Book for a Large Group in Melbourne
Booking for a group should count as community service. There’s a lot to manage – expectations, schedules, different palates and dietary requirements. And that’s just for a small group. Things get way more complex when you’re booking for 10 or 20 people.
Allow us to help. These Melbourne venues will let you instantly book a table for up to 10 people (and often more). Whether you’re going out with colleagues, family or friends, this guide has you covered. Godspeed, you organisational force you.
Bar
Moon Dog World
Theme parks can be for adults, too. Moon Dog is decked out with a pool, hidden tiki disco bar, giant beer garden and an indoor waterfall – and it has capacity for 725 patrons. Enjoy bar snacks and the brewery’s eponymous brews poolside before testing your skills on the pinball machines.
Bar
Harlow
Book a table online at this bright modern pub, which has a basement cocktail bar, sprawling courtyard and rooftop with city views. As for the menu? Expect pub fare, fresh cocktails and a tight wine list full of accessible drops. There’s also a function room with capacity for up to 160.
Restaurant
Yakimono
Enter the cyberpunk facade to find Chris Lucas’s two-level Japanese diner. Watch chefs turn skewered meat over jumping flames, slurp your noodles and call it good manners (it is in Japan), and sip cocktails named after Tokyo’s neighbourhoods. The place seats up to 220, and you can book a table online almost faster than you can say “yakimono”.
Bar
Kaiju Cantina
Melbourne-born brewery Kaiju is headquartered in a converted warehouse with capacity for 156 punters. Slide into a retro orange booth and try small-batch exclusives, double IPAs and the brewer’s revered tropical pale ale. You can also expect perfectly crisp Neapolitan-style pizzas.
Bar
The Keys
Choose your own adventure across three bars, 12 bowling lanes, a gaming arcade, a dance floor and a massive beer garden. At this spot (which has room for 600 punters) you clearly come for the activities. But you stay for the 45 beer taps, kegged cocktails, pizzas and pub food.
Restaurant
Chotto Motto
This place specialises in Hamamatsu-style gyoza, which is served in a crisp, hot spiral. But Chotto Motto doesn’t just do one thing well. Beyond the main event, there are impressive katsu sandwiches, juicy karaage (chicken or cauliflower), and a beer vending machine for cold Japanese suds. Chotto Motto seats 60 people and its siblings, Neko Neko and Wabi Sabi Salon, are also worth a visit.
Restaurant
New Quarter
It’s Vietnamese, but not as you know it. Slide into a booth and order fragrant share plates that might include banh mi fingers, beer tartare with pho jelly, and a playful take on caviar. Plus, a suite of Australian wines and beers (and Vietnamese lagers for good measure). There are 150 seats and you can book a group table online in minutes.
Restaurant
Dom’s Social Club
A three-storey Italian joint that’s sure to show any group a good time, with maximum capacity for 207 people. Head to the first floor for woodfired pizzas, before ascending for Italian wines and pool in the wood-panelled public bar. Save the best view for last with one of the city’s best rooftops. The best news? It’s easy to book a table online, pronto.
Restaurant
Red Sparrow
This vegan pizza joint will please everyone on your guest list (even the most avid carnivores). Pass the neon-red sparrow to find perfectly blistered woodfired pie that’s loaded with toppings. You can easily reserve a table online, and it seats up to 96 people.
Bar
The Boatbuilders Yard
One of the few times we’ll recommend combining drinking and a body of water. At this spot you can enjoy big barbeque, bar snacks and easy-drinking beers right on the water at South Wharf. This vibrant pub has room for 1400 people.
Restaurant
Bontempo
“Bontempo” means good times in Italian. And that’s almost always guaranteed at this laidback pizzeria. The service is attentive and friendly, the Neapolitan bases are prepared over 48 hours, the wine is BYO and there’s layered tiramisu to round out your meal. Plus, you can easily reserve a large table online. This bustling spot seats up to 120 people.
Bar
Riverland
Follow a dark plunging staircase opposite Flinders Street Station to find an alfresco beer hall right on the Yarra. It’s dotted with umbrellas and leafy trees. Its straightforward menu of bar snacks (think charcuterie and gourmet hotdogs) and accessible drinks list make it one of Melbourne’s more popular watering holes. You can easily book a table online for lunch, dinner or drinks – there’s room for 550 punters here.
Bar
Hobson’s Bay Hotel
Gather your people and reserve a spot at this sprawling corner pub, which has panoramic bay and city views. Head to the spacious dining room for flame-licked rotisserie meats, or the rooftop terrace that’s perfect for lazy summer afternoons with a spritz in hand. There’s room for up to 250 guests.
Restaurant
Hawker Hall
A buzzing food and beer hall inspired by Singaporean and Malaysian hawker halls. Book a table at this spot online, which seats up to 160 diners, and work your way through a hit-list of hawker market dishes. Expect various dishes of noodles, rice, roti and curry (from the trusted team behind Chin Chin, Kong and Baby). Plus, lots of easy-drinking beers.
Bar
Stomping Ground Morris Moor
The Collingwood brewery’s third venue, located in a cavernous old cigarette factory, has room for 460 punters. Find 25-plus taps pouring easy-drinking and out-there ales, plus some exclusive to the site. On the menu: cheesy pretzels, parmesan-crumbed schnitties and steaks with boozy bacon jam.
Restaurant
Hightail Bar
Take your pick from three different kitchens (Belles Hot Chicken, Mr Burger and Super Taco) and two bars at this sprawling casual food hall in the Docklands. The enormous venue was designed to channel an island oasis, with hanging plants and murals of jungle flora behind the bars. Hypothetically speaking, you could get stuck with about 950 other punters on this island.
Restaurant
Thai Tide
A neon-lit Thai diner serving dishes rarely seen outside the country. Order punchy betel leaf wraps, caramelly mackerel and ant larvae soup. Plus, there are lo-fi Australian wines and disposable cameras to capture your night.
Restaurant
Secret Kitchen CBD
You can’t walk past the live seafood tank – one of the largest in the city – without doing a double-take. This Cantonese joint specialises in fresh seafood and seats up to 150 people. Aside from the seafood, the rest of the menu has the usual dim sum favourites. You might eat Peking duck pancakes, fried rice in an omelette pouch, and steamed buns decorated like piglets.
Restaurant
Chef David
This 160-seater used to be a hotpot spot, but now it's a grill-yourself Sichuan restaurant. Come for sizzling skewers, whole grilled cod and dozens of side dishes.
Restaurant
Bird
A red neon arrow beckons you inside for a choose-your-own-chicken adventure. Just decide what cut, heat and sauce you want – then add on silky mash with 48-hour gravy and some wads of garlic-butter brioche.
Restaurant
Bhang
From the owners of Tom Phat, Bhang serves Indian street food in the north.
Restaurant
Postmistress
Wood-fired pizza, beetroot gnocchi and a special pasta from the Amalfi Coast.
Restaurant
Half Acre
This multifaceted space couples the drop-in spirit of a pub with the food of a more polished eatery.
-4b1dc07045.webp)
-d9ac90c5f1.webp)
-fbfa250c77.webp)
