Last month, we spoke to legendary New York City bartender Dale DeGroff. DeGroff – who is often dubbed the “father of the craft cocktail movement”, and who wrote what many in the industry consider to be the bartender’s bible, The Craft of the Cocktail – was fresh off a trip to Melbourne where he visited Gin Palace, Caretaker’s Cottage and even the dive bar Hats and Tatts.

“Going back to my first trip – I think in the early aughts – when I was in Sydney and Melbourne … I had extraordinary cocktails [in Australia]”, he said. “That diaspora from London that settled in several years ago has brought essentially the same level of expertise to Australia that we have anywhere else in the world.”

And we’re keeping it up. This year (and last year, after we published our best new bars 2023 lists) we’ve had a new cocktail bar from Joe Jones, dressed down counterparts to upmarket Melbourne restaurants, and even a few good-old-fashioned pubs get revamped.

Here in alphabetical order are our picks for the best new bars of the year so far.

The Albion is what my pub dreams are made of. There’s outdoor seating, great bar food and dogs are allowed.

The historic venue, originally opened in 1847, has a welcoming mustard-yellow facade. Inside, its U-shaped bar, green tiles and dark timber walls offer classic pub charm.

The venue was re-opened by the Bodriggy Brewing Co team at the tail end of 2023 so, naturally, Bodriggy taps make up a big part of the drinks selection.

But I never opt for a beer. Instead, pour me their Jaunt ‘Bunches’ Cab Franc Pinot Chilled Red, to be enjoyed out the front, in the sun, along with the Latin American-influenced pub food the kitchen is turning out.

– Camille Allen, social video producer

Joe Vargetto’s Bianchetto, which you enter through the curtain from his restaurant, Mister Bianco, has everything I need in a bar: soft lighting, old-school leather-booth seating, classic Italian drinks with a local twist and simple Sicilian snacks.

Go and enjoy the theatre of the Americano mixed “al tavolo” – tableside – from a dedicated trolley and eat olives ascolana (stuffed with ‘nduja, crumbed and fried) and scaccia (flatbread) filled with mortadella while watching 1960s Italian films projected on the wall.

– Jo Rittey, contributor

If, like me, you have a thing for warm, softly lit wine bars with wood-paneled walls, exceptional food, great little record nooks and a team that makes you feel like family, then you have a very specific set of needs. But I promise you, Bar Olo will meet every single one of them.

The 40-seater by Anthony Scutella and Alison Foley of Scopri is – like its sibling – an ode to the north-western Italian region of Piedmont.

The menu features Piedmontese staples: bitter vermouths, vibrant Campari-based drinks and an extensive wine list. This is a place where you need to sit at the bar because chatting about your drink choice with the team is part of the magic.

– Simone Crick, operations director

Thai food is, to me, the most exciting thing to eat in Melbourne right now. I don’t mean the insipid pad thai and green curries of old, but the likes of blood-laced boat noodles at Soi 38, chewy crying tiger beef at Thai Baan, fiery pad krapao at Dodee Paidang, aromatic bowls of khao soi at Khao – you get the idea.

With chef head chef Pipat “Noomie” Yodmunee manning a charcoal grill, Brunswick’s Bar Spontana very much operates in this realm. So much of the menu here surprised and delighted me, like the moreish filaments of deep-fried enoki mushrooms or the griddled sticky rice cakes bursting with a stretchy, mozzarella-like cheese. More familiar dishes like fermented pork sausage and yellow beef cheek curry are just flat-out delicious.

Then there are the drinks, which are some of the city’s best and most interesting thanks to Mr West owners Josh Hodges and Caleb Baker. It’s not everywhere you can drink carefully selected sakes, mezcals and wild-fermented tap beers alongside Australia’s top natural wines. In a city filled with liminal places, Spontana might be the reigning slashie of them all. Is it a knowledgeable wine bar? Creative cocktail bar? Craft beer place? Outstanding Thai restaurant? Yes.

– Nick Connellan, Australia editor

At Alta Trattoria’s laid-back sister venue, aperitivo hour runs from 4pm to 5pm and includes $6 Peronis and Camparis and complimentary snacks. Add to that the Italo disco beats, co-owner and chef Mckay Wilday’s sardenaira and Nonna’s pork-rib meatballs and there’s no need to book that European summer holiday. At Zingara, you can come in for a glass or two or choose a bottle to have there or take home. The wines are mostly Italian, but with co-owner and sommelier James Tait’s pick of French, Spanish, Austrian and Australian drops. Plus, it has some of the most comfortable bar seats in town.

– Jo Rittey, contributor

The idea that I can now eat Helly Raichura’s food without having to book ahead at her fine diner Enter Via Laundry continues to delight me.

At her laid-back bar, which opened in April and is attached to her restaurant, Raichura cooks outside the strict structure she’s created for herself at her fine diner. The menu at the restaurant centres around a different region in India, which changes every six months. But at the bar, Raichura makes dishes she says are eaten pretty much everywhere across the sub-continent (with slight variations for each region). She also experiments with new dishes and brings back old favourites from past menus.

Chakhna (or bar snacks – here, it’s spicy fried peanuts) pair exceptionally with the cocktails that nod to nostalgic drinks from Raichura’s childhood including a mango lasi cocktail and a sugar cane juice-inspired Ginger Spritz.

My favourite is the nargisi kofta (Scotch eggs with spiced chicken mince) served with punchy pickled onions with a G&T on the side.

– Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor

I feel cooler than I am when I take people to Purple Pit. My walk turns into a swagger when I walk through the easy-to-miss door at the base of the gothic Melbourne Stock Exchange building, down the red-carpet stairs and past the Marty Baptist artwork.

It also helps that the acclaimed co-owners, Maurice Terzini and Joe Jones, look like cover stars of a tattoo magazine. I’ve never ordered the same thing twice at Purple Pit and I’m yet to be disappointed with what arrives on my table. Whether that’s a Big Mac calzone, a One-Sip Martini or the bartender’s special.

– James Williams, creative solutions manager

“Neighbourhood bar” is a term that’s thrown around a lot. But newcomer Nina’s has community spirit, perhaps shaped by its position among the socially and sustainability focused Nightingale Village. This setting provides a cast of regulars, and a rooftop garden and beehive for chef and co-owner Shae Van Stebbing. Endives from the upstairs plot get added to roast chicken with persimmon. Honey from the hive might transform into honey cake, or caramelise some hearty Jerusalem artichokes.

There’s a lot to love on this menu but the ’70s dinner party vibes make things extra fun – Van Stebbing strays from the usual wine bar snacks (there’s not a burrata or kingfish crudo in sight) in favour of oysters with Worcestershire; house-made Vegemite (made from leftover bread) with pickled veggies and Little Cardigan shokupan; and a seasonal pork cutlet dripping in pineapple bacon glaze, inspired by old-school ham steak and pineapple. Making the case for repeat visits is Monday pasta night, Tuesday pie night, and a happy hour with $10 cocktails and wines. Otherwise, ask for a recommendation from restaurant manager and co-owner Hayley Williamson, who’s likely to pour you a glass of her favourite chenin or chardonnay.

– Daniela Frangos, editor at large

The revamped North Fitzroy Arms celebrates everything great about the good old Aussie pub. AFL fans roar in the public bar clad in memorabilia (a snap of Alex Jesaulenko and Peter Jones holding Carlton’s 1979 Premiership Cup takes pride of place). In the candle-lit dining room, cheers are muffled by the plush carpet and whir of wait staff ferrying pub classics from the pass to the tables. Start with a crisp Appletini. Then order the retired dairy cow cheeseburger (with a gravy boat side-kick).

– Stephanie Vigilante, head of social media

The journey from Brunswick where I live to St Kilda is not brief. So believe me when I say this bar is worth crossing town for.

It’s the work of life partners Marty Webster and Amy McGouldrick, who have both worked for the Diggin’ in the Cellars and Trader House hospo groups, and who have brought the sort of breezy neighbourhood wine bar the area’s been crying out for (they’re locals, they know).

Webster, who’s also a chef, keeps the food snacky and briny, like daily changing pintxos scrawled on a mirror, signature oyster platters and lots of tinned seafood. But good luck going past the creamy sea urchin orecchiette with egg yolk and salty guanciale if it’s there. The wines are equally suited to being consumed by the sea – many of them from coastal or lesser-known regions.

There’s a selection of smart cocktails, and the couple has an eclectic record collection (from Bill Withers and The Beatles, to J Dilla and MF Doom). There are also some fancy Japanese toilets.

– Daniela Frangos, editor at large

This year we were also taken by Lenny’s, a relaxed wine bar from a former AFL player; Goodwater, a whisky-lover’s dream in Northcote; and Misfits, a Footscray bar in the former Babysnakes space that champions local art and music.