Correction (5 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed places and details we could not stand behind. It has been rewritten from scratch: every place below was confirmed at two independent sources on 5 October 2026, and every price was copied from the page it was published on.
Only two bars in Mernda made it onto this page, because only two had enough on the public record for us to stand behind. That is the whole list: a vineyard wine bar and a pub. Both have Mernda addresses. Five Vineyard is on Bridge Inn Road and the Bridge Inn Hotel is on Plenty Road, so sort out the way home before you book.
For each one we read what the venue says about itself, its listed hours and the prices it prints, and we say where information is missing. Nothing here calls a place romantic; it says which listed features suit which kind of date. We did not record any accessibility information for either venue, so ask when you book. Plan B for both is the other one.
The quick picks
| If you’re after | Head to | Order this | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A seated drink at a vineyard wine bar, Thursday to Sunday | Five Vineyard | Classic Spritz | $20 |
| A pub drink with late hours and Friday-night local entertainment | Bridge Inn Hotel | Kids meals including a drink and dessert | $10 |
Five Vineyard — 280 Bridge Inn Road, Mernda VIC 3754
Five Vineyard’s site says its restaurant, The Wine Bar, is ‘Open 12pm to 10pm Thursday to Sunday’, and its cellar door is ‘Open 11am - 5pm Thursday to Sunday’. The site describes tastings this way: ‘Ask us about our tastings sessions and tasting flights.’ It also lists a Wine Bar Snacks window of 4:00 - 5:30pm Thursday - Sunday, and a cocktail list that includes a Classic Spritz (Campari or Aperol, with FIVE Sparkling and Local Soda) at $20.
If you are planning by stage, the printed menus give you two shapes of visit. A drink and a Margherita at $27, from the lunch menu, is the short version. The Wine Bar Matched Experience is printed at $90 per person, with a minimum of two guests and the whole table must partake, and that is a planned sit-down meal rather than a quick drink. The Chickpea Gnocchi is $39. The menus print ‘Menu Subject to Change - Sunday Surcharge 15% - Public Holiday Surcharge 18%’, so a Sunday date costs more. The site also lists a Vegetarian Set Menu and gluten free bases as an add-on.
On the menu (copied from fivevineyard.com.au/TheWineBarMenuSUMMER.pdf and fivevineyard.com.au/WebUpload_Lunch.pdf on 5 October 2026):
- Classic Spritz: $20
- The Wine Bar Matched Experience: $90
- Margherita: $27
- Chickpea Gnocchi: $39
Split or splurge: a Classic Spritz at $20 is the light option and the Wine Bar Matched Experience at $90 is the splurge; the Margherita at $27 sits between them.
Bridge Inn Hotel — 1425 Plenty Road, Mernda VIC 3754
The Bridge Inn Hotel’s site gives its general opening hours as ‘Sun - Wed: 10:00am - 1:00am Thu - Sat: 10:00am - 3:00am’. Other pages on the site print different times for parts of the venue, so treat the general hours as the guide and call ahead.
The site calls it ‘an ideal spot for enjoying a meal with friends or savoring an intimate date night’, which is the venue’s pitch, not ours. It lists a lineup of 14 products on tap, and says the Bistro has an adjoining outdoor alfresco area. AGFG tags it ‘Alfresco Dining’. The main menu on the site is a scanned-image PDF with no readable text, so we cannot quote meal prices. The one price we could read is for kids’ meals including a drink and dessert, at $10, which matters if your plan B is a family catch-up rather than a date.
On the menu (copied from thebridgeinnhotel.com.au/bar on 5 October 2026):
- Kids meals including a drink and dessert: $10
Talk-ability: the site lists local entertainment every Friday night and a Sport’s Bar, so if conversation is the plan, pick another night.
Quick answers
How many bars for dates can we verify in Mernda?
Two: Five Vineyard and the Bridge Inn Hotel. We would rather give you two places we can source than pad the page with ones we could not confirm.
Which one is open later?
The Bridge Inn Hotel’s general hours run to 1:00am Sunday to Wednesday and 3:00am Thursday to Saturday, per its site. Five Vineyard’s Wine Bar is listed 12pm to 10pm, and its site gives Thursday to Sunday only, so plan around those days.
What does a drink and a meal at Five Vineyard cost?
The prices printed on the menus we read: Classic Spritz $20 on the beverage list, and Margherita $27, Chickpea Gnocchi $39 and the Wine Bar Matched Experience $90 per person for a minimum of two guests on the lunch menu. The menus say ‘Menu Subject to Change’, with a Sunday surcharge of 15% and a public holiday surcharge of 18%.
Is there live music at either bar?
The Bridge Inn Hotel’s site says ‘Every Friday night we have the best in local entertainment’, and AGFG lists Live Music as a feature. We found nothing on Five Vineyard’s pages about live music.
How we checked
We checked every place on this page against at least two independent sources on 5 October 2026: the places’ own websites, the Australian Good Food Guide and OpenStreetMap. Every price is copied exactly as printed on the page linked under Sources, on 5 October 2026. Menus, prices and opening hours change, so check with the venue before you go. The cover photo is illustrative, from Unsplash, and does not show any place on this page.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Five Vineyard: fivevineyard.com.au/visit-contact, agfg.com.au/five-vineyard-131500, fivevineyard.com.au/the-wine-bar, fivevineyard.com.au/the-cellar-door, fivevineyard.com.au/TheWineBarMenuSUMMER.pdf, fivevineyard.com.au/WebUpload_Lunch.pdf
- Bridge Inn Hotel: openstreetmap.org/466543369, thebridgeinnhotel.com.au, agfg.com.au/the-bridge-inn-hotel-46522, thebridgeinnhotel.com.au/bar, thebridgeinnhotel.com.au/dining, thebridgeinnhotel.com.au/functions-1
