Best Bars in Brisbane: Cocktail Bars, Rooftops, Wine Bars and the Fortitude Valley Bar Scene

Brisbane's bar scene has undergone a transformation in the past decade, with the Howard Smith Wharves riverside precinct, the Fortitude Valley small bar strip, and the new wave of CBD cocktail bars establishing Brisbane as a genuinely exciting bar city rather than a warm-weather also-ran behind Sydney and Melbourne. The city's subtropical climate favours outdoor bar culture, with rooftop and riverside bars providing Brisbane-specific drinking experiences that the southern capitals cannot replicate.

Howard Smith Wharves (5 Boundary Street Brisbane CBD) — the Howard Smith Wharves heritage wharves precinct under the Story Bridge has become Brisbane's most celebrated bar and dining destination, with the Felons Brewing Co. (riverfront brewery and bar), the Mr Percival's (rooftop bar with Story Bridge views), the Greca (rooftop Mediterranean bar and restaurant), and the Boom Boom Room cocktail bar all operating within a compact riverside heritage precinct of outstanding atmosphere. The Brisbane River backdrop and the Story Bridge illumination at night make Howard Smith Wharves the finest outdoor drinking setting in Brisbane.

The Gresham (308 Queen Street Brisbane CBD) — the Gresham is Brisbane's most celebrated whisky bar, housed in the Heritage-listed 1889 Queensland National Bank building and operating a spirits library and cocktail program of exceptional depth. The 30-metre bar counter, the vaulted sandstone ceiling, and the wall of whisky create one of Australia's finest heritage bar settings.

Cobbler (7 Browning Street West End) — Cobbler is Brisbane's most celebrated small bar and cocktail institution, with the whisky and spirits focus, the intimate West End atmosphere, and the consistently inventive cocktail program earning it a devoted Brisbane bar community following and multiple Australian Bar Awards recognition.

Fortitude Valley small bar strip — the Winn Lane and Ann Street, Fortitude Valley small bar corridor provides Brisbane's most Melbourne-like bar-hopping circuit, with the intimately scaled venues, the quality cocktail and wine programs, and the night-time energy of the Valley creating the city's most active bar precinct.

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