Sydney loves a cocktail, while Melbournites prefer to wash down their burger with a beer, new research into the pub habits of Australia’s two biggests cities shows.

The Happiest Hour, an app that helps people discover food and drink deals at local pubs, has revealed what just people are ordering to eat and drink when they’re out on the town.

The app allows users to enter their food and drink preferences, with some 16,300 people having added in their preferences since it became available earlier this year.

Research from that data shows that Sydneysiders love a cocktail, with 82 per cent of users listing it as a preference, ahead of 62 per cent opting for wine, 60 per cent favouring spirits and 56 per cent keen on having a beer.

Joonas Karppinen, founder of The Happiest Hour said it was fascinating to see the Sydney preference cocktails. Cocktails are the most popular food and drink item on the platform, with many preferring to get their order in during happy hour to save some money.

The popularity of the chicken parmigiana is dipping, the data suggested. Photo: Getty

In Melbourne, beer is the number one beverage, with 75 per cent of people surveyed selecting it.

Cocktails come a close second in Melbourne, with 70 per cent choosing it as a preference, followed by wine at 59 per cent.

Sydney and Melbourne seem to have one thing in common though.

Cider was the least favourite drink in both cities.

“While beer takes the overall food/drink top spot in Melbourne, it’s second last out of beverage choices in Sydney,” Karppinen said.

“This significant difference between the two major cities indicates that Sydneysiders prefer cocktails, wine, and spirits over beer. It’s worth noting that more venues have introduced food and wine combo specials over the past year, aligning with the data suggesting wine’s popularity in both cities.”

The forgotten pub classic

In Sydney, tacos and pizza tied in first place when it came to pub grub, whereas in Melbourne, burgers were the favourite, followed closely by pizza.

Karppinen noted that it isn’t too surprising tacos and pizza are top picks, given they are sharable and social.

“It’s much easier to share a pizza than a steak,” he said.

It also seems a one-time pub favourite is out of favour in both Sydney and Melbourne.

In Sydney, only 26 per cent listed a parma as their preference, while in Melbourne, where the dish is legendary, only 39 per cent of users had it listed as their pick.

“It’s interesting to see the legendary parma, especially renowned in Melbourne, scoring low in both cities, slipping from its near-top position a decade ago,” Karppinen said.

Additionally, seafood, wings, roast and schnitzel also received relatively lower rankings in both Sydney and Melbourne.