Bar Local Drop

Bar Local Drop is a Collingwood wine bar built around exploration, with a cellar of more than 600 wines from producers across both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. The selection includes established names alongside emerging producers, giving visitors plenty of scope to try something familiar or discover a new favourite. Bottles can be enjoyed on site at their retail price plus a modest corkage fee, or purchased to take home.

The venue grew from The Local Drop, the wine merchant founded by Jagdev Singh in 2014, and was created to share that wine knowledge in a more direct, welcoming setting. Its approach has received Three Glasses in The Wine List of the Year Award, recognising the depth and quality of the selection. The emphasis is on provenance, quality and making wine discovery feel accessible rather than overly formal.

Food comes from Chef Damon Mcivor, whose menu draws on Modern French, Italian and Spanish influences while using local ingredients. The website does not list individual dishes, but the kitchen is designed to complement the wine rather than compete with it. The format shifts through the day: coffee is available in the morning, while Tuesday to Friday extends into lunch, drinks and dinner. Saturday begins in the afternoon and focuses on drinks and dinner, with takeaway wine available across the listed service periods.

For Melbourne locals, Bar Local Drop suits a morning coffee stop, a relaxed wine-focused catch-up or an evening meal paired with a bottle chosen from the cellar. It should appeal particularly to people who enjoy learning about wine without needing a traditional fine-dining setting. The venue is at 116 Rokeby Street in Collingwood, with its combination of on-site drinking and retail bottles making it useful for both an immediate occasion and something to take home.