Beneath Driver Lane is a Melbourne cocktail bar built for the blues, hidden below the CBD in a space that was once a bank vault. Descend the stairs off a narrow city lane and you find brick arches, low light, a wall of whisky and, on weekend nights, a band playing 12-bar blues into the small hours. It is a drinking den first and a music venue second, but the music is no afterthought: it is the mood the whole room is built around.
The bar occupies the old vault of the Money Order Office beside Melbourne's GPO, off Driver Lane in the heart of the city, and its owner set out to recreate the feel of the blues haunts of New Orleans and Paris. The result is one of the most atmospheric rooms in Melbourne, with more than 150 whiskies, a serious cocktail list and live blues on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. That combination of genuine musicianship and unforgettable setting is why we rank it twenty-first among the best live music bars in the world.
A bar in a bank vault
The setting is half the story. Beneath Driver Lane is built into the former vault of the old Money Order Office, an appendage to Melbourne's grand GPO building, and the bones of that history are everywhere: brick archways, thick walls and the moody, enclosed feel of a space that was designed to be secure rather than social. Its owner, Hamish Goonetilleke, opened it in the mid-2010s with a clear vision, to chase what he described as that real, driving, throbbing 12-bar feel and to give Melbourne a proper blues basement in the spirit of the great American and Parisian rooms. The bar has since become a fixture of the city's late-night scene.
What the room is like
This is a basement in the best sense: dark, intimate and enveloping, with the arched brick of the old vault giving it a character no purpose-built venue could fake. The lighting is low, the seating is close, and the whole space is oriented toward the corner where the band plays. It is the kind of room that makes a Tuesday feel like a secret and a Saturday feel like an event. Because it is underground and hidden off a lane, finding it is part of the pleasure, and stepping inside feels like leaving the modern city behind for something older and smokier.
The music, and the whisky
Live blues fills the room on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, played by local musicians into the small hours, and it is the beating heart of the place. On the other nights the bar leans on its drinks, and those drinks are serious: a collection of more than 150 whiskies and over 70 rums, plus a classic cocktail list and French-inspired food, including the kind of late-night eating (a Reuben sandwich at 2am is part of the legend) that a proper blues den ought to offer. The pairing is the point. This is a place to nurse a good whisky in a dark corner while a band plays the blues, which is a very particular and very satisfying kind of night.
Why we rank it No. 21
Beneath Driver Lane earns its place because it does the bar-with-live-music format about as well as it can be done. The atmosphere is genuine, the musicianship is real, the drinks are excellent and the setting is unforgettable. It ranks at twenty-first, rather than higher, for the same honest reason as the world-famous Nightjar in London just above it: this is a drinking den first and a venue second. The live blues is a defining feature, but it plays three nights a week and shares top billing with the whisky and the cocktails, rather than being the sole reason the doors open. On a ranking that weighs how central the stage is, that keeps it just below the dedicated clubs, and comfortably above the bars where music is merely background.
Getting in: what to expect
Beneath Driver Lane is a walk-in bar rather than a ticketed venue, so there is no cover-charge formality: you find the entrance off Driver Lane, head downstairs, and settle in. Live blues runs Thursday through Saturday, so time your visit to those nights if the music is your priority, and expect it to get busy and atmospheric later in the evening. It keeps late hours in the way a blues basement should, so it works as a first stop or, better, as the place you end up as the night deepens.
The ideal approach is to come on a blues night, grab a spot near the band, order a whisky or a cocktail, and let the room work its moody magic. If you visit on a quieter night, it becomes more of a serious whisky-and-cocktail bar, which is a fine thing in its own right, just without the live soundtrack.
Drinks, food and money
This is where the bar truly shines. Work through the whisky list, which runs to more than 150 bottles, explore the rums, or put yourself in the bartenders' hands for a cocktail; then line your stomach with the French-inspired bar food. Our $$$ rating reflects a proper cocktail-bar spend on drinks and food, with no ticket required. You are paying for craft and atmosphere rather than a concert, and by the standards of Melbourne's excellent bar scene it is fair value for one of the city's most distinctive rooms.
Who it's for
Beneath Driver Lane is for whisky lovers, cocktail drinkers and blues fans who want atmosphere over spectacle: couples after a moody late date, small groups looking for a memorable CBD hideaway, and anyone who likes their live music served with a good dram in a dark room. It is less suited to those who want a big, bright concert or a guaranteed band every night of the week. But for a late-night Melbourne evening of whisky and 12-bar blues in a candlelit cellar, it is hard to beat.
Compare it with Melbourne's dedicated jazz room Bird's Basement (No. 13), browse our Live Music Bars in Melbourne guide, and see where it sits worldwide on our full 25 best live music bars ranking. The Melbourne Bar Guide covers the rest.
The verdict
Beneath Driver Lane takes an old bank vault, a wall of whisky and a genuine love of the blues, and turns them into one of Melbourne's most atmospheric nights out. It is a bar before it is a venue, and it is honest about that, but on a weekend, with a band in the corner and a dram in your hand, few rooms in the city feel better. It is a blues basement done exactly right.
What to order
- 01
A whisky from the 150-strong list
The heart of the bar; ask the staff to guide you.
- 02
A classic cocktail
Expertly made and suited to the moody, low-lit room.
- 03
Late-night French-inspired food
The kitchen keeps a blues-den's hours; the Reuben is the stuff of legend.
Sources
Beneath Driver Lane official site (driverlanebar.com); Broadsheet, Time Out Melbourne, Concrete Playground and What's On Melbourne coverage; The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia. Details include the old Money Order Office vault setting, 150-plus whiskies and 70-plus rums, live blues Thursday to Saturday, and owner Hamish Goonetilleke; the exact opening date and drink counts vary slightly across sources, so treat figures as approximate and confirm current hours before visiting.
