Best balconies and rooftops – Part 1

Thursday 28 October 2010, 12:10 PM
By The Team | Posted in Places

Recently we asked our fans and followers to name their favourite balcony or rooftop in Melbourne. If the enthusiastic responses are anything to go by (we’ve lost count of the number of exclamation marks used) our love for open spaces and city views did not waver during winter.

Fortunately for us outdoor-loving souls, Melbourne has no shortage of quality bars offering a perch above the city streets. We’re so perch-happy in fact that we’ve had to split this story into two parts. If we missed your favourite here, wait for the part two, we have more coming!

And so, on with the show: Part 1 of our guide to rooftops and balconies in Melbourne city ­– as dictated by our Melbourne-loving fans and followers.

Siglo Bar

With one of the most impressive views in the city, Siglo is the icing on the cake for the building that houses The European (ground floor) and The Melbourne Supper Club (level one). Flanked by the beautiful Princess Theatre, and facing Parliament House (pretty as a picture at night), Siglo offers an elegant, sophisticated balcony experience with an extensive drink list.

Red Hummingbird
Flamboyant but tasteful décor, an array of actually comfortable couches plus generous cocktail mixes is enough to get noticed in the Melbourne bar scene, but when you add an awesome rooftop bar to the mix, you get a special scarlet feather in your hummingbird’s cap. Look for the red bird cage on Russell Street to find the entrance to this lovely spot.

Emerald Peacock
There’s plenty to admire at the Peacock. Vintage wallpapers give each space its own distinctive look. Perch on a plumped ottoman sipping the house cocktail until the sun comes out, then dash up to the knock-out rooftop deck and roost yourself in front of a respectable view.  During summer Emerald Peacock hosts Manhattan Sundays on the deck with DJs, laid back urban beats, ‘hot dawgs’ and a summer breeze.

Sarti
Found in Russell Place, Sarti is a sophisticated spot for those who like their al fresco authentically Italian. Boasting a seriously urban view and extensive wine list, Sarti offers a stylish, quiet nook to hideaway in the middle of the city. Toast to good food, wine and friends. This is living!

PALMZ at The Carlton Hotel
If you like Piña Coladas, make the climb to the top of The Carlton Hotel for a touch of tropicana above Bourke Street. The split-level PALMZ is where you might expect Malibu Barbie to hang out should she visit Melbourne. Vividly coloured plastic furniture, bar staff in Hawaiian shirts, and bamboo, bougainvillea and palm trees make the colourful cocktails (and you’ll need one after the final flight of stairs) seem right at home.

Madame Brussels
The darling of Melbourne’s balconies is Madame Brussels. The décor – the astroturf, lawn furniture, staff in old fashioned country club outfits – makes a casual drink feel like a fancy dress party. Enjoy cucumber sandwiches, delightful frosted cupcakes and a Pimms on the terrace. Then garden party like it’s 1869.*

The Deck, Mercantile Place
Summer is perfect for wandering along the Yarra. Why not wander past the Aquarium to the corner of Flinders and King Street and up the stairs to Deck Mercantile Place, atop The Waterside Hotel. This open air deck is huge and boasts a barbecue, comfortable outdoor lounges and unique views of the city. On Tuesdays, nibble on a gourmet pizza and wash it down with a beer or glass of wine for a mere $10.

Match Bar + Grill
There’s nowhere quite like Match in Melbourne – although it does have sister bars in London and Ibiza. This swanky clubhouse comprises a restaurant, cocktail bar, lounge and ‘Wine Wall’ (just insert credit card). But Match’s pride and joy is its sprawling, partly-covered deck overlooking the State Library lawn, where you can loll blissfully upon lounges as though Swanston Street is your Mediterranean Sea.*

Transit Lounge
On the roof of Transport Hotel, Transit Lounge is cosy in a sumptuous, leather-upholstered, flatteringly-lit kind of way. The spacious outdoor deck offers river and city views, perfect for a sun downer. For a birds-eye view of the Yarra, Transit Lounge Garden is a pole-vault away on level three at Transport.*

Campari House
Campari and soda with a slice of orange is the definitive taste of summer, so the happily named Campari House is a good spot for a bit of wiling away a hot summer nights. The 1968 building has been lovingly restored, offering multiple floors from which to marvel at the décor and art-lined staircase. On the rooftop you can sup on tasty wood-fired pizzas while taking in amazing city panoramas.*

Stay tuned for Part 2 featuring Rooftop Bar, Cho Gao, Workshop, Cabinet, Blue Diamond, Order of Melbourne and Cookie.  Have we missed anything? Let us know!

*Words taken from our beloved Hot Spots publications.

Hot Spots: three steps to fashionable music success

Monday 6 September 2010, 4:31 PM
By The Team | Posted in Events

What’s that weird look on your face? We saw it. You were squinting! Without getting ahead of ourselves, it seems safe to suggest that spring is actually here. And we have exactly two things on our minds right now.

First, the memory of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week  still looms large in our wardrobes. Second, we’re rather excited about today’s launch of the first ever Melbourne Music program. We’ve decided to combine these obsessions to bring you a fashion-focused guide to the Melbourne Music program.

The Bedroom Philosopher: dressing for the 86 tram.

Having just finished his Songs From The 86 Tram national album tour, Justin Heazlewood (aka the Bedroom Philosopher) is getting ready to play some sets on ‘actual trams’ during Melbourne Music as part of the Live On The Tracks series. How should you dress for the shows?

Based on the YouTube hit ‘Northcote (So Hungover)’, filmed on the 86 (Bourke Street) tram, we guess he’d tell you to wear something that’s ‘all about anger and fashion.’ Be careful in those skinny pants, though. Justin had to go to hospital the other day.

‘It’s these new jeans man. I just couldn’t get my wallet out.’

Fashion forward buskers 

Working in Melbourne’s great outdoors adds a degree of difficulty to any task - especially when it comes to your outfit. How do buskers decide what wear? How do they choose between a plastic poncho or head-to-toe silver paint?

Melbourne’s buskers will come together during Melbourne Music to battle it out for the title of Best Busker in the Street Change concert at City Square. For once they’ll have a covered stage, so they can leave the poncho at home. 

We’re not sure who will be entering this event, but, just in case, we would like to nominate  jazz busker group Milestones for the ‘Melbourne’s Best Reservoir Dogs Look-Alike’ Street Change award.

Serge Gainsbourg style tips

Screening at ACMI for Melbourne Music, Je t’aime: The Filmic Lives of Gainsbourg and Birkin is a series of films celebrating the work of French music icon Serge Gainsbourg – and his famous love. The late Frenchman was a brooding pin-up for classic elegance in men’s fashion, and the tailored leather jacket was one of his wardrobe staples.

For the Gainsbourg look, we recommend a visit to Swedish fashion house and creative collective Acne, based in Melbourne’s GPO. 

Visit www.melbmusic.com to view the full Melbourne Music program.

Hot Spots: The Play Team

Tuesday 31 August 2010, 4:42 PM
By The Team | Posted in Events

Craft Victoria’s annual Craft Cubed Festival (or, to the mathematically inclined, ‘Craft To The Power Of Three Festival’) wraps up with a closing party at 31 Flinders Lane this Saturday. The festival’s theme of ‘Childhood’ will by no means prevent Joe Pascoe and his team from breaking out the champers we’ve come to expect at such soirees.

Between now and then, though, there’s a far less grown-up Craft Cubed event that you shouldn’t miss.

The brainchild of Ben Landau and Alex Desebrock, The Play Team is a series of workshops for grown ups at Birrarung Marr’s (usually) kids-only art space, Art Play.

Ben and Alex know that, buried deep beneath our worries about tax returns, car insurance and the interest payments we can avoid through credit debt transfers, lies a crazy child who just wants to ride a cardboard box down the stairs. So they’re inviting us to come and make some toys with them on 1, 2 and 3 September.

You: ‘Toys? What are they?’

Ben: ‘Remember building a box cubby to keep the dragons out? How many ways can you make a giraffe? Remember everything a cardboard tube can be?!’

Don’t deny it, you totally remember. Book yourself a spot on the Play Team. At $5 a pop, each session will cost you a week’s pocket money. Ask your mum for a loan though, ‘cos all the other kids are going.

The Play Team, 1, 2 and 3 September, 5.30pm to 7pm. Book here.