Ruby, My Dear, Newstead: If we were ranking new venues based on cool factor alone, Ruby, My Dear would still top this list. Thankfully, the Happy Fat group (Red Hook, COPPA) has backed up Ruby’s excess of style with plenty of substance. Taking cues from Japan’s listening bar scene, the group’s izakaya-meets-cocktail-bar hybrid is both a vibey hangout for music heads and hot-ticket booking for gourmands. On the food front, chef Andrew Hackworth’s menu of fun-focused fare has been earning praise – from the miso-roasted bone marrow (with a sake luge add-on that is a must try – at least once!) to the wagyu kushiyaki with sesame leaf salsa verde. So too the cocktails, with the yellow-hued sake negroni (made with Roku gin, sake and suze) and the silky Hard Boiled Wonderland (Chita whisky, plum, cherry and coconut) standing out as our personal faves. Ruby’s roster of resident and guest DJs is a who’s who of wax spinners. Selectors rifle through the bar’s fully stocked shelves of vinyl (or bring their own), playing everything – we’re talking disco, funk and soul to hip-hop and lofi records – on the ones and twos, with tunes emanating out from four state-of-the-art Pitt & Giblin speakers.

Patio by Range, Rosalie: Few Brisbane craft-beer breweries had as good a year as Range Brewing. In addition to relaunching its culinary arm Jacopo’s Pizza, bringing back its hugely successful beer festival for a second year and opening a new event space and barrel room next to its Newstead HQ, Range owners Matt McIver and Gerard Martin also cut the ribbon on Australiana-inspired neighbourhood bar Patio back in June. Housed within a character-filled space a short marinated-olive toss from Rosalie Village, Patio pairs the timeless appeal of a true-blue Aussie pub with a pinch of chic Italian alfresco vibes, creating a suburban sipping spot that’s stylish, singular and oh-so special. Even six months on, seats at Patio can be hard to come by at peak hour (bookings are still your best bet on weekends), but once you’ve scored a perch – either at the bar, in the landscaped courtyard or at one of the red-tile tables in the patio area – a dozen taps pouring Range’s selection of boundary-pushing beers alongside its own branded wines (made in conjunction with LATTA Vino) await. Oh, and you can’t forget the selection of Jacopo’s signatures on the menu. Pepperoni suppli, ‘nduja focaccia and 24-hour slow-rise sourdough pizzas? Drinking food doesn’t get much better!

Flying Colours, West End: When Simon Martin decided to call time on Super Whatnot’s masterful innings on Burnett Lane, he did so with the plan of bringing some of his inner-city haunt’s trendiness over the river to West End. Flying Colours, the spacious playground he opened on Vulture Street in July, is infused with much of the same taste-making DNA as Super Whatnot, but with an abundance of indoor and outdoor space to play around with, Simon has clearly gone bigger and better. Folks have been flocking from far and wide to snag a spot under the pastel-hued, tassel-fringed umbrellas in the leafy courtyard, on a low-set leather banquette in the listening lounge (where a rotating roster of DJs spin wax records all night long) or at a table in the dining room, where twirling specks of light ping off a giant disco ball. As is to be expected from a Simon Martin venue, the drinks list (filled with natural-leaning wines and slurp-worthy cocktails) is on point, as is the menu of produce-driven fare, devised by consulting chef Adam Wolfers and Flying Colours’ own head chef Andy Birse. Flying Colours has adopted Super Whatnot’s catchphrase, declaring ‘It’s nice here, too’. We wholeheartedly agree.

The Nixon Room, Fortitude Valley: If you’ve ever dined at Fortitude Valley standout ESSA, you’ll know that the team does everything with intention. The same can be said for The Nixon Room, ESSA’s 70s-inspired laneway bar sibling, which opened in February. But where ESSA is the studious high achiever of the family, The Nixon Room is the unabashed party animal. Here, owner Angela Sclavos and owner-chef Phil Marchant have purposefully crafted a hideaway where ties (and tongues) can be loosened and the music can be turned up a few notches. The Nixon Room’s opulently plush mid-century-inspired surrounds (shaped by Craig Channon of UME Architecture and Borhan Ghofrani) are the perfect setting for quaffing cocktails made using ingredients from small-scale farmers and distillers, while a concise snack menu showcases ESSA’s produce-forward leanings on a smaller, snacky scale. If you’re looking for one of the best martinis in Brisbane, you’ll find it here. If you’re just looking for a good time, this is also the spot to seek it. Just hunt for the golden door that swings both ways.

Antico, Brisbane City: Opening a bar isn’t easy, but the Cuatro Group (Death & Taxes, Dr. Gimlette) certainly make it look simple. Antico, the group’s cosily intimate Italian-style cocktail bar that opened on Burnett Lane in August, is a distillation of everything the Cuatro crew does really, really well. Stylish interiors? Check – the split-level space previously home to Super Whatnot has been marvellously reinvigorated via a sleek hotel lobby bar-inspired makeover. Phenomenal drinks list? You betcha – Antico’s back bar of more than 220 premium spirits is finely filtered into a tidy list of signature cocktails, each boasting the silhouette of an established favourite but with twists that make the most of in-season Queensland produce. The wine list also features a mix of key Italian varietals – think soave, montepulciano and chianti. Knowledgeable service? As always, the Cuatro brains trust (that’s owners Martin and Wiebke Lange and Blake and Belinda Ward, plus group creative director Ed Quartermass) has assembled a crack team of cocktail makers that can whip up whatever you like. Opening a bar isn’t easy, but the Cuatro team make hanging out in Antico an absolute breeze.

Dark Red, Fortitude Valley: This vibey Bakery Lane wine and cocktail bar is, perhaps, the cult hit of the year. What’s its secret to the cosy haunt’s die-hard following? There’s the wine list, to start. The selection is big on Italian vineyard imports, with an ever-changing selection to choose from, alongside easy-drinking home-grown vino from the likes of VHS Wines, Delinquente Wine Co., Defialy and Adlib Wine. Then you’ve got the cocktails, dispensed from Dark Red’s moody next-door expansion, which was launched in October. Small-batch spirits from independent distilleries are funnelled into a tight cocktail list boasting a just-perfect mix of quirk and creativity. Most importantly, however, the regulars return for a fix of owner Hannah Wagner’s warm, generous and informed hospitality. Either that or to give a belly rub to Hannah’s puppy Daisy, who can be seen most nights lapping up the attention from Dark Red’s punters.

Alice, Brisbane City: Pete Hollands of Frog’s Hollow Saloon (one of 2022’s best new bars) fame took it upon himself to address the dearth of late-late-night drinking options in The City this year. How? By opening Alice, a brand-new basement bar inspired by the heady and hedonistic heights of the 1980s. Located in a heavy-doored basement space at the end of a nondescript black-gated alleyway off Elizabeth Street, Alice might be hard to find at first. But when you discover the entrance to the boozer’s red-lit interior, you won’t find many excuses to leave, which is good, because Alice is open until 3:00 am every night. Behind the bar, Pete has parlayed a personal predilection for bourbon into a key pillar of Alice’s beverage program, stocking the likes of Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve, George T. Stagg and Redwood Empire Pipe Dream. There’s wine too, and plenty of beer. But if you’ve only got time for one drink, make it the Ramos Gin Fizz – a zippy froth-topped classic that Alice is making its signature sip. You should really stick around though – the jukebox filled with 80s and 80s-adjacent rock ’n’ roll and hair metal jams is crying out for your attention.

Working Title Brew Co., Newstead: What do you get when a cellular biologist and a graphic-design guru team up to open their own craft-beer brewery? Something wonderful and weird. That’s the best summation of Working Title Brew Co., the tipple temple Mark Howes and Luke Shields opened in April in the old Doggett Street home of Newstead Brewing. No longer a nomadic brewing outfit, the Working Title crew has relished the opportunity to brew and pour an ever-changing selection of left-field libations with impunity. You’ll find hop heads rushing in to quaff pillowy hazy DIPAs with citrus and stone-fruit notes, carbohydrate- and gluten-free sparkling mead and salted-caramel pretzel pastry stouts. The drinking food is just as eyebrow-raising. Head chef Sam Kersley is matching Luke and Mark’s penchant for experimentation by plating up the likes of fried ponzu crocodile, duck and plum sausage donburi, and pig head and blue cheese croquette baos. If you want to see what modern-day alchemists look like, you’ll find them manning the tanks at Working Title.

Midtown, South Brisbane: Strong cocktails and stellar seafood is the story of Midtown, Fish Lane’s sleek 40-seat NY-inspired bar and eatery opened by Amelia and Daniel Miletic (One Fish Two Fish) in September. Sliding into the space vacated by Butler Wine Bar, Midtown has made the martini its superstar item, becoming the spot to visit if you like your martinis gin or vodka based, dirty, dry, with a twist or an olive or two, or altered even further. It’s shaking and stirring ten variations, from the stiff classics to tasty riffs (like the Apple + Rhubarb Martini), as well as a solid mix of new-wave Australian wines, plus a few French and Italian options. Amelia and Daniel have put their experience with seafood to great use, with oyster shooters, Tasmanian salmon sashimi, wild Australian scampi caviar, mini lobster croissants and fried prawn croquettes featured alongside ten-hour barbecued brisket, butternut pumpkin tortellini and cevapi subs. 

Sunsets Rooftop, Kangaroo Point: Daniel Tuivaiti and Katrina Mead opened their rooftop bar Sunsets the same weekend as Riverfire, just in time to catch the event’s fireworks and aerial displays. Not a bad time to make a first introduction, if you ask us. Snagging one of the best vantage points of Brisbane City’s skyline (as well as a cheeky glimpse into The Gabba itself), Sunsets vaulted itself to the top of the best rooftop bar list. The team has capitalised on their good fortune, with a desert oasis-inspired fit-out matching perfectly with a menu of Mediterranean-style fare conceived by the team from Alemré Group and a drinks list led by zingy, citrus-laced cocktails. With the summer season only just starting, expect Sunsets to become increasingly more popular as we enter 2024.

Archer Brewing, Newmarket: When Archer Brewing was cleared to push back from stand and head to the runway for take-off, it marked the end of a long process for owners Stuart and Lucy Martin. After an extended hiatus, a long location-scouting process and the usual approval hurdles, the couple finally reopened Archer Brewing in a World War II-era igloo-style hangar on Newmarket Road. It is the most appropriate home the team could hope to find for a brewery inspired by aeronautical endeavour, which has since grown into a community-centric hospitality hub and not just a beer maker. Archer is now soaring comfortably at cruising altitude, with fans new and old regularly descending on the split-level, 200-seat venue to get a sip of the brewery’s core range of ales made with 100-per cent Australian ingredients (concocted by head brewer Chris Fletcher), as well as limited-run specials like a mid-strength hefeweizen.

Honourable mentions: This category was incredibly hard to whittle down to just a handful of spots. We can’t ignore a plethora of other places that deserve a mention, like The Gatsby and The Tax Office in Fortitude Valley, Ardo’s in Newstead, Hawthorne and Graceville, D.Vino and The Copacabana Club in Woolloongabba, Adela Wine Bar and Hoppers Brewing Co in Albion, The Hamsa Room and Frank’s Social Club in Paddington and Spill Wine – the Maleny wine bar from the Alba Bar + Deli crew.