Life on top: Melbourne's best new rooftop bars and beer gardens

• Melbourne's best outdoor dining and drinking
• Melbourne's 20 best bars of 2022

Melbourne's appetite for eating and drinking outdoors, driven to new highs over the past two summers, is being rewarded with a new wave of spectacular rooftop bars and beer gardens. There's the desert ranch-themed Full Moon Fever, Brewdog beer hall at former prison Pentridge and Harvie, perched atop an Art Deco dairy in Armadale.

"Elevated and open-air is a killer combo," says Harvie owner Nick Foley.

The rooftop makes up only a quarter of Harvie's capacity, but it's the biggest drawcard. Foley has seen people stay up there while it's raining, sheltered under their own umbrella.

Melbourne's first rooftop heyday started in 2007 when smoking was banned indoors and savvy operators scrambled to keep smokers at the bar. The same creative fit-outs that propelled drinkers skyward back then to the likes of Madame Brussels is on display once again.

"Anyone in hospitality is aware that rooftops aren't bad business… You'd choose a rooftop over a beer garden or courtyard any day of the week," says Foley.

The last two summers, however, parklets – temporary dining spaces occupying on-street parking spaces – were an essential hospitality accessory due to the dining density restrictions in force after lockdown.

Simon Denton of CBD restaurant Izakaya Den says parklets have a role, but the quality of the fit-out is sometimes lacking. "If you're serving nice food and using nice glassware, and you still feel like you're in a car spot, it takes away from your offer."

As councils now reintroduce parklet fees, density limits become a distant memory, and some parklets begin to look worse for wear, they're being overshadowed by the first-class feel of Melbourne's new outdoor bars, such as the French Riviera look at HER Rooftop .

Denton opened an outdoor pop-up bar this week, but it's not in a parklet.

In the evenings, when Postal Hall cafe upstairs from Denton's basement restaurant, is closed, he will set up a casual bar, styled on the kaku-uchi (corner bars) that are popular in Japan.

"Post-COVID, we're trying to be as creative as possible with how we do things," he says.

"We want to give [people] some new things to go to [in the city]."

Kaku-uchi gives his restaurant a street presence, with the added benefit of being slightly elevated and partially undercover, unlike a parklet.

Some councils have made their parklets permanent, including City of Melbourne, where venues currently use 141 parklets for up to $8,000 a year, after fees were waived throughout COVID-19. City of Yarra is also now charging up to $5,000 a year to at least 60 hospitality businesses using parklets.

Melbourne's hottest new rooftop bars and beer gardens

Full Moon Fever

Lulie Street Tavern has been a perennial favourite for those who like their rock'n'roll loud and their beer ice-cold. But on sunny days, its dark saloon atmosphere never felt right. Now, you can enjoy that same rocking playlist with the wind in your hair at upstairs offshoot, Full Moon Fever. The new rooftop bar sports a desert ranch look, tequila cocktails for groups and a killer sound system to crank out the classics. Importantly, it's weather-proof, an essential during this soggy summer.

Upstairs, 225 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, 0437 626 885, lulietavern.com

Brewdog at Pentridge

The idea of sinking craft beer in the remnants of a prison that once held Chopper Read will either freak you out or light you up. If it's the latter, Scottish craft brewery Brewdog's first Melbourne venue at Pentridge awaits. With capacity for nearly 500 in the beer garden alone, which is set up with ping-pong and foosball tables, the enormous venue is also dialled into plant-based eating whether it's parmas, burgers or halloumi tacos. Twenty taps pour Brewdog plus local craft brews. Big summer catch-ups, sorted.

BrewDog Pentridge, E-Division Building, 1 Champ Street, Coburg, brewdog.com/au/pentridge

Harvie

For a lesson on the power of combining two of Melbourne's favourite architectural features – Art Deco and rooftop bar – look no further than Harvie. Its 40-person rooftop has been perennially busy since opening in August, rain or shine. Perched atop the slender former Coughlan's Dairy, the story goes that the rooftop was built by its owner to enjoy a glass of milk at sunset. Now it's a spot for negronis, charcuterie, dips and other grazing fare.

109 Wattletree Road, Armadale, harvie.bar

Kaku-uchi at Postal Hall

Two CBD institutions, Izakaya Den and Postal Hall, have teamed up to create Melbourne's newest outdoor bar for summer: Kaku-uchi, inspired by the casual corner bars that are found in Fukuoka, Japan. Simple and unpretentious, the idea is to swing past for one or two drinks after work or on the way to dinner. Find sake, simple snacks like pickled octopus salad or chicken kara-aage, and imported Japanese beer. Open Friday and Saturday only.

114 Russell Street, Melbourne, izakayaden.com.au

Stella

When it's Spritz o'clock in South Yarra, there are few better places to live the high life than this new Italian palace. You wouldn't know it from the street, but there's room for 60 social butterflies on the top level, which has a black-and-white colour scheme playing backdrop to the gold-toned bar and wall of plants. Prosecco, blackcurrant and elderflower star in the Stella Royale cocktail, or there's Birra Moretti aplenty, perfect for arancini, pizza, calamari and other snacks.

427 Chapel Street, South Yarra, stellarestaurantbar.com.au

Summer Paradiso

Craft brewery Moon Dog has set up a bar under the spire of the Arts Centre this summer, providing a destination for beer-lovers who are in the city for gigs, tennis matches or arts events. As well as Moon Dog classics and special brews (hello, Barrel Aged Golden Strong Ale), there are barbecue platters and boxes from Q Barbecue to keep hunger pangs at bay. Snacks for quick pit-stops include smoked and fried buffalo wings, nachos with the crispy bits of barbecued meat and more. DJs play Friday to Sunday nights.

The Arts Centre Melbourne Forecourt, 100 St Kilda Road, Southbank, moondog.com.au

HER rooftop

Yet to strut her stuff for a full summer, HER's Italian Riviera-inspired rooftop, open since February, is ready and waiting for the clouds to part. Located mere steps from Swanston Street, you'll be high above the bustle, surrounded by soothing terrazzo and stone surfaces, curved iron furniture and pastel tones, which together add to the smug feeling that rooftop bars seem to magically bestow. A go-to for mezcal sours or charred pineapple margaritas, there are snacks from Thai street-food eatery, BKK, downstairs. Think crisp pork skewers, fried chicken wings and a full arsenal of curries, noodles and grilled dishes to share.

Level 5, 270 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, her.melbourne