It’s all happening in Melbourne this long weekend with the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival continuing and Moomba Festival starting. The Opening Night at Moomba is a nice little date and MFWF have plenty of pleasant markets going on, but you all don’t come to this page for nice and pleasant dates. How about I kick your long weekend off with a bang this Friday night with a date that will mix two of the hottest things in Melbourne right now… Mexican’s & Rooftops.
Friday night in the CBD is notoriously a night for suits and their after work drinks. What I will try and do here is steer you clear of the local corporate after-work haunts while leading you on a suit-free date in the city. First stop, Ferdydurke. Even though it’s been open a while, I’m sure you’ll still get “the what?” when mentioning this little laneway sister bar of Section 8. Through an unassuming doorway and up a few flights of stairs you will find this cool loft style bar that is a great find for a quiet after work drink. I’d suggest you leave just before 7pm as your next destination waits.
Important to remember: It’s a little tricky to find as the address says Lonsdale Street, it’s a green door on the Lonsdale end of Tattersalls Lane.
Landing in Melbourne just as the Mexican craze hit, this restaurant hasn’t even looked like being empty. Touché Hombre is everything Melbourne loves right now, Mexican food, hipster interior design and an in-house DJ to boot. This Friday night they host a Rooftop Mexican Party with street food, tacos, beer, BBQ, dancers, live music and I’m told ‘Mexican Horror’. This will all be going down this Friday night only (March 8) on the Golden Square Car Park Rooftop. The Party kicks off at 7pm so I suggest not being tardy and best of all… It’s FREE.
Important to remember: I’m tipping the ‘secret’ will be out quickly, so get there early to avoid the lines.
After the fun and excitement, a cold cocktail in a quiet little bar will surely be on the cards – just up the road at Sweatshop / Seamstress Cocktail Bar. This multi level establishment caters for whichever mood you may be in; downstairs the Sweatshop is a darker more relaxed bar and upstairs Seamstress is more intimate and quiet. I’ll leave the choice up to you; I did always love a Choose your own Adventure book.
To finish the evening off, what I do recommend is to head to the middle level, where you’ll find the restaurant. Surely you have no more room for savoury food after all the tasty tacos you’ve eaten, so grab one of Seamstresses Sweet treats. All are clever little modern Asian inspired desserts and all are suitably delicious. Hopefully you have avoided the suits, found a hidden bar, enjoyed a pop up Mexican Rooftop Party and finished it all off with cocktails and sweets… What a way to kick off the long weekend.
Important to remember: If you choose upstairs and it’s too quiet, don’t be afraid to head straight back downstairs or vice-versa. Also the Sweets are available in the bar and the restaurant.
- Ferdydurke – 2/239 Lonsdale St
- Rooftop Mexican Party – Golden Square Car Park – 217 Lonsdale St
- Seamstress – 113 Lonsdale St
50 First Dates | Melbourne 