Creature Bar

Every night’s Halloween at Creature Bar, a poky dive bar decked out with horror movie memorabilia. Here, you’ll become drinking buddies with Frankenstein’s monster and Mia Wallace, whose images adorn the walls above the bar. A record player spins tracks from Talking Heads to Donny Benét. And the bar shelves glow with pink and green neon lights. It all sets the stage on which the team mix up both classic and inventive libations.

The themed cocktail list nods to the owners’ love for all things nerdy. Standouts include the Anaconda (a Pisco Sour) and the Chupacabra (Creature’s take on a Spicy Marg). But the main focus is the handful of beer taps, reserved exclusively for hyperlocal brews. You’ll often find beers made within a 50-kilometre radius, including Brunswick’s Co-Conspirators, Collingwood’s Molly Rose and The Mill, and Moorabbin’s 2 Brothers. Plus, thre are non-alc cocktails, Aussie wines, whisky and rum. Food-wise, you can order in from one of the many diners in Brunswick East.

Once you’ve got a drink, it’s a choice between a seat at the front bar, upstairs or in the dog-friendly courtyard out back. And Creature Bar’s not just a sit-and-sipper: there are dozens of games to while the hours away with, from classic Jenga and Scattergories to a Nintendo Gamecube hooked up to a projector (with Mario Kart in the mix). They’re hand-picked by owners Nick Caddaye, Leah Collins, Rebecca Mitchell and Daniel Sheppard. The friends worked in Melbourne’s live-music scene for years (Caddaye and Collins founded long-running dance party Mr McClelland’s Finishing School) before opening their self-proclaimed “dive bar for nerds”.