Bars and Nightlife in Ballarat: Sturt Street, Bridge Mall and the Goldfields Scene

Ballarat's bar scene has improved substantially over the past decade, moving well beyond its traditional hotel pub culture to include quality wine bars, craft beer venues and cocktail bars that reflect the city's growing Melbourne-migrant population. Sturt Street in the CBD is the main bar and restaurant strip, with a run of heritage sandstone and bluestone buildings housing quality bar operations. The Bakery Hill precinct has added contemporary hospitality options. Bridge Mall's ground-level commercial strip has pubs and bar-style venues popular with the Friday night after-work crowd. The Ballarat Brewery on Bridge Street (founded in 1857) is a heritage institution with taproom operations. Several boutique wineries in the Pyrenees and Grampians regions 60-90 minutes from Ballarat supply wine bars in the city. The Eureka Centre precinct and surrounds host periodic outdoor events with bar operations in the warmer months. Ballarat's arts community connection has produced several bar and performance hybrid spaces that run live music and comedy alongside drinks.