Here are six reasons why this fresh new bar will become your new staple
Tucked away in the non-Paris end of the city, Bourke Street Green is a breath of fresh air for the business district. With floor to ceiling glass windows, overhanging plants and even a retractable roof, it's the perfect antidote to workday claustrophobia – you'll practically feel like you're in the great outdoors.
The emphasis here is on locally sourced, with beers, wines, spirits and menu ingredients centred on Melbourne and its surrounds. This bar is also the only place in Melbourne you’ll find trapizzinos – an Italian street food halfway between a pizza and a sandwich.
Bourke Street Green brings atmosphere to the business end of town with a curated yet casual vibe. Happy hour kicks off every weekday from 4-6pm and changes up with daily specials – think $7 wines on a Monday, matched mini burger and beer flights on a Tuesday, $12 cocktails of a Wednesday, a tap takeover with $10 pints on Thursdays and live DJs on Fridays to get the weekend started.
Trade in the flickering fluorescent lights of your office for a heritage building fitted out with modern style that brings the outdoors in. Amongst a lush amount of greenery you'll find a range of seating options including couches, slatted wooden tables, side seats, tall marble tables and more with live plants filling every nook and cranny. Renowned multidisciplinary design firm Bates Smart designed the space, and their talent for uniquely conceived, beautiful designs is evident in every aspect.
Bourke Street Green is all about fresh vibes and fresh air. At this bar it’s not only the doors that open – the roof does too. The outdoor bar’s specially designed retractable roof is made for drinking in the sunshine, and can quickly be deployed in the case of Melbourne's temperamental weather taking a turn for the dark and stormy, so patrons can enjoy the best of both worlds.
Bourke Street Green is the only place in Melbourne where you’ll find trapizzinos – a popular Roman street food that's a cross between a pizza and a sandwich. The venue had special moulds made to create the triangular pocket-style snacks and bakes them fresh daily. Fillings will change seasonally. The current everyday menu includes three options at just six to seven dollars each – meatball with tomato and Mepunga Gruyère, blue swimmer crab with finger lime hollandaise, and the veggo-friendly roasted eggplant and roots with carrot-top pesto. On Saturdays, an extended trapizzino menu is the perfect excuse to take advantage of the ‘Saturday City Sips’ special, featuring breakfast brews and cocktails with endless trapizzinos at just $59pp for a 90-minute session.
The gourmet answer to the humble Maxibon, Bourke Street Green’s range of housemade ice-cream finger sandwiches is created with locally sourced milk and cream between layers of biscuit and chocolate. Flavours include salted caramel with salt sourced from Mount Zero, shiraz ripple created with Four Pillars shiraz-flavoured gin, and a twist on the humble Aussie lamington with a dark chocolate and coconut flake dip. Chances are you'll be coming back to try them all.
Celebrating local is central to Bourke Street Green. Wherever possible they source from Melbourne and Victorian-based providers for food and drink, and every month they feature local producers with tap takeovers, food options, featured spirits and pop-up events. Expect to try a plant-based gin made from kale from Knoxfield’s Tiny Bear Distillery, White Rabbit’s creative craft beers brewed in Geelong, or Collingwood-based Marionette’s range of classic liqueurs made from Australian fruit sourced from a handful of farmers.