There's a moment at a good bar when the drink in front of you makes you stop mid-conversation. It might be a cocktail with a component you didn't expect, a whisky flight that reframes what you thought you knew about the spirit, or simply a cold glass that arrives at exactly the right time in exactly the right place. That moment is what separates a venue with a liquor licence from one where the drinks program genuinely matters.
The four venues below each earn that distinction in a different way. One is a Surry Hills pub where craft beer and cocktails share equal billing with a Sunday roast. Another sits on the Mandurah foreshore, backed by six generations of family history and six taps of local craft. A third looks out over the Coral Sea from Airlie Beach with handcrafted cocktails and a menu that mirrors the easy pace of the Whitsundays. The fourth is a speakeasy-style lounge in Ormond where rare whisky and considered cocktails are the entire point. Each one is worth planning around.
Dove & Olive – Surry Hills, NSW
Dove & Olive sits on Devonshire Street in Surry Hills, a short walk from Central Station and it reads immediately as a pub that has thought carefully about what it pours. Spacious without feeling cavernous, it carries a relaxed social energy that suits everything from a Tuesday knock-off drink to a private function or a Saturday trivia night. Alfresco seating catches the afternoon light and the fitout manages the pub trick of feeling both lively and comfortable at once.
Behind the bar, rotating craft beers share the menu with a broad selection of gins and whiskies and the cocktail list earns its own attention. Chef Michael's kitchen runs parallel to that ambition: pub classics built from fresh, high-quality ingredients, the Sunday roast a reliable weekly anchor and a housemade beef pie and chicken parmigiana that give the food program real texture. The drinks here aren't an afterthought to the food or vice versa – they pull in the same direction.
Reserve your spot at Dove & Olive
Wood and Stone Cafe – Mandurah, WA
On the Mandurah foreshore, Wood and Stone Cafe occupies a particular position in the local drinking and dining landscape – one earned over six generations of family connection to the Peel region. Opened in 2021, it sits in Mandurah with water views that frame the experience as much as anything on the bar. The setting is warm and open, pet-friendly for those who arrive with company of the four-legged variety and lively enough on weekends when live music fills the foreshore air.
Six craft beer taps, a considered selection of Western Australian wines and a cocktail list with genuine personality give the bar program considerable range for a café-bar of this scale. The smoked brisket sanga – piled with crispy onion rings, Swiss cheese, house pickles and chipotle aioli on toasted Turkish bread, finished with a glaze – anchors the food offering. It sets the tone for a kitchen that takes flavour seriously. Breakfast through dinner, the cafe runs all day with the confidence of a place that knows its community well.
Check availability and book at Wood and Stone Cafe
The Garden Bar Bistro – Airlie Beach, Qld
Set within Coral Sea Marina Resort in Airlie Beach, The Garden Bar Bistro pairs handcrafted cocktails with one of the more spectacular waterfront outlooks on the Queensland coast. Lush tropical greenery softens the marina setting and the design balances comfort with a stylish contemporary edge that doesn't feel at odds with the surroundings. Sunsets here are an event in themselves, the Coral Sea shifting colour as the evening progresses.
The cocktail list reflects the Whitsunday pace: vibrant, well-made and suited to an afternoon that extends naturally into dinner. The food follows the same logic – a seafood platter for two arrives with seared scallops, prawns, beer-battered Spanish mackerel, citrus pepper calamari, oysters, garden salad and sriracha aioli. A fragrant Malaysian curry built around coconut, lemongrass, ginger and chilli offers a warmer counterpoint. Reef fish tacos with coriander salsa and slaw keep things light. Gluten-free and dairy-free options run through the menu and the venue accommodates families and well-behaved dogs on the alfresco terrace.
Plan your visit and secure a table at The Garden Bar Bistro
Arcadia Whisky Lounge – Ormond, Vic
North Road in Ormond is not where you'd necessarily expect to find a European-inflected speakeasy, which is part of what makes Arcadia Whisky Lounge worth knowing about. The fitout is intimate and moody, all low light and considered detail and the atmosphere arrives the moment the door closes behind you. It is a step out of the suburb and into something with a different register entirely.
The bar program is the centrepiece: rare whiskies and high-end spirits curated into flights that take you through Australian and international producers, supported by handcrafted cocktails that show real technical range. The team guides guests through the selection with the kind of knowledge that makes the process feel like a conversation rather than a transaction. The Chef's food menu provides grounding – sharing plates built around quality regional ingredients, tuned to complement what's in the glass rather than compete with it. Private dining is available for those who want the full experience on their own terms.
Make a reservation at Arcadia Whisky Lounge
A well-made drink in a well-considered space is one of the more reliable pleasures of a night out. These four venues share that understanding, each expressing it differently: the convivial Surry Hills pub, the foreshore café with deep community roots and the tropical marina bar where cocktails meet a coral sea view. Then there is the moody Ormond lounge where whisky flights and handcrafted cocktails are given the full weight of a dedicated sitting. Whichever calls to you, the glass will be in good hands.
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