The best happy hours in Melbourne to tide you over until dinner
Exceptional bites and standout drinks are in no short supply in Melbourne. And when it comes to happy hour, the city’s top restauranteurs aren’t holding back. Beachside spritz and sticks abound, as do $2 oysters, half-off pinxtos and antipasti.
So whether you’re looking for a sip and snack to tide you over until your dinner reservation, or making a night of bar and restaurant hopping, we’ve scouted out where to find the best happy hours in Melbourne right now.
Beverly
The Beverly rooftop in all its sun-soaked glory
This 24th-floor, sun-soaked rooftop in South Yarra is turning all things golden with its $30 happy hour food and drink pairings. Wining and dining to panoramic sunset views on any given weekday might look like: an order of their signature southern fried lobster roll accompanied by a Spritz; a serve of fresh Bluefin tuna tostada coupled with a Margarita or perhaps a flight of oysters followed by a mini Martini.
Keep the good times rolling with a selection of wines, beer and spirits available for $10 during Golden Hour.
When: Monday- Friday: 4–6pm, until June 30.
Vinesmith Cellar Door
The moody interiors of Vinesmith cellar door
Opening in November last year, this moody cellar door on Flinders Lane is the final instalment to Vinesmith’s two-storey vineyard-to-CBD venture. Complete with a French bistro upstairs with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Treasury Gardens, a late-night wine bar and curated wine shop, this urban winery is the ideal stop for your fix of pre-dinner Merimbula oysters ($3) and bubbles ($10).
When: Tuesday – Friday: 4–6pm.
Cellar Bar at Florentino
The charming interiors at Cellar Bar, Florentino, are storied in history
The charming Cellar Bar at Florentino has recently introduced a new Aperitivo Hour where you can expect a selection of antipasti, classically inspired cocktails and wine list ranging from $9 to $15, handwritten on the chalkboard outside.
Snack on $12 bites like calamari fritti with a hit of chilli; rosemary salted fries; slices of salame al finocchio (Tuscan salami) with pickles, and roasted peppers with anchovy, alongside $9 Martini Piccolos made with Four Pillars Olive Leaf gin or $10 Spritzes. Our tip? Come for the antipasti, stay for the signature Florentino tiramisu.
When: Monday – Saturday: 3–6pm.
HER bar
This Euro-leaning restaurant and cocktail bar sits on the ground floor of the four-storey Pacific House on Lonsdale street. From 4pm to 6pm, guests can enjoy a selection of spritzes and salty snacks for under $20.
Order smaller bites ranging from oysters kilpatrick ($7.50 a pop), to gildas ($9 each) and grilled corn and smoked scamorza croquettes ($9 each), complemented by half Martinis available for $10 with your choice of gin or vodka, $10 Australian and Italian wines or $12 spritzes.
When: Daily: 4–6pm.
Stokehouse Pasta & Bar
Stokehouse Pasta & Bar in Melbourne's St Kilda offers a great sips and snacks happy hour
A stroll along St Kilda Beach surely calls for refreshments, and this slinky waterfront restaurant is all too happy to oblige. Downstairs at Stokehouse Pasta & Bar – the more casual counterpart to the restaurant – diners can enjoy spritz and sticks: the offer includes three skewers (octopus with chorizo and garlic, perhaps) and your choice of Aperol or Limoncello Spritz for $30.
When: Daily: 3–5pm.
98 Lygon Street Bar & Bistro
A very relaxed courtyard at 98 Lygon Street
The newly revamped courtyard of this quaint Brunswick East bar and bistro is giving us a reason to buy the next round. Hosting a daily aperitivo hour from 4pm until 6pm, the deal includes two complimentary snacks for every two cocktails. Beers, house wines and mini cocktails will set you back $10.
When: Daily: 4–6pm
Amarillo
Over in Fitzroy, this timber-clad wine bar teeming with locals takes it cue from the Iberian Peninsula, with a menu focusing on tapas-style plates and seafood. And unlike most happy hours, Amararillo’s ends at 8pm, giving city workers ample time to saunter in for $10 wines, $8 tap beers and $14.5 Aperol Spritz – plus, a lineup of happy hour pintxos from $4 each.
When: Mon to Fri: 4-8pm; Sat – Sun: 2-8pm
Carnation Canteen
The exterior of the intimate neighbourhood wine bar, Carnation Canteen
This tiny Euro-style restaurant gets big points for its weekly rotating menu and its permanent aperitivo that runs less like a promotion and more like a year-round invitation. Featuring seasonal dishes and mainstays like garlic bruschetta and matrimonio (red and white anchovy usually served on toasted bread), plates are generally sub-$20 – but subject to seasonality.
When: Daily from open
Ophelia Westgarth
While this neighbourhood café-by-day-wine-bar-by-night in Northcote doesn’t have a conventional happy hour, it does dish up noteworthy dinner specials for those on the hunt for a good bargain. Twirl $20 pasta on Tuesdays and Thursday, half roast chicken on Wednesdays and a bowl of mussels on Fridays.
When: Tuesday – Friday for dinner specials
Chancery Lane
The moody interiors of Chancery Lane
Scott Pickett’s ever-elegant Chancery Lane is leaning into golden hour. Drop by the historic Normanby Chambers building between 5–7pm, Wednesday to Friday, for $3 oysters, $7 croquettes and $15 Champagne.
When: Weds – Frid: 5–7pm
Bar Olo
Say ciao to Bar Olo’s apertivo hour, where gourmet bites come complimentary with your drinks. From 4-6 pm every Tuesday to Saturday, enjoy a host of free aperitivi when you order a beverage. Cin CIn!
When: Tues – Saturday: 4-6pm
Henry Sugar
Henry Sugar 1080×1350
Get shucked at cosy Carlton North bolthole Henry Sugar, where oyster happy hour features $3 bivalves every Thursday to Monday from 5pm to 6pm. For an extra 50 cents each, you can have your Sydney rock oysters anointed with a Vietnamese-inspired mignonette.
When: Thursday – Monday: 5–6pm
Botanical Hotel
Even the well-heeled residents of South Yarra love a happy hour bargain. Their favourite clubhouse, the legendary Bot, is the scene of happy hour revelry every day from 4pm to 7pm, with cut-price sommelier-selected wines plus cocktails to really perk things up.
When: Daily from 4–7pm
Saké
Melbourne’s contemporary Japanese diner Saké has launched Saké Hour. Available exclusively in the bar area, the happy hour sees $7 beers, $10 wines and $12 classic cocktails, plus a stack of value-packed snacks — think edamame, chicken karaage, and popcorn shrimp from $5.
When: Tuesday – Sunday: 4–5pm
Bang Bang
The funky blue interiors at Bang Bang in its various locations
Bang Bang’s happy hour goes off with a, well… bang. Guests are invited to enjoy shucked-to-order oysters and glossy eggplant skewers for just $2 a pop. Enjoy with rotating cocktail specials for just $15 each or $10 Bang Bang wines and Lienert Piquepoul.
When: Monday – Thursday: 5-6pm; Friday to Sunday: 4–6pm
Mesa Verde
How does a $10 margarita sound? Make that a Tommy’s, and we think Mesa Verde might be slinging some of the most affordable happy hour Margs in Melbourne. This very happy hour runs from 4-6pm every day, alongside its Taco Tuesdays, where you can get every taco on Mesa Verde’s menu for $5 each.
When: Daily: 4–6pm
Half Moon
We see an oyster and Moët deal, and we fall a little bit in love. If you’re looking for a pre-dinner treat or a casual catch-up with some friends, Half Moon is serving $3 freshly shucked oysters and $15 glasses of perfectly chilled Moët on Fridays from 4-6pm. Salud!
When: Friday: 4–6pm
