150 craft beers and a wall of wine; Midtown Cellars and Bar in Ballarat is all about variety and lots of it.
Midtown Cellars and Bar is situated in the heart of Sturt Street’s 400 strip. It has quickly become Ballarat’s go-to place for craft beer and independent wine. They have been trading for 3 years now and have been slowly expanding the whole time. Being a hybrid of a bottle shop and bar means they have a very extensive range of products on offer for customers to takeaway or to consume on the premises.
There are six beer taps that are continually rotating new beers. There is also a selection of around 150 different of the latest craft beers, as well as about 200 wines to choose from.
Keep up with the latest food and booze news across the region here.
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In the bar, on top of the aforementioned bottle shop, they offer an extensive classic cocktail list, wines by the glass and many spirits, including a range of locally made gins and vodkas. All the beer on offer is sourced directly from the craft breweries, and they are all Australian – Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi.
The wine is from all over the world, but with a focus on independent, emerging winemakers – always gotta support the little guys.
Now, Midtown does serve bar snacks but they also encourage people to order in their favourite foods from the surrounding restaurants. However, if Middle Eastern is your vibe, you can enjoy a meal from the Woodside Food & Co food truck every Thursday through Saturday night. They’ve got you covered, with halloumi fries, choban salad, slow cooked lamb wraps, falafel bowls and more. Vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free diners are absolutely looked after, kids regularly clear their plates ready for seconds and the whole show creates little to no landfill. In fact, they encourage you to bring your own takeaway containers for extra karma points!
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The vibe at Midtown is a cross between wine bar and dive bar. Think dark lighting, rock music, relaxed casual atmosphere but with amazing products, not your usual dive bar swill. Owner Johnny is proud to say that they don’t really have a demographic, they attract all sorts of people and have developed an incredibly loyal customer base, but are also ever-welcoming to newcomers.
Midtown is open every day of the year, except Christmas Day. Ballarat can fall into the trap of being a sleepy regional town from Monday to Wednesday and Johnny wanted to provide a place for people to enjoy a few drinks and some chill vibes, whenever they desired. That was the catalyst to deciding to open the place. He wanted to not only bring new amazing products to the people of Ballarat, but he wanted to create a space that was accessible all the time, and so far so good, as it seems to be working a treat.
Where: 405 Sturt St. Ballarat Central
When: Monday & Tuesday 3 – 9pm, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday 12 – 9pm, Friday & Saturday 12 – 10pm.
Head down to Midtown Cellars and Bar for knock-off drinks this evening, or for a weekend session. Check out their website here for more.
