Sip the night away at the best bars in Hobart

Hobart/Nipaluna’s deeply charismatic bars are a must-have experience.

Tassie is proliferated with incredible producers of wine, spirits and beer, so it follows one would expect to find good places to sit and sip them. The state’s capital delivers on that expectation with plenty of beautiful bars, from the laidback to the clandestine and the downright kooky. With both style and substance on the pour, these Hobart bars are the pick of the absolute best.

1. Mary Mary

This dark wood, leather and brass-embellished bar has immaculate intimacy down. Cosy on in and rest your elbows at the padded leather bar as you watch skilled bar staff achieve alchemy in a glass.

Named after the St Mary’s Hospital Building in which it resides, Mary Mary distils Tasmanian-inspired creativity into a refined drinks list. On it you will find clever concoctions, such as the corpse reviver No2B with gin and absinthe, and the true local with apple brandy and Mary Mary vermouth, as well as an extensive list of wines and Tassie-brewed beer and cider. Pair your drinking with some pickable plates of lamb skewers, meatballs and calamari.

Address: 2a Salamanca Place, Hobart

2. Cascade Brewery Bar

Sip amid the historic surrounds of the oldest-operating brewery in Australia. The iconic Cascade building and foothills of Kunyanyi/Mount Wellington locale are reason enough to visit, even if you’re not a beer drinker, but the convivial ambience here makes for a third solid justification. Of course, Cascade beer takes top billing, but there are also some great Tassie wines and spirits to fill your cup. Tuck into pub-style fare if you’re in for the long haul or nibble on some local oysters and a rustic platter.

Address: 140 Cascade Road, South Hobart

3. Evolve

This waterfront lounge bar in the luxe MACq 01 Hotel is the place to sample rare liquors and ogle ancient fossils.

Featuring drops from premium Tasmanian distillers, as well as an exhaustive list of whiskies from Scotland’s Speyside to Islay, as well as Japanese whisky and American whiskey, and pretty much any other type of spirit your mind can conjure, Evolve is a playground for the palate if you’re a dilettante of distillation.

But you don’t have to be an insatiable spirit chaser to just enjoy the atmosphere here and a wine or beer. Also check out the curious specimens on display that date back as far as 550 million years ago, including a cave bear and a giant pig skull.

Address: MACq 01 Hotel, 18 Hunter Street, Hobart

4. Gold Bar

Strike gold when you find this gilded hideaway that pours the answer to what ails you six evenings a week. Local spirits are the highlight here, but the very capable bar staff can also whip up your heart’s desire if there’s a cocktail you have a specific hankering for.

In the day, Gold Bar moonlights as a cafe, but the later hours are for sophisticated sipping.

Address: suite 3, Ground Floor, 11 Morrison Street, Hobart

5. Bar Wa Izakaya

Kimono over (sorry, the pun couldn’t be ignored) to this neon-lit izakaya that slurps ramen for lunch, serves eats until 11pm, and pours good times until after midnight.

Cocktails, sake and Japanese whisky make up a good portion of the drinks list here and match perfectly with the deep umami flavours of the menu, from tataki to teriyaki.

If it’s a chilly night, walk on in and Bar Wa will warm your cockles by the fire in the upstairs lounge.

Address: 216–218 Elizabeth Street, Hobart

6. Rude Boy

When most other Tassie bars are extolling the virtues of whisky, this midtown bar is going against the (malt) grain and sloshing tropical vibes and good rum into low- and hi-balls with cocktails such as the Rhubicube with pineapple and rhubarb and the Unfigettable with, yes, fig and anise. To go with your booze, you can choose from a collection of Hobartian fried chicken, brisket and some vego and vegan options. Having won both the Best Cocktail Bar and Rum Bar of the Year in 2022, Rude Boy has perhaps earned its tagline of ‘We Rum this City’.

Address: 130 Elizabeth Street, Hobart

7. Gin(bar) by Forty Spotted

One for the gin junkies, by day, come to the Forty Spotted gin distillery’s bar for a two-hour masterclass in gin-making or cocktail craft, and by evening on a Friday and Saturday, come to sip on the Tassie label’s gin range, such as the pinot gin, bush honey, and citrus and pepperberry, as well as some of their experimental blends and a few rare and hard-to-find gins from the state, country and beyond.

Address: Level 1/30 Argyle Street, Hobart

8. Manky Sally’s

Here in the lightly moody taphouse for Tassie’s local Moo Brew you can enjoy an effervescent pint or side-step the hops and opt for a wine or a range of fine and fancy spirits.

At Manky Sally’s, you may also find a cocktail on tap, something like a spicy yuzu margarita and there’s food to sup, such as oysters, kingfish ceviche or a hearty serving of wallaby rump steak.

Come from midday and stay until midnight Thursday to Sunday, if the mood for Moo Brew strikes.

Address: Ground floor, 25 Salamanca Place, Battery Point

9. Lucinda Wine Bar

In the centre of Hobart, Lucinda radiates warmth and a lovely off-duty casualness. While it serves in part as the overflow for sister restaurant, Dier Makr next door, it has its own, standalone charisma. The by-the-glass drops are selected off-cuff by chef and owner Kobi Ruzicka, who opts for minimal intervention expressions of terroir. You can grab a light-ish bite, which may be a silky house-made tortellini or terrine, and sit in the cosy heritage space or brave the brisk Tassie air on the footpath outside.

Address: 123 Collins Street, Hobart

10. Sonny

A diminutive stature lends this Hobartian classic an intimacy that brings big atmosphere for a place that seats just 20 souls. It’s a low-fi, walk-in-only vibe at this vine- and vinyl-loving bar that pours excellently finessed drops while spinning good tunes.

You don’t need to labour over which wine to choose; the list at Sonny is well-shaped and perfect with any of the shareable plates from the menu. If you are lucky enough to snag a spot, you’ll be reluctant to give it up, so be prepared to settle in for a session.

Address: 120a Elizabeth Street, Hobart

11. The Still Whisky Bar

Sleek with mossy-green banquettes, deep-red carpet and an almost clandestine, whisky-swilling ambience, The Still is Lark Distillery’s tasting room during the day, but when the hour elongates, it becomes a slinky cocktail and whisky bar. Slide into a booth and select a perfectly mixed drink or a whisky from Lark or another Tassie tipple. If you feel you can’t decide, you can choose to embark on a tasting.

Address: 30 Argyle Street, Hobart

12. Society Salamanca

This cosy underground burrow is a hidden goldmine of more than 500 beautiful spirits ready to be shaken, stirred and swilled. You can opt in for the latest local release or choose a classic or not-so-classic cocktail from the extensive list.

Doubling down on charm, the bartenders at Society access the wall of enticing glass bottles filled with deliciously intoxicating elixirs by way of a sliding wooden ladder.

Happy hour goes for a leisurely two between 4pm and 6pm Wednesday to Saturday.

Address: 22Montpeliar Retreat, Salamanca

13. Void Bar

Of course, any bar at Mona can be expected to come with a degree of offbeat absurdity. Somewhere between a bunker, a mineshaft and an exclusive club is Void Bar, 17 metres underground.

While the bar is only open in the daylight hours between 10am and 5pm, it feels like the very wee hours of the morning in this rock-faced chamber.

Enjoy a martini, a bottle of wine or a beer and a pizza if you’re peckish, while you listen to the musician-in-residence.

Address: 655 Main Rd, Berriedale

For more tried and tested tips for visiting Hobart, read our travel guide to Tassie’s capital city.