Seven storeys up, the cherry on prime of the StandardX resort is now open to the general public. Take within the view, hit the cocktail merchandising machine and roll up your sleeves for fried rooster at On Top.
“I’ve by no means seen Fitzroy like this,” says my mate, who lives simply streets away from the rooftop bar we’ve shot up onto, on the seventh storey of Rose Street’s StandardX resort.
Admittedly, this isn’t a ’hood missing in rooftops: Naked for Satan and Marquis of Lorne are go-tos for rowdy sundown classes. But any new vantage level is a novelty in our rooftop-bar-obsessed metropolis, particularly as rooftop-bar season arrives.
But to say it’s “new” isn’t totally true. The rooftop arrived alongside the posh chain resort it crowns in August 2024, but it surely was accessible solely to visitors. Now it’s opened to the general public, with a really literal title – On Top – and a really spectacular 180-degree view.
At knock-off o’clock on a balmy spring Thursday, there’s nary a spare seat within the 60-person bar. But one of the best in the home are free: tasselled stools on its proper ledge, with an uninterrupted outlook over the CBD and the large, bulbous treetops of Carlton Gardens.
The bar itself is a looker, too. You stroll out onto chunky striped paving, surrounded by clusters of greenery and copper-coloured finishes, and there are designer lounges to sink into. Plus, importantly, it’s nicely weather-guarded, from the angular fire, to the retractable roof, to the blankets supplied to bar-goers the second it will get a bit blustery. An east-facing side means there’s no direct solar from round 5pm, and, sorry, no sundown.
But drinks stream till 10pm. Orders are taken at a small stainless-steel bar the place you’ll discover a lager and three cocktails on faucet, together with a crowd-appeasing Aperol spritz and a syrupy, zing-less yuzu margarita for $23, the identical worth as some shaken-to-order cocktails.
The house-made drinks – churned out of a galley kitchen behind the bar – are simpler ingesting, notably in case your desire is for one thing candy and fruity. The neon-orange Last Dance is sort of a Passionfruit Fanta all grown up, laced with vodka and Aperol, garnished with a lime wedge, and sipped by each second particular person within the place.
Most cocktail complexity will be discovered within the frothy-topped Nude & Rude, a mixture of smoky mezcal, bittersweet amaro and a splash of bitters. But for canned consistency, hit the self-serve drinks merchandising machine simply as you exit the carry; it’s stocked with a wide range of native batched-cocktail manufacturers, and prosecco flavoured with lime leaf and lemongrass.
On Top has Big Pre-Dinner-Drink Energy. It’s principally one and carried out, with the transient crowd – many seeming to be visitors, one who’s an avid knitter – filtering out and in throughout my go to, maybe to dine elsewhere. If solely they knew what else it needed to supply.
Expectedly dainty bar snacks vary from oysters to cheese and charcuterie. But go the entire hog – or chook, as is the case – and be rewarded. Fist-sized hunks of fried rooster might be straight out of a KFC bucket, however they surpass the Colonel with a craggy coating that whereas not adhering overly nicely to the rooster thigh, tastes finger-lickin’ good, and even higher swiped by means of the pool of spicy-sweet house-made sizzling sauce.
Melbourne isn’t devoid of first rate resort bars. But they have an inclination to draw extra travelling fits than the type of shacket-wearing creatives I see checking into the StandardX.
Given the worldwide model’s fame as a stylish spot to remain and play, and On Top’s sought-after setting, there’s potential for it to turn out to be a bar you wish to hand around in even should you’re not staying the night time. But it’s early days. For that to occur, phrase must unfold past the visitors to the nice folks of Fitzroy. And they should be keen to settle in for lengthy sufficient so it doesn’t really feel like everybody has someplace higher to be.
Three extra under-the-radar rooftop bars
Uday
Stacked on prime of just lately opened fashionable Asian cafe Odette House is a restaurant, and above {that a} rooftop bar that’s levelling up its pocket of the south-west. The headline cocktails run from enjoyable and passionfruit-y, to a pina colada impressed by Phuket.
Level 3, 43 McLister Street, Spotswood, odettehouse.com.au
Gigi
There’s little signal of Umberto Espresso Bar’s summer-only rooftop bar from the road. But climb upstairs to observe the solar set over suburbia with a spritz in a single hand and a slice of pinsa within the different. Happy hours run on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Level 2, 917 High Street, Thornbury, gigirooftop.com.au
Olympia
Locals don’t want a reminder, however right here’s a well timed one for the remainder of you: there’s a double-decker ode to the Greek islands hidden in an previous automotive park above Oakleigh Market. Go for saganaki croquettes and Greek-coffee espresso martinis.
16/18 Portman Street, Oakleigh, olympia.wine
Good Food evaluations are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a assessment or inclusion within the Good Food Guide.
