The best bars and pubs in Carlton: Lygon St, Cardigan St and beyond
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

07.08.2023

The best bars and pubs in Carlton: Lygon St, Cardigan St and beyond

Best bars and pubs in Carlton
Words by Benjamin Lamb

Here's our list of the best bars and pubs in Carlton, so you can go grab a beer, sip a wine, eat some pub food or catch some live music in this Melbourne nightlife precinct.

The best bars and pubs in Carlton are genuinely some of the best and most unique that Melbourne has. Carlton’s been a staple of the bar and pub scene for a number of years, and has recently seen an awesome resurgence of a younger crowd flock there to enjoy what they have to offer.

Carlton is the perfect balance of city hustle and bustle, while also feeling like a suburb with some wonderful parks and greenery littered throughout. It’s also a great distance from public transport, shops and everything else you’d ever need.

If you’re keen to journey further on Lygon Street and explore more of what Melbourne’s bar and pub scene has to offer, check out our list of the best bars and pubs in Brunswick. Otherwise, read on and check out our handy interactive map to all the venues we’ve listed here.

You can also check out Melbourne’s most comprehensive guides to the best bars and pubs in each suburb and street here.

Lygon St

Carlton Yacht Club

– Address: 298 Lygon St
– Vibe: Laid back with cool outdoor section
– Dedicated Menu: Beer, wine and cocktails

The Carlton Yacht Club is one of the coolest spots for all things bevs, wines and cocktails. They’ve been around since 2002 and have quickly become one of Carlton’s most popular haunts.

Nestled in Carlton’s working district, the Carlton Yacht club is perfect for an after-work aperitif or lunch break light beer. The Yacht Club’s bartenders will tend to your every need and make sure you find the perfect drink to your liking, which you can enjoy in their amazing outdoor seating section, perfect for these warmer months.

Lord Lygon

– Address: 66 Lygon St
– Vibe: The best of classy Melbourne
– Dedicated Menu: Wine

This is the ideal spot to take that friend who’ll never shut up about wine. There’re over 300 wines on their list, there’s bound to be one they’ve never tried before.

Lord Lygon provides customers with some of the world’s best wine, and when paired with an amazing atmosphere and delicious food, you’ll never want to leave.

Their food menu has some fancy items that are ideal for pairing with your wine, one that is worth mentioning is a sort of DIY Charcuterie board, where you can choose from some amazing sounding cheeses and cold meats for your own share plate. Check out everything on offer here.

Vodka Temple

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKzDG1AA5fm/

– Address: 160-162 Lygon St
– Vibe: Cool trendy bar
– Live Music: DJs and Electronic
– Dedicated Menu: Vodka

Yes, as the name suggests, this location is dedicated to all things vodka. The Vodka Temple houses one of the widest arrays of the spirit in all of Australia, you’re bound to find something up your alley.

But don’t fret if vodka isn’t your cup of tea, the Vodka Temple also featuring some amazing beers and wines. If the Vodka wasn’t enough, this spot is also an awesome nightclub, with a variety of Australia’s best DJ’s making their way to the Vodka Temple stage on a regular basis.

The Curtin

– Address: 29 Lygon St
– Vibe: Classic pub with killer live music
– Live Music: Indie rock and acoustic
– Dedicated Menu: Fried chicken and burgers

The Curtin Hotel is not only a hugely important venue in the history of the Melbourne labour movement, but a pillar of its celebrated live music scene. It’s a vital spot for a huge range of local and international musos, and they are fantastic champions of young talent.

But on top of that, they’re also an awesome pub, slinging some awesome food thanks to Sonny’s, who cook up fried chicken and burgers. Their menu is pretty awesome as well, if chicken can sometimes make you feel gross, you can specify the kind of chicken you want, whether that be white or dark, wings, or something else.

Johnny’s Green Room

– Address: Level 2/293-297 Lygon St
– Vibe: Trendy, hipster vibe, but suitable for everyone
– Music: Especially curated tunes
– Dedicated Menu: Finger food and pizzas

If you’re keen for a chill spot that’s a little bit trendy, Johnny’s Green Room is the joint for you. There’s pizza and beer, do you really need anything else?

They’ve got some cool promotions on every now and then, one that bears mentioning is a $10 pizza Mondays, when their usual pizza menu (that’s priced around $25) are only $10!, check out more info on that here.

Their people behind Johnny’s Green Room are also massive music lovers, putting together an awesome list of music that suits a variety of tastes. Dive into more on the music at Johnny’s Green Room here.

Heartattack and Vine

– Address: 329 Lygon St
– Vibe: Laid back, Sunday arvo vibes
– Dedicated Menu: Delicious grazing platters and share plates

Heartattack and Vine is the brainchild of four mates, who wanted to create a spot that has the same “simplicity and intimacy” as many bars and pubs across Europe. After one visit here, you’ll know that they’ve achieved that perfectly.

It’s probably one of the most laid back spots on this list, Heartattack and Vine are open from early and offer amazing sounding breakfasts, like a bocconcini roll and prosciutto roll, and for dinner they’ve got an awesome thing called a cicchetti menu, which means that there’s no set menu, things are changing all the time, check out more info on that here.

Green Man’s Arms

– Address: 418 Lygon St
– Vibe: Chilled bar with amazing service
– Dedicated Menu: Fancy fine dining style food

According to the Green Man’s Arms website, their aim is to entertain the senses, and it’s clear they definitely do that, providing some well cooked food sourced from some amazing fresh local producers, this includes king oyster mushrooms, miso ramen, and a whole lot more that you can check out over on their website here.

Or if you’re not a fan of main meals, there’s also a heap of awesome desserts, there’s things like cheesecakes, gelatos, and much more. It’s also important that you book in your visit at the Green Man’s Arms, which you can do so here.

Cardigan St

The Clyde Hotel

– Address: 385 Cardigan St
– Vibe: Old school digs with great drinks
– Live Music: DJs and Jazz
– Dedicated Menu: Pub fare with gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options

The Clyde has a pretty interesting past, according to their website, there’s no info about the early architecture of The Clyde, it’s a mysterious pub that’s quickly become one of Carlton’s most well-known.

The Clyde Kitchen is one of the coolest spots for all things food, drink, and lots more. Their menu has some awesome stuff on it, like some share plates, burgers, and a whole lot more.

The Lincoln

– Address: 91 Cardigan St
– Vibe: Aussie pub with a modern, upper class vibe
– Dedicated Menu: Classy fine dining

If you love amazing food and high-quality drinks, look no further than The Lincoln. Their menu features mouth-watering steaks, whole flounder, and many more that you can check out here.

They’re also lauded for their amazing beers on tap, currently featuring beers like a Cereal Milk Stout, Cherry Sours, and a whole lot more. The Lincoln’s also highlighted the importance of booking in, which you can do here.

The best of the rest

The Shaw Davey

– Address: 171-175 Elgin St  
– Vibe: laid back pub with a bit of a classy vibe
– Dedicated Menu: Pub grub with a modern twist

The Shaw Davey Slum takes the best of all Aussie pubs and mixes it all together for a truly great spot. According to their many positive reviews, they’re home to the $2 pot and $5 pizza, so you can enjoy a night out here for close to nothing.

It’s a great pub for all the family too, a $10 kids’ menu with things for the pickiest of kids. They’re also often used for their amazing function spaces, it’s a great area that is perfect to hold those many events you missed out in lockdown.

Queensberry Hotel

– Address: 593 Swanston St
– Vibe: Country pub with a trendy spin.
– Dedicated Menu: Classic pub grub, and a selection of cool parmas

The Queensberry hotel has a massive country vibe, it’s almost like it’s been picked up from a country town and placed on Swanston St, and that’s not a bad thing, you’ll truly feel comfortable here, and never want to leave.

Their menu is full of the classic pub stuff like bangers and mash or calamari, but if you’re feeling like something a little bit fancy, they’ve got a special menu full of some killer parmas, peri peri, nachos, inferno and even an eggplant one to name a few.

Gerald’s Bar

– Address: 386 Rathdowne St
– Vibe: Cool intimate wine bar
– Live Music: Vinyl
– Dedicated Menu: Dedicated to fine dining with wine

Note: Gerald’s Bar is currently closed until early March 2022. Gerald’s Bar is unlike any other on this list, a visit here will stay with you for a long time.

They provide customers with some of the best wine from some of the best wine regions across the globe, you’re bound to find your new favourite.

They also are keen on providing some awesome food to go along with the wines they offer, usually having a specials board full of tasty items.

Colour Club

– Address: 229 Queensberry St
– Vibe: Club vibe with bar
– Live Music: All types
– Dedicated Menu: Alcohol

If you’re looking to party, look no further than the Colour Club, a killer 24 hour club, that also operates as a bar and live music venue.

For most spots, trying to be all three of those things may seem like a tough feat, but the Colour Club achieve it perfectly, putting on some awesome shows with talented artists on their stage, pouring some tasty drinks for bargoers, and keeping the music going until the early hours for the club revellers.

There’s some cool shows on their way to the Colour Club, like Kult Kyss, Cry Baby and Ausecuma Beats to name a few, book in tickets for those, and check out the rest of their shows on their way to the Colour Club here.

Prince Alfred Rooftop Bar

– Address: 191 Grattan St
– Vibe: Uni bar with affordable drinks and food
– Dedicated Menu: Great pub grub

The Prince Alfred is one of Melbourne Uni’s top spots, you’ll often see it full of uni students who are chilling out after a tough day.

There’s everything you’d ever want out of a pub, great food like calamari, cheeseburgers, and steaks, and of course some great drinks, which you can get a great deal on during happy hour, where pints are only $10, and wine and spirits are only $7.

If you don’t want to be there with a bunch of uni students, you can also book the Prince Alfred out for your long awaited event, they’ve got a bunch of affordable and cool function packages that you can check out here.

Kent Hotel

– Address: 370 Rathdowne St
– Vibe: Laid back, no drama pub
– Dedicated Menu: Modern Australian with a European flair

The Kent Hotel brings the best of Aussie pub vibes into its doors to make a great, welcoming joint for anyone who visits.

Their menu has everything you’d want, there’s a heap of delicious pizzas, with some cool ingredients, even one with broccoli! on top of that, you can also grab pasta, steaks, and a whole lot more. It’s also suitable for all the family, The Kent have some awesome kids meals, all $11.50. Check out all the menus here.

On the alcohol side, it’s not what you’d expect out of a hotel / pub, The Kent has a selection of some awesome local brews on tap, or if you’re not a fan of that, you can grab something from a spot across the globe.

Want more? Check out our list of bars and pubs in Prahran