Christmas Party Venues in Inner South

End-of-year functions south of the river can be anything from a leadership lunch for twenty to an all-staff night for well over a thousand.

Work groups here pick between heritage pubs in South Melbourne and South Yarra, a craft beer tavern in St Kilda East, a bayside bar in St Kilda, and a former timber works in Port Melbourne, so the decision usually turns on headcount and how formal the evening should feel.

How the region's venues line up for work teams:

• Small teams around one table – a South Melbourne gastropub, Lamaro's Hotel puts 22 in the Atrium and 24 in The Wine Room @ Lamaro's Hotel, a wine-racked private dining room from $2,000 minimum spend, both with screens for a quick year in review. From $1,500 minimum spend.
• Whole-office drinks – The Lounge @ Temperance Hotel takes over the upstairs of the Chapel Street pub for up to 100, with a bar of its own so nobody queues downstairs (from $38 per person), and Golden Gate Hotel's upstairs Coventry Room has a central private bar for 120 standing, from $37 per person.
• A seated dinner by the bay – The Sunroom @ Hotel Esplanade puts 100 at tables behind glass, and the roof retracts on warm December evenings. From $47 per person.
• Department-sized parties – Main Hall @ Bells Hotel fits up to 300 cocktail-style above the Moray and Coventry corner, and the pub names Christmas parties among the events it suits. From $35 per person.
• Company-wide events – security staff, a venue manager, heating and cooling all come with the hire of the former Port Melbourne timber works, The Timber Yard. From $11,000 room hire.

St Kilda East's craft beer tavern, The Local Taphouse, has four timber-panelled rooms and will try to track down a particular beer or wine the team likes, with pricing by quote. Also on Carlisle Street, The Rooftop Bar @ Balaclava Hotel hosts Christmas breakups for up to 130 cocktail style, from $26 per person.