The happy blog

Melbourne takes craft beer seriously. From inner-city brewpubs and independent breweries to neighbourhood pubs pouring local favourites, there’s no shortage of places to explore interesting beer across the city.

Sydney’s craft beer scene is packed with great pubs, breweries and neighbourhood bars — and some of the best places to drink local beer become even better during happy hour.

Sydney loves an oyster special — and if you know where to look, you can find freshly shucked oysters for as little as $1 each. From $1 oysters in Redfern and Sydney CBD to long aperitivo sessions with oysters, wine and cocktails, some of Sydney’s best bars, pubs and restaurants are serving up seriously good-value oyster deals throughout the week.

Balmain has long been one of Sydney's favourite neighbourhoods for relaxed pub afternoons, heritage hotels and welcoming local bars. From sandstone pubs dating back more than a century to leafy courtyards, boutique cocktail venues and family-friendly institutions, Balmain is one of Sydney’s best pub suburbs.

Our Insiders visit dozens of venues each month to identify the best bar specials in Melbourne, which are then tagged as Insider Specials so you can find them all using the Insider Specials button on our app and website. Here is a selection of particularly epic new ones.

Newtown is one of Sydney's most iconic suburbs for food, live music, craft beer and late-night drinks. Whether you're after $1 wings, discounted cocktails, cheap craft beer or wine specials, Newtown has some of the best happy hours in Sydney.

The after-work happy hour scene in Melbourne CBD is stacked with dozens of epic options, and here’s the top 10 according to our Insiders right now in July 2026.

Every month our Insiders visit dozens of venues to identify the best bar specials in Sydney, which are then tagged as Insider Specials so you can find them using the Insider Specials button on our app and website. Here is a selection of particularly epic new ones.

Here are the Top 10 happy hours in Sydney CBD according to our Insiders.