Victoria Street, Richmond and Abbotsford, can host any workplace Christmas party in 2026, from a 10-person team lunch to a 500-guest celebration, with 20 venues within walking distance.
The precinct offers six experiences: hands-on cooking classes, Vietnamese and Chinese banquets, Thai feasts, a food hall, historic pubs and bars, and rooftop and large-event venues. Groups can also combine them into a Victoria Street Christmas Crawl.
The offer is led by the Victoria Street Business Association (VSBA), which represents more than 300 local traders. Every booking keeps spending with local, family-run and multicultural businesses.
Call to action: choose an experience below, contact the venue directly, or email VSBA at hello@victoriastreet.org.au for help matching your group to a venue.
The street's story
Victoria Street has reinvented itself several times, and that history is part of what guests experience.
- 1850s: Simpson's Road was renamed Victoria Street, after Queen Victoria. It divided Collingwood and Richmond, with shops at one end and factories at the other.
- 1980s: Families who came to Australia after the Vietnam War opened groceries, bakeries and pho kitchens. The strip became known as Little Saigon.
- 1990s: The Lunar Festival began closing the street for Tet celebrations. In 2026 it drew around 35,000 people.
- 2014: A culturally themed gateway was installed at the Hoddle Street end.
- Today: Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Korean and Indian kitchens sit beside Victorian-era pubs, wine bars and rooftop venues. VSBA's revitalisation work is adding cleaner, greener streets, trader storytelling and new marketing.
Source: Victoria Street, Melbourne – Wikipedia.
The offer
Six experiences cover every team size and budget; all prices are published rates and include GST.
Experience | Best for | Venues | Group size | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cook & feast | Team building | Otao Kitchen | Up to 50 | From $159 pp |
Vietnamese & Chinese banquet | Shared feasting | Tran Tran, Vinh Ky, Van Mai, Old Kingdom, TungThit | Varies | On request |
Thai feast | Spice lovers | Thaiger Rabbit, Jinda Thai | Varies | On request |
Food hall | Mixed tastes and diets | Abbotsford Food Hall | Varies | On request |
Pubs, bars & wine | Classic party, drinks | The National, Aviary, Terminus, Bakers Arms, The Leadbeater, Duke of Albany, The Vic Bar, Cardwell Cellars | 15 to 600 | Aviary Christmas menu $95 pp; rooms from $400 minimum spend |
Rooftops & big events | Whole-company celebrations | Two Hands Rooftop Bar, Abbots Yard | Up to 500 | From $500 to $12,000 minimum spend |
Victoria Street Christmas Crawl | A night to remember | Any combination | Any | Sum of venues |
Venue stories
Behind every venue is a family, a building or a comeback worth telling your guests about.
Vietnamese and Chinese banquets
Tran Tran – 74 Victoria St, Richmond. The Tran family arrived in Australia as refugees after the Vietnam War and took over the restaurant in 1991. It sits in an 1890s building that began life as a chapel; a 2009 renovation uncovered the original chapel ceiling hidden above a false one. (03) 9429 6147 · trantran.com.au
Van Mai – 372 Victoria St, Richmond. A family restaurant serving Vietnamese food for more than 30 years. Some regulars have made dinner here a weekly tradition for two decades. (03) 9428 7948 · vanmairestaurant.com.au
Vinh Ky – Chinese and Vietnamese cooking, licensed and BYO, open daily 10.30am to 10.30pm. (03) 9427 7768 · vinhky.com.au
Old Kingdom – 82 Victoria St, Richmond. Known for its Peking duck, a centrepiece for any celebration table. (03) 9417 2438
TungThit Sizzling Steak – 297 Victoria St, Abbotsford. Asian-style steak served sizzling at the table. (03) 9317 3306 · tungthit.com
Thai feasts
Thaiger Rabbit – 391 Victoria St, Abbotsford. A quirky, market-style room with bird-cage lampshades and an upstairs area suited to groups. (03) 9077 5891 · thaigerrabbit.com.au
Jinda Thai – 3–7 Ferguson St, Abbotsford, just off Victoria St. One of Melbourne's best-known Thai restaurants, taking function enquiries. (03) 9419 5899 · jindathaimelbourne.com
Cook and feast
Otao Kitchen – 393 Victoria St, Abbotsford. A cooking school where teams cook together, then sit down to share the meal. Christmas formats include a social class and a MasterChef-style team challenge, from $159 pp. 0408 217 899 · otaokitchen.com.au
Pubs, bars and wine
The National Hotel – 340–344 Victoria St, Richmond. A Victorian-era corner pub that was once the pre- and post-game local for Collingwood fans at Victoria Park. Today it offers private dining, a beer garden with a retractable roof and Sunday roasts. (03) 9429 8811 · thenationalhotel.com.au
Terminus Hotel – 605 Victoria St, Abbotsford. Slated for demolition, the Terminus was saved by a group led by a former local, who reopened it in August 2014. Upstairs, the 1920s-inspired Paris Tropical bar has its own dance floor. (03) 9427 0615 · theterminushotel.com.au
The Aviary Hotel – 271–273 Victoria St, Abbotsford. A proper local with good food, music and trivia nights. Its five-course Christmas menu is $95 pp, with rooms for up to 150. (03) 9428 7727 · theaviary.com.au
The Vic Bar – 281 Victoria St, Abbotsford. DJs, a dance floor and an in-house micro-distillery, Route 109, making Bootlegger Vodka and Melbourne Dry Gin. 0435 069 565 · thevicbar.com.au
Cardwell Cellars – 461 Victoria St, Abbotsford. Opened in 2023, this wine bar and bottle shop champions small, sustainable producers. Staff will open any bottle to taste, and guests can bring food from nearby restaurants. (03) 7042 1022 · cardwellcellars.com
Bakers Arms Hotel – 355 Victoria St, Abbotsford. A local pub in the middle of the strip. (03) 9427 3200 · bakersarmshotel.com.au
The Leadbeater Hotel – 1 Church St, Richmond, on the Victoria St corner. A live music pub. 0406 696 466 · leadbeaterhotel.com.au
The Duke of Albany Hotel – 323 Victoria St, Abbotsford. Suits small team drinks. 0481 871 000 · dukeofalbany.com.au
Rooftops and big events
Two Hands Rooftop Bar – 311A Victoria St, Abbotsford. Drinks above the street, or the whole venue for up to 150. (03) 9973 9589 · twohandsbar.com.au
Abbots Yard – 329–341 Victoria St, Abbotsford. Street-front booths, shuffleboard and retro cinema containers, with room for up to 500 standing. 0410 232 376 · abbotsyard.com
Sample itineraries
Four ready-made plans show what a party could look like; costs use published rates only, before drinks.
Plan | Group | Itinerary | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Team bonding | 12–20 | 2pm cooking class at Otao Kitchen, then a wine tasting at Cardwell Cellars | From $159 pp (minimum $1,950) + wine |
Classic Christmas lunch | 20–35 | Five-course Christmas menu in the Aviary Hotel's White Room | $95 pp (room minimum spend from $2,500) |
Christmas Crawl | 20–40 | 4pm cooking class → 6.30pm Vietnamese, Thai or Peking duck banquet → 8.30pm rooftop drinks at Two Hands | From $159 pp + banquet on request + bar from $700 minimum spend |
Whole company | 150–500 | Exclusive use of Abbots Yard, with booths, shuffleboard and retro cinemas | From $8,000 (Thu–Fri, 5–11pm) or $12,000 (Sat–Sun) minimum spend |
Rates are from venue and booking-site listings (Otao Kitchen, Aviary Hotel, Abbots Yard) and must be confirmed with each venue.
Why it matters
A Christmas booking on Victoria Street puts end-of-year spending straight into local, family-run and multicultural businesses.
Many of these traders arrived as migrants and refugees and have served the street for decades, like the Tran family since 1991 and Van Mai for more than 30 years. A single group booking can fill a dining room on a quiet weeknight.
For workplaces, it is also a better story to tell staff: a celebration with real food, real history and a visible benefit to the community.
How to book
Book directly with each venue using the contacts above, ideally by mid-November, as December dates fill fast.
For help matching your group to a venue or building a Christmas Crawl, contact the Victoria Street Business Association: hello@victoriastreet.org.au · 0475 833 595 · victoriastreet.org.au.
To confirm before release
- Confirm each venue is taking Christmas group bookings and wants to be listed
- Vinh Ky address: the VSBA directory lists 114 Victoria St, Richmond; its website lists 345 Victoria St, Abbotsford
- The Vic Bar phone: directory 0435 069 565 vs Time Out (03) 9077 4383
- Duke of Albany phone: directory entry read as 0481 871 000
- Request photos from each venue for use in this paper (Google listing photos belong to their contributors)
- Note that Otao Kitchen is owned by the VSBA President
- Confirm VSBA can coordinate Crawl bookings before promoting that service
- Lunar Festival start year: Wikipedia says 1994; earlier VSBA media material said 2026 was the 26th year
Sources
- VSBA business directory – addresses, phones, websites
- Victoria Street, Melbourne – Wikipedia
- Tran Tran – our story
- Van Mai
- Vinh Ky
- Terminus Hotel reopening – Australian Bartender
- Cardwell Cellars – Broadsheet
- Thaiger Rabbit – Concrete Playground
- The Vic Bar – VenueNow
- Aviary Hotel – Tagvenue
- Abbots Yard – Tagvenue
- Otao Kitchen Work Christmas Party
