The Tote ★ 4.6
The Tote on Johnston Street is Melbourne's underground rock institution: a three-room pub venue that was saved by a 2010 public campaign after liquor licence changes threatened to close it, and has since never looked back.
The Corner Hotel is a nightlife spot in Richmond, Melbourne.
The Corner Hotel on Swan Street is Melbourne's most important mid-sized live music venue: a 1,000-capacity front bar and band room that has launched or hosted every significant Australian band since the 1990s.
Address: 57 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121, Melbourne
The Tote on Johnston Street is Melbourne's underground rock institution: a three-room pub venue that was saved by a 2010 public campaign after liquor licence changes threatened to close it, and has since never looked back.
Howler in Brunswick is Melbourne's best outdoor music venue: a warehouse main room with an attached garden bar that hosts the city's best independent festival-scale events without the festival size.
Siglo's rooftop terrace above Spring Street overlooks Parliament House and the Treasury Gardens: a tailored cocktail list, an Australian whisky selection and the best Melbourne rooftop view outside the high-rise hotel bars.
Naked for Satan's rooftop deck above Brunswick Street is Fitzroy's most-used outdoor drinking terrace: vermouth, pintxos and a city skyline view from a building that feels like it should charge more than it does.
The Attic above Black Pearl is Melbourne's most refined small bar: a 20-seat upstairs room at one of the world's best-rated bars, accessible only through the ground-floor venue, with a cocktail list built for unhurried drinking.
Bar Americano in Presgrave Place has no signage and 10 standing spots: the Negroni and Americano poured at this tiny counter are a benchmark for what a bar can achieve when it decides to do only one or two things correctly.