Where to Find Melbourne’s Seriously Cool Hidden Gems

Art Deco–inspired bar Trinket harbours a secret inside its glamorous Flinders Lane walls. Step into the carved wooden wardrobe and push aside the fur coats, Narnia-style, to find the entrance to a hidden cellar bar. The lush scene of velvet drapery and candlelit tables is the perfect backdrop for sophisticated sips such as a New York Sour.

The Japanese-style Her Music Room takes its audio so seriously it’s modelled on a speaker box. The completely soundproofed first-floor space in the Her “vertical laneway” is resplendent in timber veneer, complete with a sleek perforated ceiling. An equally impressive collection of vinyl and rotating roster of DJs make it a sophisticated venue to lounge, listen and sip a classic Gin Martini – perhaps even dance.

Find flights to Melbourne and uncover all the city’s coveted hot spots. Book now.

The graffiti-daubed portico overlooking Russell Place is an atmospheric spot for a late-night cocktail but the joker in Bar Ampere’s deck is the back room fitted out like a Louisiana swamp honky-tonk with a moss-draped ceiling and a piano repurposed into a bar. There’s even a secret rear door that leads drinkers to sister venue Gin Palace.

Finding Above Board isn’t easy but the World’s Best Bars inductee is more than worth the effort. Seating only 16, this Zen-like space is hidden down Collingwood’s Chopper Lane, a graffiti-scribbled byway that isn’t noted on Google Maps. Another entrance takes you through a beer bar and up a set of rear stairs is almost as obscure. Patrons’ perseverance is rewarded with cocktail classics and artful new creations.

Melbourne is packed with hidden gems. Unearth them all when you fly to Melbourne Economy Return. Book now.

It doesn’t get much more eclectic than Chuckle Park Bar, which has turned its narrow CBD laneway into an OTT garden party with a phalanx of glowing lanterns, a forest’s worth of faux greenery and the odd disco ball. The more-is-more approach extends to the silver caravan dispensing cool cocktails with a twist, like the Tennessee Iced Tea – a heady Southern-style blend of vodka, whiskey, gin, tequila and rum with fresh lemon and lime, along with a dash of maple syrup.

Broadcasting meets burrata at Hope St Radio, an acclaimed Italian restaurant at the vibrant new inner-north arts hub Collingwood Yards, which hosts a community radio station. DJs do their thing from a communal table while the chefs deal out a pasta-heavy menu that’s comfort incarnate – think rigatoni with pork, fennel, tomato and chilli ragu or spaghetti with confit tomatoes and bay leaf.

Seating just four diners at a time, Footscray restaurant Matsu is certainly one of Melbourne’s more intimate dining experiences. Take your seat at the timber counter overlooking the kitchen to watch chef Hansol Lee prep and serve his exquisite multi-course Japanese kaiseki menu – and double down on the experience with the sake pairing.

Find flights to Melbourne and uncover all the city’s coveted hot spots. Book now.

Melbourne’s streets and laneways are a kind of open-air Louvre. Take a self-guided walk to see the colourful legacy of aerosol artists, whether anonymous or internationally renowned. Look out for Banksy’s purple stencilled parachuting rats in Duckboard Place and head to the new Collingwood Yards arts precinct to see Keith Haring’s heritage-listed mural.

Melbourne’s laneway culture reaches for the stars at Curtin House, an Art Nouveau landmark on Swanston Street bursting with street cred across its seven levels. Highlights? Try punchy Thai food at Cookie, catch a live gig at The Toff in Town, shop for avant-garde vintage clothes at Dot Comme or toast the city lights at the Rooftop Bar.

Tucked down the red spiral staircase inside Spring Street Grocer on the fringe of the CBD, Australia’s first underground cheese maturation cellars showcase their wares at a farmhouse table groaning with an incredible array of artisan cheeses from around the world. A team of cheesemongers are on hand to talk Comté and camembert, while the excellent grocer will complement your purchases with crackers and quince paste.

Melbourne is packed with hidden gems. Unearth them all when you fly to Melbourne Economy Return. Book now.

Be whisked back in time at Little Lon, a gin distillery and bar inhabiting a cottage that hails from the era of Melbourne’s notorious colonial red-light district. Now the CBD’s only distillery, the character-filled venue pays tribute to the colourful individuals who inhabited the area with its small-batch gins such as the lychee-infused Miss Yoko.

Australia’s favourite breakfast spread at an award-winning restaurant? You heard right. At mod-Asian CBD restaurant Sunda, the ’mite is the hero of a sambal curry thanks to its umami-giving punch. Served with warm, flaky buttermilk roti, it’s an example of culinary upcycling we’re happy to embrace.

The fire-loving food of the Philippines is winning the respect it deserves thanks to Ross Magnaye’s acclaimed Serai Kitchen. Updating Pinoy classics such as lechon (suckling pig) and inventing a few in the process (look no further than the cheeky McScallop), it’s found at the dead end of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Racing Club Lane in the CBD.

Find flights to Melbourne and uncover all the city’s coveted hot spots. Book now.

Food stalls, roving entertainers and live music make Grazeland the inner west’s permanent riverside party. Overlooked by the West Gate Bridge, colourful shipping containers dish out bites from around the world and add frozen Margaritas for good measure. For extra “only in Melbourne” points, take the river punt across the Yarra from Port Melbourne.