Melbourne
Melbourne (MEL) Tullamarine is Australia's second-largest airport and runs a competent drinking programme that nonetheless can't compete with the cocktail city outside it. The Qantas First Class Lounge in T2 international is the polished play — Marc Newson interior, food programme by Neil Perry's team — and is broadly equivalent to the SYD First Class Lounge in operation. The Lounge by AMEX in T2 is the Centurion-style option for Amex Platinum holders; the only one outside the United States besides SYD's.
City centre · $$$
Above Board is a 24-seat Collingwood counter cocktail bar from Hayden Lambert — formerly of Black Pearl. World's 50 Best Bars regular since 2017. The intimate r
CBD · $$$
Attic draws a steady local crowd in CBD. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
a way that seated bars struggle to replicate. Peak hours (weekday 5–7pm) mean the lane outside fills with overflow · $
Presgrave Place is the kind of lane that Melbourne does better than almost any city on earth — narrow enough that two people can barely pass, lined with anonymo
City centre · $$$
Bar Americano is a 10-seat hidden CBD cocktail bar from Matt Bax — one of the most influential Australian cocktail bartenders. World's 50 Best Bars regular sinc
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