CBD Bars & Nightlife

Hidden down a flight of steps, illuminated by a pink neon sign in lacy script, Juliet serves gooey, melty, cheesy things with small-batch Yarra Valley Chardonnays made by female winemakers. On Thursdays, there’s live jazz, which we love with rock oysters doused in mignonette and slurped in front of the burning fire. The most indulgent item on the menu is without question the raclette, which is brought to the table already half-melted and scraped into your pickles or German potatoes right then and there.

“A dive bar so cool it refused to allow an extremely famous pop star to hold an after-party here” is one local friend’s description of Cherry Bar. The late-night institution recently moved to a new address, one that comes with a twenty-four-hour license. Frequent rock-and-roll gigs, blues every Sunday evening, and soul on Thursdays make up the regular schedule, but if you’re in the vicinity of Little Collins and hunting for a witching-hour tipple and a boisterous crowd, this is the spot.