Expanded riverside outdoor dining

By Meg Hill

Southbank has had its riverside outdoor dining expanded with two new precincts.

Mirvac’s Riverside Quay precinct is hosting a series of pop-up al fresco spaces, and Southgate is turning its section of the Yarra Promenade into an outdoor dining venue until mid-2021.

In an announcement in November, Mirvac said it had worked closely with the City of Melbourne on its open dining initiative to encourage people back into the city.

Mirvac has used modular pop-ups to expand outdoor operations for five of its tenants – Left Bank, Hopscotch, Ludlow, Soho and Breslin.

The quickly-built modular structures were created by Spacecube and allowed fast and flexible expansion of the existing outdoor terraces at Riverside Quay.

Kate Beech, a Mirvac national manager, said the activation was a chance for Mirvac to support its retailers and the broader city recovery.

“The lockdown has been challenging for the entire community in Melbourne, particularly retailers. We’re excited to be able to create something really special and uniquely Melbourne for Riverside Quay this summer that will encourage workers and visitors out, and support our tenants,” she said.

“As we emerge from lockdown, we know people are looking for outdoor, open-air spaces to enjoy. Riverside Quay already has an abundance of outdoor seating and terraces, and it’s fantastic to be able to extend out these al fresco spaces along the Yarra.”

Southgate’s outdoor dining precinct includes dining options and seating stretching over 800 sqm between the Evan Walker and Princes Bridges.

Restaurants on offer at Southgate include Pure South, Waterfront, BearBrass, PJ O’Brien and La Camera.

Founder of Pure South Group, Philip Kennedy, said the new outdoor dining offering at Southgate was the best in the CBD.

“The riverside seating is going to be a game-changer for the precinct - restaurants will be positioned beautifully under tree line shade with unrivaled views of our great city,” Mr Kennedy said.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the increased capacity involved in outdoor dining was vital.

“It’s great to see more outdoor dining coming to life across Melbourne because it allows restaurants and cafes to increase capacity and welcome more diners. This means more money going through cash registers and more Melburnians getting back to work,” the Lord Mayor said.

The launch of outdoor dining at Southgate is the first of many exciting plans to roll out at the precinct with a “Southgate Summer Series” event program to be announced in December, which will include Melbourne Music Week celebrations and new partnerships with GoBoat Melbourne.

Supporting Southgate’s COVID-safe practices is the installation of various sanitisation stations throughout the precinct and limitations on dining capacity in-line with state government policy. Additional cleaning programs have also been implemented and restaurants activating the new pop-up spaces along the river will support Southgate’s broader COVID-safe strategy through various contact tracing technologies •

For more information: southgatemelbourne.com.au