Global Bar Report 2025: Australasia
A certain economic stability has helped the hospitality industry in Australia and New Zealand enjoy a new lease of life.
*This feature was originally published in the November 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
After several turbulent years, the bar industries in Australia and New Zealand are settling into a more stable trajectory. Economic turbulence has moderated across the two island nations, with inflation down, interest rates falling, and real wages gradually increasing.
Industry confidence is on the rise, with more consumers heading out to explore the creative bar openings of the past 12 months. But experienced operators remain mindful. The lessons learned during the pandemic years are still fresh, and higher operating costs are keeping margins tight.
“Any good operator is going to proceed with a healthy amount of caution at the moment,” says Matt Stirling, co-owner of Melbourne’s Caretaker’s Cottage and the newly opened Three Horses bar. “The people who are doing well have a healthy respect for the risk. But they’re doubling down on being themselves – they’re putting new concepts out there, and doing their own thing.”
Stirling, along with co-owners Rob Libecans and Ryan Noreiks, opened Caretaker’s Cottage in 2022. Since then, it’s become one of the leading lights of the Australian industry, and a mainstay on The World’s 50 Best Bars list, peaking at 19th in 2025.
The trio is representative of a new wave of bar leaders in the region: owner-operators who are less concerned with chasing trends and are more focused on originality, connecting with their guests, and forging deeper relationships with suppliers.
Local partnerships
Increasingly, bars are partnering with nearby distilleries, wineries, and breweries to build menus that focus on shared values. Local products have become a growing fixture here – from native botanical gins to Australian rye whiskies, vermouths, fortified wines, and emerging agave spirits.
“The more you’re working with local, smaller producers, it just makes sense,” Stirling contends. “We just see it as good business practice. There’s a lot of efficiency in that you can get good outcomes quickly. You know exactly who you’re working with, what they stand for, and how you mutually get value out of that relationship.”
In Sydney, the newly opened Silver’s Motel is also representative of the shift. Michael Chiem and Tynan Sidhu opened the venue in August this year, and the experienced pair are buoyed by what they’re seeing.
“We are definitely at a post-Covid normal,” says Chiem, who also owns the award-winning PS40 bar in Sydney’s central business district. “We go a little under the radar in the global scene due to our geographical distance. But the Sydney and broader Australian bar scene has been tremendously strong for quite some time now.”
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s ever-evolving bar scene has also remained something of a secret. But that’s something Theo Tjandra is hoping to change. Tjandra is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated bartenders, winning numerous local competitions, and collaborating with some of the best bartenders from the US and Southeast Asia.
Tjandra says the New Zealand hospitality scene has been “very up and down”, with the after-effects of the pandemic still lingering. But his recently opened Truth or Dare bar in Auckland has quickly emerged as a progressive push forward for the industry.
Truth or Dare champions Asian-inspired flavours from the Indonesian heritage of Tjandra and co-founder Yovin Sius. But the venue’s Old Friends section features iconic cocktails from leading bars Tjandra has worked in and visited overseas.
“We collaborate with bartenders overseas so we can introduce their cocktails to customers in New Zealand,” explains Tjandra. “We definitely want to bring more people to Auckland, and for it to be seen as a place where bar and cocktail lovers can come to.”
This global-local interplay has become one of the region’s most compelling calling cards. Australia and New Zealand may take cues from big global cities, but they’re no longer simply imitating them.
Instead, operators are using international inspiration as a base for building identities that are recognisably their own. The common thread between the two bar scenes is a strong sense of place and purpose.
Read the Global Bar Report overview and region reports on Europe, North America, South America, Africa and the Middle East and Asia here.
Bars to watch in 2026
Three Horses, Melbourne, Australia
The follow-up to the highly acclaimed Caretaker’s Cottage, Three Horses is the latest creation from Matt Stirling, Rob Libecans, and Ryan Noreiks. Set in a more traditional one-room setup just 100 metres from Caretaker’s, the space glows peach-pink beneath a vivid mural of the bar’s namesake steeds. The team delivers service as warm and inviting as their Sherry-led drinks, with each cocktail featuring a nod to the famed fortified wine. Efficient, conversational bartending, bold design, and a convivial pace make Three Horses a natural evolution from Caretaker’s, and one of the region’s most impressive new bars.
Silver’s Motel, Sydney, Australia
Silver’s Motel is in Enmore, the inner-city suburb home to some of Sydney’s best new bars. Founded by Michael Chiem and Tynan Sidhu, the fit-out is a nostalgic throwback to 1980s roadside motels, wrapped in walnut panelling and earthy upholstery. More than 350 whiskies line the back bar, with Scotland leading the charge, but all the major regions are thoughtfully represented. But this is more than a purist’s temple – the team want to break down whisky stereotypes, and introduce a new audience to the spirit. Chiem’s boundary-pushing cocktails will assist there, with the Ice Magic Old Fashioned combining caramelised whey, cacao, and vanilla-washed Bourbon.
Truth or Dare, Auckland, New Zealand
Award-winning bartender Theo Tjandra has teamed up with chef Yovin Sius to create Truth or Dare in Auckland’s Snickel Lane precinct. The space – built entirely from recycled materials – centres on a two-way open bar where guests can watch every pour and shake. There’s deep thinking and intrigue behind Tjandra’s cocktails, with some drawing on his Indonesian roots, and others making deft use of local ingredients. Soju, matcha, and tea-based creations sit next to Tjandra’s signature Ferrero Rocher – a clarified Milo [chocolate malted powder drink] and hazelnut milk punch. The drinks are paired with inventive small plates inspired by the owners’ childhood comfort food – think rice-pop fried chicken and lamb skewers spritzed with Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
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