Melbourne is almost embarrassingly good at repurposing weird, disused spaces as bars. We’ve collectively turned old bank vaults (Beneath Driver Lane), bridge pontoons (Ponyfish Island) and old restrooms (Bar Americano) into houses of libation. This August another bar is joining the pack, with a glowing, neon-lit bar set to open underneath Federation Square.
The Asahi After Dark Bar is popping up in the vaults underneath Federation Square for three nights this August as part of White Night Reimagined. The luminescent bar takes you deep into the bowels of the city, with the bar accessed from platform 13 at Flinders Street Station.
The teensy bar will have two signature gin cocktails on its menu, the bold and refreshing Bloody Lemon (Four Pillars’ Bloody Shiraz Gin, bitter lemon and pink grapefruit) and the sweet Rare Ruby (Four Pillar’s rare gin, sparkling raspberry, Brazillian orange, bitters and fresh raspberries).
If you hate carrying around a wallet, good news: the After Dark Bar is cash and card free. Instead, you’ll have to download the Skip app, put in your card details, and then order your drinks via the app when you’re at the bar like something out of Bladerunner.
Entry to the bar is timed and ticketed, so head along to the booking website to lock in your spot.