RFK Rankings · Melbourne
Best Restaurants With a View in Melbourne 2026
Restaurants with a view · Melbourne · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published August 5, 2025 · Updated June 20, 2026
Melbourne is landlocked at the centre, so its view comes three ways: the tower rooms high over the CBD, the river terraces along the Yarra at Southbank, and the beach rooms on the St Kilda sand. The skyline reads best from above or across the water, and the hazard is the bar that sells the height and serves a snack. The six rooms below earn the outlook with a kitchen, from a three-hatted room on the 55th floor to a glass pavilion on Port Phillip Bay. Most are best at dusk, when the city lights hit the river or the sun drops over the bay.
1.Vue de monde
Hugh Allen's three-hatted tasting room on level 55 of the Rialto; book the dinner sitting for sunset over the city.
Vue de monde occupies level 55 of the Rialto on Collins Street, the highest serious kitchen in Melbourne, with the city grid and the bay laid out through floor-to-ceiling glass. Hugh Allen, who cooked at Noma, holds three hats here, and his tasting menu reads Australia's wild pantry, marron, saltbush lamb, aged wagyu and native botanicals, at A$380 a head. The room is theatre, and unlike most tower restaurants the cooking matches the altitude. Sunset is the time to be there, when the light drops over the western suburbs. Book the dinner sitting weeks ahead and ask for a window table on the city side.
Reserve weeks ahead; dinner sitting, city-side window.
2.Atria
Paul Lewis's room on the 80th floor of the Ritz-Carlton, the highest in Melbourne; book it for a celebration dinner.
Atria sits on the 80th floor of the Ritz-Carlton on Spencer Street, the highest dining room in Melbourne with a 360-degree view over the city, the bay and the ranges. Executive chef Paul Lewis runs a modern menu of seasonal Australian produce, such as the Murray cod, with set menus and à la carte at the top of the city's prices, mains around A$60 to A$75. The room opened in 2023 atop Australia's tallest hotel, and the altitude is the headline. Think of it as Melbourne's answer to a sky-high hotel room in Hong Kong. Book a window table at dusk and ask for the city-grid side rather than the bay for the lights.
Reserve direct; window at dusk, city-grid side.
3.Stokehouse
Jason Staudt's glass pavilion on the St Kilda sand over Port Phillip Bay; book upstairs for the sunset.
Stokehouse stands right on the sand at St Kilda, a glass pavilion with the dining room turned to Port Phillip Bay and the sunset. Executive chef Jason Staudt cooks a modern Australian menu strong on seafood, with the bombe Alaska a long-running signature, and mains in the A$45 to A$65 range. The bay view, west-facing for the sunset, is the best beachfront seat in the city, rebuilt after a 2014 fire and going strong. It is the Melbourne beach room to the tower rooms downtown. Book the upstairs dining room rather than the downstairs pasta bar, and time a table for the hour before sunset over the water.
Reserve direct; upstairs, hour before sunset.
4.Donovans
A 1920s beach pavilion on the St Kilda foreshore, family-run since 1995; book a window for a long bayside lunch.
Donovans occupies a former 1920s bathing pavilion on the St Kilda foreshore, a warm beach-house dining room looking straight onto the sand and the bay. The kitchen runs generous Mediterranean cooking, seafood, pasta and slow-cooked meats, with the seafood platter a long-standing order and mains around A$45 to A$60. Family-run since 1995, it trades on the bayside view and a regulars' welcome rather than a celebrity chef. It is the comfortable, long-lunch counterpart to the slicker glass rooms along the beach. Book a window table on a clear day for the full sweep of the bay, and settle in for the afternoon.
Reserve direct; window table, clear-day lunch.
5.Bistro Guillaume
Guillaume Brahimi's French bistro on the Southbank promenade over the Yarra; book the terrace for dusk on the river.
Bistro Guillaume sits on the Southbank promenade at Crown, a Parisian-style bistro from Guillaume Brahimi with a terrace over the Yarra and the city towers across the water. Brahimi, who trained under Joel Robuchon and ran Guillaume at Bennelong in Sydney, has cooked at Crown since 2010, with French classics, the steak frites with bearnaise, escargots, and a Roquefort souffle, and mains around A$50. The river-and-skyline view from the terrace is the order, best in the evening when the city lights hit the water. It is the Melbourne riverside bistro to the city's tower rooms. Book the outdoor terrace rather than the indoor room, and time it for dusk over the Yarra.
Reserve direct; outdoor terrace at dusk.
6.Saké Restaurant and Bar
Modern Japanese on two levels below Hamer Hall with a heated Yarra terrace; book the terrace before a show.
Saké Restaurant and Bar runs across two levels below Hamer Hall on the Southbank river edge, with a heated terrace over the Yarra and the city skyline beyond. The kitchen cooks modern Japanese, sustainable bluefin tuna and kingfish, robata-grilled meats and signature maki, with shared plates and a 30-minute pre-theatre menu at A$89 before performances at the Arts Centre. A Saké group room on the river since 2014, its terrace looking across to the city towers is the seat to ask for. It pairs the Southbank arts precinct with a riverside view few diners think to book. Reserve the terrace at dusk, or take the pre-theatre menu if you have tickets next door.
Reserve direct; river terrace at dusk.
Avoid for a view
The bar, not a restaurant
Lui Bar shares level 55 of the Rialto with Vue de monde and has the same spectacular view, but it is a cocktail bar with a bar menu, not a full dining room. Go up for a drink and the panorama, then book the restaurant next door for dinner.
Great kitchen, no view
Flower Drum, the city's landmark Cantonese room in Chinatown, is one of Melbourne's best kitchens, but it is a windowless first-floor dining room with no view at all. Book it for the Peking duck and take the skyline another night.
Reservation strategy for a Melbourne view table
Melbourne's view splits three ways: the tower rooms in the CBD, the river terraces on Southbank, and the beach rooms at St Kilda. Vue de monde and Atria hold the altitude, on level 55 of the Rialto and the 80th floor of the Ritz-Carlton, and both want a window table booked weeks ahead, dinner timed for sunset over the western suburbs. On Southbank, Bistro Guillaume and Saké line the Yarra; the terrace is the seat that matters, and dusk is the hour when the city lights hit the water.
At St Kilda, Stokehouse and Donovans face Port Phillip Bay, both west-facing for the sunset, both best at a long weekend lunch. Wherever you book, ask explicitly for the view table, since the inside rooms often look at nothing. The tower tastings and the St Kilda weekend tables go first, so reserve early.
Frequently asked
What is the best restaurant with a view in Melbourne?
For the kitchen and the altitude, Vue de monde on level 55 of the Rialto, Hugh Allen's three-hatted tasting room over the city grid, with a menu at A$380. For the highest view, Atria on the 80th floor of the Ritz-Carlton runs a 360-degree panorama. Both are dinner-and-celebration rooms, best booked for a window table at sunset.
Which Melbourne restaurants overlook the Yarra?
Southbank holds the river rooms. Bistro Guillaume at Crown and Saké below Hamer Hall both have terraces over the Yarra with the city towers across the water. Both are best booked on the terrace rather than indoors, and the evening is the time, when the city lights hit the river.
Where can you eat over the beach in Melbourne?
St Kilda has the bay rooms. Stokehouse is a glass pavilion on the sand and Donovans a 1920s beach pavilion next door, both facing west over Port Phillip Bay for the sunset. Book a window or upstairs table for a long weekend lunch, and time it for the hour before the sun drops over the water.
How much does a view dinner in Melbourne cost?
Plan on a premium for the tower rooms. Vue de monde runs A$380 for the tasting and Atria sits at the top of the city's a la carte, with mains around A$60 to A$75. The river and beach rooms are lower, with mains roughly A$45 to A$65 at Stokehouse, Donovans, Bistro Guillaume and Saké. The view seats carry the demand, so the cost is as much in booking lead time as money.
When should you book a Melbourne view table?
Weeks ahead for Vue de monde and Atria, whose window tables and tastings go first, especially on weekends. On Southbank and at St Kilda, target a weekend lunch for the river and bay terraces and ask explicitly for the view table. Dusk and sunset are the hours to aim for across the city, since Melbourne's skyline and bay both read best in the evening light.
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