Private Dining Southbank Melbourne: The Complete Guide to Yassas (2026)

Southbank does a lot of things well — arts precinct, restaurant row, sunset walks along the Yarra. But when it comes to private dining, there aren't many venues that combine genuine atmosphere, flexibility of space and food that people actually talk about afterwards. Yassas Southbank, sitting inside the Southgate complex right on the river, is one of them.

We've hosted birthday dinners for 12 and corporate functions for 80. We've done engagement celebrations, work farewells, team lunches and anniversary dinners. The one thing they have in common is that Greek food — with its shared mezes, charcoal-grilled meats and warm hospitality — suits every one of those occasions better than a plated fine-dining format where everyone stares at their own plate.

Why Southbank is the right setting for private dining

Location matters for private dining, and Southbank delivers on every practical count. You're in the Southgate complex, directly accessible from the CBD via the pedestrian bridges over the Yarra. Parking is available underneath the complex. The Arts Centre, Hamer Hall and the NGV are within a two-minute walk, which makes a Yassas dinner an obvious pairing with a show or exhibition.

The river views are the other thing. There's no manufactured ambience here — the Yarra at golden hour, with the city skyline behind it, does the work for you. If you're booking a private event and want guests to walk in and immediately feel like the evening is going to be special, the setting at Southbank handles that without any effort on your part.

And then there's the live music. Yassas Southbank runs weekly live music nights, which adds an energy to group dinners that you simply can't manufacture any other way. For milestone birthdays and celebrations, it's the difference between a nice dinner and a genuinely memorable night.

The Achilles — our semi-private dining space

The Achilles works because it gives you privacy without isolation. Your group has their own space, your own service team, your own timeline — but you're still part of the broader buzz of a busy Saturday night in Southbank rather than tucked away in a back room somewhere. For most group bookings, that's exactly the right balance.

It's also the most manageable option for corporate groups. When you've got 20 or 30 colleagues at the table, you want the kitchen to know they're coming, you want a set menu so there's no confusion at the table, and you want service that runs on a schedule. That's exactly how The Achilles works. You handle the headcount; we handle everything else.

Full venue hire — exclusive use of Yassas Southbank

For larger events, product launches, end-of-year functions and exclusive celebrations, we offer full venue hire at Yassas Southbank. This means the entire space is yours — no other bookings, dedicated staff, and a custom event format that you design with our functions team.

Full venue hire is the right choice when you need complete control of the environment: your own music or entertainment, a specific layout, branded elements, or a run-of-show that doesn't fit around regular restaurant service. With 1,904 reviews across our four venues and years of experience hosting large-format events, we know how to make a full venue hire feel effortless for the host.

Pricing for full venue hire is tailored to your event. The best starting point is a conversation with our functions team — call 0481 997 779 or submit an enquiry at functions-southbank.html.

What to eat — menus for private dining

Greek food is the right cuisine for private dining for one simple reason: it's built around sharing. You're not plating individual meals and sending them to individual guests. You're building a table. Meze arrives in waves, platters get passed around, and the meal becomes something the group does together rather than something they consume in parallel.

Set menu packages — from $49pp

Our set menu packages are designed for groups who want a defined, stress-free experience. Starting from $49 per person, these menus take the guesswork out of ordering for large tables and ensure every guest is taken care of from arrival to dessert. Packages include a selection of meze, a shared main spread featuring charcoal-grilled meats from halal-certified butchers, and our signature loukoumades to finish.

The Feed Me feast — from $69pp

For groups who want the kitchen to curate the evening, the Feed Me feast is the standout option. From $69 per person, the kitchen sends out a progression of dishes — dips, meze, mains, dessert — all timed so the table is always full but never overwhelmed. It's our most popular choice for milestone events because it removes all the friction from the host's side: no one needs to read a menu, no one needs to decide, and no one ends up feeling like they ordered the wrong thing.

Evening for Two — $119, Thu–Sat

Not every private dining occasion is a group event. For couples celebrating an anniversary, a birthday, or just a special evening, the Evening for Two package at Yassas Southbank is $119 and includes drinks, 3 mezes, a sharing platter and loukoumades. Available Thursday to Saturday. It's a complete evening in one package — nothing to think about, nothing to plan, just show up and let the kitchen look after you.

"Greek hospitality — philoxenia — is the art of making guests feel immediately at home. Every private event at Yassas is built on that idea."

Live music nights at Yassas Southbank

One of the things that makes Southbank the right venue for celebrations is the weekly live music. When you book a group dinner on a live music night, the atmosphere does work that no amount of venue decoration can replicate. The energy in the room lifts, the conversation gets louder in the best possible way, and the evening stops being a dinner and becomes an event.

If live music is important for your event, mention it when you enquire — we'll match your booking to the right night and make sure your group is in the thick of it, not tucked away from the stage.

How to book private dining at Yassas Southbank

For groups using The Achilles or enquiring about full venue hire, the process is straightforward:

• Submit an enquiry via functions-southbank.html or call 0481 997 779. Include your approximate group size, preferred date and the nature of the event.
• Choose a menu — our functions team will send through menu options and pricing tailored to your group. Set menus from $49pp; Feed Me from $69pp.
• Confirm the booking with a deposit. Your space, your service team and your timeline are locked in from that point.
• Show up — everything else is handled. Your guests arrive to a space that's ready for them, with staff who know your event and a kitchen that's been briefed on your group.

For smaller groups and standard table bookings, use OpenTable directly. For anything over 10 guests, contact the functions team directly so we can plan appropriately.

Private dining pricing at a glance

• Set menu packages: From $49 per person
• Feed Me feast: From $69 per person
• Evening for Two: $119 per couple (Thu–Sat, includes drinks + 3 mezes + sharing platter + loukoumades)
• Full venue hire: Tailored to your event — enquire for a quote
• Minimum spends: May apply depending on date and space. Confirm with the functions team.

All meats at Yassas are sourced from halal-certified butchers, so every guest at your event can eat with full confidence, regardless of dietary requirements on that front.