You want a drink in Eltham without accidentally ending up in a dinner venue pretending to be a bar. Start with the best pick, then use the local shortlist when the night, budget, or crowd changes.
The Verdict
Naught Distilling is the first pick for Eltham drinks: it has the strongest rating in the suburb at 4.9/5 from 225 reviews, it is tucked into Factory 2/32 Peel Street, and it gives you a proper destination feel rather than just a table near a coffee machine. If someone says “best bar in Eltham” and you only want one answer, this is the answer.
The useful second choice is Little Drop of Poison at 937B Main Road, which has a bigger review base at 425 reviews and a still-strong 4.7/5 rating. That makes it the safer casual pick when you want Main Road convenience instead of a Peel Street detour. Barpiccolo on Luck Street is the mid-range backup when you want something smaller and easier to steer into after dinner. Don’t treat every high-rated venue here as the same kind of night out. The White Kitchen, Miss Pryor, Third Chapter, and Prosciutto Bros can work for drinks, but they read more like food-led venues. Don’t pick the obvious pub by default just because it is familiar; Eltham Hotel has the biggest review count here, but at 4.1/5 it is not the sharpest choice if the drink is the whole point.
Local Reality
Eltham’s bar map is really two clusters. Main Road gives you the obvious run: Little Drop of Poison, Platform 3095, Eltham Hotel, and Third Chapter are all on or just off the main strip, which is handy if you are arriving by train, meeting someone after work, or refusing to do complicated parking maths. Peel Street is the better move when you want the night to feel intentional, with Naught Distilling at Factory 2/32 Peel Street and Prosciutto Bros at 31 Peel Street giving that pocket more pull than it looks like from the street.
Commercial Place is the practical middle ground. Missing Gorilla at 1/70 Commercial Place and Third Chapter at 26 Commercial Place are easy names to keep in your head if your group is split between “just one drink” and “I also need food.” Miss Pryor on Pryor Street and Barpiccolo on Luck Street sit in that central Eltham orbit too, so you are not locked into one door if the first choice is full.
Skip this list if you are chasing a dense late-night bar crawl. Eltham is better for one or two good stops than for bouncing between six places until midnight. If you are west of the Main Road village and want more volume or later-night energy, you will probably be happier heading toward a neighbouring suburb instead of forcing Eltham to act like Fitzroy.
Who This Suits
If you are a gin person or you want the strongest single recommendation, pick Naught Distilling. If you are meeting someone on Main Road and want the least awkward default, pick Little Drop of Poison. If you want a compact mid-range option, pick Barpiccolo. If dinner is part of the plan, look at Prosciutto Bros, Missing Gorilla, The White Kitchen, Miss Pryor, Platform 3095, or Third Chapter depending on where your group is already standing. If you just want a familiar pub-style fallback, Eltham Hotel is the obvious name, but not the most interesting one.
Cost-wise, the known mid-range venues in this set are Barpiccolo, The White Kitchen, Miss Pryor, Missing Gorilla, Platform 3095, Prosciutto Bros, Eltham Hotel, and Third Chapter. Naught Distilling, Little Drop of Poison, Bar Conexão, and Lower Eltham Cricket Club do not have a listed price marker in the source data here, so check the latest menu before you commit a group booking or promise someone a cheap round.
Time matters. Early evening is the cleanest window for Eltham: you can choose by mood, not by whichever venue still has space. Friday and Saturday nights are when you should check hours, book if the venue takes bookings, and avoid dragging a large group into a tiny room without a plan. In warmer months, Main Road and Commercial Place are easier for loose catch-ups because people can arrive in waves. In colder weather, choose the venue first and make everyone meet there.
What to Do Next
Book Naught Distilling first if the drink matters, use Little Drop of Poison as the Main Road fallback, and save the full suburb context with the Eltham nightlife guide.
| Venue | Rating | Reviews | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naught Distilling | 4.9/5 | 225 | — |
| Little Drop of Poison | 4.7/5 | 425 | — |
| Barpiccolo | 4.6/5 | 134 | $$ |
| The White Kitchen | 4.5/5 | 926 | $$ |
| Miss Pryor | 4.5/5 | 577 | $$ |
| Bar Conexão | 4.5/5 | 50 | — |
| Missing Gorilla | 4.4/5 | 402 | $$ |
| Platform 3095 | 4.4/5 | 395 | $$ |
Venue Details
1. Naught Distilling
Address: Factory 2/32 Peel Street, Eltham
Rating: 4.9/5 (225 reviews)
2. Little Drop of Poison
Address: 937B Main Road, Eltham
Rating: 4.7/5 (425 reviews)
3. Barpiccolo
Address: 2A Luck Street, Eltham
Rating: 4.6/5 (134 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
4. The White Kitchen
Address: 720 Main Road, Eltham
Rating: 4.5/5 (926 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
5. Miss Pryor
Address: 1 Pryor Street, Eltham
Rating: 4.5/5 (577 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
6. Bar Conexão
Address: 4/10-18 Arthur Street, Eltham
Rating: 4.5/5 (50 reviews)
7. Missing Gorilla
Address: 1/70 Commercial Place, Eltham
Rating: 4.4/5 (402 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
8. Platform 3095
Address: 965 Main Road, Eltham
Rating: 4.4/5 (395 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
9. Prosciutto Bros
Address: 31 Peel Street, Eltham
Rating: 4.3/5 (665 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
10. Lower Eltham Cricket Club
Address: Eltham Lower Park, 570 Main Road, Eltham
Rating: 4.2/5 (10 reviews)
11. Eltham Hotel
Address: 746 Main Road, Eltham
Rating: 4.1/5 (1,084 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
12. Third Chapter
Address: 26 Commercial Place, Eltham
Rating: 4/5 (1,025 reviews)
Price: Mid-range
About This Guide
Every venue in this guide is a verified, currently operating business sourced from Google Places API. Data last refreshed: 2026-03-31. If a venue has closed or moved, let us know.
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