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MELBOURNE | Remember that open air carpark in Chinatown where people used to drunkenly wait for a taxi on Saturday nights? Well it’s gone, replaced by Park Melbourne, a new small bar that’s doing things a bit differently.
It’s owned by Maz Salt, the person behind popular bars Section 8, Ferdydurke, Globe Alley, and the B East. Park Melbourne has been designed to return some of the former car park’s history to the area, pre-development. To that end, architects Baracco+Wright have created something simple, and reintroduced the area’s indigenous plants and wildlife. It’s sparse, but it works, with a huge colourful mural on the back wall reminding you that you’re in Melbourne.
There’s numerous long communal tables and seats dotted throughout the space, along with a covered section that houses a DJ and can be used for private functions. To the left is a retro Airstream caravan. It serves as the bar, which offers up a small selection local craft beers, wine, coffee, and soft drinks. For food, it’s fresh baguettes and Pie Thief pastries, along with a rotating roster of pop-ups. When I visited it was dumplings and skewers on the menu.
There was some controversy when Park was put to council for approval. Some believed that it didn’t fit in with the character of the area, being in the heart of Chinatown. I think that it’s a great fit. It doesn’t detract from what’s there, rather it blends in and adds further vibrancy to the street. Certainly a whole lot better than a dark, concrete filled car park.
Park Melbourne
138 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: n/a
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Sun – Wed: 8:00am to 11:00pm
Thu – Sat: 8:00am to 1:00am