Review The Rum Diary Bar - Fitzroy

Visited this bar over the Weekend, great vibe, live music on point but the stand out in this place was the staff. Very friendly and uber efficient. Other places should come here just to see how staff should perform. A1. Will be back again

The selection of Rums is quite delicious and the cocktails are always great. Not to mention the friendly staff. Perfect atmosphere. I love this place 💕

Been here a few times now, door lady is on a power trip, insisted we check in even though we already showed vax (but why tho?). Drinks over-priced and not that good. Find somewhere else. Edit: Fair point about check-in from owner below. Nowhere else does it anymore, but it’s true it is still a requirement (didn’t realise). Also, fair point about price of drinks. Main gripe remains with attitude of the door lady as she can be unnecessarily rude. Thank you for responding.

Was recommended this place, wasn't really my vibe. Wallet burner + doesn't even have my favourite rum. I didn't find a drink option that I liked. Sorry, Rum Diary.. I don't wanna be too harsh so hopefully 3 stars is okay. No issues with staff though, maybe better for a different crowd.

One of the coolest bars around, great cocktails, friendly staff and just all round good vibe.

The waitress was extremely rude. She wouldn’t let us sit, despite there being many available tables and someone even offering their table to us! When we pointed out that someone had offered it to us, she just said “I DONT CARE!” Would NOT recommend going here. She is rude!!!!!!!!!!

Super intimate booths, a killer music playlist and delishhh cocktails make this a perfect spot for a date! A great venue with such friendly staff too! Was a joy to visit 🍸🍻

Simply awesome! This bar stocked to the brim with amazing rums! The crew are friendly, and in a great location! Recommend.

Love the drinks. lovely chatting to the Bar tender.

It's incredible how some little changes make so much impact.<br/>This bar has great vibes after the small reno it got thru.<br/>It has now become on of our favourites hangouts.<br/>Their dark & stormy is the bomb!

Stopped by the rum diary as absinthesalon was booked out and we wanted a place nearby to have drinks. Wasn’t overly busy around 10 but filled up slowly over time. Not a passionate rum fan but the cocktails were great! Cannot remember what I had but they were good. Great atmosphere, fun bar staff and a good place to get good drinks. Would highly recommend and go back!

The service was extremely average, better off going to The Black Pearl, much less pretentious with much better drinks, staff are more knowledgeable

Fantastic little dive bar on Brunswick Street. The staff are welcoming and full of patter. The night we were in they were dancing around whilst serving at a frantic pace, with the guy in the hat leading the charge. Nice moves squire! Cocktails were banging (can't remember what I had;) thanks for the night Rum Diary!

Excellent. Great service, extensive and creative menu, delicious drinks. Really good vibe about the bar with dim lighting and quirky interior. This looked like the cool place to be so we stopped in. Very happy overall, highly recommend it.

Great spot, amazing drinks and super friendly, knowledgable bar staff, and usually pretty great music playing. Highly recommend the Dark and Stormy!

Great bar - we stumbled in on a Friday night great music, cheeky staff good booze, though this cocktail did taste like a complete Thai meal !

Awesome place. Great c cocktails and ambiance. My go to bar. Their dark n stormy is hime made and is the best i have ever had. Now jus wasting characters so stupid zomato allows me to post

I'm not a huge fan of rum but my partner is, so I was pleasantly surprised by this quirky bar. We had a great bar tender who put a lot of effort into creating the different cocktails. Definitely stop by if you're in the area and want something a but different. I had the mojito and espresso martini (both rum style)

I like this bar, yet I don't especially like rum! The uber-warm & welcoming guys who work there make it what it is, along with great live music, and a creative drinks menu. Unsurprisingly, it attracts a colourful & eclectic crowd

Unbelievable nice rums, good variety, friendly staff, had a very good experience of the place, looking forward to go there again.. and also nice music..

More than 200 rums and their own home made ginger ale... Great service and an amazing Dark & Stormy! The bar staff know their stuff when it comes to rum, from Bermuda to Barbados to New Zealand. Its a decwnt bar to people watch too! Will be back with friends thats for sure..

What an absolute delight of a place! Decided to carry on a birthday celebration here after a zomato recommendation. They specialise in rum from all over the world and they make some mean cocktails. Tried out the dark n stormy, old fashioned with the house spiced rum and blood bath something (sorry just can't recall the name). Definitely a must visit for a couple of drinks and don't miss out on the quirky signs and house rules.

Good little bar. No prizes for guessing Rum is the flavour of the day. Good atmosphere and great place for a couple of drinks and bar snacks. <br/>

I remember when I 1st went to The Rum Diaries in Bondi many years ago. I absolutely love my rum and couldn’t wait to check the place out. Ended up being a horror experience, they were out of my favourite El Dorado 15 and the dude behind the bar convinced me to wax $40 beans on some other El Dorado in an odd shaped bottle that I had never heard of and it tasted like pure arse. I never went back.<br/><br/>So even though I doubt The Rum Diary Bar in Fitzroy isn’t connected. I was slightly apprehensive about this joint. The 1st sign was the fact that they had a fresh unopened bottle of El Dorado 15 just sitting there waiting for me, along with an amazingly epic selection of other rums. <br/><br/>The Rum Diary Bar in Fitzroy is a beautifully simple bar. It’s not going over the top to be something out of this world. It’s just a classic, styling rum bar with great cocktails and brilliant service. The Dark’n’Stormy was one of the best I’ve ever had. I love it when you get that strong ginger punch from the ginger beer. Sounds odd but often these drinks are over the top sweet, which I understand is probably more of a crowd pleasing thing than anything else. <br/><br/>One of the coolest things about this place was the cat behind the bar. I wish I got his name, he cracked me up so bad. While I was drooling over the unopened bottle of El Dorado 15, my mate who’s not much of a rum drinker…<br/><br/>Rick “Um...do you have any pre-mixed drinks”<br/><br/>Rum Cat gives him an odd look “...ah yeah, we have beer?”<br/><br/>I started to chuckle...and felt a little embarrassed. I wanted to say I didnt know him, but we had all walked in the door together...that’s the kind of bar/drink snob/wanker that I am.<br/><br/>Rick “...ah do you have anything sweeter?”<br/><br/>Rum Cat without missing a beat “yeah, there’s some sugar over there, I can mix that into the beer if you want?”<br/><br/>I lost it at this point...maybe he’s had this conversation before, but it killed me. I just burst out laughing. I think we convinced rick to go for a Dark’n’Stormy after that exchange.<br/> I think one of the most important parts of a bar, is the bartender and their personality. A great character and some friendly banter goes a long way. I don't think I could drink in a bar, where I can't have a friendly chat with the cats behind the bar. In spite, of the jokes at Rick's expense, it was all in jest and there was zero malice or pretentiousness about the exchange.<br/><br/>I absolutely adore a bar that specialises in something like Whisky or Rum and then follows it up by actually stocking it. I’ve been to a number places that don’t update their menus until you go and ask for it. On one occasion the Rum list was so damn out of date, after 5 tries I just asked them what do they actually have left? The Rum Diary Bar had a great selection of Rums. It was a great way to start the evening in Fitzroy. Can’t wait to go back and work my way through the rest of the selection.

Having my usual haunt for a well-deserved Sazerac closed on a Friday, I decided to try the Rum Diary bar. The service here is friendly and the drinks poured are marvellous. <br/><br/> After perusing the menu for my 2nd drink, I asked if they were able to fix me an Old Fashioned. A bright Cheshire grin flashed as the bartender lapped up the challenge and remarked that it was refreshing to have a request other than “something fruity!?!” <br/><br/>The price of a cocktail is on par with most bars down Brunswick st, but the vibe of the Rum Diary is fitting for that well-deserved Friday night drink – or 4.

If you're a fan of rum, or even if you don't think you're a fan of rum, this is one place you need to check out. <br/><br/>What it lacks in size it makes up for with the selection of its drinks. There are easily over 100 different rums from around the world here, many of which are much more complex in flavour than you think rum could be. The staff really know their stuff and will happily choose a rum for you based on your tastes.

Rudest bar staff, worst drinks, honestly you're better off going to any bar on brunswick street for a drink

Dark & Stormy. BEST DARK & STORMY YET!<br/><br/>Think they must have made their own ginger beer. Still a firm favourite on Brunswick Street.

A bar that could quite easily be missed by those passing by but once discovered you’ll be coming back time after time.<br/><br/>This super cool cosy bar in the heart of Brunswick Street is the reason why Melbourne’s has such a rich and unique bar culture. It’s super relaxed and makes you feel almost at home. The crowd are awesome, like most on bars on Brunswick Street.<br/><br/>This bar makes you feel like a pirate drinking in a small bar before heading back to sea with a bottle of rum. The décor is insane and spot on with the theme and really needs to be explored. This bar is full of little quirks. With a wall full of liquor you’re bound to find your favourite poison and have it delivered in an authentic and original way.<br/><br/>The bar staff are super talented and knowledgeable and know just about everything there is to know about rum and cocktails. Be sure to pull up a seat at the bar and pick their brains, you’re bound to have a laugh with these super friendly guys! Come here on a quiet Melbourne night to really get the most of out this bar and it’s bar tenders.<br/><br/>Just when you think this bar couldn’t serve up any more awesomeness they’re now serving up a new South American street food style menu. Who doesn’t love eating whilst drinking? The two are made for each other!<br/><br/>This bar is very hard to fault, couldn’t think of a better place to have spent International Pina Colada Day! Any other bar would have just served up the norm too much cream, coconut and rum, not the Rum Diary. Sailor Jerry rum with coconut, pineapple and lots of juice with only a small amount of cream makes for the perfect Pina Colada. Not to mention the whole production that came with our cocktails, dry ice, tiki cups and fire made this a visit one we will never forget.<br/><br/>Why would you ever need to leave? Except for the obvious fact that they do need to close, this bar has it all!

Best daiquiri I've ever had. Amazing bar, amazing selection of rum and other spirits, fantastic service, bartenders who know their classics exceptionally well - will be back! Superb.

Awesome bar and tasty food. A very cool little bar! I went here on Friday night for drinks and a bite to eat. The waiter was very helping in explaining the different dishes, it was apparant that the staff are very passionate about their jobs there. The Chilen Sav Blanc was delicious and lots of rum variety's. <br/>A good place for a romantic date or a group of mates to catch-up.

Rum diary is now doing food !!! Epic South America and Spanish inspired street food .. All off the char coal grill . Try the padrone peppers , octopus tentacles and the empanadas you won't be disappointed . Highly recommend this little gem

Drinks took over 20 minutes. We were there for Australia Day when they were doing ribs- $17 for 4 tiny ribs? Are you kidding me? In Melbourne, with so much choice- I have no idea how they survive. Do not recommend. Especially for the area they are in. :-(

Just do it man.. In a desperate attempt to avoid the sneery, cancer giving glare of the Bar Open bar tenders, we ducked into Rum Diary for a drink last night. It was crazy good. Funny, cool staff that make awesome drinks from any price range. As well as the staff being just rad as hell they play mad tunes and have an awesome outfit to chill in with your mates. I give this bar 10 Holy Tolitoes! out of Batman.

Black kingfish ceviche, corn, chilli and edamame on a tortilla wafer.

If you want tequila you go to Little Blood , if you want bourbon you go to Kodiak Bar , if you want rum you go to The Rum Diary Bar – you won’t have far to walk (or wobble) as all three are on Brunswick Street. So what’s with all the specialist bars? Clearly the good people of Fitzroy like to keep their spirit-drinking pretty specific. And we can only applaud them.