Siglo

Siglo is a guaranteed party. Open till 3am five nights a week, it’s a place to mark any occasion, big or small, in sophisticated fashion. (The official dress code is “smart casual”, but if ever there was a bar to dress up for in Melbourne, this is it.)

The magic of the setting reinforces the Euro mood. Terrace drinkers sit in the neon glow of the Siglo sign beside the ornate splendour of the Princess Theatre, looking across to the Neoclassical lines of Parliament House and the green canopy of Parliament Gardens. There’s no view like it in town.

Perhaps its strongest selling point, especially given Melbourne’s famously fickle climate, is the fact the rooftop space is weatherproof – heated year-round in case of cold snaps, and with a retractable canopy to keep things civilised in any conditions.

The house cocktails at Siglo are not for the faint-hearted. Le Petit Zombie is a prime example of the bar’s Hemingway-esque two-fisted approach to hard liquor, combining two kinds of premium rum with absinthe, velvet falernum and half a dozen aromatics to revive even the weakest spirit.

In warmer weather, hop on the Verde Vesper, a bracing blend of gin and vodka (West Winds cutlass meets Ketel One cucumber and mint) with dry vermouth, clarified tomato juice and bitters. And on the coldest nights, cradle a Monty Python-inspired The Shrubbery of Ni, a warmed toddy of Pampero Especial rum, apricot purée, house-blended five spice and hints of blood orange, brown sugar and candied ginger.

The drinks list is lavish and worldly. An exceptional range of whiskies tops out at the 27-year-old Laphroaig at $165 (for a nip, not the bottle), closely followed by 18-year-old Yamazaki from Japan at $142. There’s plenty more priced in the teens and twenties. 

Gins, apéritifs and digestives – from Greek tsipouro to French fig liqueur – feature strongly alongside a page of beers and a compact but well-chosen wine offering from Barossa to Bordeaux. Plus a dozen Champagnes, because this is a bar made for celebrations.