Bar Selecta Hawthorn

Bar Selecta Hawthorn is a laneway bar centred on music, drinks and shared listening. Tucked behind 717 Glenferrie Road, the venue opens from Wednesday to Sunday from 4:30pm until late, with music programming that brings together world-class DJs and record lovers. It is a place to settle in with a drink, listen to vinyl and spend an evening at your own pace.

Music is part of the venue’s regular rhythm. BYO Vinyl Sundays invite guests to bring records, take a 30-minute turn on the decks and share their favourite tunes from 5pm. The Vinyl Social listening club offers a more guided format, with each session built around a theme and guests encouraged to bring a record, introduce a song or simply let it play. The In the Listening Room series takes a deeper dive into recorded music; one programme focused on Blue Note Records and the label’s influential jazz catalogue.

The drinks list gives particular attention to whisky and sake, alongside cocktails. The whisky selection includes bottles such as Adelphi Linkwood, Blair Athol, Hazelburn, Kilchoman Loch Gorm and Sazerac Rye. Sake offerings include Kawatsuru Sanuki Cloudy, Akishika Junmai Ginjo, Abe Black Junmai and Hanatomoe Yon-Dan Junmai. Gift cards are also available for whisky, sake, cocktails and relaxed visits.

Bar Selecta also hosts collaborative events that extend beyond the bar’s regular music programme. Past listings include a Vietnamese New Wave and Eurodisco-inspired night with cocktails and Asian-inspired skewers, a guided tasting of six sakes from across Japan, and an Okinawa-inspired event featuring cocktails, tastings and yakitori from Nama’s Chef Geoff until sold out. These events suggest a venue suited to music-focused groups, curious drinkers and solo visitors who enjoy a listening-room setting, with the programme changing across the month.