What's happening in Melbourne
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Get ready to get messy – you're going to get covered in colour at this Holi celebration
Everyone’s favourite chocolate treat is getting its own festival
See works from Victoria's best design students at Melbourne Museum – when they become famous you can say you saw them back when
The Planetarium opens after hours for adults-only film screenings under the big dome
Be part of Big Dance, a worldwide event where thousands of people perform the same choreography in famous locations
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After a cracker of a Saturday night we all know what it’s like to feel a little bit dusty come Sunday morning. When you realise that you’ve got only a few precious hours of weekend freedom left the panic can really start to set in. Luckily the Newmarket Hotel has the perfect antidote. Take the edge off your Sunday mornings with the Newmarket’s Bottomless Martini Brunch Sundays. Their $35 package gives your two hours of delicious drinks down in sunny St Kilda. And despite the name the package includes more than just Martinis. During your two hours you can treat yourself to Espresso Martinis, Bellinis and Mimosas as well as selected beer and wine. Naturally you’re going to want some food to accompany your drinks so the Newmarket has cut its brunch buddies a deal. When you buy the bottomless Martini drinks package you can get any brunch menu item for an additional $15. Nothing pairs with a Mimosa quite like an eggs benny or if you've a sweet tooth get a stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes with ice cream and candied bacon. There's a mean smashed avo on offer too, complete with tomato, chilli and poached eggs. Or wait around for the lunch menu and getting yourself one of the Newmarket’s hearty ‘big fella’ chicken parmas. There are three two-hour brunch sessions each Sunday. If you’re the sort of person who’s already jogged the Tan before 9am book in for the 10am session. For those who like to sleep in there are 11am and noon brunch sessions available as well. Come for the bo
What's better than getting your hands on a fresh copy of Time Out Melbourne? Getting your hands of a fresh copy for free. This year, Time Out is going quarterly in Melbourne and Sydney – and we're celebrating by handing out copies of our new-look autumn issue across both cities for two days. What's more, our new magazine is packed with all the winners of our 2018 Bar Awards, making it your ultimate guide to Melbourne's bar scene (cheers!). Read on and you'll also find a swag of fun Melbourne International Comedy Festival interviews, new restaurant reviews, and all the best events happening in Melbourne from March through to May. So where can you get it? Free copies will be distributed on Thursday and Friday, March 1-2 between 7am and 10am at following locations: Flinders Street Station (Princes Bridge exit on Thursday and Swanston Street exit on Friday) Melbourne Central Station (Swanston Street exit and La Trobe Street exit on Thursday and Swanston Street exit and Elizabeth Street exit on Friday) Flagstaff Station (William Street exit on Thursday and La Trobe Street exit on Friday) Richmond Station (Swan Street exit) Look for the friendly Time Out crew in white T-shirts, and remember: you can only get your free copy from 7am to 10am this Thursday and Friday. We think you'll like our new look. Time Out Melbourne magazine subscriptions Following a decision by our magazine distribution service to cease all subscription services in 2018, subscriptions to Time Out Me
The best of Melbourne
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If you know where to look, you can get by in Melbourne for a lot less than you'd think
Melbourne area guides
The heart of the city, home to Chinatown and some of Melbourne's best restaurants and arts institutions.
Exceptional Italian food, gelato and coffee, plus an excellent museum and theatre.
Great vintage stores, and don't miss the famous Art Deco Astor Theatre.
Is Kensington the new North Melbourne? It’s a fair call, seeing as this little pocket of northside suburbia is gaining more restaurants, small-scale breweries and property-hunting 30-somethings by the second. Bordered by North Melbourne and the virtually indistinguishable suburb of Flemington, Kensington has northwest charm in spades: there are wide, tree-lined streets, plenty of public transport (the Craigieburn train line and the 57 tram run right through it) and green spaces aplenty. Whether you’re on the lookout for a cheerful breakfast joint, a new walking track or the best African food outside Footscray, Kenso’s the place. Looking for more fun in the west? Check out our guides to Footscray and Yarraville while you're here.
Inventive bars, geek girl boutiques and envelope-pushing eateries. Plus live music institutions.
Multicultural hub, with dining options from all over the world and a thriving food scene.
The wide streets of a country town and a lovely communal feel. Plenty of good bars.
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The bustling cultural hub of St Kilda is giving Melburnians yet another reason to head towards the bay. The Hummingbird – a new music venue located downstairs from the Newmarket Hotel – opens to the public on Wednesday May 2 with a ripper launch night. Your MC for the night will be the hilariously sassy Bev Killick with a special performance from jazz songstress Alma Zygier and her band. Then DJ, event curator and ‘Boogie Beat Suite’ presenter on PBS, MzRizk, will be keeping the party going ‘til late. There are limited tickets available for punters, so if you’re keen to have a mid-week boogie and check out the new space, get in quick. Tickets are only $23.50 each and can be purchased here.
Everyone knows that Chadstone is the place for shopping in Melbourne. The massive retail centre (the largest in the southern hemisphere) buzzes daily with fashionistas discovering the latest trends, plus Melburnians from all over town gathering to dine, drink and be entertained. And the fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down – in fact, during April things will get a whole lot more magical. Make your way to Chadstone every Saturday night in April for Magic at Twilight: an enchanting month-long evening festival bringing a bit of magic back into our lives. Chadstone will light up as top magicians, illusionists and entertainers quite literally work their magic throughout the centre’s Magic at Twilight stages and spaces. On the bewitching line-up is Charlie Caper (a dashing magician who won the 2009 Sweden’s Got Talent competition – the first magician in the world to do so), James Galea (whose resume includes appearances on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Today, The Late Late Show and Access Hollywood), Perth magician Pierre Ulric and magician-turned-Survivor-contestant Matt Tarrant. Guests will also be able to gaze in awe at the acrobatic marvels of Dandy Man, whose ability to twist, flip and leap is only bested by his sense of chaotic humour. For something completely different check out Dennis Locke – an acrobat and bubble wrangler who creates giant soap bubbles and manipulates them in his mesmerising performances. There’s more entertainment to keep the mini magicians occupied too
The jolly folks over at White Rabbit Brewery invite you to follow Alice’s example and dive down the rabbit hole. But unlike Alice you won’t find a world of shrinking potions and talking cats. What awaits you is a five-course degustation dinner featuring delicious seasonal produce from South Melbourne pub O’Connell’s and matching White Rabbit brews. O’Connell’s head chef Tom Brockbank is known for his sophisticated pub fare, so you can expect a meal that goes above and beyond on flavour. He’s worked closely with the team at White Rabbit to create a meal that matches closely with five of the crew’s best beers. On the night, White Rabbit’s head brewer will be in attendance to run guests through the story of the brewery and how the selected brews have been created. And like anything inspired by Alice in Wonderland, you can expect a few surprises on the night.
Southbank's Waterslide Bar is peddling a swanky new cocktail menu and bar snacks, which make it the perfect spot for a post-work drink or a Saturday night warm up. Both menus showcase the talents of their in-house mixologists and chefs, and combine locally sourced produce with fresh flavour profiles. On the drinks front, the bar menu plays with tipples that have been inspired by bar-going regulars. You may want to order up the Camper which is a rum-infused twist on a smore (marshmallow, chocolate and gram crackers), or perhaps the Melbournian, which is Waterslide's take on a whisky sour with Starward wine cask, chai and honey with a port foam. You'll also find a handy cocktail rubric, which maps out each of the cocktails according to what they taste like to help you pick the right drink. As for food, it's all about shareable bites including starters, pizzas, charcuterie and cheese. Kick things off with fried Buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce, celery sticks and hot sauce; red miso and beer marinated lamb ribs with soy ginger mayonnaise and lotus root crisps; or pumpkin, black bean and corn empanadas. Soft and hard cheeses come served with quince paste and lavosh crackers while cold cuts including prosciutto, sopressa, bresaola and jamon iberico come served with pickled vegetables and grissini. You can also enjoy the chef's selection of both by ordering up a ploughman's platter. Find out more about Waterslide Bar.
Five-star Melbourne cocktail bar Eau De Vie has joined forces with Star of Bombay (luxury small batch, slow-distilled expression of Bombay Sapphire gin) to debut a swanky new Martini service, the Star of Bombay Martini Trolley. The custom-designed liquid nitrogen-fueled cocktail trolley will pay tribute to the ritual of creating an all-time favourite cocktail, the Martini. Inspired by the lush service experience of the classic cocktail trolley, the Star of Bombay Trolley Service menu will pay respects to the great hotels and bars that created some of the most famed Martinis in the world. Cocktails include the Edwardian, which is a riff on the Savoy Hotel's signature Hanky Panky cocktail from 1903; the Captain Ritz, inspired by the Ritz Sidecar (known as the most expensive cocktail in the world); the Simpson Martini, Eau De Vie’s adaptation of the traditional Dirty Martini from the Connaught in London; and the Magda Martini, inspired by the Dukes Hotel in London. For the Martini aficionados, you can also play by your own rules and create your very own personalised Star of Bombay Martini using bitters, brine and garnishes. You can enjoy a single Martini for $24 or enjoy a sample flight of four Martinis for $50. Reservations are essential for the Star of Bombay Martini Trolley experience. Call 03 8393 9367 or head to their website. Find out more about the Star of Bombay Martini trolley experience at Eau De Vie.
Whether you're keen to impress a date on a beautiful terrace, or simply want the most for your hard-earned, Amex Eats has you covered. Keen to collect instant rewards? You can thanks to our Side with Amex program. For more great offerings, return to the American Express casual dining hub.
We all know what it's like to be at an event or conference only to be stuck without any decent coffee. Local roaster Promised Land Coffee has set out to solve this problem by formulating and delivering hot ready-to-drink coffee anywhere in Melbourne. They gathered some of Melbourne's best baristas to brew a series of delicious specialty coffee, which can be delivered straight to your workplace or conference site. Choose from light and fruity single origins or dark roasted espresso blends, and they will deliver your selection from just $2 per cup for offices or $4 per cup for events of any size. Coffee menus change with the seasons, and this autumn they are showcasing coffee from Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala and Ethiopia. They will also kit you out with cups, lids, milk and sugar. If the weather is a little warmer, you can also opt for the coffees to be delivered chilled. We all know Melbourne is a coffee city, so set the standard at your next event and kit it out with Promised Land Coffee. Keen? Mention Time Out and you'll receive 15 per cent off any bookings in April and May 2018. Find out more about Promised Land Coffee.
The populous Mexican capital comes under the microscope in the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art's exhibition exploring the work of the 12 of the city’s leading contemporary artists. Expect boldly personal works and art that speaks to a time and place known as much for its rich cultural output as its position as Latin America's strongest economy. The exhibition is the work of Chris Sharp, an independent writer and curator based in Mexico City. He said: "A city, it could be argued, is the sum of its portrayals. The more it is depicted, the more it enters the symbolic and global imaginary, as both what a city is and what it can be. It has been claimed that if Paris was the capital of the 19th century, and New York the capital of the 20th, then Mexico City is the capital of the 21st." The line-up of artists include people who live in the city, have lived in the city, or have made a big impact on frequent visits: Francis Alÿs, Andrew Birk, Ramiro Chaves, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Chelsea Culprit, Ektor Garcia, Yann Gerstberger, Jaki Irvine, Kate Newby, Isabel Nuño de Buen, Melanie Smith and Martin Soto Climent.
