There are no shortage of bars in the city, and it was very difficult to choose which ones to include in this blog. But a couple of weeks ago the team from Show Me Melbourne headed out on our own “Hidden Bar Tour” to sample some of our favourites. All in the name of research of course!
Little Lon Distilling Co.
This was our first stop for the evening and a favourite for so many reasons! The building is the last remaining gold rush era workers cottage in the city, tucked away in a courtyard surrounded by multi-storey office buildings. Inside is a cozy space that even in non-Covid times only fits around 20 people. Despite its size, it’s huge on atmosphere and the staff are awesome! And fortunately there is outdoor seating if you can’t fit into the bar and take-away served from their “Gindow” so if you’re fortunate enough to live nearby you don’t have to miss out during lockdown.
Little Lon distil their spirits right on the premises, in one of the old bedrooms. I think over the past 18 months a lot of us would have liked a distillery set up in their bedroom! You can sample a flight of 3 of their gins or try out their cocktail menu. I can highly vouch for the Scarlet Sour, made from Rhubarb and Violette Gin Liqueur. I would have been very happy to sit there drinking those all night! But the night was young and we had to push on.
Berlin Bar
Down a lane, into a nondescript building, up a dark staircase and ring the doorbell. Then step back in time to Cold War Berlin. Getting to Berlin Bar is half the fun! Once you’re in you get to choose which side of Berlin Bar you want to drink in – East or West? Communist or Capitalist?
The West is glamourous and opulent feeling with soft lighting, plush booths, mirrors, beads and an elevated nook for 10 under the Ich bin ein Berliner neon sign. The East is far more utilitarian and laid-back with basic tables, communist propaganda photos, military-style nets and even a bathtub filled with cushions. Stay on one side, or have a drink in each! Fortunately the only wall between the two sides is the bar which can be easily passed.
The cocktails are named after soldiers from the Cold War including, of course, a Vladimir Putin – a drink described on the menu as “Round, sweet and bold”! There’s also a great selection of German beers and wine.
We elected to drink in the West and enjoyed a cocktail each with some of the best popcorn chicken we’d ever had! The service was attentive and their recommendations for cocktails were spot on.
SHOW ME MELBOURNE IS A TOUR COMPANY THAT ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF MELBOURNE. THEY HAVE ADDED AN EXCITING NEW HIDDEN BAR TOUR TO THEIR GUIDED TOURS. CHECK IT OUT AT Melbourne Hidden Bar Walking Tour — Show Me Melbourne
New Gold Mountain
You might have noticed that some of the best bars in Melbourne are tucked away in laneways and are not very visible from the outside. New Gold Mountain is just such a bar. It was my first visit here and ascending the wooden staircase I was not overly confident that we were in the right building and, if we were, that we were going to be happy with what we found. I couldn’t have been more wrong! At the top of the stairs was exactly the sort of small, intimate place that would be perfect for a romantic night out.
New Gold Mountain is what the Chinese miners called Melbourne during the gold rush of the 1850s and this bar is inspired by the opium dens that operated in Melbourne during that period with beaded curtains and paper lanterns. The drinks menu though had a distinctive Australian feel with 100% Australian ingredients.
Bar Americano
I’d been wanting to try this bar for ages. I knew where it was and I’d seen the outside, but I was looking forward to seeing inside. Located at the end of a laneway off another laneway, this is Melbourne’s smallest bar and only holds 10 people. There are no tables, but benches around the walls with bar stools. Fortunately they’ve added outdoor seating and whilst sitting in an alleyway drinking might not sound like a classy night out, there is just as much of a cool, Melbourne vibe outside as inside.
The drinks served here are all old-school classic cocktails and the menu changes regularly. If you’re a fan of a Negroni, try the Americano – the drink that inspired it and that the bar is named after.
Don’t leave it to too late in the night to visit Bar Americano. They make various distillations and infusions each day and only operate until they sell out, so whilst they might be open until midnight on a weekend, midweek they might close as early as 9pm.
