Big thanks to Allen, who we met on our first weekend at Dunsborough Beachouse for the walking/drinking tour of Melbourne!
Naked for satan – Fritzroy
Our walking/drinking tour began at this quirky bar with spectator views over Melbourne city. We entered Naked for Satan on Brunswick Street in Fritzroy and headed to the bar where there were large stills of vodka being infused. Naked for Satan has the bar and seating area downstairs but everyone was heading upstairs where they also have a bar and restaurant as well as outside seating with amazing views out to the city. We decided to eat downstairs, the concept of Pintxos was really great. Pintxos is traditional in Northern Spanish, along the bar were plates of Pintxos, finger food to us! There was a huge variety of different toppings to choose from and they were delicious. They obviously believe in honesty at Naked for Satan, every Pintxos was on a toothpick, we helped ourselves at the bar then sat down to eat them, once we were finished we counted up our toothpicks and paid at the bar. I thought it was a great idea to accompany a drink and they were only $2 each. After we’d eaten our Pintxos we headed up to the rooftop bar to get a drink. We took them outside to admire the amazing views from Fritzroy to Melbourne.
Section 8 – Tattersall Lane
Our next stop was Section 8, hidden on Tattersall Lane between the Greek precinct and Chinatown was a shipping container come bar. This open air bar has a fantastic selection of drinks and a great beer garden with graffiti walls and crates for seats. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to try their food but it looked great, a small menu with hot dogs, open sandwiches, burgers and fries! I’ll be sure to try it next time.
Rooftop Bar – Curtin House
We headed from Tattersall Lane around the corner to Swanston St and the Curtin House. We headed into the Curtin House which is a 7 story building, level 1 hosts Cookie a beer hall, eating house and disco. The Toff in Town lives on level 2 which is first and foremost a performance venue with late night dining Choo Choo’s Thai. Level 3 is home to dot.Comme a boutique store with women and men’s clothing as well as the independent book store Metropolis. Mesa Verde lives on level 6 a Mexican restaurant with an outstanding selection of tequila and mezcal. We headed up to Level 7, the rooftop bar which also hosts an outdoor cinema during summer months. It was really busy on the rooftop bar being a sunny Sunday but we managed to find a seat. There’s plenty of seating up there as well as a burger hut if you’re peckish but as we found out much to our disappointment they only take cash. This is another great venue to find amazing rooftop views over Melbourne city.
Ponyfish Island – Southbank
Ponyfish Island is located on the Yarra River in between Southbank and the city of Melbourne, accessible via the Pedestrian Bridge. This is a great place to relax by the river, it was a cool night luckily they have numerous outdoor heaters. The views from here are great at night with tall hotels and offices towering over you. Ponyfish Island offers food and home brewed Ponyfish Island lager and ciders.
Bartonica – Flinders Lane
One of Conor’s favourite bars for obvious reasons was Bartonica, a underground arcade bar. Located in the city centre on Flinders Lane, Bartonica has a range of beers and food however the greatest pull is the famous retro games including Donkey Kong, Pinball, Mario Cart, Double Dragon, Time Crisis and many more! Of course we let our childish side out and exchanged our notes for coins to play some games! They also have a private Mario Cart booth which can be reserved. They also have a cool outdoor area which may attract some non gamer’s likes me.
The Workshop – Elizabeth St
The Workshop is a located on Level 1, with a great bar and great DJs. We visited this bar on Bank Holiday Sunday so it was pretty busy but they had $12 Espresso Martinis, $10 Bloody Marys and $15 jugs of Monteiths lager and cider! It was really going off in The Workshop with funky old tunes that you forgot existed but are sure to get everyone up dancing. The bar is separated by a door, the inside being comfy sofas and tables, whilst the outside (one the side of the building) has a large glass ceiling and walls with different plants growing kind of like an old green house, it’s a really cool venue, we ended up staying until closing time at 1.30am.
Chuckle Park – Little Collins St
Conor and I stumbled across this outdoor bar which is nestled between two buildings. Food and drinks are served out of the caravan window, this bar has atmosphere and real character. The caravan lies underneath leaves with wooden walls and lights in glass containers lighting up the outdoor space. We opted for one of the sharing cocktails, a peach long island iced tea which was delicious and the jug was huge we got about 3 glasses each.
