Best Bars in Perth: Cocktail Bars, Rooftops, Wine Bars and the Northbridge Bar Scene

Perth's bar scene has been transformed by the small bar licensing reforms that came to WA in 2007, with the Northbridge bar precinct, the Leederville café-bar culture, and the CBD small bar strip establishing a quality bar scene that Perth residents now compare favourably to Melbourne in intimacy and craft. The city's isolation has cultivated a bar culture that is distinctly Perth in character: slightly more relaxed than Melbourne, more design-conscious than Brisbane, and with an outdoor orientation that reflects the WA climate.

Mechanics Institute (222 William Street Northbridge) — the Mechanics Institute is Perth's most celebrated cocktail bar, housed in the heritage Perth Mechanics Institute building and operating a cocktail program and spirits library of exceptional quality. The heritage building's reading room aesthetic, the long bar counter, and the commitment to classic and contemporary cocktail craft have earned it multiple Australian Bar Awards nominations and a devoted Perth following.

Pleased to Meet You (870 Wellington Street Perth CBD) — Pleased to Meet You is Perth's finest natural wine bar, with the exceptional curated wine list focused on natural, biodynamic, and minimal-intervention producers from Australia and Europe, the excellent small food menu, and the CBD location making it the reference point for Perth's natural wine community.

The Waiting Room (139 Murray Street Perth CBD) — the Waiting Room provides Perth's most comfortable and design-forward CBD bar experience, with the exceptional cocktail program, the quality spirits selection, and the thoughtful design of the bar space creating an atmosphere that has made it one of Perth's most consistently popular after-work and pre-dinner drinking destinations.

Fremantle bar culture — the South Terrace and High Street, Fremantle bar scene provides Perth's finest port-city drinking culture, with the Sail and Anchor (heritage hotel and craft beer institution), the Mantle Lane bar precinct (the George St, the Local), and the outdoor heritage terrace bar culture of the port city creating a distinctly Freo bar experience.

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