Listening bars inspired by Japanese jazzkissaten are opening across Australia. Here are six of the best.
From retro road trip revivals to heritage stays, nostalgia is powering a new way to travel. Listening bars, also known as jazz kissaten, are part of this movement. Emerging from Japan’s Shōwa era (mid-1920s to late 1980s), these groovy hangouts are fitted out with quality sound systems and vinyl records. Today, the best listening bars in Australia pair killer soundtracks with tasty bites and unique ambiences, transporting patrons to faraway places.
Loom Lounge, Sydney
Immerse yourself in a music lounge experience.
Whichever way you spin it, Loom Lounge has raised the bar in Crows Nest, North Sydney. From tracks that throw back to the ’60s to bass-heavy hip-hop, the music is selected based on the mood the DJs want to create. The concept, from Li’l Darlin in collaboration with the Sultry Group, is about creating an immersive space where music is much more than just a bit of blah background noise. Sip on cocktails and graze on late-night snacks such as arancini balls, chicken tacos and Peking duck pancakes.
Sonny, Hobart
Get treated to good beats and good food. (Credit: Jesse Hunniford)
You can sit at home and stay plugged into Soundcloud. Or you can slink into Sonny , the Hobart/Nipaluna bolthole where the conversation hums along with the bassline. While Sonny doesn’t bill itself as a listening bar, it has a stack of vinyl that you can give a spin. Beyond being wired for sound, chef Sam Bray has a passion for provenance, serving just-shucked Tassie oysters with low-intervention wine.
Bahama Gold, Melbourne
Music enthusiasts will have a blast engaging with their favourite tunes. (Credit: Monica Styles)
Fill your cup as well as your fridge at Bahama Gold . The music at the Lygon Street listening bar is as meticulously curated as the drinks list. While the sound is strictly vinyl, the bar is also a hi-fi temple featuring $60,000 worth of equipment imported from the USA. The 12-seater venue sits underneath a 500-bottle wine cellar, so you can choose a bottle and pay corkage, or select wines by the glass. Order snacks and small plates prepared next door at Old Palm Liquor.
Ode to Sirens, Fremantle
Ode to Sirens celebrates good music with equally exciting Greek food.
Listening bars are opening with increasing frequency in Freo. And Ode to Sirens is one for serious musos. The DJs at this immersive bar in Perth/Boorloo’s port city provide playlists that add even more personality to the 1970s-styled space. While the jazz kissa concept is strong, the Hellenic-inspired food and funky wines are also integral to the experience. Expect those analogue sounds to amp up with cocktails named after songs.
Honeydripper, Adelaide
Honeydripper gives an unparalleled listening experience. (Credit: Neasan McGuiness)
Today’s listening bars are places where high-quality sound systems, good food and wine intersect. The vibes are amplified at Honeydripper in the heart of Adelaide/Tarntanya, thanks to the seductive sounds produced by a rotating line-up of local DJs. While the music played in the luxe, intimate space is the focus, drinks also move the needle when it comes to elevating the mood, as each cocktail is paired with a song.
Disuko, Melbourne
DISUKO is a spot for izakaya plates and music-led energy.
Translated from the Japanese word for ‘disco’, Disuko is an homage to 1980s Tokyo disco culture. Enjoy izakaya dining in cosy nooks while listening to vinyl tunes. With hanging glow balls, late-night snacks and specialty sakes, it’s one of the best listening bars in Australia for night owls.
Carla Grossetti avoided accruing a HECS debt by accepting a cadetship with News Corp. at the age of 18. After completing her cadetship at The Cairns Post Carla moved south to accept a position at The Canberra Times before heading off on a jaunt around Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America. During her career as a journalist, Carla has successfully combined her two loves – of writing and travel – and has more than two decades experience switch-footing between digital and print media. Carla’s CV also includes stints at delicious., The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, where she specialises in food and travel. Carla also based herself in the UK where she worked at Conde Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times’ Travel section before accepting a fulltime role as part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK. Carla and has been freelancing for Australian Traveller for more than a decade, where she works as both a writer and a sub editor.
Time your visit to Margaret River just right, and you can spend the ultimate weekend wining, dining and exploring the region with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.
Wine, world-class produce, surf, sun and beaches: it’s an alluring combination. And the reason so many pin the Margaret River region high on their travel hit-lists. There’s drawcard after drawcard to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, and the Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover food and wine festival showcases the best of it over the course of one weekend in November. It’s never been easier to sip, see and savour the Margaret River region.
In partnership with Pair’d Margaret River Region, Range Rover invites you on a seven-day itinerary of refined adventure, where luxury and exploration go hand in hand. It’s the perfect WA road trip, and there’s no better way to do it than in a Range Rover.
Day 1
Check into Pullman Bunker Bay.
There’s no more popular West Australian road trip route than that between Perth and the Margaret River Region. It’s an easily digestible, three-hour drive, with worthy pit stops along the way.
Make the first of them one hour and 15 minutes in, at Lake Clifton. Here, find a 2000-year-old living thrombolite reef. Drive for a further 40 minutes and chance meeting some of Bunbury’s dolphin population at Koombana Bay.
Pullman Bunker Bay is the final stop, just over three hours south of Perth. This beachfront, five-star resort is the ultimate base for exploring the Margaret River Wine region.
Day 2
After a leisurely morning breakfast with an ocean view, start your Range Rover and head towards the Dunsborough town centre. Browsing the decidedly coastal-themed goods of the town’s many independent boutiques is a great way to while away the hours, breaking up the sartorial with an artisan gelato snack stop, or some good old-fashioned Australian bakery fare.
Leave room; you’ll need it for the Good Natured Gathering dinner at Wayfinder. Indulge in a four-course feast by chef Felipe Montiel, which uses produce from the winery’s market garden to enhance a selection of sustainably sourced seafood and meat. But food is just the support act. It’s organic wine that’s the star of the show, generously poured and expertly paired to each dish.
Day 3
Settle in for cabernet at Cape Mentelle Winery.
With a grand total of 20 wines from vintage 2022 to try, it’s a good thing Cape Mentelle’s International Cabernet Tasting kicks off early. Make your way to the estate for a 10:00 AM start, where a global selection of wines will be poured blind, before a long lunch by Tiller Dining is served.
Given that the Margaret River is responsible for more than 20 per cent of Australia’s fine wine production, it’s only right to delve into it while in the area.
Continue exploring the region via taste and terroir aboard Alison Maree, a whale-watching catamaran, as you cruise Geographe Bay . Admire the rolling green hills and crisp white beaches of Quindalup in sunset’s golden light, all the while sipping through the Clairault Streicker catalogue and dining on canapes.
For a more substantial dinner, venture into Busselton for a seven-course British x Australian mash-up , courtesy of Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion) and Oliver Kent (Updown Farmhouse, UK). They’ll be putting their rustic yet refined spin on the likes of local marron, wagyu and abalone – championing the simple beauty of the world-class ingredients.
Day 4
Elevate your dining experiences at Pair’d X Range Rover Beach Club.
Wrap your fingers around a wine glass and wiggle your toes into the sand at Pair’d Beach Club x Range Rover on Meelup Beach. Sit down to an intimate wine session with sommelier Cyndal Petty – or a four-course feast by Aaron Carr of Yarri – and revel in the open-air beach club, bar and restaurant’s laidback coastal vibe. It’s a whole new way to experience one of the region’s most renowned beaches.
Follow up a day in the sun with a casual Italian party at Mr Barvel Wines . Purchase wines –including the elusive, sold-out Nebbia – by the glass and enjoy canapes with the towering Karri forest as a backdrop.
If you’d prefer to keep it local, head to Skigh Wines for the New Wave Gathering , where the region’s independent wine makers and their boundary-pushing wines will be on show. Street-style eats, a DJ and complimentary wine masterclasses complete the experience.
Day 5
Taste your way through Howard Park Wines. (Image: C J Maddock)
Spend the morning at your leisure, driving the winding roads through the Boranup Karri forest in your Range Rover. Soak in the views at Contos Beach, and call into the small cheese, chocolate and preserve producers along the way.
Make your next stop Howard Park Wines for The Grand Tasting presented by Singapore Airlines . Numerous wine labels will be pouring their catalogues over four hours, accompanied by food from chefs Matt Moran and Silvia Colloca, with live opera providing the soundtrack.
Cap off a big weekend with one last hurrah at Busselton Pavilion. Six ‘local legends’ – chefs Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion), Mal Chow (Chow’s Table), Aaron Carr (Yarri), Ben Jacob (Lagoon Yallingup), Corey Rozario (Dahl Daddies) and Laura Koentjoro (Banksia Tavern) – will be preparing a dish each. Dance the night away as vinyl spins and the sun sets on another day.
Day 6
Head underground. (Image: Tourism WA)
After a busy few days of wining and dining, it’s wise to observe a rest day. There’s no easier task than unwinding in the Margaret River Region, also famous for its high concentration of world-class beaches.
Relax on the grassy knoll as you watch the region’s most experienced surfers braving the World Surf League break at Surfer’s Point, or don your own wetsuit and try out one of Gracetown’s more beginner-friendly waves. Swimmers will find their Eden at Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay, or Point Piquet, where the sand is brilliantly white and the water as still as a backyard swimming pool.
Not into sun, sand, and surf? Head underground at Mammoth Cave, just one of the region’s many stalactite-filled caves.
Day 7
Farewell the Margaret River.
Pack up your Range Rover with new favourite wines and newfound memories, ready for the three-hour journey back to Perth.
