Melbourne Birthday Venues

Melbourne is a great city for going out and about - with hundreds of licensed venues in the Central Business District (CBD) alone. Thankfully, many of these bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants offer up private function spaces for birthday parties.

This HubPage is a guide to organising the perfect venue for your next birhday party!

The somewhat infamous coming-of-age birthday celebration has gained a bit of a bad reputation at some Melbourne venues - and many function venues won't agree to a 18th birthday at their licensed venue without even hearing you out.

Some issues you'll need to consider are;

• Will there be alcoholic beverages served?
• Will you allow management to turn away patrons that turn up intoxicated? (This is the venue's legal responsibility and arguing will generally solve nothing.)
• Will there be older adults (e.g. family) present? (Older adults can set an appropriate example for the younger people and set a more responsible tone - generally venues will be much happier if there will be older family members present.)
• And will a meal be served on the premises?

Generally speaking, venues will be happy to accommodate you if they believe it will be a successful, controlled event. No venue wants a group of intoxicated young people causing hassles for staff, other patrons and one another - make sure you take measures to ensure this won't occur and your guests will respect their surroundings and venue management will be much happier.

In the event you cannot find an appropriate licensed venue, consider hiring a hall - generally scout halls or suburban council/town halls can be hired easily as long as you don't mind doing the "clean up" yourself the next day. Also consider hiring private security guards and notifying the Police of your party - this can help you keep things from getting out of control.

21st birthday parties and above are generally much easier to find venues for as the function managers (or event planners) are more willing to cater to a slightly older crowd (especially if they like to drink). Although you'll need to take into consideration a few different things:

• Expected guest numbers should not greatly exceed the venue's maximum guest capacity
• Some venues will require an upfront hiring fee, others require a minimum spend on the bar, others request a combination of the two. Sometimes you can set an initial bar tab to cover all or part of the minimum spend requirements and then patrons can purchase their own drinks (and food) once the bar tab has been exceeded.
• Feel free to ask the function manager for an inspection, or pop by the venue to have a look around when you think you might be able to get a viewing (2.30-4.30pm or 6.30-8.30pm are generally less busy times where pub staff can spend more time with you).
• The Internet can be your best friend to browse multiple venues online and save you a lot of unnecessary legwork! Consider having a look at myBirthdayVenue and 21Melbourne which both offer venue information, photos and pricing for over a hundred venues in Melbourne and let you contact the venue managers for free online.
• Prices will vary for the night of the week you select - Fridays and Saturdays will generally command a premium, whereas mid-week parties can be much cheaper.
• Be wary that some venues don't let you bring in outside food (even birthday cakes) and some won't allow balloons. Make sure you discuss these items with the function manager before the big day to avoid any potential disappointment.
• Don't forget to include your phone number on the invitations! It's amazing how many people can get lost looking for your party venue! Also, remember to include the venue address on the invitations and consider adding a web link or map from a website like Melbourne Nightlife to help people find their way.