The best bars in Adelaide
12 DEC 2025
The best bars in Adelaide are built on generosity, not grandiosity.
You’ll feel it in the easy welcome at the door, from the bartenders who listen before they pour. Watch as they mix and match elements, stirring alchemy into every drink, filling your glass with the taste of this place. That first sip tells you everything you need to know: flavours grow here generously. Grapes ripen at the city’s edge, shaped by wine regions that have poured for generations. Citrus hangs heavy in backyard trees, sweetened by salt air and sun. Our land makes it easy for generosity to grow, and the best bars in Adelaide make it easy to share that with you. Here’s our pick of CBD spots where every pour is a reflection of true South Australian hospitality.
1 / 9
East End Cellars, Vardon Avenue
Good wine ages well — and so do the places that pour it. Since opening its doors in 1998, East End Cellars has become a local institution. What started as a bottle shop run by one incurable wine fanatic, has since grown to be one of East End’s most-loved meeting places. Today, its shelves are stacked with over 15,000 bottles, yet the focus remains on small makers and the stories behind their labels. Pull up a chair, order something local and let their seasoned team find you your perfect drop. Local tip: Make sure to try the shoestring fries that are crisp, golden and dusted with umami vinegar salt. They’re perfect alongside a glass of something cold, shared in the sunshine as people fill Vardon Avenue, home to some of the best bars in Adelaide.
2 / 9
Honeydripper, Frome Street
In a city full of great food and great drinks, Honeydripper adds something different: great sound. The kind that’s so crisp it wraps around you. Known as one of the best bars in Adelaide, this Japanese-style listening lounge spins a 3,000-strong vinyl collection through a finely tuned hi-fi system. As soon as the needle drops, the place moves in tune. If you’re not up on your feet, you’re sinking into their conversation pits — where songs slip between chatter and cocktails matter. Each drink includes a song pairing from the Honeydripper team; like the fizzy mix of passionfruit, tonka and banana, matched with Dusty Springfield’s Spooky.
3 / 9
Laterria Bar, Hutt Street
Vinyl crackles through this 1950s Milanese-inspired bar, setting the mood before you cross the room. Watch the DJ at Latteria spin a fully loaded deck like it’s another ingredient on the menu. The music here is treated with the same care that you taste in the crisped edges of their risotto al salto, or in the seasoning of their salty little share snacks. Best thought of as “a bar with food” (one that takes food orders right up until close), their Italian-ish inspired cocktails, like a negroni sbagliato, are perfected down to the last drop.
4 / 9
La Buvette, Gresham Street
The simple pleasure of La Buvette is in its name, meaning ‘the refreshment stand’. Here, it’s all about French drinking culture – come up, order a glass and join the crowds sprawled along the footpath. Just like the streets of Paris, you’ll find groups of friends with a glass in hand and nowhere to be. Order a ricard over ice, or a strikingly bitter picon with beer. One glass becomes two. Follow with a plate of escargots and baguette and be sure to mop up every last drop of butter. After a few rounds guided by their expertise, you’ll no longer be a stranger by the time you leave.
5 / 9
NOLA, Vardon Avenue
NOLA’s menu is a love letter to their festive roots: po’boys stacked with 12-hour smoked brisket, fried chicken and corn on the cob smothered in maple bourbon butter. Those roots run striaght to New Orleans, where ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler’ — let the good times roll — isn’t just a saying, it’s a way of life. Upstairs, jazz and Southern soul spill into the room as you knock back a whisky pickleback (a shot of whisky chased with pickle juice) or choose from 16 craft beers on tap.
6 / 9
Maybe Mae, Peel Street
At Maybe Mae, the only rule is to trust the bartender. The locals already know these are some of the best hands in the business, and their numerous ‘Cocktail Bar of the Year’ wins back it up. If you feel like something tropical, the ‘pineapple club’ sits proudly in their hall of fame. Craving something smoky and rich? The ‘jarrah’s’ smoulder of smoke, spice and fig feels lifted straight from the room itself. It’s a tucked-away 1950s-style den hidden behind an unmarked timber door — the kind of place you usually only find if you know where to knock. This time, you do.
7 / 9
Mothervine, Vardon Avenue
Mothervine gets its name from the original pinot clone (MV6) that shaped Australian wine. The list is expansive, sure, but never intimidating. Just tell them what you usually drink, and they’ll take it from there. Every one of the 500-odd bottles has earned its place. It’s why a silky burgundy comfortably shares shelf space with a bright, crunchy Adelaide Hills nebbiolo at one of the best wine bars in Adelaide.
8 / 9
Udaberri, Leigh Street
Blink and you’ll miss it. Udaberri is a tucked-away hideaway on Leigh Street, bringing the spirit of Spanish pintxos bars to Adelaide. Where small plates, standing tables and shared bites are part of the ritual. Like the bars of San Sebastián, no one orders a full meal — just a few bites at a time: a slice of Manchego here, a shucked oyster there. Plates move from hand to hand, each dish encouraging you to stay a little longer. Pair it with one of their expertly mixed gin and tonics or a glass of crisp albariño, and you’ve got a table full of life’s simple pleasures.
9 / 9
Leigh Street Wine Room, Leigh Street
Leigh Street Wine Room feels familiar the moment you step inside. Its sweeping arched ceiling and the ghosted glow of an old dry cleaner sign give it the comfort of a place that’s been around for decades — though it only opened in 2019. Wine lines the walls like wallpaper, more than 400 bottles deep. Pull up a stool at the bar for one glass, or settle on the mezzanine for several, with plates of cultured butter, sourdough and smallgoods arriving simply. It’s the kind of European-leaning wine bar where no one rushes you and no one overcomplicates it — there's just good wine and honest food.
