Floating bar Arbory Afloat’s next summer theme has been revealed, and the forecast is spicy

Salt-rimmed glasses, tiny bottles of hot sauce and bold splashes of colour are about to sprout on Melbourne’s annual barge bar, Arbory Afloat, as it gears up for its eighth season with a Mexican-inspired menu and look. It follows last year’s Balearic Islands theme.

Drawing on the flavours, textures and sights of three very different regions of Mexico, but especially the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle-fringed beaches, Arbory’s Viva Mexico theme will be unveiled in the first week of September. The design is heavily inspired by a team research trip to Mexico earlier this year.

Riverside snacking will be light, bright and hand-held, with an emphasis on the citrus and spice that executive chef James Gibson saw across Mexico City, Oaxaca and Tulum.

The bar will mix up four different margaritas and a significant portion of the menu will be all about Mexico’s raw seafood dishes, from a ceviche-like prawn aguachile to salmon in a prickly pear vinegar with jalapeno-coriander oil. A premium seafood platter will feature lobster cocktails, scallop crudo and more, with habanero oil and other accompaniments.

A taco station will be on board the floating bar and restaurant, turning out favourites such as tacos al pastor and barbacoa, as well as campechanos (combination) tacos, named for the medley of meats used. Inspired by Mexico City spot Tacos Tony, Gibson has chosen braised brisket, pork sausage and chicharrones for Afloat’s iteration.

Mexico’s widespread culture of simple food prepared street-side was a huge influence on Gibson when writing the menu. “The biggest thing for me was the relationship that Mexican people have with their food. They don’t take a packed lunch to work; they stop at a canteen or taqueria.”

Three tortas, Mexico’s hulking sandwiches, will be filled with suckling pig, black beans or stringy Oaxacan-style cheese, which is being made especially by That’s Amore. The team are excited to use cactus when it’s in season over summer, plus a cricket salt seasoning (yes, the insect) that’s tart and bright. Chiles rellenos, a grilled pepper and cheese dish, has been reinvented as a vegan main, the pepper stuffed with Spanish rice, zucchini and a vegan mozzarella.

The bar’s menu mainstay of pizza gets a Mexican accent via toppings including wood-fired corn with coriander and cotija, a salty, crumbly cheese, and (controversially) ham and pineapple.

“It’s our play on an al pastor taco,” says Gibson, referring to the taco that combines rotisserie pork with charred pineapple, onion and coriander.

The fiesta starts with walk-ins in early September; reservations are available from September 15 onwards.

Yarra River, Flinders Walk, Melbourne, 03 9629 1547, arboryafloat.com.au