Melbourne’s Hottest Bars Awarded at First Ever Time Out Melbourne Bar Awards
Melbourne’s best bars and bartenders were awarded at the first ever Time Out Melbourne Bar Awards last night, held at The Emerson. Over 300 partygoers descended on the new bar to celebrate with this year’s winners while enjoying music from futuristic synth pop artist Dune (the new project for singer Jade MacRae) and DJ Andrew McClelland.
The awards celebrate the best of what makes Melbourne’s bar scene special and the who’s who of Melbourne were in attendance, hoping for a chance at winning one of the coveted titles. The much-anticipated annual Time Out Melbourne Bar Guide was also launched at the event.
There were 13 awards up for grabs, including Best Bartender, Best Small Bar, Best Pub, Best Bar Food and Bar of the Year. Eleven of the 13 awards were judged by a crack team of food and drink critics, who spent countless nights trying the best of what Melbourne has to offer. Ten top industry influencers chose the Hot Talent award, and the final award, the People’s Choice, was judged by Time Out readers.
The winners are as follows:
BEST BARTENDER
Evan Stanley - Black Pearl
BEST BAR FOOD
Cumulus Up
BEST ENTERTAINMENT
Mr Wow’s Emporium
BEST FIT OUT
Sweetwater Inn
BEST PUB
The Alehouse Project
BEST COCKTAIL BAR
The Everleigh
BEST SMALL BAR
Hihou
BEST NEW BAR
Los Barbudos
BAR OF THE YEAR
Black Pearl
HOT TALENT
Sarah Fulford - Lily Blacks
BEST WINE BAR
Bellota
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
The Carlton Club
HALL OF FAME
The Standard Hotel
Michael Rodrigues, joint CEO for Time Out Australia, explains: “Melbourne's bar scene contributes so much to the texture of this city, and its great for Time Out to be able to put on these awards in recognition of their contribution. Like great cities, great bars stand the test of time - they weather changes in trends, changes in staff, changes in circumstance. They navigate these challenges because they are able to keep one thing in mind throughout. And that's us, their lucky customers.”
Gemima Cody, Time Out Melbourne’s food and drink editor, adds: “It’s a great thing to have such a strong mix of new and established venues amongst our winners this year. It really shows that our bar scene has roots and wings, and good drinking isn’t going anywhere.”
For more information on Time Out Melbourne Bar Awards, visit www.au.timeout.com/Melbourne