From rooftops to floating bars: 10 of Melbourne’s best outdoor dining spots

Melbourne has more places to dine outdoors than first meets the eye. What the city lacks in spectacular coast-hugging restaurants it makes up for with hidden courtyards in the bustling inner-city, modest beach kiosks turned into spectacular seaside diners, and riverside cafes brimming with history. They’re not all serving fish and chips or seafood, either. Find electrifying Keralan food from southern India, highly polished Italian, and Syrian comfort food in al fresco settings.

Studley Park Boathouse

A recent renovation of this 160-year-old building on the Yarra has added cascading outdoor areas all the way down the river bank, with tables that can be booked or are available for walk-ins. After a paddle in one of the row boats, take a seat and soak up the heavenly bush setting over fish and chips in a batter so light, it borders on tempura, or a killer Caesar salad – just two dishes from a crowd-pleasing menu. Less-is-more pizzas include San Daniele prosciutto with sun-dried tomatoes, and prawn with capers and tomato.

1 Boathouse Road, Kew, studleyparkboathousekew.com.au

Sebastian

Whether you’re at a table on the sweeping bayside deck or sunk into a booth inside, deep blues meet your line of sight, whether it’s the cerulean sea or the matching decor. Spanish is the loose theme of the menu – there are gildas, jamon with melon, txakoli (Basque sparkling wine) and plenty from the charcoal grill. Lamb rump is paired with burnt onion sauce, there’s a smoked half-chicken and torched meringue comes with compressed strawberry. On a sunny day, in surrounds like this, you could swear you were at a Spanish resort.

26 Esplanade, Williamstown, sebastianbeachgrill.com

Albert’s Wine Bar

Albert’s is a destination for slow sipping and gentle grazing. Take a seat under the wide on-street verandah for wildly decadent crab toast encrusted with sesame seeds, or creamy Spanish beans studded with chorizo in a subtle mandarin dressing. A cracking wine list is full of small Australian producers and well-priced European expressions. Staying for dinner? A beautiful casarecce comes with mellow, meaty duck ragu, and puffy ricotta doughnuts with chocolate anglaise are warm and satisfying, as is the inclusion of free, good bread: a rare and welcome treat.

17 Morey Street, Armadale, albertswinebar.com

Elster

Embrace the delights of a proper lunch at this newbie that feels more like a New York bistro than a southside cafe (although you can get a flat white and granola, if you like). Perfect rump steak comes with a jug of excellent bearnaise. Chopped tuna salad is presented with aplomb, all elements separate, ready to tumble into healthy mouthfuls of fish, pickled beetroot and avocado. A raw broccoli salad feels like the great-grandchild of a Waldorf salad. Nab a spot on the generous outdoor terrace and lean into lunch.

258 Glen Eira Road, Elsternwick, elster.com.au

Arbory Afloat

It’s big, it’s bold, it floats and it returns anew, year after year, so there’s no risk of tiring of this summer mainstay. This year, Mexico is the launchpad for margaritas by the carafe, tortas and tacos, and a colourful fit-out defined by palms and grass-thatched roofs. The beauty of this floating Yarra River bar is its size – it’s rare that you can’t find a spot – and the central location, mere steps from Flinders Street Station. Fun is guaranteed by the snack-heavy menu that spans nachos, empanadas and Mexican raw fish dishes, like aguachile. During the Australian Open, matches will be screened live. Book a spot for $60 (including food and one cocktail).

2 Flinders Walk, Melbourne, afloat.melbourne

Flavours of Syria

This soulful cafe is in a laneway as colourful as what’s on your plate. If you can’t decide what to have from the breakfast menu by chef and former asylum seeker Nayran Tabiei, try the Syrian platter, which offers a little of everything, from tahini-spiked ful (slow-cooked chickpeas and broad beans) to scrambled egg and vibrant beetroot dip. Come lunchtime, sumac-sprinkled musakhan chicken splashed with pomegranate molasses is a refreshing alternative to a standard chook wrap.

Laneway, 144 Chapel Street, St Kilda, flavoursofsyria.com.au

Di Stasio Carlton

The gravel path that leads to the courtyard of this Italianate fantasy land is a summer runway for the off-Lygon who’s who. You can see why – they’re the best seats in the house when the weather gods smile on Melbourne. Of all the pizzas, the signature, lobster, is fab: thin-crusted, just-burnished, adorned with shellfish and lardo. There’s also rich and sticky carbonara – upgrade to grande for a few extra bucks – and cocktails in the colours of the Italian flag, from a creamy pistachio number to a very-now negroni sbagliato.

224 Faraday Street, Carlton, distasio.com.au/carlton

Babaji’s Kerala Kitchen Birrarung

Up in the hills of Warburton, surrounded by greenery, this south Indian restaurant’s second location feels like you’re eating in the tropics, according to co-owner Billy Crombie. Book a table in the “beer garden” to truly soak it up, as you scoop, tear and dip your way through the signature sadhya, a selection of 12 complimentary dhals, raitas, curries and vegetable dishes served on a banana leaf. Round it out with a tropical-hued cocktail, spice-crusted fish, biryani or one of the many dosas on offer.

3305 Warburton Highway, Warburton, babajiskitchen.com.au

Pipis Kiosk

Between the glittering lights of Luna Park and the blue of Port Phillip Bay, it takes a lot to tear your eyes away from the view. Yet a magazine-cover-worthy plate of grilled South Australian octopus, dashi, chickpeas and watermelon radish does just that. A plate of the signature bucatini – with buttery, briny pipis and a sauce of tomatoes smoked low and slow – also has a siren call. This classy converted kiosk offers some of the best beachside dining in Melbourne, but if you’re just after a parcel of fish and chips, the takeaway window is still going strong.

129A Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park, pipiskiosk.com.au

Her Rooftop

Pastel-coloured paving stones, wrought-iron furniture and OTT upholstery make this one of the city’s most photogenic rooftops. That would be enough for some. But you’ll stick around for more than just one drink and a few dozen photos once you try a tequila-based spritz and a few pork skewers pulled from the grills of Thai restaurant BKK downstairs. Barbecued T-bone with toasted rice nam jim dipping sauce beckons, along with a stack of noodle dishes, salads and other snacks, like chicken curry puffs. A retractable roof and heating make it comfortable whatever Melbourne’s stop-start summer delivers.

270 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, her.melbourne

The Age Good Food Guide 2024 is on sale for $14.95 from newsagents, supermarkets and at thestore.com.au.