RFK Rankings · Melbourne
Best Restaurants for Rooftop in Melbourne (2026)
Rooftop dining with a view · Melbourne · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published February 27, 2024 · Updated June 9, 2026
A Melbourne rooftop only earns a ranking here if there is a real kitchen behind the view, not just a cocktail list. The six below run from a 40th-floor dining room high over the Yarra to a Fitzroy terrace plating Basque pintxos at sunset. Drinks-only rooftops, however famous the vista, are sent to the anti-list at the foot of the page.
1.Strato Melbourne
Melbourne's highest dining room, 40 floors over the Yarra and bay, with a real Feed Me menu. Book for the view.
Strato sits on Level 40 of the Oakwood Premier tower at 202 Normanby Road in Southbank, about 139 metres up, with a 360-degree sweep over the skyline, the Yarra and Port Phillip Bay. This is a proper dining room, not a snack bar: the kitchen runs an à la carte menu around 120 to 160 dollars a head and a chef's-choice Feed Me degustation with matched wines.
The floating outdoor lounge takes the view outdoors when the weather holds. It is the choice when the height is the point, a celebration or a visiting-client dinner that needs to show off the city. Book a window table at dusk and let the kitchen run the Feed Me menu.
2.Siglo
The Parisian-style terrace over Parliament and St Patrick's, oysters and charcuterie by the brazier. Reserve for a classic Melbourne night.
Siglo, the open-air terrace above the Melbourne Supper Club at 161 Spring Street, looks straight across to Parliament House and St Patrick's Cathedral, braziers and ivy giving it a Parisian-rooftop feel. The kitchen plates oysters, caviar, charcuterie and small plates rather than full mains, so a meal runs roughly 50 to 90 dollars a head depending on how far you push the caviar.
It is an institution, the rooftop Melburnians take out-of-towners to, and the late licence makes it a long-evening room. The menu is small-plates light rather than a degustation, so come to graze with wine over the view; the terrace takes bookings and the Supper Club below carries on past midnight.
3.Naked in the Sky
Fitzroy's fifth-floor terrace with one of the best northern skyline views, Basque pintxos all night. Try it for a relaxed group.
Naked in the Sky is the fifth-floor rooftop above Naked for Satan at 285 Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, open since 2010 and still one of the best skyline vantage points north of the river. The kitchen sends Basque-leaning pintxos and tapas, croquetas through to grilled skewers, at roughly 45 to 70 dollars a head across a few plates.
The open terrace runs on walk-ins while the indoor level upstairs takes bookings, so a group can settle in for a long Fitzroy evening. It is the unpretentious, all-ages-of-cool option against the tower rooms downtown; come early for the terrace at golden hour and order across the tapas list.
4.Stella Restaurant & Bar
A four-storey Italian topped by a sun-drenched rooftop, with shared group menus from 85 dollars. Book it for a South Yarra group.
Stella is a four-level Italian diner in South Yarra crowned by a sun-drenched rooftop terrace, about ten minutes from the CBD. The rooftop serves pizza and hot and cold snacks while the lower floors run full antipasti, pasta and secondi, with shared group set menus at 85 dollars for four courses and 109 for five for parties of eight or more.
Those fixed menus make it a clean group booking, and the rooftop and happy hour pull a buzzy South Yarra crowd from Tuesday to Friday. It is the choice for a sizeable, casual celebration that wants Italian sharing plates and sun rather than a high-altitude hush; reserve the rooftop and a group menu by headcount.
5.Transit Rooftop Bar
The Federation Square terrace over the Yarra, sharing plates from the Transport kitchen. Reserve for a central, lively city night.
Transit is the rooftop terrace of the Transport Hotel at Federation Square, on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets, looking over the Yarra and the Arts precinct from the heart of the city. It shares a kitchen with the multi-level Transport venue below, sending modern Australian and Asian street-food plates at roughly 60 to 80 dollars a head, with a four-dish shared table menu around 65.
The position, dead-centre and over the river, makes it the easy meeting point for a mixed city group. It is louder and more come-as-you-are than the tower restaurants; book the shared menu and a terrace table for an after-work crowd that wants the view without the formality.
6.Bomba Rooftop
A fifth-floor tapas terrace over the Lonsdale Street treetops, paella and montaditos seven days. Try it for an easy CBD evening.
Bomba puts a Spanish tapas bar on the rooftop, five floors above 103 Lonsdale Street, looking out over the treetops of the eastern CBD. The ground-floor restaurant runs a fifteen-strong tapas menu from montaditos to paella, and the same kitchen feeds the rooftop, so a few plates land around 50 to 75 dollars a head.
The terrace opens from mid-afternoon seven days, which makes it a reliable, unfussy spot for an early-evening group before dinner or theatre nearby. It is a genuine tapas kitchen with a rooftop attached rather than a view-first bar; come for the jamón and a glass of Spanish red as the light drops.
Not every rooftop is a restaurant
Great view, drinks only
Melbourne's most famous rooftop is also the one to skip if you actually want dinner. Lui Bar on Level 55 of the Rialto, by the Vue de Monde team, has the best skyline and bay view in the city, but it is a cocktail bar with a short bar-snacks list, open Wednesday to Sunday only. For a meal at that height, the answer is the Vue de Monde dining room next door, which is not a rooftop concept.
Treat the newer garden-bar arrivals with the same caution. The Garden State Hotel rooftop garden was being built toward a 2026 opening as a bar rather than a dedicated restaurant; check it is trading and serving real food before you book it as a dinner venue.
A simple rule for Melbourne rooftops: if the kitchen sends only crisps and dips, it belongs on the drinks itinerary, not the dinner one. Every pick above runs a working kitchen with a menu beyond snacks.
How to book a Melbourne rooftop
Start by choosing between a high-altitude dining room and a casual terrace, because the booking pattern follows. For Strato and the tower view, reserve a window table at dusk weeks ahead; for the terraces at Naked in the Sky, Siglo and Bomba, the open levels often run on walk-ins while the indoor sections take bookings, so arrive early at golden hour for the best seats.
Per-person figures here are food estimates before drinks, tax and service, and rooftop weather can move a booking indoors, so check the forecast. For the big view start with Strato; for a Melbourne classic, Siglo; for a relaxed group, Stella. Browse the full Melbourne dining guide before you decide.
Frequently asked
What is the best rooftop restaurant in Melbourne?
For a meal with the biggest view, Strato on Level 40 in Southbank is Melbourne's highest dining room, with a 360-degree sweep over the Yarra and the bay and a chef's-choice Feed Me menu. For a classic terrace, Siglo over Parliament House and Naked in the Sky in Fitzroy both pair a real kitchen with a skyline view.
Which Melbourne rooftop is best for a group?
Stella in South Yarra is built for it, a four-storey Italian topped by a rooftop, with shared group set menus from 85 dollars for parties of eight or more. Transit at Federation Square and Naked in the Sky in Fitzroy also handle larger, lively groups with sharing plates and terrace seating.
Are Melbourne rooftop restaurants drinks-only or do they serve food?
The ranked rooftops above all run a working kitchen, from Strato's degustation to Bomba's paella. The trap is the view-first cocktail bar: Lui Bar on Level 55 of the Rialto has the best vista in the city but serves only bar snacks, so it is a drinks venue rather than a dinner one.
How much does a rooftop dinner cost in Melbourne?
Expect roughly 45 to 75 dollars a head for tapas plates at Naked in the Sky and Bomba, 60 to 90 at Transit and Siglo, and 120 to 160 for the dining-room menu at Strato, before drinks, tax and service. Shared group set menus, such as Stella's at 85 and 109 dollars, make a larger booking simple.
Which Melbourne rooftop has the best view?
Strato on Level 40 in Southbank has the highest and widest panorama, taking in the skyline, the Yarra and Port Phillip Bay. For a more intimate vista, Siglo looks across to Parliament House and St Patrick's Cathedral, and Naked in the Sky has one of the best CBD skyline views from north of the river in Fitzroy.
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Browse the full Melbourne dining guide, compare high-view rooms in the Melbourne view ranking, plan an anniversary with our Melbourne anniversary guide, read the Melbourne Italian guide, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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