Adelaide’s best bars are reason enough to book a cheeky escape to Australia’s wine capital. And while the nearby Adelaide Hills offer stunning cellar doors, you don’t need to leave the city to sip world-class drops.
Beyond the vino, Adelaide’s buzzing bar scene—especially in the West End—is all about clever cocktails, craft beers, and menus that range from smoky BBQ to refined share plates. Take note, these are Adelaide’s best bars to check out in 2025.
La Buvette Drinkery
27 Gresham Street, Adelaide
Transport yourself straight to the streets of Le Marais, at La Buvette Drinkery. The space presents like a love letter to Paris—marble tabletops, antique wall sconces and rows of wine lining the walls. This is the kind of place where an arvo tipple turns into a long decadent dinner, so get cosy in a nook and pair your steak frites and duck liver parfait with natural French vino or work your way through their curated list of cocktails.
Proof
9 Anster Street. Adelaide
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It might be cheesy to say that this wine bar is proof that good things come in small packages—but in this case, it’s so accurate that we can’t help ourselves. Tucked between highrises, this pint-sized purveyor of lo-fi wines and innovative cocktails is a must-visit in Adelaide. Head to the upstairs terrace, devour one of their epic toasties (lamb, hummus, Ras el Hanout and za'atar is our fave) and bliss out to smooth jazz floating through the speakers.
Nevermind
22A Leigh Street, Adelaide
The vibes are always immaculate at Nevermind, where pickleback shots line the bar, DJs spin until the wee hours and red lights wash over the industrial space. Sip your way through their offering of local beers, excellent cocktails and curated wine list, then refuel with a gourmet toastie, before having a lil’ shimmy under the disco ball. Pro tip: if you find yourself in the area on a Friday, head to the adjoining alleyway for live jazz sessions.
Maybe Mae
15 Peel Street, Adelaide
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Hidden away in the tunnel between Peel and Leigh Streets is one of Adelaide’s classiest joints Maybe Mae. The 1950’s speakeasy-inspired bar is first and foremost about delivering some of the CBD’s best cocktails, alongside a moody interior (read: date night energy) and green leather-bound booth seating. Snag a seat at the bar and watch the mixologists create liquid magic, or get cosy in a booth, and work your way through the seasonal menu. Current must-sips include Grove Street (fresh green apples, sweet sherry and spiced rum, layered with double malt whiskey and almond), and Blush Pop, a tasty mix of popping candy, rhubarb vermouth and sweet whisky.
Nearly
179 Hindley Street, Adelaide
For spritzes, snacks and people watching, snag a window seat or table on the sidewalk this Hindley Street bar. Got a big group? The large communal table inside was made for a long, laugh-filled sip sesh. The minimalist wine bar has a strong focus on South Australian drops, think: Gentle Folk and Ministry Of Cloud, while the kitchen pumps out small plates of cured meats, local cheese and homemade focaccia dunked in olive oil.
Bank Street Social
48 Hindley Street, Adelaide
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Adelaide’s Bank Street Social hits a few key points for a list of our favourite bars. The underground venue boasts plenty of local beer and wine, a back bar filled with premium gins and whisky, DJs on weekends, lots of exposed brick, a dedicated stone-cooked pizza menu and a bar built out of recycled materials. But perhaps best of all, the West End bar is open until 3am Fridays, 4am Saturdays, and 1am every other night – making it the perfect nightcap spot for your night on the town.
Trap
Cold Chisel Lane, Adelaide
Follow the signs that lead down Cold Chisel Lane, and you'll descend into the basement space of Trap. Neon-soaked, with a handful of tables, you’ll be forgiven for thinking this unassuming space is more of a pop-up. But the 15-seat space is a much loved local haunt, famed for their theatrical cocktails. The menu is tight but decadent, and changes every few months so multiple visits are encouraged. Out the back, you can test your skills at their monthly hip hop open mic night or sway to the beat of a live band.
Leigh Street Wine Room
9 Leigh Street, Adelaide
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We love a joint that tells us everything we need to know in the name. Although, admittedly, the bar front itself is only signalled by a lit-up “dry cleaners” sign—the space’s former use. Leigh Street Wine Room is an intimate 40-seater where you can enjoy over 400 local and international wine bottles that fill the back bar and line the walls amongst eclectic interior décor. As for food, you can’t go wrong with a wine-paired chef’s selection or offerings like a potato scallop with blue cheese cream, ricotta dumplings or blue swimmer crab spaghetti.
Clever Little Tailor
19 Peel Street, Adelaide
Another West End favourite is Clever Little Tailor—which bills itself as nothing more than a “quality liquor bar”. You can’t miss the venue’s striking wood and rough, exposed stone façade. Opened in 2013, this friendly Peel Street wine and cocktail bar offers all the comforts of a local favourite, with plenty of class and upscale drink options. Grab some street seating or a leather booth, a glass of top-shelf whisky, a local drop of wine, a rotating tap craft brew and a charcuterie plate, and thank us later.
Mother Vine
22-26 Vardon Avenue, Adelaide
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Back in the wine bar category is Mother Vine, this time in Adelaide’s East End. Opened in 2014 by a few folks well versed in vino, this indoor-outdoor bar shelves more than 500 bottles of wine to enjoy with a menu of snacks, shares, tapas and hearty mains. Get cosy inside or enjoy the buzzing city sidewalk with a rye old fashioned, a Tassie cider longneck, one of the rotating 20-odd bottles of wine by the glass, a flight of said wines and a bite. You can't go wrong with the beef ribs or chilli prawn sliders.
Good Gilbert
135B Goodwood Road, Adelaide
Good Gilbert takes its name from the two streets it corners—a fitting title for a bar so well known as a neighbourhood haunt. This casual, unpretentious, and community-oriented bar encourages neighbours to join together under one roof and enjoy wines from near and far. You’ll also find coffee, craft beers, a rotating bar menu, plenty of lighting and some homely hanging plants. Just look for the giant champagne bottle mural on the venue’s side, inviting the entire street in for a drink.
Shotgun Willies And Memphis Slim’s House Of Blues
22 Gilbert Place, Adelaide
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We’re definitely cheating here by grouping these two venues together, but they are literally one on top of the other and share an owner. These Americana nostalgia-rich bars are as close as sister venues get. Upstairs is Shotgun Willies, a saloon-style bar with live music honky tonk vibes. That means lots of country music, comically big American draft beer taps, lots of wood, booths and food like a Philly Cheesesteak or a Nashville hot chicken sandwich. Downstairs is Memphis Slim’s House Of Blues, a basement bar that pays closer homage to the essence of American blues music. This moodier level also offers live music, which you’re more likely to pair with a whisky cocktail or a game of pool.
NOLA
28 Vardon Avenue, Adelaide
The Adelaide CBD can’t get enough of American-inspired bars because next on our list is NOLA. Inspired by the great drinking and dining city of New Orleans, you can correctly assume NOLA is a rollicking good time. You’ll find over 200 whisky options, 16 beer taps pouring local, interstate and international brews, and plenty of wine and cocktails to round it off. Of course, there’s plenty of Louisiana influence in the food menu, with Cajun and Creole cuisine aplenty and dishes like cornbread with maple bourbon butter and po’boys that will have you licking the plate.
Malt & Juniper
18 Peel Street, Adelaide
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Malt & Juniper spells out reasonably clearly what you can expect on a visit—whisky and gin. This intimate and dimly-lit bar pays homage to classic spirits and cocktails, taking your palette on a journey through gin and whisky regions from Australia and around the world. It takes a sizeable ladder to reach the top half of the back bar shelves where spirits are stored geographically. You can sit at the green marble bar and get schooled or grab a booth and get cosy.
Hains & Co
23 Gilbert Place, Adelaide
Melburnian Marcus Motteram’s nautical-themed bar is a must on your Adelaide visit–whether you pine for the high seas or not. Other than nautical décor and beer glass size names like dingy, tanker and tall ship, the laneway CBD bar specialises in gin, rum, whisky and cigars. With its substantial spirit range, you can expect some knock-out cocktails to enjoy with outdoor street seating. You can also sign up for Hains & Co’s regular spirit masterclasses and tastings.
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