Nominations for the Boothby Best Bars Victoria awards are open now
Nominate your favourite to land a spot on the Top 50, and a chance at winning one of seven major awards.
It’s time to kick off the Victorian leg of the Boothby Best Bars awards program for 2025.
This is the third year for the Boothby Best Bars Victoria awards — you can look at last year’s awards here — and we’re looking forward to seeing who you think is making Victoria a great place to drink in 2025.
The Boothby Best Bars awards program is all about what makes the drinking great in each state. Great bars speak to a time and place, and the big idea with the Boothby Best Bars program is to get a better view of how we drink right now.
But the Boothby Best Bars awards are also about throwing a great big hospo party to celebrate the industry, too.
So we’ll be doing just that, as we count down the Boothby Best Bars Victoria Top 50 on Monday 1 September at Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters in Melbourne — stay tuned for invites.
And as we countdown the Top 50, we’ll also hand out seven major awards along the way: the Victorian All Time Great presented by Club Suntory; Person of the Year Victoria presented by Jack Daniel’s Bonded; the Best New Bar in Victoria presented by Angel’s Envy; Best Hospitality Team Victoria presented by Perrier; Best Cocktail Bar in Victoria presented by Ilegal Mezcal; and the Best Bar in Victoria presented by Never Never.
We’ve also added a new award to the slate in 2025, one that recognises the need for many bars to offer not just great drinks, but great food as well: the Best Bar Eats in Victoria presented by Estrella Damm makes its debut this year.
Nominations are open now in the form below, and close at 11:59pm on Thursday 31 July 2025. It takes just one nomination to be considered in the next round of voting, and self-nominations are encouraged.
Learn more about how it works — and have your say — below.
How does it work?
Nominations are open now. We’re after nominations for the best bars in Victoria (in the form below), with an emphasis on nominees from regional cities and towns. We also want you to tell us who should be named Person of the Year Victoria.
After nominations close at 11:59pm on 11:59pm on Thursday 31 July 2025, the Victorian Boothby advisory panel — consisting of bartenders, bar owners and other industry figures — will cast their votes based on the nominations, which will need to include at least two venues from outside their own city.
On Monday 11 August, invites to attend the Boothby Best Bars Victoria event will be sent out to representatives of the bars on the list.
And then on Monday 1 September, we’ll gather at Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters to celebrate the best bars in Victoria, countdown the Top 50 all the way to the number one, and hand out the major awards. It’ll be a blast!
Have your say in the form below, now.