a better platter at home. I wish restaurants would stop existing for the sake of existing and actually do justice to the culinary art. Absolute disappointment!

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.

I really love everything about this place, the atmosphere the service and wine. It's a great place…read moreto go of an evening and chill out with friends

Fine wine, sneakily good beer selection and a casual atmosphere makes Strange Loves Bar a good…read morefriend of mine. With 3 areas to seat yourself, I've never had any issues finding room to relax here. If with friends I like to sneak upstairs for a comfy seat. In a more intimate situation or when I'm by myself I tend to enjoy front row seats and people watch. Typical of the area there is no real food served here. If you need some fine dining to go with a fine wine you'll be handed a book with local restaurants who will deliver to your table. And even bring an eftpos machine if needed. The staff here had reasonably honest and broad knowledge of wines and beers. The beer selection varies more often than the wine. For a wine bar there isn't a huge variety by the glass and some of the bottles are rather overpriced. Considering that there is fair competition within walking distance with other venues offering similar service. Still a great spot for post dinner drinks or two.