Transport Hotel’s reboot might finally make Fed Square a Melbourne dining hotspot

Through 20 years of Fed Square highs and lows, Transport Hotel has held fast. Now one of the precinct’s few stalwarts is getting a top-to-bottom overhaul, starting with its rooftop bar.

Federation Square has seen plenty of change, but Transport Hotel – home to Transport Public Bar, Taxi Kitchen and Transit Rooftop Bar – has been a bedrock since 2003. Now it’s undergoing a staged redevelopment to attract Gen Y and Gen Z.

The multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the site opposite Flinders Street Station has already begun, led by Studio Y which has worked on cocktail bar Nick & Nora’s and Shane Delia restaurant Jayda, among others.

Rooftop bar Transit has closed for a major refit, with works to the restaurant and public bar to follow, though both will remain open for service throughout.

“ The reason we’re redeveloping the whole Transport Hotel over the next two years is to culturally evolve,” says the venue’s executive chef and general manager, Tony Twitchett. “Our demographic has become younger. Hospitality venues have to keep upgrading.”

Despite town planners’ best efforts, Fed Square has been a notoriously hard sell to Melburnians. Its geometric design drew ridicule. Its purpose has been much debated. In the past three years alone, Karen Martini’s ACMI restaurant Hero shuttered over disputes about foot traffic; Mabu Mabu, chef Nornie Bero’s ode to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cuisine, entered liquidation; and Alejandro Saravia pivoted Victoria, his season-driven restaurant, into a function space. COVID shutdowns and years of being blocked off for the Metro Tunnel development didn’t help.

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But there are recent signs the pendulum is shifting. Free gigs, sports broadcasts such as the recent Socceroos’ World Cup matches, and events like Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s Bakers Dozen have drawn people back to the area. The giant eyesore of a construction site that blocked one corner has finally been removed. New venues have opened such as Good Nature Hotel, a revamp of the former Beer DeLuxe site.

Transport Hotel is hoping to be part of this shift. Its top floor, which has been completely gutted, will reopen with two new bars – one facing the deck and another oriented inwards – weatherproofing throughout, and a refreshed palette of deep reds, dark timber and metal. The piano stage, a relic from its days as a jazz and live music venue, has been removed to make room for more seating that Twitchett says will offer city views from every spot in the house.

An expanded music p