Melbourne’s favourite and only caretaker-residence-turned-pub, Caretaker’s Cottage, has taken out a spot in the World’s 50 Best Bars List for 2024. It landed at #21 in an awards ceremony held in Madrid last night, making it the highest-placed venue in Australia and New Zealand.
It’s the second year running that Rob Libecans, Ryan Noreiks and Matt Stirling’s tiny but mighty bar has made the list, and it has moved up from a respectable 23 last year. The awards also saw Byrdi make its debut at 26, with Sydney’s Maybe Sammy also scoring a place in the 50. Collingwood’s 16-seat cocktail hideout Above Board, meanwhile, made another appearance in the 51 to 100 longlist, bookending the accolades with the hundredth spot.
And it’s not just the superb cocktails and creamy and precision-poured Guinness that Caretaker’s Cottage has been recognised for this year. Libecans, Noreiks and Stirling also scored themselves the Art of Hospitality Award, earning the title of the World’s Most Hospitable Bar – and, in our humble opinion, certainly the world’s most hospitable caretaker-residence-turned-pub.
Caretaker’s Cottage, Wesley Place, 139-141 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne, caretakerscottage.bar