Birthday Party Venues Geelong

A birthday around Corio Bay can be a rooftop round of cocktails in South Geelong, a sit-down dinner on Ryrie Street or a Saturday lunch among the vines on the Bellarine. Start with the shape of the night – drinks and canapés, a seated meal or a long lunch – and the right area follows.

Where each style of birthday tends to land:

• Drinks and dancing – a level-10 cocktail bar above the Waterfront, a South Geelong rooftop and a CBD pub with a band room and garden bar all take standing crowds.
• Seated dinners for 20 to 50 – first-floor restaurants and upstairs rooms in the CBD, or the restored post office and wool store dining rooms in Newtown.
• Big numbers on a budget – Pakington Street pubs offer terraces with private bars from $25 per person, and some charge no room hire at all.
• Something louder – upstairs on Ryrie Street, karaoke booths, a stage and a dance floor suit a group that wants to perform.
• A long lunch – Bellarine wineries, a cider house among vines and a bluestone winery restaurant at Fyansford run set menus from $54 per person to $110 per person.
• A coastal weekend – a retro hotel at Aireys Inlet and a beachfront pub garden at Queenscliff turn a birthday into a night away.

A $1,100 minimum spend or a $1,500 minimum spend applies at two historic pubs, which can work out cheaper than a per-head package for a big group. For the full plan, from cakes to activities, see birthday party ideas.