Johnny’s Green Room

The original Johnny’s Green Room was a notorious, dimly lit, late-night hangout, all cigarettes and pool tables – a favourite of students, gangsters and artists during Carlton’s bohemian era in the 1960s and ’70s. The new version could hardly be more different. Sitting on the roof of the refurbished King & Godfree building on Lygon Street, 2020s-era Johnny’s is an excellent addition to Melbourne’s ever-expanding catalogue of rooftop bars. Spacious and all-weather (heating and canopies make the space habitable even during Melbourne’s winter), Johnny’s has an Italian beach-club vibe and incredible 270-degree views over Carlton and towards Melbourne’s CBD. It’s an Aperol Spritz and pizza kind of joint, user-friendly, and as accommodating for larger birthday-celebrating groups as it is for a weekly catch-up with your besties after a movie at Cinema Nova. Just like its 1960s predecessor, Johnny’s is a great place to get an eyeful of the Carlton crowd, even if the latest incarnation is a little heavier on the Spritz-drinking beautiful people and lighter on the gangsters, artists and cigarette smoke. Still, the spirit of good times remains and, as the night wears on, proves to be charmingly infectious.

Johnny’s is one of those chameleon-like places that can change to suit the occasion and time of day. Want to have a simple lunch with your parents? Bring them up here on a sunny day for a friction-free get-together. But this rooftop bar equally provides a romantic backdrop for a date – who could fail to be charmed by twinkling city lights? – or the correct volume of partying for when you and your friends have something worth celebrating.