Pantry bare? Paloma has you covered. This Spanish-style bodega is famous for its pantry which comes stocked with pickles, ferments, and preserves (duck rillettes and house-smoked ocean trout included). House-preserved ingredients also make it on the cocktail list, which was created by manager Luke Fleming with ex-2KW bartender Vanessa Rech. Agave spirits like tequila and mezcal are a feature, alongside bitter European liqueurs like Amaro. The bar’s namesake, a Mexican tipple made from tequila, grapefruit, and soda, is a must-order. 20 Peel Street, Adelaide. palomabarandpantry.com.au.

The old Super White Drycleaners on Leigh Street has started a new cycle as a natural wine bar. Step inside for a night of minimal intervention wines and sophisticated bar snacks by owner and ex-Heston Blumenthal chef Nathan Sasi, who plates up pig’s head fritti and sheeps milk gnudi, alongside housemade charcuterie from chorizo to mortadella, pork and fennel salami, wagyu bresaola and more. The 430+ strong wine list focuses on natural and minimal intervention drops, with a preference for South Australian producers. 9 Leigh Street, Adelaide. leighstreetwineroom.com.

Look up “hidden gem” in the dictionary and you’re liable to encounter a picture of Maybe Mae – assuming, that is, that the photographer was able to find the place. Tucked away between Leigh and Peel Streets – the twin pillars of Adelaide’s laneway café and bar culture – this subterranean art-deco speakeasy boasts good beer, good wine (some of it on tap) and excellent cocktails. If you have trouble finding it, ask the guys upstairs at the equally excellent Bread & Bone Wood Grill. They’ll point you in the right direction. 15 Peel St, Adelaide. maybemae.com.

An indoor-outdoor dining space and bar that opened in early 2015, 2KW boasts what is arguably the best location of all the city’s bars – the rooftop of the Westpac building at the corner of King William and North Terrace – and what is unarguably the best view of any of them. Its entry conditions are a little strict (dress as though you’re a corporate bigwig), but it’s definitely somewhere to visit – not least for the on-tap wines, served from barrels built into the wall behind the bar. 2 King William St, Adelaide. 2kwbar.com.au.

Arguably the watering hole that kick-started Adelaide’s laneway bar scene – or the Peel Street Renaissance, if you prefer – Clever Little Tailor attracts a diverse range of customers (office workers, hipsters, the occasional food and wine writer…) with its craft beer specials, extensive wine list and even more extensive range of spirits. Find space around the bar downstairs or look for the couches on the gallery where you can watch the throng below in comfort. 19 Peel St, Adelaide. cleverlittletailor.com.au.

Attached to the East End Cellars, The Tasting Room on Vardon Avenue offers a stellar, constantly changing line-up of wines from the state, the country and the rest of the world. More than that, it offers an extensive (and surprisingly affordable) range of cured meats and cheeses to accompany them. The best part is that it’s still essentially a wine store: after enjoying a tasting flight from the winery of the week, you can buy a bottle of your favourite drop to take home. 25 Vardon Ave, Adelaide. eastendcellars.com.au.

Across Vardon Avenue from the East End Cellars and Tasting Room – and operated by the same crew – Mother Vine is arguably Adelaide’s ultimate after-work watering hole (it’s also a great place to have lunch of a weekend). It boasts a short, French-influenced menu, which changes monthly, and an extensive wine list of local and international drops, which the staff knows inside out. Ask for a recommendation. 22-26 Vardon Ave, Adelaide. mothervine.com.au.

From the team behind Clever Little Tailor, Pink Moon Saloon has already become a Leigh Street institution. The tiny Japanese-style space – it’s less than four metres wide – boasts five taps pouring a rotating selection of beer, a carefully curated wine list, a line-up of seasonal cocktails and a rather charming obsession with whiskey. Food is served from lunchtime, with the team somehow managing to fit a brick oven in on top of everything else. The space has certainly come a long way from the bin alley it used to be. 21 Leigh St, Adelaide. pinkmoonsaloon.com.au.

This Hindley Street concept bar has the 19th century running through its veins, sporting red walls and sofas, vintage mirrors and lighting to match: one comes for the atmosphere as much as one does for the drinks. While the tapas and cocktails are sure to please, it’s the wine list that really bowls one over: it’s an award-winning effort consisting of premium, iconic and eccentric drops.118 Hindley Street, Adelaide. theapothecary1878.com.au.

Inspired by the New York borough, BRKLYN is more than just a bar, it’s a deli, barbershop, and live broadcast music studio (in other words, it’s Williamsburg.) The cocktail list offers plenty of NYC-themed classics – the New York Sour, the Cold Drip Negroni, the Watermelon Collins – though the actual location of the place isn’t entirely forgotten, either. Indeed, South Australian wine features heavily, as do local beers. Though ask nicely for a Brooklyn Lager and they’re likely to find a bottle for you. Start spreadin’ the news… 260-262 Rundle St, Adelaide. brklyn-adl.com.

Cafe-by-day, bar-by-night. European by inclination, cool by reputation. Bar Torino is another Barcelona-inspired venue, with both tapas and paella on the menu and vermouth its specialty. Barcelona’s Café Torino opened in 1902 and is said to have been the world’s first vermouth bar. This Torino continues the tradition, even going so far as to base its logo on Picasso’s famous ‘Bull’s Head’ sculpture. ¡Olé! 158 Hutt St, Adelaide. bartorino.com.au.

Of course, there are drinks to be had off the Hindley-Rundle axis. Cantina Sociale, down in the CBD’s south-west quadrant, is one of the most popular wine bars in the city – doubtless because almost everything on offer is available here and only here. Small barrelfuls of experimental blends. Unusual varietals. The sort of stuff that gets made on spec, on a whim, on a dare: the mad-scientist wines. This is the stuff that never reaches the bottling stage – it just happens to reach Adelaide’s city centre. 108 Sturt St, Adelaide. cantinasociale.com.au.

One of the largest spaces on Peel Street, La Rambla takes its name from Barcelona’s famous boulevard and serves up the tapas to earn it. Occupying three levels, it features an extensive international wine, beer and cocktail list – and jugs of sangria, naturally – and is one of the most physically impressive places on the strip to boot. The former warehouse is not afraid to show off its beams and stonework and the lighting gives the whole thing a characteristically Iberian glow. 28 Peel St, Adelaide. laramblatapas.com.au.

This three-level tribute to Saint Amand, the patron saint of bartending, occupies the heritage-listed main archway entrance of the old market façade on Union Street and overlooks Ebenezer Place. It’s the place to go for cocktails – by which we mean any and every cocktail you can think of: the list tops 120 options. Go for the neon lighting and jazz. Stay for the first-class education in all things mixological. 12 Union St, Adelaide. mrgoodbar.com.au.

One of the Barossa Valley’s best-loved bars has opened an outpost on Flinders Street. Owner and executive chef David Swain has worked with former Brae chef Joe Carey to put together the menu, which focuses on produce-heavy plates, from flatbread with oyster cream, peas and zucchini to fresh tomatoes dressed in a bone marrow vinaigrette. Like the name suggests, the drinks list revolves around fine wines, with plenty of options from the Barossa Valley and beyond. 82 Flinders St, Adelaide. finovino.net.au.