Adelaide knows how to drink well. It comes naturally – after all, we’re hedged in by wine regions. But this year, it wasn’t just restaurants and cafes doing the heavy lifting. New bars arrived with real intent and creativity. Hi-fi listening lounges built on savouring, tiny agave dens, the rise of two-sip martinis – some even swapping out olives for feta – neighbourhood spots dialling up spritz energy, and bottle shops doubling as the best seat in the house.
It’s been a year. Here’s 25 new bars that caught our attention the most (in alphabetical order).
BAR 1854 | UNLEY
Above The Cremorne sits a dimly lit cocktail den that leans moody but playful, all velvet curtains, whimsical wallpaper, and a hallway of old-school comic-strip nostalgia. It’s blurry when Bar 1854 opened (maybe last December, but we can’t remember we’ve been drinking). The drinks are all drama – freezer-door martinis (fat-washed for texture), barrel-aged classics, and a martini trolley that turns the ritual into something fun. The backbar is whisky-forward, spanning Japan, Scotland, America and local labels, while the snacks are built for late-night cravings – oysters, sashimi, toasties, karaage, and caviar if you’re feeling decadent.
Level 1, 207 Unley Road, Unley
For more info, click here.
BAR BAR | CBD
A tiny room with a big point of view. Bar Bar is the kind of place that feels like it’s been there forever, and would probably smile at you if it could. Small number of seats, an intimate experience where chats with the bartender make up half their job, and a tight focus on agave spirits done properly. Tequila and mezcal lead the charge, supported by pared-back interiors and a drinks list that’s clever without being showy.
78 Pirie Street, Adelaide
For more information, click here.
BAR CANOPY | CBD
Hindley Street’s former Stem space has been reborn as a lush, drink-first hangout where wine and cocktails share top billing. The wine list is deep but designed to be approachable – serious bottles sit comfortably alongside by-the-glass pours that don’t need a lecture. Cocktails bring a playful edge, with techniques that flirt with luxury (think negronis aged inside coconuts) while still feeling like something you’d actually order twice. Snacks meet cravings – toasties, gildas, caviar and crisps. Add a steady stream of chef residencies and you’ve got a bar that rewards repeat visits.
188 Hindley St, Adelaide
For more information, click here.
BELLE’S BOTANICA | PORT ADELAIDE
There’s something about a coastal rooftop that makes dining and drinking better. Belle’s is the rooftop in Port Adelaide that understands the assignment – sea air, skyline views, and a menu that serves both casual and luxurious diners. Woodfired flatbreads, whipped cod roe, katsu sandos and truffle-honey ricotta sit alongside caviar service and premium spirits. It’s breezy, walk-in friendly, and sits atop the newly revitalised COLAC hotel. The hotel is home to Imperial Measures Distilling, so the drinks are spirits-forward, with a strong SA lean (and impressive).
COLAC Port Adelaide, 1 Santo Parade Port Adelaide
For more information, click here.
BOTTLE SHOCK | GUMERACHA
A reimagined century-old cold store turned into a wine playground by the Unico Zelo crew that ditches the snobbery and keeps the curiosity. Bottle Shock turns tasting into a game – themed mystery flights, cards on the table, and the freedom to guess (and be wrong) without shame. The by-the-glass offer is strong, the bottle list is extensive, and the food is characterful without fuss. It’s educational, sure – but it’s built for fun first. And if you’re that friend who treats the Weekly 50 like religion and always has a pack of cards handy, this one’s for you.
24 Victoria Street, Gumeracha
For more information, click here.
BOTTOMS UP | CBD
Everyone has a slightly different definition of bar. If bar to you means a chance to get unapologetically wasted and disguise your antics behind dim lights, sweaty dancefloors, and the kind of acceptance that only a LGBTQI+ club can provide, Bottoms Up is yours. Mary’s Poppin has long been a late-night landmark and – up the backside of the venue – new Bottoms Up adds another layer. It’s a more intimate cocktail bar tucked within the club’s orbit, designed for plush seating, good music, and a little breathing room before (or instead of) the dancefloor. Tequila is taken seriously here, with an impressive backbar and a fit-out that leans luxe without losing the venue’s wink. It’s a pre-party, a side-quest, and a nightcap all in one.
Mary’s Poppin, 5 Synagogue Place, Adelaide
For more information, click here.
BURDETTE | CBD
A speakeasy-leaning social club by industry pros Baine Stubbs and Saskia Lopes de Souza (formerly Station Road) that serves 1920s glamour and a confident drinks focus. Deep reds, gold accents, leather booths and low light set the scene, absinthe gets a starring role via drip service and cocktail builds (and even its own shrine), and the wine list travels comfortably from French classics to local chilled reds. Food is sharp and elevated, designed to match the room’s energy. Oysters, charcuterie, and bar plates with fine-dining DNA.
11-29 Union St, Adelaide
@burdette.adl
SOBER COMPANY | CBD
A West End bar and kitchen that blends Japanese and Korean influences with a polished-but-casual feel. The drinks list runs wide – sake and soju alongside modern cocktails that lean fruit-forward (lychee, coconut, peach, and lime are strong features) and refreshing, with enough classics to keep everyone happy. Small plates and good vibes do the rest. It’s the sort of place built for a second round.
174A West Franklin St, Adelaide SA 5000
For more information, click here.
FALL FROM GRACE | ALDINGA
First opened by Gill Gordon Smith in 2009, hospitality heavyweights Jimmy Toone and partner Jo Leal took the Fleurieu favourite into a new chapter without losing its soul. The cottage stays cosy and characterful, while the offering expands with a dedicated dining room, bar seating and courtyard energy. The cellar still services the venue’s well-stocked takeaway bottle shop. The food is European-leaning and wine-friendly – small plates, house pasta, steak, tartare – plus the return of much-loved pizza from the pair’s pop-up Pizza & Pasta Club.
206 Port Rd, Aldinga
For more information, click here.
HELLBOUND | BOWDEN
After a fittingly devilish 6.66 years on Rundle Street, Hellbound re-emerged in Bowden this year, operating as both a neighbourhood hangout and alluring late-night den. The list is alive – rotating by-the-glass options, fortified pours, and a bottle selection that swings from emerging local names to rare international finds. Cocktails exist, but they stay in the lane – martinis, negronis, spritzes, amaro and tonics. By day, it functions as a trade-facing cellar-door style space, and by night, it shifts into what it’s always been. Unlike the diluted catch-all “wine bars” popping up across Adelaide, Hellbound continues to remain sure of its identity. It’s a seriously impressive wine bar, not a bar with wine.
2 Hawker Street, Bowden
For more information, click here.
HONEYDRIPPER | CBD
Perhaps the most anticipated bar opening of this year, Honeydripper is a hi-fi bar that treats sound and spirits with equal respect. Downstairs is warm and welcoming – booths built for long conversations, a system that wraps the room in rich, velvety audio, and a list that gives every drink its own song. Upstairs, the listening lounge energy turns up – DJ island, an impressive vinyl library, and a fit-out that nods to Tokyo-style hi-fi dens. The cocktails are modern and tactile, with flavour combos that reward the curious (and plenty of martini-friendly energy).
11 Frome Street, Adelaide
For more information, click here.
JANE’S FAULT | CBD
A design-led bar where the fit-out is part of the point. Set on Peel Street, Jane’s Fault pairs moody, artful interiors with a drinks list anchored in classics and local makers. Expect old fashioneds, negronis, martinis and margaritas, plus a handful of house signatures and a tight SA wine selection. It’s intimate, stylish, and made for the kind of night that starts as “one drink” and ends later than planned (the dim lights certainly don’t help).
23 Peel Street, Adelaide
For the Instagram, click here.
KOHKO BEACH BAR | ALDINGA
Born from sun-drenched summers on the Greek island of Kos, Kohko is a new Mediterranean-leaning beach club that brings festival energy to the sand. Designed to move with the day – slow, sunlit afternoons that build into after-dark momentum – it offers mocktails, mojitos, local wine and a food offering built around mezze-style sharing and coastal flavours. Equal parts pop-up polish and summer escapism, it’s a residency 12 years in the making, and one that you don’t want to miss.
End of Norman Road, Aldinga Beach foreshore
For more information, click here.
KORKED | SEMAPHORE
A beloved lounge-bar vibe, reborn. Korked leans into what made it cult in the first place – a couch-friendly feel, local wines, nostalgic shots, and a menu of home-style tapas designed for grazing. Add ocean views and a music program, and it becomes an easy weekend ritual – one that appeals to any kind of audience.
6 Semaphore Road, Semaphore SA 5019
For more information, click here.
LANEWAY SOCIAL | CBD
If a laid-back pub is more your style, Laneway Social is the winner. A refreshed, greenery-filled pub/bar hybrid built for groups and easy hangs, the venue took over the former Belgian Beer cafe in East End. Bright interiors replace the old dark timber mood, and the offering is broad – local beers, rotating guest taps, and a cocktail list that isn’t afraid to have fun (including fat-washed twists and spritz energy). The menu sits in that sweet spot between pub comfort and modern flavour – designed for pre-town drinks, long lunches, or a casual dinner with guaranteed atmosphere.
27-29 Ebenezer Place, Adelaide
For more information and to book, click here.
LOLA’S | NORWOOD
It’s not every day you walk into a wine bar and get instantly floored by the fit-out. Up until last week this Norwood address was East End Cellars, but you’d hardly recognise it now. Lola’s is the wine bar by the East End Cellars crew with a maximalist, feminine fit-out and the kind of atmosphere that can pivot from afternoon sip to late-night flirt. Velvet curtains, marble, pink tones and a disco-ball wink set the tone, while the food is genuinely destination-worthy – oysters with heat, tartare, milanese, mussels, and a standout “fish and chips” reinterpretation with rosti, tuna and caviar. The wine list celebrates SA first but isn’t boxed in, and takeaway bottles make it a local favourite in more ways than one.
88 Magill Road, Norwood
@lolasnorwood_
NAUGHTY NEIGHBOUR
Nestled in the heart of Stirling on Mount Barker Road, Naughty Neighbour is a laneway bar and cafe built around community energy, with a neon sign that signals when the mood shifts from daytime caffeine to night-time pours. Local wines, cocktails, longnecks in ice buckets and share plates set the rhythm, with upbeat tunes and a relaxed-lively atmosphere.
3/4 Mount Barker Road, Stirling
For more information, click here.
NOWHERE BAR | CBD
Another one for the pub-leaning crowd, Nowhere Bar sits comfortably between neighbourhood local and late-night hangout on leafy Hutt Street, taking over the former Olivia Hotel with a mix of pub familiarity and bar energy. Soundtracked by 80s hits and inspired by Talking Heads, the space is bright and playful, with orange feature walls, crayon-style artwork, flowers, angels and martinis creating a retro look. For drinks, local wines do most of the heavy lifting, backed by dependable taps and cocktails that keep things fun, from a rum-forward Jungle Bird to an “elevated cosmo.”
170 Hutt Street, Adelaide
@nowherebar.adl
OMADA | CBD
Technically, Omada bills itself as a bar and grill. Some would argue it’s a restaurant. Either way, the drinks program is the headline – the kind that could justify a visit on its own.
House-made ouzo anchors the menu, moving from dry and saline through to softer, more floral. Wines spend a lot of time in Greece (without being boxed in by it). But the drink that everyone talks about is the baklava cocktail – sweet, salty and textural, nutty, honeyed and spiced, it plays with crunch and richness in a way that shouldn’t work, but somehow does.
46 Currie St, Adelaide
For more information, click here.
PROSPECT HOTEL & CELLARS | PROSPECT
A pub-shaped gap on Prospect Road finally filled – but not with a standard pub. Prospect Hotel & Cellars reads more hotel with a wine-bar edge, backed by a strong South Australian wine list and a bottle shop component that makes takeaway an extension of the venue experience. The kitchen keeps one foot in pub classics and the other in elevated snacks, making it equally suited to a casual pint, a serious glass under Coravin, or a full sit-down meal.
85 Prospect Road, Prospect 5082
For more information, click here.
SEPTIMUS | CBD
Now firmly embedded in the East End’s fabric, Septimus feels like a venue that’s always been there. A wine and cheese bar that leans into pairing as its signature, it centres its offering around a rotating set of cheeses matched to wines across styles, with a strong French thread running through the list. Exquisite French cheeses sit alongside local and international drops, inviting slow, deliberate drinking and deserve all the repeat visits.
220 Grenfell Street, Adelaide
For more information, click here.
SODEWA | CBD
This one only just scraped into this year’s roundup. Set to open in the next few days, Sodewa is a brand new – and Adelaide’s only – specialty saké bar just south of Rundle Street.
SOOL | CBD
It would be almost sacrilege not to include a Korean waterhole in any serious conversation about drinking. Soju is kryptonite, and SOOL is the newest arrival delivering the kind of bar experience that leaves the night a little hazy around the edges. Soju is the hero here. The shelves are stacked with styles and flavours, it’s clean, gently sweet profile cutting through smoky, grill-driven dishes. With low lighting, charcoal tones and dark furnishings, SOOL feels right at home on Hindley Street’s west end (right next to UniSA) – fuelling long nights that don’t ask too many questions.
184 Hindley St, Adelaide
For more info, click here.
SPRITZ BAR | NORWOOD
The Alma’s leafy outdoor space turned into a Euro-summer escape, anchored by aperitivo culture and spritz-forward drinking. It’s bright, breezy and designed for long afternoons that drift into evening – the kind of place that makes Adelaide feel coastal, even when you’re not.
Opened November 2025
For more information, click here.
