The best beer gardens in Melbourne

Brunswick Street may be your best bet for smashing cocktails in Fitzroy, but if you're thirstier for an ale, make a beeline for the back streets. It's here you'll find one of Melbourne’s most vibing beer gardens for getting in your crafty pints under the sun. If you want to get a spot, make a booking or head here early in the week for a wickedly good fish pie and a drink or two. The parmas here also have a cult following (one of the best in Melbourne, in our books). Oh, and it's dog-friendly so you can bring your best friend along! 

This is, in many ways, the perfect Melbourne beer garden because it is undercover, so it’s good for all four seasons the city can offer in a day. The team at Four Pines Brewing from Manly up in Sydney turn out taps of locally brewed specialties – like the Brunswick Hazy – from some of the huge silver tanks onsite, and there is a chalkboard that helpfully lists all the new brews with three simple words that describe them best. Food options are food truck visitors plus the ‘que from Brunswick Smokers or the burgers from food truck regular Mr Burger – all of which go perfectly with the range of cold ones on offer. See also Welcome to Thornbury, its sister venue with an even bigger food truck roster.

If footy is a religion, The Great Northern Hotel is its mega-church. This sprawling sports pub has a well-earned reputation as the premier destination for locals and visitors alike to watch the game, but it's also a boss beer garden if you're more about the beers than the ball. There's a rotating selection of new and seasonal ales and pilsners, alongside full ranges from some of Melbourne's best loved breweries. The garden's also pup-friendly, and with a telly outside so you can keep up with whatever game's on. Just be prepared for noise; it gets fun and rowdy on weekends. 

A Covid-era expansion has made Brunswick’s favourite ramshackle beer garden even bigger so more people can fit under the shade of the huge central tree. The garden is a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, with plenty of astroturf and picnic tables spread out amongst the ample greenery, spray-painted murals and fairy lights. There is a back bar serving drinks and simple noodle snacks (full meals inside), and you might find a DJ in the wooden booth on the side of the garden or “Pumpy” hosting his weekly trivia nights.

One of the world’s largest craft beer operators, Brewdog, has partnered with Australia’s leading pub operator Australia Venue Co. to create a unique craft beer experience set inside the historic E-Division building at Coburg’s Pentridge Prison. Spread across two levels, the venue features a range of spaces for all sorts of experiences and celebrations, from an indoor dining room to three function areas and a sprawling beer garden  drenched in sunshine. Come summertime, we can't think of better place to spend a Sunday sesh. 

Another indoor-outdoor offering; this time with a retractable roof for when the weather turns. The beer garden side of this sprawling warehouse development is kid-friendly with a huge wooden fort for the young ones to play in, and the furry family members are welcome on this side, too. In the centre of the “garden” is a large wood-fired heater for the colder months. The taps are full of Stomping Ground’s finest, from the Laneway Lager to the Gipps St Pale Ale that are brewed just a few metres from where you are ordering them. Food is designed to sop things up – the highlight being the nduja pizza.

Is this Melbourne’s longest outdoor bar or is it a beer garden? You can sit down with a cold beer and argue about it while you look out onto the Yarra River (and Ponyfish Island) in front of you, and feel the rattle of the trains as they thunder in and out of Flinders Street Station behind you. You are so close to the platforms that commuters can look on jealously as you wolf down a classic Arbory hotdog with bacon, onion, cheese and pickles or a Southern fried chicken burger. Arbory is a Melbourne outdoor classic made even better in the warmer months by the addition of Arbory Afloat: the floating sister bar moored opposite Arbory till the weather turns cold.

Preston’s newest happening venue, the Keys, is here to make bowling cool again. Forget uninspiring interiors and lacklustre food – the refurbished warehouse comes with maple-wood furnishing and custom fittings inspired by the retro bowling alleys of the US, all with a tasteful retro touch throughout the beer garden, 12 bowling lanes, gaming arcade, bar and bistro. There are a whopping 48 beer taps pouring local faves across all three bars (yep, you read that right), DJs and delish pizzas for when the munchies strike.

At its heart, the Corner is a true blue rock venue. Did you know Tame Impala once did a show here for only $35 a ticket? But since the rooftop revamp, it's also now an excellent spot to enjoy a bevvy in a gorgeously lush beer garden. Next time you get on a train through Richmond, stop by for a pint or salute those about to grace the stage at one of Melbourne’s most iconic live music venues.

This modest shopfront on Sydney Road has a Tardis-like quality as you wander past the band room on the right of the bar, through the louche sofas of the back bar and out into the deceptively large beer garden complete with a fountain. This outdoor oasis is paved with cobble bluestone and surrounded by tropical plants and shrubs. Sit at a rusted old picnic table, enjoy the friendly neighbourhood service with an all-welcome approach and grab some simple snacks to complete the ideal outdoor afternoon session.

This food truck parking lot with a pub area attached is a cheery and pastel-painted space complete with picnic tables, timber stools, fake grass and brick booths. The Lot is different from places like Welcome to Brunswick in that it has a strong emphasis on events like Drag Bingo, Vegan Nights and even a Poutine Festival, as well as live music on the Lot stage. The entire venue is pooch-friendly, so feel free to bring your four-legged friend along, too. 

Ben Carwyn’s eponymous Thornbury bottle shop hides a 60-seat beer garden featuring its own outdoor bar. The front half of the shop operates as a not-your-average bottle-o with an incredible selection of cans, and just beyond the fridge doors is a bar with 28 beer taps pouring a range of new brews. Carwyn’s is firmly embedded in the brewing community and regularly puts on a series of events, and it has even produced its own collab offerings with breweries like La Sirene, 3 Ravens and Future Mountain. Grab one and enjoy it outdoors.

This is among our very favourite pubs in the city, one of only four with a five-star rating in Melbourne. Inspired by 1930s European taverns, the St Kilda institution boasts one of the most impressive craft beer selections in the nation. Pop upstairs to the laidback beer garden to mull over your choice under the umbrellas, or head inside if Melbourne's characteristically unpredictable weather decides to turn on you. 

Known as the 'Rochey' to regulars, this Fitzroy pub is dog-friendly and has a sizeable beer garden out back. But it's also a popular neighbourhood joint so space is always at a premium, with the outdoor area spilling out into streetside tables with umbrellas. The brick walls surrounding the back garden are covered with street art by local artists, and there's heaps of greenery. Order your drinks and meals at the indoor bar then grab a seat. 

The clue is in the name at this four-level Flinders Lane bar where light pours from above into the central atrium. This pub is run by Sand Hill Road, the same team who breathed new life into St Kilda rock pub The Espy, and they have a signature design that maximises the light in a place. In the Garden State beer garden, trees are lit up with fairy lights, giving it the feeling of a party in a greenhouse. There's a good range of beers on tap, however we recommend you take advantage of Garden State’s excellent wine list.

This Coburg local has an L-shaped, ivy-covered outdoor space popular with the wedding crowd. The pub is also the site of Coburg Brewing Co, maker of the popular local Coburg Lager as well as other local brews like the Brian Brown ale and Reynard St XPA. The food is elevated pub grub with oysters and salt cod cigars sitting side by side with a classic Coburger (meat or vegetarian). The front bar is packed on Sundays for the afternoon gig sesh, but the beer garden is where it's at when no one is getting hitched there.

Not only do they have a cracking craft beer list at this South Melbourne pub, they have a mascot dog – Billy the staffie (so famous that he appears on the pub logo) – and a courtyard that's open to your own hairy pals. The beer garden is decorated with some vintage beer posters and offers a fair bit of cover if things get rainy. The food offerings are pretty classic, but there are a few twists on a Parma including the Mexican (jalapenos and chilli) or the Greek (olives and feta).

While you may think most beer gardens specialise in serving up ales, this leafy joint has a massive and delicious cocktail menu that is playful and perfect for summer sessions. The Granny’s Ruin teams gin with green apple syrup and lemon, whereas the William Shakes-pear is a mix of vodka, pear liqueur and spiced syrup. Groups will want to order a cocktail jug – Pineapple Express, Passionfruit Pin-up or Watermelon Marg – to split and grab a table in the sunshine (fingers crossed you can snag one).

Next time you pop into the Auburn, you might barely even recognise the place. The local Hawthorn community have been gifted with a multi-million-dollar expansion to their favourite watering hole, with a new artrium-style dining hub within the adjacent Regan Motors site, kids' playground and extended beer garden additions. With plenty of new indoor and outdoor spaces to enjoy food, drinks and good times, this is one new beer garden you definitely want to check out this summer.

The Wesley Anne gothic front bar might catch your attention but it is also hiding a leafy beer garden out back with lopsided tables, mismatched furniture and bucketloads of charm. The Wesley Anne has plenty of gigs so you can often sit outside and catch the strains of whoever is playing inside while you share plates of crumbed eggplant chips, beetroot bruschetta and kangaroo tacos.

An idyllic spot for family-friendly afternoons, The Station Hotel in Footscray is home to the best steaks in the west as well as a sun-filled beer garden and kids' playground. At this beloved institution famous for its relaxed atmosphere, great craft beer and wine lists and hearty fare, you won't just want to stop in for a quick pint here – it's a destination worthy of a long, lazy dinner and drinks long after the sun goes down. 

In the back streets of Prahran this pub boasts a self-proclaimed “epic” beer garden, and it is hard to argue on a sunny afternoon with a Sunday session in full flight complete with live music, cold drinks and a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. The pub menu won’t shock anyone but there are some fancy South Melbourne touches like baked Camembert and lamb koftas. The cocktail list is impressive; try a sparkling raspberry Negroni using Melbourne Gin Company gin and Marionette bitters.