Melbourne's best wine bars

By Anna Webster

9 May, 2022

When it comes to great wine bars, Melburnians are spoilt for choice. Here are five of the city’s best.

Good wine bars – especially in Melbourne – offer so much more than just a glass of wine. Great food, atmosphere and an extensive selection of beautiful bottles are almost always part of the package. So how do you choose?

Whether you’re on the hunt for a quick drink, a long lunch or a multi-course dinner, you can't go wrong with these five wine bars.

Best wine bars in the inner north

Marion
Since it opened its doors in late 2015, Andrew McConnell’s Fitzroy wine bar has regularly topped lists such as these – and for good reason. Sharing a wall (and a cellar) with fine diner Cutler & Co, Marion boasts a seasonal menu of wine-friendly dishes and an impressive list of bottles that spans the Old World and the New. Pop in for a dozen oysters and a glass of Chablis, or linger over a dry-aged rib eye steak and a bottle of Barolo.

53 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Open Mon to Thu, 5pm-late; Fri to Sun, 12pm-late.
marionwine.com.au

Public Wine Shop
In a light-flushed shopfront opposite Edinburgh Gardens, Campbell Burton’s (former longtime sommelier at the Builders Arms) Public Wine Shop offers a huge selection of organic and biodynamic wines, and a deceptively simple but incredibly delicious menu by chef Ali Currey-Voumard (formerly of Tasmania’s Agrarian Kitchen Eatery). Pair a glass of something skinsy with a slice of crab and lovage tart, or oeufs mayonnaise mopped up with crunchy baguette. Bottles can be purchased for take-away, too.

179 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North
Open Mon to Sat, 12pm-11pm; Sun 12pm-8pm
publicwineshop.com.au

A wine bar showing bottles on the shelf and people sitting around a table Public Wine Shop. Photo by Annika Kafcaloudis.

Best wine bars in the CBD

Kirk’s Wine Bar
On one of Melbourne’s most famous (albeit touristy) laneways, on the site of one of its oldest pubs, by some of its best hospitality names (Ian Curley and Con Christopolous of the European Group), it’s no wonder Kirk’s ranks among the city’s best places to drink. Sit shoulder-to-shoulder on the Parisian-style terrace and watch the world go by.

46 Hardware Lane, Melbourne
Open Tue to Sat, 12pm-late
kirkswinebar.com

A city wine bar Kirk's Wine Bar.

Best wine bars in the south

Bellota
The beauty of Bellota lies not only in chef Nicky Riemer’s comforting European menu, but in access to neighbouring Prince Wine Store’s full selection of wines. Choose anything from the shop (and pay just $15 corkage), or from Bellota’s own extensive list by the glass or carafe, and drink your way through Australia, Europe and beyond.

181 Bank Street, South Melbourne
Open Tue to Sat, 11am-late
bellota.com.au

Four people dine inside a wine bar Bellota.

Toorak Cellars
A southside favourite (especially for those who live on the Frankston line), this suburban bottle shop-cum-bar boasts an impressive selection of minimal-intervention wines in a cosy and comfortable space. Pick a bottle off the shelf and settle down in front of the fireplace, or, in the warmer months, choose something cold from the fridge and nab a spot in the sunny courtyard.

18 Beatty Avenue, Armadale
Open Mon to Tue, 8am-9pm; Wed to Sat, 8am-11pm, Sun 11am-9pm
toorakcellars.com.au

Wine glasses on a table Toorak Cellars.