Madame

rooftop · Themed Madame Brussels is the CBD garden rooftop that pioneered Melbourne's astroturf-and-deckchair format and remains the most fully realised version of it. The terrace is small, the seating is genuinely silly — pastel deck chairs, fake lawn, a deliberate suburban-garden aesthetic — and the cocktail programme uses that visual register as cover for a genuinely careful drinks operation.

The jugs of Pimm's, summer cups and seasonal spritz pitchers are built with proper attention to citrus and dilution; the smaller signature menu pulls in Australian native botanicals and a respectable gin reserve. The food programme is finger-sandwich-and-tea-cake in the most charming sense.

The room peaks in summer Sunday afternoons but runs honestly through autumn and spring. It ranks second because the irony is the wrapper rather than the substance.

For the full ranking, see our editorial round-up of the 10 best rooftop bars in Melbourne, the broader Melbourne rooftop bars guide, and our category index of rooftop bars worldwide.