New bars flow into Melbourne's east after dry zone laws phased out (plus five to try)

Crossing to the city side of Burke Road to get a glass of wine was one of the quirks of living in Camberwell, one of Melbourne's dry suburbs, as recently as last year. But Gloria's, a generously proportioned wine bar that opened in May on the busy thoroughfare, heralds change.

It's easier than ever to open a bar or pub in eight suburbs that have been dry zones since the 1920s, after liquor laws were updated last year. Previously, bar owners had their licence application decided by a poll of local residents.

"It's pretty wild," says Lyndon Kubis, owner of Surrey Hills wine bar, The Hills. "A whole municipality was run by something decided in the 1920s."

The state government abolished the quirk in legislation and it came into effect last December when Melbourne was in a post-lockdown euphoria.

The timing meant the news fizzled quicker than an open bottle of bubbly, but slowly things are changing. There's now two bars in Ashburton, a distillery in Surrey Hills and Gloria's is joined by several other bars.

"You can almost do a Camberwell crawl now", jokes Jodie Elliott, venue manager at Running Postman Wine Bar, an update to long-running Divino Cellars in Camberwell's southern reaches.

Kubis, who went through the arduous ballot process to open The Hills wine bar in 2017, says the laws were bad for business.

It took his venue 18 months to get the licence he wanted, which would allow it to both sell wine and pour it for guests sitting in. While the ballot process played out, he traded on a restaurant and cafe licence.

"No landlord would have given us a venue rent-free for 18 months," he says.

Mont Albert cafe and grocer Via Porta also wanted to be able to sell wine, but after a small number of residents objected in 2019, the owners had to meet with the council and negotiate, offering to stick with just serving drinks on-site. That licence still took four to five months.

Nick Foley, owner of Gloria's, was facing the same process when he signed the lease on his venue. He got a pleasant surprise last year when authorities told him the new laws were about to come into effect.

"It's an archaic law," he says.

He also opened Harvie in Armadale in February, one of many bars landing in the 'burbs, closer to people's home offices. There's Albert's in Armadale, The Bank in Carnegie and Rutherford's Corner in Malvern East.

Combined with the end of dry zone laws, it points to a new chapter for the east.

"As long as everyone is doing everything the right way, it only adds to the area and amenity," says Simon Cosentino of Via Porta.

Lyndon Kubis agrees: "It builds a precinct and then people stay in that area and go from place to place."

Five new bars to try in Melbourne's east

Two Doors Brewing

This new bar-plus-brewery from couple Andy and Rach Yates breaks new ground for formerly dry Ashburton. Find highly seasonal beers, like German wheat or pale ale, alongside three or four core examples. Or settle in with a glass of wine paired with grilled chorizo, sherry and goat's curd, meatball ragu, or chicken liver pate.

257 High Street, Ashburton, twodoorsbrewing.com.au

Gloria's

Nearly 200 wines cover one wall of this roomy wine bar, sourced from places as varied as Beechworth and Armenia. Choose one and pair it with the simple bar snacks - croquettes, pate, olives - as you enjoy the irony of drinking in a building that dates to the 1920s when the temperance movement was in full swing. In the evenings, pizzas kick things up a notch, while on sunny days you can hire a picnic basket stocked with goodies.

420 Burke Road, Camberwell, glorias.com.au

Bar Alba

Centonove has been delivering Italian hospitality to Kew locals for 22 years, but on nights when you're leaving the dinner jacket at home, its more casual sibling Bar Alba is just across the street. Mortadella sliders, potato cakes dressed up with aioli, and smoked anchovy crostini are among the many snacks and small plates, served in brass, timber and stone surrounds. Wines are mostly Italian, naturally, but cocktails are proving even more popular.

132 Cotham Road, Kew, baralba.com.au

Running Postman

This corner bottle shop now offers more bang for buck, with a sunny deck, a creative cocktail list, bar snacks and up to 15 choices of wine by the glass. If you try something you like, you know that they'll have a bottle you can take home. But a snack menu also beckons: crisp polenta with hummus, salt and pepper calamari or a classic cheese board.

526 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, runningpostmanwinebar.com.au

Harvie

A strong contender for best rooftop in Melbourne, thanks to its slender art deco curves, Harvie is proving a magnet for eastern suburbs residents, a pull that will only grow as the weather warms up. Book ahead for pet-nat and prawn rolls on the rooftop, or find a spot in the equally handsome spaces downstairs including the all-weather courtyard.

109 Wattletree Road, Armadale, harvie.bar