Despite its lack of four walls, this innovative bar draws swarms of stylish city folk. Pull up a packing crate and get into DJ sounds or BYO entertainment.
You've gotta love the Melbourne bar scene. Where others would see just a car park in a tiny lane, the visionaries behind Section 8 saw potential for booze-fuelled good times.
No actual building to serve drinks from? No problem. Grab yourself a shipping container, slap it down in the car park and convert it into a bar. Insert some artfully arranged packing crates (some with comfy cushions) and you've got seating for the punters. Add a roof and some outdoor heaters, and you've got one of the city's most inventive outdoor drinking spots, which has the cool kids sidling in for drinks throughout both winter and summer. Small trees branch from behind some of the seating crates, providing greenery and a place to hang Chinese lanterns.
There is an excellent range of beer and seasonal cocktails of offer here; the alcoholic iced tea concoctions are sweet and refreshing in the summer months, while the steaming mulled wine is the tipple of choice on a chilly winter's night.
Very popular with the funky inner city set, Section 8 has a crowd most of the day. Some folks kick back with a pint-sized Coopers or German Schofferhofer and listen to their own tunes, while others might gather around a jigsaw puzzle they've brought down to entertain themselves.
Ben Maas
