The 50 best bars in Victoria, according to bartenders, are right here.

What makes a great bar?

If you look through the list of Victoria’s 50 best bars here, you’ll see that despite the wide range of experiences and aesthetics they offer — we’ve got everything from high-end temples of the art of the cocktail, to down and dirty dives (and everywhere in between) — the thread that brings them all together is passion and an emphasis on hospitality.

How did we get the list? The best way to find bars to visit is to ask the bartender in front of you. In August, we put out the call for nominations, with a view to discovering the best bars across Victoria. These nominations were then voted on by an advisory panel of over 100 Victorian bartenders and bar figures, each voter choosing their seven favourite bars. These really are the best bars in Victoria according to the people who know them best: bartenders.

The result is the 50 top bars — get a look at them here.