Birthday Party Venues in Bayside

Bayside birthdays split neatly by setting. Along Beach Road and the Esplanade, pubs and a football club room look across Port Phillip Bay; inland in Moorabbin, the choice runs from a music-themed local to a hotel with rooms upstairs; and further south, by Mordialloc Creek, waterside pub rooms suit everything from an 18th to a 60th.

Per-head starting prices sit in a fairly tight band, so the real decision is usually the room: a balcony, a courtyard, a dance floor or a quiet corner for a family dinner.

Here is how the region's birthday rooms line up, area by area:

• Brighton – Brighton Beach Hotel, across the road from the sand, seats up to 200 upstairs in the Bayview Room, while the Empire Room @ Hotel Brighton on Bay Street is a velvet-and-emerald space with a fireplace, courtyard access and its own bar for 150 on their feet.
• Hampton and Sandringham – Hampton Hotel on the Hampton Street shopping strip offers six areas, including an Atrium under a retractable glass roof; Sandringham Hotel's Front Bar takes 200, while Sandy by the Bay looks out from upstairs at the Sandringham Football Club, beside the oval.
• Moorabbin – Wilbury & Sons on Station Street is a 1970s recording-studio themed pub for 15 to 90, and the Sandbelt Club Hotel, at the corner of South and Bignell Roads, pairs the Eaglemont Room with a Southside space that has a stage.
• Down by Mordialloc – Main Street's The Epsom opens its Stanton Room onto a rooftop deck facing the bay, while The Bridge Hotel Mordialloc offers three rooms where the creek meets the bridge.
• The two extremes – Chelsea Heights Hotel, on the corner of Springvale and Wells Roads, has a Bandroom for up to 600, while Parkers Pavilion, facing Parkdale station, keeps things to 20 to 50 with Pan Asian share plates.

Cake is easy at a couple of these: Hampton Hotel lets you bring a celebration cake, and at Hotel Brighton the team will cut it and serve it on platters at no charge. Planning an 18th or 21st? Check the conditions first – Sandy by the Bay needs security and a list of guests for any 21st, and The Epsom's club licence means signing in with photo ID and under-18s leaving by 11pm.