St Kilda’s bar scene reflects the suburb itself: beachside casual with depth underneath. This is not the inner north trying to out-cool itself with unmarked doors and passwords. St Kilda bars serve the locals first, which gives the scene an authenticity that more hyped areas often lack. The regulars are real, the sunsets are free, and you can walk between half a dozen genuinely different drinking experiences without crossing a main road.
Fitzroy Street is the spine, The Esplanade is the anchor, Acland Street picks up the overflow, and the side streets hide the places that locals would prefer you did not discover. We tested eight venues across three weeks. Here is where your money should go.
1. The Esplanade Hotel
The Espy is not a bar. It is a landmark that happens to serve beer. Sitting on the cliff above Port Phillip Bay since 1857, it is the unofficial living room of St Kilda. The ground floor Main Bar is a long, slightly sticky room with ocean views and live music posters plastered everywhere. Carlton Draught on tap, rotating local craft from places like Stomping Ground, schooner around 9 dollars.
Upstairs, The Gershwin Room and Main Stage still pull some of Melbourne’s best live acts. The rooftop when the weather is on gives you bay views, cold beer, zero pretension. You will see tradies at 3pm, date couples at 7pm, and a mosh pit by 11pm.
Address: 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: Live music, rooftop sunset drinks, not caring what anyone thinks of your outfit.
2. The Ghost of Alfred Felton
The Espy’s crown jewel, a top-floor cocktail den named after a 19th-century chemist and philanthropist who once lived upstairs. Dark wood, velvet booths, and a cocktail list that reads like a novel. The Alchemist at 26 dollars is a gin-based number with elderflower, activated charcoal and dry-ice fog that arrives looking like a small weather event. The Philanthropist at 24 dollars uses Australian whisky and honey from a Rooftop Honey collaboration.
The bartenders do not just pour, they perform. The entrance is through the main Espy lobby, up the stairs past Mya Tiger. It is deliberately hard to find. That is the point.
Address: Hotel Esplanade, top floor, 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda VIC 3182 Hours: Friday to Saturday 5pm to late. Best for: The cocktail you tell people about the next day.
3. Captain Baxter
Rooftop cocktails above the St Kilda Sea Baths with a panorama that takes in the pier, the bay and the sweep from Brighton to Williamstown. The 1920s beach-bungalow aesthetic means retractable roof, cushioned seating and drinks that lean tropical without being tacky. Thai basil margarita at 22 dollars, lychee and sake spritz at 19 dollars, and a rum-heavy Sunday Session Punch at 16 dollars a glass that is responsible for more bad Monday mornings than any other drink on this strip.
Sunday Sessions are the signature play: DJs, flowing cocktails, and a crowd that ranges from twenty-somethings in linen to families pushing prams. Arrive before 3pm on weekends or you will queue.
Address: St Kilda Sea Baths, 10 to 18 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: Sunday sessions, bay views, not remembering what happened after the third punch.
4. Freddie Wimpole’s
Corner of Fitzroy and Grey Streets. Named after St Kilda’s mayor in the late 1880s. Fourteen rotating taps of craft beer, 180-plus premium spirits, and live music four nights a week. The Smoky Old Fashioned at 22 dollars arrives in a 19th-century-style glass bottle with a gentle smokiness that avoids the bong-water trap that plagues most smoked cocktails. Their Fitzroy Spritz at 18 dollars is Aperol, prosecco and house-made grapefruit shrub.
Late-night licensing until 3am and a takeaway licence until midnight makes this the spot that catches you when everywhere else has shut. It is not trying to be sophisticated. It is trying to be the bar you end up at at 1am, ordering one more round and meaning it this time.
Address: Corner Fitzroy and Grey Streets, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: Craft beer, late nights, the outdoor corner table on a sunny afternoon.
5. Ellora
Two-storey beachside operation at 1 Fitzroy Street, right where the street hits The Esplanade. Downstairs is a buzzing cocktail lounge. Upstairs is a rooftop bar with the widest uninterrupted bay view in St Kilda. At sunset, this place fills fast and for good reason.
The cocktail list leans toward the familiar done well. Aperol Spritz at 18 dollars, Espresso Martini at 22 dollars, Cosmopolitan at 19. Happy hour runs Wednesday to Sunday 4 to 6pm with 15-dollar cocktails, 10-dollar pints and 8-dollar house wines. In a suburb where happy hours often mean one dollar off a schooner, this is genuine.
Address: 1 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: Sunset drinks, happy hour, the rooftop on a warm evening.
6. Bang Bang St Kilda
Pan-Asian energy with a cocktail edge. Big booths, share plates and a cocktail list heavy on Asian flavours. The 2-dollar oysters and 15-dollar cocktail specials happy hour is absurd value for Fitzroy Street. The Bang Bang Sour at 21 dollars blends lemongrass-infused vodka with passionfruit and a chilli-salt rim. The Sichuan Negroni at 23 dollars sounds like a gimmick until you try it.
The food is the draw for a lot of people, but the cocktails hold their own. Both menus are built for each other.
Address: 157 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: Pre-dinner cocktails, group nights, happy hour oysters.
7. Dog’s Bar
Smaller than most on this list, more bar than pub, but Dog’s Bar at the Acland Street end has earned its reputation as one of the best wine-and-beer locals in St Kilda. Beer list leans local with taps from Fixation and Dainton. Wine is the real drawcard: a well-curated list that does not try to be a wine bar but happens to have very good drops at fair prices. Food is straightforward: cheese boards, pasta, cured meat.
Address: 53 Acland Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: A slower session, wine with mates, sitting at the bar and letting the bartender pick.
8. Prince Public Bar
Exactly what it says on the tin. Long bar, cold beer, TAB screens, and a crowd that ranges from backpackers to grey-haired St Kilda lifers. VB, Carlton, maybe a Coopers on rotation. Schooner around 8.50 dollars. The chicken parma is 18 dollars and exactly what you want after three beers. No wanky cocktail menu. No reclaimed timber feature wall. This is the bar where nobody is here for the Instagram.
Address: 29 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 Best for: Cheap pints, footy, and not having to think too hard.
What We Skipped and Why
Lucky Coq on Glen Huntly Road does serve drinks but it is a pizza spot first. We cover it in cheap eats.
Day of the Dead in the George Building used to be solid but the menu has stagnated. If they refresh the list, we will reconsider.
Secret Garden is known more for DJ nights than cocktail quality. Great for a dance, but the drinks are mixed to serve volume, not craft.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best rooftop bar in St Kilda?
Captain Baxter above the Sea Baths for the panoramic bay view. Ellora at 1 Fitzroy Street for the sunset. The Espy rooftop for the no-pretension option. All three deliver, it depends what kind of evening you want.
Where can I get a cheap drink in St Kilda?
Prince Public Bar on Fitzroy Street. Schooner of VB for around 8.50. Ellora’s happy hour runs 4 to 6pm with 15-dollar cocktails. Cafe Banff on Fitzroy Street does 6-dollar pots during happy hour.
Is St Kilda good for a pub crawl?
One of the best in Melbourne. Start at The Espy at 3pm, walk down Fitzroy Street to Prince Public Bar for the footy crowd, finish at Dog’s Bar on Acland Street with a bottle of red. Total spend under 80 dollars if you pace yourself, distance 1.2 kilometres.
The Verdict
St Kilda’s bar scene works because it is not trying to be one thing. You have The Espy doing live music until 3am, Prince Public Bar keeping it cheap and honest, Captain Baxter serving bay views with a side of cocktails, and the Ghost of Alfred Felton mixing drinks that belong in a different century. A suburb needs the full range, and St Kilda delivers it.
For the wider eating and drinking picture, check our best restaurants and cocktails guide. If the pub scene is more your speed, the best pubs guide covers the places where the carpet tells a story. And for the full suburb rundown, start with the St Kilda honest guide.
Explore More of St Kilda
- St Kilda History
- St Kilda Things To Do This Weekend
- St Kilda Cocktails
- St Kilda Cheap Eats
- St Kilda Rent Guide
- St Kilda Date Night Guide
- St Kilda New Openings
- St Kilda St Kilda For Retirees
💬 Discussion
Join the conversation — no account needed