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The Coolest Social Clubs in Melbourne Are Bringing Back Nostalgic Fun
Melbourne’s fun club revival: play hard, connect harder.
Making new friends in Melbourne used to feel less complicated. You met someone at a party, took a class on a whim, said yes to something strange, then somehow ended up with a new group chat. Adulthood has a way of sanding down that spontaneity, but Melbourne’s new wave of social clubs is bringing it back with better snacks, sharper venues and far less awkwardness.
Across the city, fun clubs are turning IRL connection into the main event. There are mahjong nights hidden behind curtains, silent book parties in bars, social chess clubs, collage workshops, pickleball sessions, sea swims, wine clubs, dinner parties and dating events for anyone whose thumb is tired of the apps. Some are creative, some are active, some are deliciously niche. All of them make meeting people feel less like a task and more like a night worth leaving the house for.
Ready to make friends, learn something new or simply remember how good play can feel? These are the Melbourne social clubs to know now.
Table of Contents
Our Pick of the Moment: Mahjong Nights at Moondrop
Behind the curtains at Moondrop, the clack of mahjong tiles has become one of Melbourne’s best excuses to go out alone and end up at a table of four. The Gertrude Street cocktail bar’s Mahjong Nights take place inside its dedicated Mahjong Room, where beginner-to-expert tables, custom boards, music and some of the city’s finest sips turn a traditional game into a sharply social night out. You might be brilliant. You might be terrible. Frankly, that is half the appeal.
The room has a charge to it: shared tables, low light, excellent people-watching and just enough structure to make strangers feel like teammates before they inevitably take your tokens. I’m unfairly obsessed.
Kelsey, Melbourne Editor
Selected nights
Book via Moondrop/OpenTable and check Instagram for the next session
Level 1, 150-156 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Book Clubs, Chess Nights & Creative Social Clubs in Melbourne
Book Doof
Book Doof takes the pressure out of being around people by letting everyone bring a book and shut up for a while. Created by Melbourne writer Grant Krupp, the roaming silent-reading party has popped up everywhere from Capers and Nighthawks to Revolver, turning bars into temporary reading rooms where conversation happens before, after or not at all. Bring a novel, a sketchpad, knitting or the half-finished thing at the bottom of your tote, then enjoy the rare pleasure of being alone in excellent company.
Various dates and locations; follow Book Doof’s socials for the next event
Club DVD
Melbourne’s sweetest cult-film secret hides in cosy Fitzroy haunts like Eclipse Cinema and Milney’s. Club DVD hosts surprise screenings of campy horror treasures and nostalgic gems. Think couches, cocktails, and kindred spirits bonding over the strange and cinematic. With snacks on hand and no pressure to perform, it feels like the sleepover you still talk about.
Held monthly; see schedule here
Fitzroy & Brunswick
Acid Chess Club
Film nights not your move? Acid Chess Club brings sharper social energy to Runner Up, the rooftop bar above Collingwood Yards. The fortnightly club alternates between Learn & Play nights and tournaments, drawing everyone from first-timers to fast-clock fiends for chess, drinks, music and the pleasing sight of a rooftop full of people concentrating very hard in public. It’s clever, casual and far less intimidating than the board makes it look.
Runner Up Rooftop Bar, 35 Johnston Street, Collingwood
Ms Chess
Chess gets a less gatekeepy table at Ms Chess, a Naarm collective created by Hosna Eqbal for girls, LGBTQI+ and non-binary players. The monthly meet-ups move through venues like Skydiver Records, Capers and Highnote, pairing low-stakes games with drinks, music and the pleasant shock of discovering you can be bad at chess and still have a very good night. It’s social, beginner-friendly, and built for anyone who prefers a board game when nobody is taking themselves too seriously.
Monthly
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Collage Workshops & Pub Collage Club with That Paper Joint
Scissors, glue sticks, bar snacks and a table full of strangers suddenly feels like an excellent plan at That Paper Joint. The Brunswick collage studio runs guided workshops, self-guided sessions, vision-board classes and private group events from its Sydney Road HQ, all built around the low-stakes pleasure of cutting up paper and seeing what happens. Pub Collage Club takes the same spirit down the road to The Hall at Welcome to Brunswick, with prompts, creative challenges, prizes, drinks at the bar and enough paper scraps to keep the chat moving.
That Paper Joint, 544 Sydney Road, Brunswick
The Mess Hall at Welcome to Brunswick, 400 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Lonely House
Lonely House makes book club feel less like homework and more like a reason to leave the house. Founded in Melbourne in 2023 by Natasha Way and Bella Raymond, the inner-west-born community lets members vote on two Books of the Month, then meet for discussion, food, games and prizes without the smug seminar energy. Four groups keep it mercifully flexible: read one, read both, read neither, still turn up. With vision-board sessions and the occasional Hot Girl Hike in the mix, it gives reading a social life without making it cringe.
See upcoming events here
Pinot and Paragraphs
At Pinot & Paragraphs, book club loosens by a glass or two. Founded by Tia and Amber, the monthly Melbourne gathering brings readers together over a chosen title, wine, grazing boards and venues worth changing out of trackies for, with past events popping up at Chapel 1885, Essie Wine Bar and Aster. No one is handing out study notes; the point is to read something worth discussing, drink something decent and meet people who also have three half-finished paperbacks on the bedside table.
Monthly
Various Melbourne venues
Shy Peoples Drawing Club
Shy Peoples Drawing Club is for anyone who wants to draw in public but would rather not perform a personality while doing it. This Melbourne meet-up gathers shy, anxious and art-curious people for low-pressure sketching sessions where all skill levels are welcome and sitting quietly is a perfectly acceptable social strategy. Bring pencils, an iPad, a half-used notebook or whatever else you draw with, then let the making do most of the talking.
Various dates and locations; keep your eyes peeled for next one here
Active Social Clubs in Melbourne: Walks, Swims, Pilates & Pickleball
The Jar Pickleball Club
Pickleball is tennis’s more sociable cousin, and The Jar is one of Melbourne’s sharpest places to play it. Set inside a South Melbourne warehouse, the club has four indoor championship-style courts, coaching, open play, Ladies Night, Locals Night and Pickle’ & Prosecco sessions for anyone who prefers their exercise with a little chat on the side. Fast rallies, fresh faces and enough structure to make first-timers feel less hopeless.
29 White Street, South Melbourne
Sunset Active Club
Sunset Active Club is what happens when Monday night stops sulking. Gathering at Green Point in Brighton, the seaside crew meets for a run or walk, a swim, Pilates or yoga, then hangs around for the post-move chat that usually does more for the week than another sad desk dinner. It’s low-fuss, good-looking and happily social without turning exercise into a personality test.
Mondays, 7:30pm
Reach out via sunset.club.melbourne@gmail.com
Green Point, Brighton
Club Femm
Club Femm is for Melbourne women who want new friends without the speed-dating-for-friendship awkwardness. Based around Fitzroy North, the social walking club gathers for early strolls, coffee stops and low-stakes catch-ups, with the simple pleasure of leaving the house and talking to someone who isn’t already in your group chat. It’s friendly, unfussy and built for anyone craving a softer social reset that doesn’t involve sprinting, sweating or pretending to love run clubs.
Follow their Instagram for upcoming walks and pop-ups
Dip + Sip
Dip + Sip is for the Melbourne friend who would rather start the day ankle-deep in Port Phillip than half-asleep in bed. The free meet-up gathers for sunrise sea dips, short breathwork, meditation and coffee chats after, keeping the mood friendly enough for solo arrivals without turning it into a wellness performance. Bring swimmers, a towel, something cosy for after, and a tolerance for being cold before caffeine.
Follow their Instagram for the next dip
And Pilates Club
The And Pilates Club is for Pilates lovers who want their workout with a side of social life. This Melbourne pop-up crew pairs mat time with the good bits: Prosecco-and-Pilates nights, brewery hangs, Yarra Botanica sessions and destination-style classes like Chandon-and-Pilates in the Yarra Valley. You show up, move, meet someone new, then stay for the post-class drink and debrief instead of ghosting straight back to your car.
Follow their Instagram and Eventbrite for the next drop
Hype Girl Social Club
If your group chat is thriving but your diary isn’t, meet Hype Girl Social Club. Founded by Ash Ormond, it started as a simple walking meet-up and now runs Slay Strolls, Pilates sessions, craft nights and puppy yoga, all designed for people who want new friends without the awkwardness. Show up solo, leave with names in your notes app and plans that actually happen. Melbourne, consider this your friendship cheat code.
Events list here
Food, Wine & Dinner Party Social Clubs in Melbourne
aptno.6
aptno.6 is the wine club for people who don’t want to be quizzed on tannins by a man in linen. Hosted by Megan Cruickshank, this Melbourne-born community is made for the wine-curious, the rogue-recommendation loyalists and anyone who likes a glass better when it comes with good chat. Tastings feel less like a cellar-door syllabus, more like a living-room debrief, with wrong answers very much allowed and new mates part of the pour.
Past nights have included South Yarra Cellars, with tickets and meet-ups shared via Butter and Instagram.
Cookbook Club Naarm
If you’ve ever wanted dinner-party energy without hosting stress, Cookbook Club Naarm is it. Founded in July 2024 by Joan Tran and Dominique Lonsdale, this monthly potluck picks one cookbook, then everyone cooks a dish from it and brings it along to share. Recipes are claimed in a shared spreadsheet so there’s no doubles, and tickets are around $8, which helps keep it accessible. It’s the easiest icebreaker in town: “What did you make?”
Dating, Friendship & Queer Social Events in Melbourne
Third Rodeo Events
Third Rodeo Events is building a third home for Naarm’s lesbian, queer and trans+ community, one ticketed gathering at a time. The mood is friendly, flirt-adjacent and easy enough to enter solo, with conversation, dancing and new mates all firmly on the cards. There are Queeraoke nights, community parties and Spiky Dykes, the Social Soccer Club at Princes Park, for anyone happier meeting people on the pitch than in a dating-app trench. Every ticket also feeds the bigger dream: a permanent third space in Melbourne where the community can gather, play, connect and feel entirely at home.
Follow their Instagram and Humanitix for upcoming events
Bigger Things Club
Bigger Things Club is for Melbourne women craving plans that don’t begin and end in the group chat. Founded by Zoe Gong, the club gathers connection-seekers for dinner parties, book meet-ups, coffee chats, group walks and the occasional bouldering session, all with a gentle nudge away from the screen and back into the room. Zoe created it as a place to “fill up your own cup”, which here means good food, fresh faces and the rare relief of meeting people without making it strange.
Follow their Instagram for upcoming gatherings
First Timers Club
First Timers Club is for anyone whose calendar has started looking a little too well-behaved. Born in Melbourne, rebooted in 2023 and now popping up in Sydney and London, this IRL social club gets grown-ups trying new things again, from bouldering and bike raves to Korean BBQ nights, Yarra swims and whatever else the week has managed to cook up. The point is simple: arrive solo, do something mildly ridiculous or unexpectedly excellent, and leave with a story, a few fresh numbers in your phone and the pleasant shock of remembering that new people are still out there.
Reach out via firsttimerssclub@gmail.com
Project Meet Cute
Who said Pilates had to be all silent mats and serious faces? Project Meet Cute is a Melbourne movement-led social club turning Pilates, snacks and post-class chats into a much more charming way to meet people. The brief is simple: move your body, stay for the yap, and leave with the faint possibility of a new friend, a new group chat or at the very least, a better Saturday morning than another scroll in bed.
Crush Club
Crush Club is for Melbourne singles whose thumb is cooked but whose standards remain inconveniently intact. The IRL dating crew swaps app fatigue for speed dating, dinner parties and mixers, with conversation cards, antipasto, games, music and just enough structure to stop the solo entrance from feeling cursed. It’s flirty without being bleak, social without networking-event energy, and a timely reminder that chemistry still lands better across a table than through a dead-eyed Hinge prompt.
Catch upcoming events here
FAQs
Some of the best social clubs in Melbourne include Mahjong Nights at Moondrop for game-loving night owls, Book Doof and Lonely House for readers, Acid Chess Club and Ms Chess for low-pressure chess, That Paper Joint for collage workshops, The Jar for pickleball, Dip + Sip for sunrise sea swims, Hype Girl Social Club for friendship-led events, aptno.6 for wine nights, Cookbook Club Naarm for dinner-party energy, Third Rodeo Events for queer community, and Crush Club for singles.
The easiest way to meet new people in Melbourne is to start with something structured, so the small talk is not doing all the heavy lifting. Try a social club, dinner party, run club, walking group, book club, creative workshop, volunteering event or singles night. Shared activity makes conversation feel less forced, and turning up solo is usually part of the point.
Yes, Melbourne has plenty of social clubs and event groups for singles who want to meet people in real life, away from the apps. In our guide, options like Crush Club and Project Meet Cute are geared towards connection in a more social, in-person setting, while events from Bigger Things Club and Third Rodeo Events can also suit people looking to widen their circle. Across the city, singles-friendly events can include dinner parties, games nights, workshops, walks and relaxed mixers, with some focused on dating and others better suited to friendship first.
Yes, most Melbourne social club events are designed with solo guests in mind. Many people turn up on their own, especially at dinner parties, singles events, walking groups, workshops and games nights. Hosts will usually help break the ice, introduce people and guide the flow of the event, so you are not left awkwardly hovering by the bar or off to the side.
Social clubs in Melbourne vary in price depending on the format. Some community meet-ups, walking groups, book clubs and casual activity-based gatherings are free or low-cost, while ticketed events such as dinner parties, workshops, speed dating, games nights, wine nights and hosted singles events usually require a booking fee. Membership-style clubs may charge monthly or annual fees, so check what’s included before you book.
Melbourne has never been short on ways to go out, but this new wave of social clubs feels different. Less networking, less app fatigue, less standing in a bar pretending to text someone. Just books, swims, chess boards, wine glasses, glue sticks, dinner tables and the small, excellent risk of speaking to someone new. Because play isn’t just for kids, and belonging never goes out of style.
