Outstanding food/beer in the center of Melbourne. An oasis for the beer lover on a street filled with VB joints. A tad on the pricey side, but worth it. When I was there, there were 5-6 special drafts on offer, including a local belgian farmhouse style (forget the brewery/name...long evening) that was vigorously and accurately described by our bartender. The food is great, the asian fusion dishes are pretty unique, particularly for a ’serious’ beer bar. Visited a few months ago with a colleague from Singapore and they were impressed with the food, which i’ve found to be a solidendorsement. P.S., better ’pure’ thai food at a couple of hole-in-the-wall places about 1/2 mile up the street, but the food here is well worth it.

Entices me to move to Melbourne. A beer menu I want to take home me and cuddle up to in bed. The Thai food is unique and delicious. And the bill comes out in a Little Golden Winnie the Pooh book.

Excellent beer bar in central Melbourne, well presented menu with loads of local, NZ and international beers, price range is about on par with trendy(ish) bars in the city. $9 for a pint of the beast was a good deal though imo. The tap range is large, covering a lot of German and Belgian beers... staff, although busy were very friendly and actually started conversation about beers when you order something slightly different. Didnt eat. The crowd is trendy and young. Great layout and music too.

Update (May 2011): this place is not really a beer geek destination anymore. Good, not great, selection, but too many stock-outs and high prices. Service generally on the shot side but ambiance and foos remains very good.

In years gone by this place was probably not worthy of inclusion on the venue guide as a true beer destination. Don’t get me wrong - great fit-out and location, it’s just that 6 CUB associated beers doesn’t really cut the mustard. Well, I’m now pleased to report this place is on the verge of becoming the nation’s best beer bar. The drinks strategy has undergone a dramatic change such that they now may have around 200 bottled beers. Not crap stuff, genuinely good gear like Jamieson’s IPA, Rochefort, Chimay, Emerson’s, Sinha Stout, La Chouffe etc etc. Pricing is ok, $5 - $6 for basic Oz stuff through to $15 for a Rochefort 10. The only problem is that the ’in-stock’ levels are very poor; I probably had a 1 in 3 strike rate. Not really good enough but an easy problem to improve. Food is awesome, left field Thai done very well and perhaps the best I have had in Melbourne.

The first time I went to Cookie they only had a few beers to choose from and the emphasis was definatley more on the wine list and cocktails. Now though after visiting again, I was pleasantly surprised. The guest beer on tap that week was Chimay White and the beer list was awesome !! Around 220 different beers on offer including the new release Emersons Bourbon Porter, the new Jamiesons IPA ( so new it didnt even have a label ) and a shit load of German’s, Belgian’s and Italian’s with a respectable salute also to the local boys with about 50 Aussies to choose from. NICE WORK !

Odd place. I almost turned at the entrance, but it was a good thing I didn’t. They’re fairly well stocked on Australian and NZ micros and part of the staff knows their beer. Maybe not the best beer destination in Melbourne but definitely worth a stop.

I take back what I’d previous written about this place. I’d definitely recommend it now, not at the top of the list but it’s up there (and infinitely preferable to its cousin in Fed Square.) Bottled beer list is long with plenty of good choices, but fairly static with no real rarities. The real development has been in the tap range. It’s still mostly crap, but they always seem to have at least something interesting on. For instance, this is the only place to have had The Beast on tap in Melbourne to my knowledge. The other reason to go there is the food - excellent Thai. The space itself is quite good, but it does tend to get packed. Thu, Fri and Sat evenings are way too hectic for me. Usually has good music too.