Correction (1 October 2026): an earlier version of this page was generated from map listings. It repeated star ratings and review counts we could not stand behind, called every place “a verified local spot” without saying anything about it, and padded the list with a pizza restaurant, a cafe and an indoor golf venue. It has been rewritten. Every bar below was checked against its own current website, and every price we recommend was copied from the venue’s own page on 1 October 2026.
Both Kew East bars on this list sit on one stretch of High Street. Bar Christina, which Curateria lists as a wine bar, is at number 663. The Harp of Erin, a family-owned pub with a bistro and a drive-through bottle-o, is on the other side of the street at 636. Those are the two Kew East bars on this list, and they make a good pair: a glass of wine, or a parma and a pot.
For more, head west into Kew, the suburb next door (postcode 3101, where Kew East is 3102). Cotham Road has an Italian wine bar with a list of more than 400 wines and a cocktail bar inside a Sicilian restaurant, and the Skinny Dog Hotel on High Street, Kew, says it has been pouring since 1853. Five places, one honest map: two in Kew East, three a short trip west.
Every list below was read from the venue’s own website. Where a bar doesn’t publish a drinks list, this page says so instead of guessing.
The quick picks
| If you’re after | Head to | On the list | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A wine bar in Kew East itself | Bar Christina | Grazing and charcuterie boards (functions menu) | $30 per person |
| A pub feed and a pot | Harp of Erin Hotel | Parma & Pot (Wednesday lunch and dinner, Sunday night) | $17 |
| A deep Italian wine list | Bar Alba | 2022 Viberti Nebbiolo, 150 ml glass | $19 |
| A cocktail at a Sicilian restaurant’s bar | Bianchetto | An Americano (prices not published) | not listed |
| Weekday happy hour | Skinny Dog Hotel | House wine, Monday to Friday 4pm-6pm (via The Pass app) | $6 |
Bar Christina — 663 High St, Kew East VIC 3102
Curateria lists it as a wine bar; its own site keeps things short: an address, a phone number and the hours, which are Wednesday and Thursday 4pm-9pm, Friday and Saturday 3pm-10:30pm, and Sunday 3pm-7pm. No Monday or Tuesday hours are listed. There is no everyday drinks list online, so the only menu you can read is the functions one. That lists grazing and charcuterie boards at $30 per person, and a two-hour drinks package at $49 per person: two whites, two reds, a bubbles and a rosé, with Orion on tap and Peroni Red. It also mentions a courtyard.
By the glass: not published online. Ring 0423 481 755 or check its Instagram for the current list.
Order: whatever the bar is pouring by the glass that night. The functions list shows it keeps whites, reds, bubbles and rosé.
Harp of Erin Hotel — 636 High St, Kew East VIC 3102
A Kew East pub that calls itself a family-owned hotel. It lists a bistro open for lunch and dinner every day, a sports bar, and a drive-through bottleshop open late seven days. The sports bar menu has a chicken parma at $25.90, a chicken schnitzel at $23.90 and a bowl of chips with tomato sauce at $8. The deal people search for is Parma & Pot at $17, on Wednesday lunch (12-3pm), Wednesday dinner (5.30-9pm) and Sunday night (5.30-9pm). Harp Rewards members get half-price meals on Tuesday nights, according to the same page. One caution: Eat Drink Cheap, a third-party specials site, listed the Wednesday Parma & Pot at $22 about a month before we checked, so confirm the price with the pub.
The classic: a pot is the Victorian 285 ml beer glass, and a parma is a chicken schnitzel topped with napoli sauce and cheese. Together they make a classic Melbourne counter-meal deal.
Order: Parma & Pot, $17, on a Wednesday.
Bar Alba — 132 Cotham Rd, Kew VIC 3101
Run by the team behind Centonove and named after Alba in Piedmont, home of Barolo and Barbaresco. Its own wine page says the list runs to “over 400 different selections”. It says more than 30 wines are poured by the glass, and that some bottles come in 375 ml pours so you can try more of the list. The snacks are Italian-leaning. Dobson Farm potato cakes with green tabasco and aioli are $15 for three pieces: yes, a Melbourne potato cake, in a wine bar. Hours are Tuesday to Thursday 3pm-11pm, and Friday and Saturday 2pm until late.
By the glass: “Over 30 wines available by the glass”, per the bar, from a 150 ml pour of 2022 Kris Pinot Grigio up to Barolo poured under Coravin.
The classic: Nebbiolo is Piedmont’s great red grape, the one behind Barolo and Barbaresco: pale in the glass, high in tannin and acid.
Order: the 2022 Viberti Nebbiolo, $19 a glass. It is Piedmont in a glass, at a bar named after a Piedmont town.
Bianchetto — 26-28 Cotham Rd, Kew VIC 3101
The cocktail bar at Mister Bianco, chef Joe Vargetto’s Sicilian restaurant, at the same Cotham Road address. In its own words it is “An intimate European-style Americano bar”, “A cocktail bar, not a wine bar”, with snacks served alongside a cocktail list. It trades from 5:30pm, Wednesday to Saturday, and takes walk-ins as well as bookings. Broadsheet’s listing (last updated July 2024) says the Americano is mixed tableside from a dedicated trolley. The bar doesn’t publish its prices online.
The classic: an Americano is Campari and sweet vermouth topped with soda water: the Negroni’s lighter, longer older sibling, with soda where the gin would be.
Door and dress: none stated. Walk-ins are welcome, per the bar.
Order: the Americano. It is the drink the bar is built around.
Skinny Dog Hotel — 155 High St, Kew VIC 3101
The old pub on High Street in Kew, which says it has been “serving up cold beers and good times since 1853”. It has a downstairs pub, bistro and beer garden, and a renovated upstairs. Happy hour runs Monday to Friday, 4pm-6pm: $6 house wines, $6.50 schooners of tap beer and $8 house spirits. The same page says the offer is exclusive to The Pass loyalty app and is not available on public holidays. Thursday is Parmageddon: the pub’s parma with a pot of house beer, a glass of house wine or a soft drink, from $25, not on public holidays. Trading hours run from midday every day, until 10pm Sunday to Wednesday, 11pm Thursday, and 1am Friday and Saturday.
On the list: a house wine at happy hour, $6, through The Pass app.
Order: the Thursday Parmageddon deal, from $25, if you want dinner sorted as well.
Quick answers
Does Bar Christina in Kew East have a menu online?
Not an everyday one. Its website lists the address (663 High Street), the phone number (0423 481 755) and its hours. The only priced menu online is for functions: grazing and charcuterie boards at $30 per person and a two-hour drinks package at $49 per person.
What are Bar Christina’s opening hours?
Per its own website: Wednesday and Thursday 4pm-9pm, Friday and Saturday 3pm-10:30pm, Sunday 3pm-7pm. No Monday or Tuesday hours are listed.
Is there a wine bar in Kew East?
Yes: Bar Christina, 663 High Street, is a wine bar inside Kew East. The nearest alternative is Bar Alba, 132 Cotham Road in Kew, which lists more than 400 wines and over 30 by the glass.
Does the Harp of Erin have a happy hour or specials?
The Harp’s own food page lists Parma & Pot at $17 on Wednesday lunch, Wednesday dinner and Sunday night, plus half-price meals on Tuesday nights for Harp Rewards members. We could not find a happy hour on its home or food pages. For a weekday happy hour, the Skinny Dog Hotel in Kew lists one Monday to Friday, 4pm-6pm, through its loyalty app.
Which pubs are near Kew East?
The Harp of Erin Hotel, 636 High Street, is a pub inside Kew East. The Skinny Dog Hotel, 155 High Street, is in neighbouring Kew and lists a weekday happy hour for users of its loyalty app.
How we checked
On 1 October 2026 we read each venue’s own website and copied every item, price and set of hours exactly as printed. Bar Christina’s prices are from its private events page, because that is the only priced menu it publishes. Bar Alba’s are from its food and wine pages, the Harp’s from its food menu page, and the Skinny Dog’s from its happy hour and Parmageddon pages. We confirmed each address at a second, independent source: Curateria and TryBooking for Bar Christina, Only Melbourne and Eat Drink Cheap for the Harp and the Skinny Dog, and Broadsheet for Bar Alba and Bianchetto. The one third-party price on this page, Eat Drink Cheap’s $22 for the Harp’s Parma & Pot, is quoted only because it conflicts with the Harp’s own $17. We left out star ratings and review counts. Deals and lists change, and some venues update their websites less often than their bars, so check before you go. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of drink or dish, not the venue’s own.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Bar Christina: barchristina.com.au and its private events page; address also at Curateria and TryBooking
- Harp of Erin Hotel: harpoferin.com.au and its food menu; address also at Only Melbourne and Eat Drink Cheap
- Bar Alba: baralba.com.au, its food menu, wine list and hours; address also at Broadsheet
- Bianchetto: Mister Bianco’s Bianchetto page; address and the trolley detail at Broadsheet
- Skinny Dog Hotel: skinnydoghotel.com.au, its happy hour and Parmageddon pages; address also at Only Melbourne and Eat Drink Cheap
