Two Wong’s don’t make a right, but Three wong’s will make the night. Kicking off the best bars in Brisbane, Suzie Wong’s is the Hawaiian dive bar you’ve always dreamed of. Bringing live music, a pineapple fresh layout and cocktails for days it’s a great spot in the Valley for a late night Colada or two.

The place is so nice they named it twice. Tetto’s (meaning roof in Italian) Rooftop Bar sets itself a simple task. To give you sun, drinks, and a taste of the Mediterranean. It smashes this goal and then some. Providing pizza, spritzes and plenty of arancini, it’s a little taste of Italy right at Brisbane’s door.

Canvas gives us what all cocktail bars should’ve realised we wanted a long time ago, espresso martini’s for breakfast. It doubles down on the good times with a solid list of classics, spirits, a cheeky cheese board or two and excellent Spanish inspired food.

Tucked behind St James St, in the self-styled Lebanese Quarter of the Valley, you’ll find Gerard’s Bar. Who is Gerard? We don’t know, you may have to pop in and ask to find out. What we do know is that here you’ll find an excellent selection of Mezze, snacks and smaller dishes, with a tagine thrown in for good measure.

Sitting in a 140+ year old icon, The Gresham brings a taste of historical class to the CBD’s city bars. It backs this up with hundreds of whiskies from all around the world. Combined with an absolute avalanche of rums, gins and tequilas this is the ideal spot in the city to pop your smoking jacket on and reach all the way to the top shelf.

Brooklyn Standard is everything you need in a late-night spot. Warm wood, a great back bar, and live music six nights a week, it’s the perfect place to find the funk, seek some soul or rock a billy. Fresh off of winning Australia’s Best Live Music bar in 2019 you’ll be bound to find good times.

Neesh will bring you mimosa’s in the morning, martini’s in the evening. A cafe set up on the inside, with a handsome, lush beer garden set up out back, you can eat, drink and get caffeinated all in the same spot.  Whatever your niche, Neesh can provide.

Electric Avenue and Mrs J. Rabbits Speakeasy is the clean mullet of good bars. Seriously (good) business up top in Mrs J Rabbits Speakeasy, the absolute classic bar, and party downstairs with Electric Avenue’s solid menu to provide a base for the good times. Old school pub grub with a no nonsense attitude and drinks for days.

Stone & Wood took their time in setting up shop outside of Byron Bay, but they made sure they did it right with their Brewhouse and Feedhall (is that a word? It is now!) on Bridge Street. Offering 24 taps most of which will rotate through the S&W range, all of the Stone & Wood goods you’d expect and a solid canteen menu presented by William Wallace Catering.

Using Brisbane as it’s big base in a roll-out over Aus, Brewdog Taphouse is the flagship location for the Scottish brewers known worldwide for their wild, delicious bevs. If you’re keen to try the world’s strongest beer at a ridiculous 55% I’m sure they’ll have some round if you ask nice. If not, they’ve got taps galore and a simple, yet succinct menu to soak it up with.

Taxes and Death? Bad time. Death and Taxes? An absolutely cracking time. An excellent selection of whiskies and a leather-bound set up tucked away under Burnett Lane makes this a certifiable cool bar in Brisbane, both for air temp and atmosphere.

Mexican fare, delicious drinks, dancing room: Ivory Tusk packages it all up for you in a one-stop super colourful shop. With instructions to party from ‘Tusk til’ Dawn’ you know what you’re in for from the second you head in. Combine that with the option for taco towers, a genius idea we don’t see enough of, this is a house of excess and proud of it!

Mrs. Brown’s Bar and Kitchen is the canteen we all wish we had as adults. It takes the stress out of the dining experience through simplicity. You want a full roast chook? Got it. You want roast pork? Got it too. You want a deconstructed vegemite sandwich on 14 seeded bread and a half cup of water? Get out of town! The only thing missing would be Mrs. Brown roaming the lanes of her kitchen herself.

Cobbler wants to get you drunk on a Monday. They provide Margarita’s to this end. Friends are optional but encouraged. Cobbler’s roots stem from the (sadly) now closed Sling Lounge but have expanded. In addition to Margarita Monday’s, they’ll take you on a whiskey world tour. Cobbler is a Best Small Bar winner and frequent contender. Bring your drinking boots for this amazing Brisbane cocktail bar.

Hidden behind the big blue door on Ann st you’ll find Finney Isles, a solidly cool bar focusing on cocktails and wines. It’s an intimate vibe, perfect date place, and prebatch’s carafes of their signature cocktails. With just enough of a charcuterie and cheese board offering to tickle the taste buds. Head here for a night cap, and the night’s yours.

Sister to the aforementioned Cobbler, Savile Row is an ex-butchers hidden behind an orange door. A classy affair with a 900 strong back bar and 20 curated cocktails for tippling pleasure. Vintage, candlelit and cosy are the names of the game here. With the 3am close time they’ll be there to see you off at the end of the night. Heads up, there’s no food offering, strictly libations only.

Sixes and Sevens is the exact umbrella-ed floral affair you’d expect from a James St bar self-defined as a ‘Uniquely Queensland Public House’. They’ve worked to protect the 1878 facade on the outside and carved out space inside for solo’s, duo’s and full squads to set up shop for the night.

Mr and Mrs G Riverbar is the perfect spot to sunbake in the CBD. Next time you find yourself wondering where a soothing waterside city bar is, you’ve just found it. Simple food + tasty drinks allow the setting to speak for itself.

El Camino Cantina is the latest instalment of one of the best chains to hit Australia. Bringing tex-mex to Aussies across the land at an affordable price, and margarita’s at an unavoidable one, it’s one hell of a spot to bring friends and have a night, day or arvo you’ll remember as a blur of huge martini glasses and never-ending nachos.

Milton Common is anything but. A craft beer & wine bar and an eatery smooshed together in glorious matrimony. They homebrew a small collection of beers to pour out to the thirsty public. Not overly fancy, but just fancy enough. Also boasts a wide selection of functions spaces for any event.

Cicada is one of the best after-work bars in Brisbane. They’ve got food options from breakfast thru dinner and have a focus on fresh produce for everything eaten or drunk. A light, bright space in the day, Cicada is built for Brisbane’s sun. Function spaces galore to cover from big to small.

Bar Pacino looks over the river and Story bridge. A beautiful balcony takes advantage of this fact and the place takes itself seriously enough to get service right, without being stuffy. Great for an after-work bev.

The Grand on Stanley looks and feels like it fell out of the 1920s. The only thing it lacks is a shifty entrance you whisper a password through. The owners want to whisk you to another time, and they nail it. Built to grab a couple of cocktails and sink deep into one of their couches.

WingHAÜS is a beautifully stereotypical American diner and beer house packed into a Brisbane city bar. Big open space, American signage wherever you look, a foosball table. It’s here to provide American style good times with Australian style great beer. Only thing missing are the roller skates.

The Boom Boom Room, situated in a heritage-listed bank vault, is a verified cocktail den. Filled to the brim with soul, jazz and blues with plush red upholstery and a hint of Asian flair on the walls. You’re able to ship the snackier food options down from Donna Chang for those second dinner stomach rumbles.

Mr Percivals is directly underneath the story bridge, they utilise this location to it’s fullest potential. Here you can loaf around all day, cheers the sunset and boogie away the night to live tunes, all while keeping the city skyline in sight.

Thought the CBD needed a microbrewery? Felons Brewing Co did too, so they gutted an old 13 Best Coffee Shops in Melbourne and set up shop to feed the hungry, and water the thirsty without having to travel too far after work. Sitting right on the river in Howard Smith Wharves, you’re a stone’s throw (literally, but don’t try) from the story bridge.

You’ve been to Italian before, but you’ve never been to Coppa Spuntino. First off, they have nine different negronis for you to, respectfully, sup, an Italian tapas menu to cure the worst of hungry woes, and just enough sitting for that overdue catch up with your nearest and dearest.

Finally, a venue that dares the Kiwi’s to say its name out loud. The Wet Deck is a luxury poolside bar with views of the river and the city. Want to make a statement? See how fast you can go from besuited in the office, to togs on, in the water.

Blackbird drinking in the dead of night. An opulent riverside spot with a prohibition theme brings the party to you with every ounce of razzmatazz you’re looking for. Lounge on a leather sofa, drink out of a goblet, bask in the sun, or moon.

Super Whatnot packs as much of a bev based good time into its small space as it does into its name. It’s just off of Queen Street Mall and it brings you an ever-revolving menu to keep each time you head down just as fresh as the last. The perfect cool city bar to know on your quest to become the guy who knows all the best places.

Sea Legs Brewing Co is a mammoth 15 hectolitre brewer pumping out the 5 core beers of the Sea Legs Range on site. After a year kept in development hell, they’ve jumped from strength to strength and now offer nothing but great beers and good times. Well worth the trip.

“We’re just out here, smokin’ these meats.” Proof BBQ & Booze combines American food sensibilities with genuine Australian sensibility. It’s distinctly Australian style and craft beer menus are the perfect complement to smoked meats, chilli and a classic mac and cheese.

Bringing a taste of NY’s club kids to a Brisbane city bar, the Alba happened when Jamie Fleming (Off of Masterchef) was given free rein to make what he wanted. It’s a cosy little spot with pintxos style food, think tapas, and a solid spread of Spanish varieties to drink alongside.

The Woods is Brisbane’s answer to the Bull and Finch. They want you to feel like home, and to allow for that have squeezed all the house-liness you could expect into the space. Also expect 60 beers by the tinnie or stubbie, a solid back bar, and filling pub grub. Come for the shanks, stay for the friends.

Hello Gorgeous is a pretty spot. There’s no denying this. It backs up style with substance through the offering of some truly wild flavour combos. Coconut-crusted prawns spring to mind. There’s a whole heap of wines on offer, and some seriously special sparkling if you’re seeking to celebrate.

City Winery made a bold move in setting a winery up slap bang in the middle of the Valley. They back this up by bringing primo grapes from across Aus into their space to make whatever they want. If you’re looking for something a little different, and are done with the sem sav’s, this is the spot for you.

On top of Forester’s hall, Altitude offers exactly what it says on the tin. A rooftop is nothing without a view, and Altitude sets great cocktails + all the classics you could shake a tin at against its exceptional backdrop.

Sonny’s house of blues is gone. It’s sad but we have to move on, and helping us to move past Miss Demeanour has slipped into hole Sonny’s left behind. It’s everything you’d expect from a 140 seat underground restaurant and bar. A little bit the future, a little bit the past. It’s everything we need right now.