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.

Hello Hot Spots

Friday 8 January 2010, 1:57 PM
By The Team | Posted in Events and People and Places and Things

We can see you! Your pale skin shining in the sun.

Hot Spots is on the streets! Spicing up your summer as only a small, A6 city guide knows how. Have you seen it? It’s green and white. It has maps! It has information on the city’s newest shops, bars and rooftop spots. It has hundreds of event listings. It has interviews with a bunch of creative people (we lured them out of the Nicholas Building with icecream). It has jokes about Don Henley’s tan.

Anyway, we’ve been writing the wonderful print edition of Hot Spots for a few seasons now. After hi-fiving each other around the office, there always comes a moment – about a month after we finish writing it and a week after it comes back from the printers – when a new bar opens on a roof we’ve never before heard of, or someone in Chinatown re-invents the martini. By the time it hits the streets we wish we could add some sticky notes to everyone’s copy.

Since then, as you know, someone invented the internet. So from here on in this summer you’ll find regular posts right here from the Hot Spots team – photo diaries, interviews about new events, updates on the latest venues and general musings that we hope will keep you exploring.

(If you do actually want a sticky note, we can do that too, but we will have to draw the fashion photo updates, which won’t be quite the same.)

Bye-bye spring, hello summer

Monday 30 November 2009, 3:52 PM
By The Team | Posted in People

On the last day of spring, we thought it fitting to share our recent chat with swimwear designer Zoe Elizabeth Weir.

The time is upon us to bare those bikini bodies and the sexy Zoe Elizbeth florals are hotter than hot.

Read the interview