Drinks and the City - Perth Edit

Perth's best bars are in basements and on rooftops, in heritage buildings and converted vaults.

These nine earn your Entitled evening.

The Heritage Wine Bar & Restaurant - St Georges Terrace, CBD

The 1920s Royal Insurance Building, Donnybrook sandstone, jarrah detailing, soaring ceilings, and a pewter bar top that tells you immediately what kind of room you're in. The Heritage is Perth's most comprehensive wine bar, around 100 wines by the glass, an award-winning list, and seasonal European and Mediterranean food that earns its place alongside it.

Dark, intimate, and considered. The kind of room that makes you want to stay for a second glass and then a third. The dress code is smart. That's not a suggestion.

129–131 St Georges Tce, CBD - @theheritageperth

Bobèche - Basement, The Heritage

Same building. Downstairs. Different register entirely.

Bobèche is a speakeasy in the truest sense, dim, intimate, and focused entirely on the drink. Bartenders who know what they're doing, classic and creative cocktails, and snacks from the kitchen upstairs when you need them. Frequently named one of Perth's best bars and earns it consistently.

Start upstairs at The Heritage for wine. Move downstairs to Bobèche when the evening wants to go somewhere else.

Basement, 131 St Georges Tce, CBD - @bobecheperth

Foxtrot Unicorn - 101 St Georges Terrace, CBD

A restored 1887 bank vault. Foxtrot Unicorn still has that slightly hidden feeling, even if it has been around since 2019.

You enter through an easy-to-miss lobby, take the stairs beside the lifts, and end up in a dimly lit basement bar lined with jarrah, taxidermy, and plenty of character.

The drinks are the point. The cocktail list knows how to be creative without losing the classics, from more considered martinis to a very reliable negroni. The spirits list is strong, the beer keeps things mostly local, and the wine list has enough range to make staying longer feel like the correct decision.

Food is simple but dangerous. The fancy jaffles are exactly what you want after a few drinks.

Arrive in daylight. Leave under streetlights.

Basement, 101 St Georges Tce, CBD - @foxtrotunicornbar

Varnish on King - King Street, CBD

Hidden beneath King Street, Varnish on King is one of Perth’s original small bar heavyweights.

Tucked below a heritage-listed building in the CBD, it has the kind of subterranean mood Perth does well when it gets it right. Low lighting, timber panelling, leather booths, serious whisky, deep bourbon shelves, and just enough Southern influence to feel distinct without becoming themed.

The drinks list is deep, but the staff make it easy. Ask for a recommendation based on what you usually drink. They'll find something.

The menu leans rich and generous, with American-style share plates, bar snacks, and the cult whiskey and bacon flights. Four pours. Four styles of bacon. Very Varnish.

And if you're hungry, the Endless Steak & Fries on Thursday and Friday is dangerous information worth knowing.

75 King St, Perth CBD - @varnishonking

Songbird Bar & Lounge - The Ritz-Carlton, Elizabeth Quay

Songbird has the kind of setting most Perth bars can't compete with.

Set on Level 5, with panoramic Swan River and city views, Art Deco detailing, marble tabletops, fire pits, and an outdoor terrace built for sunset, it knows exactly what its best feature is.

The cocktail list draws from Australian birds and native ingredients, giving the drinks a strong sense of place without feeling overworked. And if you’re in the mood for a classic, the bartenders are always happy to accommodate. Case in point: when I needed a PS Martini, they understood the assignment.

The indoor-outdoor layout means it works just as well at 6pm as it does at 10pm, but sunset is the move.

Arrive before the light is gone.

Level 5, The Ritz-Carlton Perth, 1 Barrack St, Elizabeth Quay - @songbirdbarandlounge

The Embassy by Devlin's - Subiaco

The Embassy by Devlin’s makes a very good case for leaving the CBD.

Housed in the former Witch's Cauldron on Rokeby Road, the restored 100-year-old building now feels like a polished old-world dining room with just enough theatre. Cinder-orange velvet booths, Art Deco wallpaper, exposed brick, rustic floorboards, and a full-grown tree in the dining room all do their part.

The front room is steak, oysters, seafood, and the famous New York cheesecake. The back room, The Foreign Office, is where the evening moves into cocktails, Champagne, and something more intimate.

With occasional live piano and polished service, it has the confidence of a venue that feels decades old, not months.

A Subiaco detour that earns its place on the list.

87 Rokeby Rd, Subiaco - @theembassysubiaco

Rooftop at QT - QT Perth, CBD

Level 18 earns its rooftop address.

The views are the obvious draw, but the space has more going on than just height. There’s an artistic aesthetic, a well-dressed crowd, and that unmistakable QT energy: curated, self-aware, and far more interesting than a standard hotel bar.

Come for the skyline. Stay because the drinks actually hold up.

A rooftop bar that knows the view is only part of the assignment.

Level 18, QT Perth, 133 Murray St, CBD - @qt_perth

TWR - The Waiting Room

TWR at Crown Perth is full glamour, and it knows it.

Set inside Crown Towers, the lounge brings together rose-gold detailing, chandeliers, deep jewel tones, and that polished hotel-bar energy that feels a little more dressed up than the rest of the night.

The room is intimate without being too quiet. Green, purple and peacock tones run through the space, with every corner feeling considered.

The cocktail menu is music-inspired, with each drink paying homage to different eras and genres. If you like something crisp and tart, The Diamond is my personal favourite. And if you’re in the mood for a classic, they do those pretty good too.

Or take in the opulent surrounds of TWR and wind down with a World Cheese Board paired with a wine, which makes it an easy place to stay for more than one round.

Lavish, intimate, and very Crown.

Crown Towers, Perth - @crownperth

Tom's Providore & Wine Bar - Highgate

Special mention and slight detour also.

Tom's Providore & Wine Bar on Beaufort Street isn’t your typical bar. It's brighter, slower, and far more European.

Think high ceilings, natural light, a sleek interior, and a wine wall made for choosing a bottle to sit with. Pair it with deli-style lunch, charcuterie, or a cheese board, and you have the kind of afternoon that quietly turns into evening.

It's ideal for a lazy sunny aperitivo, an easy glass of wine, or a Thursday wind-down with live jazz.

Not full bar energy. More polished providore, good wine, and no reason to leave quickly.